Help requested: What's next for Hinterland?

[Blackwolf]

Jason,

 I would like to see;

  Trench raiders (broomhandles,sabres et cetera. A sculpt of a gunfighter Louiser ie two broomhandles would be fantastic.
  A sniper team,rifle  'scope  and a spotter.

  Of course the naked/bathing and so forth would be jolly nice as well,naked women with a pelisse over the shoulder ,ahem,really does it for me...............

[Conrad Hawkwood]

Jason,

 I would like to see;

  Trench raiders (broomhandles,sabres et cetera. A sculpt of a gunfighter Louiser ie two broomhandles would be fantastic.
  A sniper team,rifle  'scope  and a spotter.

  Of course the naked/bathing and so forth would be jolly nice as well,naked women with a pelisse over the shoulder ,ahem,really does it for me...............

were cavalry carbines much use for sniping? or are we going outside the Huzzar thing?

[Calimero]

... maybe but so far the "regular troop" figures already available have Mauser rifle

[Conquistador]

agreed though a horse holder and the dismounts' horses might be more immediate use..

Actually, I quite agree.

Gracias,

Glenn

[Conrad Hawkwood]

... maybe but so far the "regular troop" figures already available have Mauser rifle

they looked a bit short to me..

[rob_alderman]

Mounted wimmin!

Sitting side on, of course. 

[Conquistador]

they looked a bit short to me..

Probably the Genteel Ladies' version.

Gracias,

Glenn

[Froggy the Great]

Having looked through my bits box and had ideas, I must emphatically request some mounted figures, sitting sidesaddle, and able to be purchased without their horses.  I want to use these as VSF Martians, riding sidesaddle on various other non-horse creatures.

[Westfalia Chris]

Having looked through my bits box and had ideas, I must emphatically request some mounted figures, sitting sidesaddle, and able to be purchased without their horses.  I want to use these as VSF Martians, riding sidesaddle on various other non-horse creatures.

Ohhh! I think they would look great on six-legged Martian panthers (or tigers, depending which species is native to the red planet). Not so sure about lizards, but in any case, I'd love to see your take on it.

[Geudens]

I have just received my command pack today.  Great!

As for this thread, I really would like to see the "fighting power" of this wip female army augmented before a number of "specials" (same investment as rank & file, but slower on return) see the light.  So I'm with the cavalry or (motor)bikes, Jaegers etc.  These would sell in multiples and provide you with more cash faster.

Rudi

[Chairface]

Probably the Genteel Ladies' version.

Gracias,

Glenn

That is a great idea! I rarely mount figs on the mounts they come with for VSF.

[mpennock]

I was considering introducing special rules for such a unit. Enemies may not fire upon the ladies unless they are either automatons, aliens or heathen swine. Civilized troops must engage them in hand to hand combat at penalty in order to disarm and subdue them in a non-disgraceful manner.

Engage in hand to hand combat with ladies? Without a proper introduction? Hardly the behavior of civilized troops. 

[Mancha]

I’ve been reading these posts pretty carefully, making notes when something appeals to me, and thinking about alternatives and plans.  I initially thought the idea of separate riders was pretty brilliant.  However, and not to be unsympathetic to customer desires, I just don't think I can do riders that are separate (and separately available) from their mounts.  I'm looking into this idea, but I envision all sorts of problems with it.  First, there are cost problems.  I suspect that two-part sculpting commissions are more expensive.  Similarly, I think that two-part castings are more expensive.  And I know for a fact that making horses and riders available for separate purchase will be more expensive.  While I don't need to make money on Hinterland, I would very much prefer not to lose money on it. 

Second, there are problems of where to separate the casts.  The fact that these ladies are riding sidesaddles will introduce previously unknown compatibility problems.  In particular, what, exactly, would be the two parts:  (A) horse with sidesaddle, and separate rider; (B) horse, and separate rider with sidesaddle; or (C) horse with sidesaddle and rider's legs, and separate upper torso?  For variability, I was considering going with option C.  However, option C clearly wouldn't achieve the object of mounting the riders on other mounts.  Option A would require that the person wishing to mount the riders on different mounts sculpt a sidesaddle for these mounts (while perhaps removing an existing saddle).  Similarly, option B would require that alternative mounts not already have saddles, or that these saddles be easily removable. 

Here’s the important thing to consider: Options A and B, while attractive to the modeler who is comfortable with knife and putty, wouldn't have much appeal to the average gamer, who simply wishes to buy a mini, slap it on a base, and paint it.  Sadly, while I am attracted to the idea of allowing converters to mount my Hinterland minis on any mount, I have to consider financial realities and the average buyer.  I hate to appear mercenary and cavalier, but please think about this: If it were your money, and you hoped to at least break even, which type of cavalry do you think would have the greatest likelihood of earning sales?

[Dewbakuk]

Do the rider as one piece with the saddle, and the horse as a seperate piece. As an example of castings done that way:






While I'd prefer to be able to buy the riders seperate, I appreciate the costs from sculpting etc may make that unfeasible. I already have a rather large pile of horses from various manufacturers that have had their riders realocated to VSF uses, what's a few more?

[Ray Rivers]

Options A and B, while attractive to the modeler who is comfortable with knife and putty, wouldn't have much appeal to the average gamer, who simply wishes to buy a mini, slap it on a base, and paint it.

I disagree.

Option A - horse with sidesaddle, and separate rider is pretty much the industry standard for cavalry.  Almost every manufacturer casts the saddle on the horse and has the rider separate.  It is the mini of choice of the average gamer.

A couple points.

The hussars, like the photos of the Princess, should have a saddle cloth.  Like all good hussars, the saddle cloth should be large and pointed at the end.  Having a saddle cloth, as is the historic norm, means essentially, the saddle and saddle cloth will need to be sculpted onto the horse.  THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, if you want them to look like real hussars.

The saddle itself is actually very small, and given that the hussars will be wearing their skirts, you won't see any of the left side of the saddle (including the two pommels) and very little, if any, of the right.  The right side of the saddle (the side that will be seen) is almost non-existent.  So for folks wishing to mount their hussars on "other than horses", the amount of modding, is so very small that even someone like me, all thumbs, could easily make it from green stuff.

Here is a picture of the Princess from the right side... you don't even see any part of the saddle!



And here she is from the left side... again, no part of the saddle is visible and you can only just barely make out the left foot.



Here is a standard saddle:


Compare that to a standard sidesaddle (there is almost nothing to it if you exclude the pommels).


Here is a link on how sidesaddles are made:
http://www.damensattel.org/6Sattel/Teile/TeileDS-E.html

In sum, go with the industrial standard... Horse with saddle and separate rider, that is what the average gamer expects.  The saddle parts needed to be sculpted are minimal (the side flaps), but the real importance here is having a cool hussar saddle cloth.