Christmas in the West

 As 2020 draws to a close (and good riddance to it), I thought I'd take a break from my normal gaming fare and have  bit of fun. I've had enormous fun with my pirate project and in conjunction with my various 'knightly' projects it's almost like revisiting my youth. The only genre missing is 'cowboys', so I thought I'd give that a go.

We've been playing quite a bit of 'Fistful of Lead' recently; for which you only need 5 miniatures. So, being a typical gamer, I bought 5 blisters! That's 2 Artizan, 1 Dead Man's Hand and 2 Knuckleduster.

Artizan Mexicans

Artizan Pinkertons

I started with the Artizan figures. These are the cheapest, by far, but are a bit 'cartoony' for my taste. That said, they do have a nice range of subjects. They also paint up well and I do have a soft spot for the Pinkertons.

Next I moved onto the Dead Man's Hand figures; I like these a lot and only wish that I was a better painter.

Dead Man's Hand Outlaws

Lastly, I painted up the Knuckleduster figures; these are from the Gunfighter's Ball range and are real beauties. My usual technique, of base coat, wash and highlight, doesn't do them justice but I'm quite pleased with the result. Being a big fan of Serge Leone's 'Dollar trilogy', I just had to have the two 'Linguine' sets. 

Knuckleduster's Linguine faction

Knuckleduster's Linguine Henchmen (note the fellow in blue, at the back, is a Dead Man's Hand figure - photo bombing apparently!)

One of the impressive things about the Knuckleduster figures is that I was able to identify all the characters (except the guy with the dynamite but I'm sure I'll spot him if I re-watch the film.)

I used this as a colour guide to retain that Spaghetti western feel.

Harmonica and Frank - Once Upon a Time in the West

Indio and Colonel Mortimer - For a Few Dollars More

Tuco and Blondie - The Good the Bad and the Ugly

For a Few Dollars More

For a Few Dollars More

For a Few Dollars More

For a Few Dollars More

For a Few Dollars More

All in all, I'm very pleased with these and they only took a few evenings to paint. Next up is some scratch built terrain but I'm looking forward to getting some games in over the Xmas period.