Barren winter trees, a half-face camp, and Rangers unhorsed
The trees cost me practically nothing to make. They are simply twigs fixed to tin can lids with milliput. The snow is sand painted white, and likewise small stones to represent Appalachian boulders.
The half-face camp is for an upcoming game featuring a clash between FIW Virginia Rangers and Native Americans. Again all from junk lying about. The "bark" lean-to is painted cardboard from a Corona six-pack case, twigs for the poles and sand for the earth and snow. The blankets are linen squares glued own and painted in the weaving patterns of various 18th c blankets. The small green bottle on the boulder is just a part of a plastic sprue shaped by a hobby knife, file, and pin drill.
This is intended to represent the temporary camp of a patrol or outer guard of rangers. These guarded the passes into the various settled valleys in what is today Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
I have several ACW cavalrymen from Historicon '13 (Warlord Games), kneeling with saddles that I had no use for... until I thought... you know, I should work in a variable on a dice roll against cavalry that the horse goes down leaving the rider to fight on foot. So I reworked the ACW cavalryman into an unhorsed ranger. I plan also to make an unhorsed Mexican lancer as well.
The standing figure was a "mountain man" complete with fur hat. Off went the hat and on with the Milliput M1828 cap. Unhorsed as well, he is armed only with a Bowie and single shot pistol to make his final stand. He might do well in a "tavern brawl" scenario as well... or the famous Natchez Sand Bar Fight involving Jim Bowie.
Here you can see the changes I made to the original Historicon '13 Warlord Games ACW figure. Milliput sculpted M1828 cap as well as the fringed cape and tails for the hunting shirt. I removed the Colt revolver and replaced with a horse pistol.
