From RobP: 6 28 mm old West Figures and General Store (50 pts?)

 A real switch-a-roo for me- I've never painted old West figures before. As my first step into this genre I have painted up 6 from Brigade Games.

Each one of these figures I picked and painted is inspired by characters from songs; some are traditional, some modern. 

The first one I painted was Henry Waits Alone:

Old horse thief moon

shine down upon us

from Medicine Hat

to Writing-on-Stone

shine deep in the canyons

shine deep in the coulees

shine down on Henry Waits All Alone

- Horse Thief Moon, Ian Tyson

Henry is a fictional character, possibly based on or inspired by someone Mr. Tyson knew. On his album Live at Longview he sings the last line of that verse as "Henry, he waits all alone". It is unclear if the intention is to represent Henry as First Nations but that is how I chose to paint him. Stands Alone is not an uncommon surname amongst some First Nations on the prairies.

Next up I painted Lil Joe The Wrangler:

Little Joe the wrangler

will wrangle ne'ermore

his days with the roundup they are o'er

was a year ago last April when he rode into our camp

a little Texas stray and nothing more

-Little Joe The Wrangler,  N. Howard Thorpe (traditional)

This was my favourite to paint of the 6. I picked this figure for Little Joe as he was the youngest looking of the 9 I have. In the song Joe is clearly much younger than this figure as he gives his reason for leaving home as 'his new ma whooped him every day or two' (probably about 11-13 years old or so).

The next figure in the queue is un-named- simply referred to as "the stranger" in the traditional cowboy song, The Zebra Dun:

we were camped out on the prairie

at a bend on the Cimmarron

when along comed a stranger

he stopped to argue some

he looked so very foolish

setting there alone

we thought he was a greenhorn

escaped from some town

- Zebra Dun, traditional

This mini was the most 'urban' looking of the old west figures I have so he got painted up as The Stranger on account of the fancy cut of his jacket, his nicely trimmed moustache and military style riding boots ( my reasoning for why he was  mistaken for a 'greenhorn, escaped from some town'). 

Yavapai Pete is a fictional character from a poem by Curley Fletcher (great name!). There are actually two versions of the song; one paints Pete as a hard as nails cowboy and the other as a criminal. I chose the former.

Yavapai Pete was a cowpuncher neat

from Arizona's fair clime

he lived in the saddle and punched most the cattle

from here to the Mexican line

his ridin' was sassy, his ropin' was classy

he liked to mix mingle with maul

not much of a thinker, was more of drinker

could hold up his end of a brawl

-  Yavapai Pete, Curley Fletcher

With the bushy beard and large floppy hat I though he looked the wildest of the figures I have.  Although it doesn't really come across in the photo, he has a bit of a fierce, intense countenance without looking nuts.

Another cowboy classic is Windy Bill:

Windy Bill was a Texas man 

an' he could rope you bet!

a steer that Windy hadn't tied 

he had not met him yet

but the boys they talked of a little black steer 

who was a kind of a bad outlaw

he lived down in the malpais

at the foot of a rocky draw

-Windy Bill, traditional

Windy comes across as a bit of a classy dude; when he fails to bring the steer in he "pays his debts like a little old man, without no bit of jaw". My preference would be for him to be wearing chaps and I considered sculpting some but they would have covered up his lovely boots and time was also a consideration.

The final figure is inspired by a song about a true cowboy, Bob Fudge (another great name!):

My name is Bob Fudge

I was born in Texas

Lampasas County

back during the war

small pox and Comanches

took most of my family

left my poor brothers

my mother and me

-Bob Fudge, Ian Tyson

I chose this figure to represent Bob Fudge largely because he seemed the least aggressive or confrontational. Mr. Tyson's biographical song does not suggest Mr. Fudge was anything more than a cowboy who loved the lifestyle: riding the ranges of Montana and ranching.

The back drop for these figures is the Perry Miniatures North American Store. I love weathered/faded wood and the scorching heat of the southwestern states would pummel any paint job pretty hard.

Nice simple little kit although I did have a bit of a problem with getting the roof to fit neatly in the intended position with the walls.

Basing is a combo of Gamers Grass 12mm Beige tufts, with some Woodland Scenics static grass. Shrubs are a combo of Gamers Grass dark Green shrubs and home made. 6 inch ruler for scale.

Ian Tyson's album Live at Longview is an excellent recording; it's the kind that audiophiles seem to dig as the recording quality is excellent, it really captures the small intimate live setting of the Longview. Additionally, anyone interested in the genre should really look up the paintings of Charles Marion Russell. Born in 1864 he cowboyed and ranched from the 1880's through the turn of the century, recording much of what he saw around him. 

I tallied 50 points for this entry: 

6 x 28mm figures

1 x building (not sure if it is worth the full 20 points as it is only 6x4x3)