Revisiting Yellow Ribbon- A Project

[OB]

Cheers Harry!

[FifteensAway]

Impressive that you included so many dismounted horses in your collection (are they the mounted version without the riders or permanent dismounted horses?). 

I took the easier route of having just one permanently dismounted horse per company to mark the point of dismount and opted not to have householders at all - not for Yellow Ribbon, my companies are 12 figures only.  I figure to reduce dismounted firing by less dice or a lower ability to hit.  Considering I have a total of 25 cavalry troops/companies and 3 additional scout companies in my collection - with only 4 painted so far - that seemed a bit more sane.

If I ever get my collection fulling painted, Tom's refrain might be "we need less Plains Wars stuff on this board"! 

My overall Old West/Pony Wars figure collection can certainly qualify as "delightfully insane".   

[OB]

Thanks Fifteens Away.

My cavalry figures are all one piece castings, so yes separate horses for dismounted cavalry.

You have a huge collection to work with!  I guess you could begin by painting enough for small games.  I'm always interested in seeing 15mm Plains War stuff.

I have to seriously set about painting my dismounted Indians.

[FifteensAway]

Here are a few shots of my cavalry painted (not by me, by a friend) and, obviously, the bases are not yet textured because I haven't decided how I want to do it:

Mounted:


Dismounted with the standing horses:


And casualty figures including downed horses:


And as evidence of the "happy insanity", the planned towns 'populations':
Anachronism             34 groups (408) (64 dead)

Lodgepole Creek        13 groups (156) + 1 group (168 + 28 dead)

Alkali Wells                13 groups (156) + 1 group (168 + 28 dead)

Muleskinner Canyon    6 groups (72) + 1 group (84 + 14 dead)

Mescalarilla                 6 groups (72) + 1 group (84 + 14 dead)

Dork's Claims              2 groups (24) + 1 group (36 + 6 dead)

Bull's Butt                    2 groups (24) + 1 group (36 + 6 dead)

"Environs"                  22 groups (264) + 1 group (276 + 46 dead)

The environs are the farmers, ranchers, miners, stage stations, trading station, etc., that are out on their isolated own.   The "+1" groups were late additions after making some orders.  NEVER intended to have so many!  But now I've got them, might as well work on them.

My populations are more representative of the true west, not just the white folk, but the hispanics, the Indians, black folk and Chinese, too.  And, of course, Germans and Irish.  A true melting pot.  Not sure my Shaolin temple priests are 'true west' but I was a big fan of the Kung Fu TV show in my youth.  Groups are generally 12 + 2 dead. Sometimes I count a casting of two as two, like a mom with a child standing next to her, less precise with babes in arms.

105 groups = 1,260 + 210 dead (and those six prospector mules) (1,476 pieces including babes in arms)

Might remove the 'more modern' film crew and just leave the 'old fashioned' film crew as the 'roaming' group (film groups possible in the very late western period that stretched to about 1920 in some ways).

Over half of the above 'popultation' is primed and ready for painting - (and more since)

And one last photo, of a possible set up of Mescalarila - using Peter Pig buildings (still not painted):

I have buildings for all the towns, with some scratch builds in progress.

[OB]

What a project!  You went big. Very nice to see the pic's, thank you.  You have enough cavalry painted to play Yellow Ribbon or the "Rampant" variants.

I do want to get some Miners, Cattle and Bison next.  Very modest by comparison.

[CapnJim]

I'm a bit late to this party, but so far, so good!

Personally, I'm avoiding Cavalry vs. Indians, even though my 3rd-great-uncle chased Commanches around Texas and New Mexico in the early 1870s in the 4th Cavalry.  It would just another rabbit hole down which I would go...

[FifteensAway]

CapnJim, are you trying to say you're full up on 'rabbit holes'?! 

OB, for cattle, Peter Pig's longhorns come with separate heads so you can make minor adjustments in their head positions and - if you are willing to waste a body (that's how I came up with Bull's Butt) - you can also have heads to decorate fence gates, etc.  Skulls are available via 3D print - and, no, I have no idea of an STL but my local guy printed some for me.  Various other sources for cattle - one, whose name I don't recall, has bull, cow, calves in a multi-pack (I recall it was from a company with a nice range of Early Imperial Romans], everyone else as far as I know is one pose only: Minifigs, Irregular, Stone Mountain, and Peter Pig.

On the bison - or buffalo as we call them here in the states - you are spoiled for choice from multiple sources.  Not aware of any dead bison/buffalo in 15 mm but I bought some I will (did already?) cut from their bases - and about half of them I'll grind down the fur to be able paint them as skinned animals. QRF does sell a set of Indians hunting buffalo.  The different ranges come in varied sizes so if you mix them up you can get a nice varied herd.  I doubt you'll go as far as I did: 120 of the critters all painted and ready to go; and more for the dead and a few for single basing for hunts - those latter not yet painted.  [I need to model a buffalo jump, surprisingly shorter than you'd expect]

For miners, I'm using ACW engineers and artillerymen.  If you know of better in 15 mm, do let me know.

Back to Yellow Ribbon - do you think my three abreast basing for mounted and foot would work with the rules?  And thanks!

edit: went puttering around and found a couple more photos to inspire OB in his progress:

Pronghorn antelope, from Irregular Miniatures.


Alas, not all 120 of the painted buffalo in this shot but in the poorer lighted one below there is:



"Oh, give me a home,
where the buffalo roam,
where the deer
and
the antelope play..."

I guess I need to work on those plastic deer I bought to round out the lyrics. 
(Famous cowboy song in case you don't know it, Home On the Range)

Oh, what the heck, one more of my long horns this time - from a Raid on Panama game, 96 of them - also have 4 dead (combination of Peter Pig, Minifigs and some long OOP Frontier):

 
Now I'm done.  For now.

[OB]

Very nice indeed.  Great to see the Prong Horns and the Buffalo on mass.  The Peter Pig Long Horn cattle look just right.

Good idea on sourcing the Miners, that's what I'll do.

It occurs to me that if you used a base of 3 to represent a single figure in Yellow Ribbon you could do it.  The single figure after all can represent more than 1 man in the rules.  Worth a try maybe?

Your table looks very impressive too.

[FifteensAway]

Hmm, instead of 16 figures use 16 stands?  That would give a troop of 48 figures and my photo above of 4 companies becomes 1 troop.  Curious.  Must think upon this.  Does mean not being able to field a full regiment which would now be 192 stands!  Plus additional for highest command.  Hmm. 

My full setup with the 12 figure troops meant 12*12 = 144 figures + 6-9 figures for regimental command so 150-153 figures for a full regiment.  The second set of companies is intended for 3 separate battalions from 3 separate regiments with one battalion being from the 9th/10th (colored).  Of course, the full regiment will be the 7th - despite my preference for Rosebud over Little Big Horn.  Easy enough to designate as a different regiment for a game.  The 25th company was meant for a 'brigade' HQ for some hypothetical engagement.  Again, hmmm.

Can always go both ways I guess - just have to justify why every 4th stand is a command stand of some sort.  Yet again, hmmm.

[OB]

There is another way.  Just use casualty markers, bits of gravel as rocks or a D4 behind every base.  When you take a casualty remove a rock or turn the dice.  Or, keep a pen a paper tally and mark off as you loose figures.

Maybe try stuff out with a single company first and see what works.

[FifteensAway]

I need to pull out my copy of the rules and give them a review.

Meanwhile, I found the old range that had the bull, cow, calves: Corvus Belli - don't know if anyone has their figures anymore; the current company by that name has something entirely different.  But here is a photo I found:



If I needed/wanted more cattle, I'd hunt down as many of these packs as I could find.

Forged in Battle has these:


I find those cattle poses a bit odd.

[OB]

Plastic Soldier Company has Corvus Belli now.  I don't know if the cattle made the transition.

Yeah, something odd about the FiB cattle.  I'll go Peter Pig and Minifigs for my Long Horns I think.

[CapnJim]

Yes indeed full up on rabbit holes.  Coincidentally. Rabbit Hole also happens to be lovely bourbon...

[MaleGriffin]

Quite the collection! I'm glad to see 15mm has a good selection of figures and critters! In addition to the necessary US cavalry, indians, you have buildings  cows, longhorn cattle, buffalo, pigs and even Pronghorn antelope! Well done sir! A great collection!

[FifteensAway]

Going to have to find - or take - some photos of additional critters.  Have domestics well covered and almost all painted: quite a bit more cattle to include oxen and African cattle that mix well with the longhorn which will raise the full herd to 150 animals, also Hereford and Black Baldies (black cattle with white faces), and a couple of dairy herds, probably 300 or so total - and Brahmins in that overall total, and dead cows courtesy or Peter Pig.  Sheep, at least 100.  Goats, about 36 plus more for desert games.  Pigs, about 80 or so but painted as different breeds.  And even poultry, chickens, ducks, geese - and a few turkeys (HO pre-painted plastic).  I converted pigs and sheep to dead.  All of the foregoing is painted.  Still not painted are a bunch of dogs and a score or so of cats (unless pre-painted plastics).

Domestic and wild horses in plentitude - for the native pony herds, the cavalry remudas, some mustangs, and just normal horses - some without tack others with tack.  Must have over 1,000 horses in total including cavalry and various mounted 'civilians' - and plenty of dead horses, too.  Most of these need painting still.

On the wilder fringes I have deer and bears, coyotes and wolves, even found some mountain lions (best being HO pre-painted plastics), prairie dogs!!!, squirrels - yes, squirrels, skunks, raccoons (don't think I have possums but would love to - well, I think I have one as part of a 3D print - or maybe it is the armadillo I am thinking of), rabbits and bunnies, snakes - yes, 15 mm snakes from the 3D print world including rattlesnakes.  I have several 3D printed terrain bases with at least five them including an animal of some sort. Lots of varied birds from Peter Pig fantasy eagles to HO birds to Splintered Light flocks - and bats from the same source.  A few rats even.  And perhaps oddest of all are varied and sundry insects though these are mostly meant for my jungles but a few that can work in the Old West.  A portion of this is painted and a lot still to get done.  Many of the smaller animals came from the defunct Musket Miniatures - some of the ranges are still out there from others but I haven't seen the small animals.  If I ever sell those tiny critters it will be at an Extreme Premium! 

What can I say.  For me, I need all of this to decorate my table even if it has no other purpose in the game.  One of my passions, odd though it may be.  Lots of fun to have at hand when needed.