Oyster Bay - Old West Project Set in the Pacific Northwest

[The Hooded Claw]

Hey folks,

I'm back at trying to get some Old West gaming going again but this time I've decided to shape the project after something near and dear to my heart. As a native of the Pacific Northwest, having moved to the Midwest, I find myself missing my homeland a lot and figured a great way to celebrate my love fo mountains, water, and woods would be to build my gaming town a bit different than what we usually see.

As such, I have decided to build the sea-side town of Oyster Bay, based loosely on the the real world Oysterville, established 1854 in Wallapa Bay, on the Pacific Coast of what would become Washington State. It will have a smattering of other coastal towns worked in there with an emphasis on aquaculture and logging as opposed to mining or cattle like many Western towns.

The board will be built with a sloping terrain working from a an overlook down to the waterfront/downtown area with a shore and dock. Buildings will be a mix of traditional Old West style buildings with some others more traditionally seen in coastal communities. A fair number of the building kits I have may have their roofs replaced with pitched roofs which are better for rainy environments, though pictures of period coastal towns still show a good number of flat or shallow roofs.

I'm a slow builder and even slower painter, so posts to this project thread may be few and far between but let me start with a share of a couple of converted buffalo hunters i did a while ago and recently painted. I'd not the best minaiture painter and the wash was too dark on these, but poorly painted minis are still better than no minis.

[Inkpaduta]

Sounds like a great way to remember your roots and good luck with the project!

[The Hooded Claw]

Thank you!

[v_lazy_dragon]

Really good idea!
Looking forward to seeing how it develops

[FifteensAway]

Well, you've certainly got my attention.  Native of Spokane, but moved away at a tender age.  But long time resident of California so know that a great deal of the "Old West" relates to the gold and silver rushes in California and Nevada - and other places, like the Black Hills of Custer fame.  Afraid you are likely going to have to do a lot of compromising on figures but that is sometimes 'the name of the game'.  I know 15 mm, not so much 28 mm.  But pretty sure you are limited to Apache and Sioux but you can probably find some workable figures that are 'close enough'.  Do search through French and Indian War native folk ranges - including Old Glory 25s and Blue Moon to see what they might have - if you haven't already.

Love the idea of going with something other than 'flat lander' terrain.  I'm hoping to move in that direction as well but more inland from the sea.   An awful lot of vertical terrain through the western portions of America.

You did not mention the timeframe for your town build so, when do you plan to set your gaming world?  Can be a range of time, of course.

[The Hooded Claw]

"You did not mention the timeframe for your town build so, when do you plan to set your gaming world?  Can be a range of time, of course."

I am thinking around the1860s. the real town of Oysterville was founded in 1854 and you figure it would take some time for a township to build up, so I am leaning toward post-Civil War which will give me plenty time to have had the town develop.

As for compromising on figures, I'm not so sure that'll be a problem. The garb of the time and the tools used are pretty consistent coast to coast. the biggest detail will be adding in the dock folk that would come with a seaside economy - sailors, fishermen, dock workers.

The native part of the equasion may be a matter of just using what works with a bit of a squint.

[The Hooded Claw]

Oyster Bay has a sizeable population of Chinese workers. Sometimes relations between them and their neighbors can get a bit strained, so they have learned to protect themselves.

[FifteensAway]

In 15 mm, I am basing most of my Chinese figures on Bluemoon Boxer rebellion figures - though a few Chinese in their Old West civilian pack.  I do have some Shaolin in robes from Peter Pig Vietnam set.  Kwai-Chang Caine is a little more of a challenge.  My Chinese are mostly unarmed civilians.  Even after working hard on downsizing, I still have an obscene number of civilian figures in the 'to paint' boxes.  But I will almost certainly not paint all of them!  Do I really need five different train crews?  But I'm betting, in the end, I will paint a large chunk - to have different figures for different scenarios.  Like those Chinese, or the Mexicans, or the town or nearby based Indians, or the upscale folk versus the working folk, or the red light gambling and shady business districts, or the ranchers, farmers, and sheepherders, and not to forget the miners and protectors.  Have figures for all of that (some adapted for use, of course).

[anevilgiraffe]

there was a thread that I used to badger Centaur about for his PNW terrain... some great forest

https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=46004

[The Hooded Claw]

In 15 mm...

But at least it's only 15mm

[Will Bailie]

Fantastic concept, I will be following your posts with interest! 

I am just back from a summer road trip that included a trip along BC's inside passage from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy, with views of current and abandoned communities along the route, so the 'PNW seaside community' vibe is strong in me right now.

Once you have Oyster Bay organised for nineteenth century hijinks, it won't take much modification to use it as a base for prohibition-era rumrunning, so in addition to wild west games, you can also have some gangster shootouts as well!