I'm really pleased to get this post completed, after a challenge from Curt to get some of this Mexican cavalry completed - I had forgotten what a joy these Boot Hill Miniatures figures were to paint.
 |
| Completed Troop of Mexican Active Militia Cavalry |
 |
And the same troop - Dismounted
|
 |
| And sitting in their boxes at the start of last week! |
The challenge was to complete 6 mounted figures but as luck would have it I also had the corresponding dismounted figures for these guys in my metal pile, so I have done both to complete this challenge.
 |
| A Mounted and dismounted version of one of the troopers |
In the home brew rule set that I use for fighting these games these six figures will represent a troop of cavalry, with an officer and bugler incorporated in the group.
 |
| Another Mounted and Dismounted pair |
If anyone knows much about the Texas War of Independence and the whole Alamo saga then they will be familiar with the classic Mexican Regular Cavalry Uniforms - red with green trim. I already have a couple of troops of these guys so I decided to paint these up as the less well known Active Militia Cavalry, which were distinguished from the Regulars by having reverse coloured uniforms - hence green jackets with red trim.
 |
Third Trooper in the group
|
So at the risk of repeating myself for the umpteenth time I used a white undercoat on the figures and then blocked in the main colours, I kept the mounted figures separate form the horses until nearly completed so that they were easier to paint.
 |
| Final Trooper pairing |
I particularly like the trousers on these guys, grey overalls but lined with leather for hard wear when riding, when shaded they look particularly nice on these figures. The Boot Hill Miniatures figures have such well moulded detail that they were very easy to paint and add complete, I used a flesh wash on the skin areas and Citadel 'Nuln Oil' on the grey helmet crests to give a dark finish.
Hard to see on the photos but the red trouser stripes were done with a red Sharpie pen with an appropriately fine nib, they use an oil based 'ink' and so do not run when applying acrylic varnish over the top.
 |
Mounted and Dismounted Bugler
|
The rest of the figure was washed with a watered down Army Painter Dark Tone before applying a matt varnish. The bases were given a chocolate brown emulsion / PVA glue mix covering to allow fine sand to adhere to. I then used a variety of dried grass tufts to add sparse vegetation to give a classic 'Hollywood' Texas feel.
 |
| Finally the Officer pair of figures |
