The Plains Indian Wars Have Begun!

[dominic]

Yee Haw!

[Malamute]

Excellent stuff.  One of my favourite collections of figures are the Copplestone/Foundry Cavalry and Indians. Looking forward to seeing the Indians

[Pappa Midnight]

Lovely Work! :love:

I especially like the scout.
Ditto Malamute about the Indians!

[Lowtardog]

I picked these up a couple of years ago including all the Indians then I have slowly been making buys of more Indians over the years from e-bay one day I will paint them. Yours are absolutely fantastic :love:

[dominic]

Thanks guys!

I don't have any immediate plans to paint Indians.  

These guys are going to recapture the town from them Indians here:



Anyone watch "Son of the Morning Star"?  It's a really great TV Mini Series on Custer and Crazy Horse.  Ever since I watched the series back in the 1990s, I've always wanted to do up the 7th Cavalry!

[matakishi]

My favourite army ever

Here is my 7th Cavalry, now sold 12 Companies plus scouts and supplies.
This picture doesn't show the supply wagon, limbered and unlimbered Gatling gun and 6pdr cannon or all the dismounted figures and horseholders etc. They took up exactly the same base area as the mounted ones but you'll just have to imagine them...



All the figures ar Britannia 28mm.

[Wallyocerous]

   

Sweet Bjesus!!!  Did you paint all those 'Kishi?!??!

I'm trying to work out how long it would have taken me to paint all those...it's depressing!   :cry:

You must be part German!   :wink:

[Bravo Six]

Paul has a motto: "Go Hard or Go Home".  :wink:

-Todd

[dominic]

@Matakishi - Wow!  That's really impressive!
That's my long term goal.  Right now, I just hope to finish the Foundry Cavalry Horde that I bought!

What rules did you use?

[matakishi]

They're based for Principles of War which are my preferred Colonial rules set. They work very well for conflicts of this type.

I sold them to a friend because I didn't want to paint the Indians. I'd painted the Indians once (106 mounted 50+ on foot with camp, women, children etc) but they had been lost previously in a rent dispute with an old landlord

This lot took about a year to paint but I was slower then  ::

Here are the only othe photos I have, please remember I painted these in 1997...

Custer and Major Reno



Cannon and limber



Gatling gun and limber



The guns deployed



If you pushed all the bases together in a column of twos the cavalry column was over 11 ft long  ::

Anyway, I've hijacked this thread enough, I'll let you get back to the well painted figures we started with...

[Lowtardog]

They are lovely Matakishi, very inspirational and the painting is good. That is my aim one day...err....when I finsh the 500 plus south american iniands anyway

[dominic]

@Matakishi - very nice!
Do you have an order of battle for 7th Cavalry?

[matakishi]

I have the exact numbers for the Batlte of the Little Bighorn somewhere.

Essentially there are 12 Companies arranged into three squadrons of four. Custer split this up unevenly into the groups shown in the first picture, he took 5 companies and left Reno and Benteen with three each. Company B guarded the supply train.

There were about 50-60 men in each company at the Little Bighorn, some had only 40 or so. each Company had identical coloured horses (like Napoleon did).

Reports differ as to what colours were where but everyone agrees that E Coy had the greys (white) horses, even the Indians commented on them.

The cavalry dismounted and fought on foot, they are really mounted infantry, three men formed a fire group and the 4th took the horses to the rear. Often the Indians would try to attack the horse holders because a cavalryman without his horse couldn't escape.

Custer also took the regimental band with him on campaign, they would play 'Garry Owen' to signal dawn attacks. I was going to convert some figures into a band but never got round to it.

Incidently, and this is not a comment on your excellent painting, but only officers and ncos had the yellow stripe on their legs, enlisted men didn't. Then again, they didn't have yellow neckerchiefs and all of mine do.
You have to have some concession to Hollywood.  ::

If you need more detail let me know and I'll try to find my list. The Osprey Little Bighorn book is one of the best on the subject and is well worth getting. Sadly Son of the Morning Star is not available on dvd, it's a very accurate portrayal of the equipment and tactics used by the cavalry.

[Plynkes]

"Son of the Morning Star" was great, wasn't it? My favourite film/TV thing on Custer.

I have the old VHS boxed set of it. Be nice to have it on DVD. Be nice if they'd release it.

[matakishi]

Yes, it's the only video I own now, I'm considering having it transferred to dvd just to make it easier to watch. (I don't have a video player).