Tuesday 15 March 2016

From RayR - Curtgeld - Wild Bill Hickok (20 Points)


The plan was to start Curt's NYW collection off with the Duke of Monmouth as my Curtgeld, but at Cavalier last month I spied this great figure from Knuckleduster and as Curt collected Cowboys in a previous Challenge, I thought I'd add to the collection.
I was going to leave the figure unbased, but in a mad 5 minutes, he got added to the must base pile and before I knew it I was painting the base???
Wild Bill is only my 4th entry into the Challenge!




James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837 – August 2, 1876)—known as "Wild Bill" Hickok—was a folk character of the American Old West. Some of his exploits as reported at the time were fiction, but his skill as a gunfighter and gambler provided the basis for his fame, along with his reputation as a lawman.



Hickok was born and raised on a farm in rural Illinois. He went west at age 18 as a fugitive from justice, first working as a stagecoach driver, then as a lawman in the frontier territories of Kansas and Nebraska. He fought (and spied) for the Union Army during the American Civil War and gained publicity after the war as a scout, marksman, actor and professional gambler. Hickok was involved in several notable shootouts.


He was shot from behind and killed while playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota) by an unsuccessful gambler, Jack McCall. The card hand which he supposedly held at the time of his death (aces and eights) has come to be known as the "Dead Man's Hand".


Wonderful work Ray, I think he's just excellent and Wild Bill is an brilliant (if not completely iconic) example of both The Gambler and Risk Taker. I quite like the red sash against his dark suit and the basing you did for him is very apropos for the Wild West setting. Thank you very much. 
All this being said, I still want that Monmouth though. ;oP

15 comments:

  1. Will the Real Wild Bill please stand up?
    : )
    It stands to reason that he would feature heavily in the Challenge - I'm just amazed that there are so many figs of the man available! Great job on this one, Ray!

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  2. Nice piece of Curtgeld there Ray :)

    I was going to do a "Will the real Bill Hickock please stand up", but Evan got in there first ;)

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    1. He does that a lot. You should try doing trivia with him. :-)

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  3. Nice work Ray. Curt must be getting quite a collection of cowboys now.

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    1. IT'll be like a scene from "Being John Malkovich" in his display cabinet, but with Wild Bill Hickocks instead of JMs.

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  4. Nice work Ray. I like the sash and his hair. It's a great pose on the figure too.

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  5. Nice work, that sash will make him the talk of the saloon!

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  6. Very Nice Ray and such a pleasant change from the floppy hats and frilly shirts that are your stock in trade! Good to see some diversity from you.

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  7. Wild Bill again! Great rendition sir

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  8. Very fine work, Ray! I'm almost gobsmacked that you painted outside of the NYW! ;)

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