Unlike my previous two "Forgotten Armies" (three if you include my pirates I posted about many moons ago) this 'army' has seen action on the wargames table many times.
It might seem strange that the first pic is of a facade of a "Hollywood" fort, but this is an integral part of the game "Pony Wars".
The game starts with a force of US cavalry emerging from the fort in true Hollywood fashion, in column of twos. To rescue homesteaders, fight off injuns, fight rustlers to aid law and order and many other things. Events are by card draw, that bring reinforcements, some unwelcome predicaments (Clam Bake!) and of course Indians, the latter being dice/situation controlled as the players all play the US Forces (not all Cavalry).
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| Opening gates ! |
In addition to the fort, there are homesteads needed, an Indian village and other terrain features in addition to the figures used.
I 've used my 15mm ACW collection of buildings as stand-ins for the game and initially used waggons, artillery and a host of other stand-ins for other things.
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| The cavalry |
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| Close up |
The cavalry are straight form "Hollywood" and bear little resemblance to the real thing !
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| The opposition - the Injuns ! |
The game suggests a force of 600 (!) mounted Injuns (compared to about 150 cavalry) but I never managed that figure, but I can field somewhere over about 350 - not too shabby imho.
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| Close up - looking a bit worse for wear |
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| Stored in three different rooms, and five 'boxes; hasn't helped. |
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| More Imjuns - including some on foot! |
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| Villagers to be slaughtered |
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| Some of the extras needed, cattle, buffalo, a stagecoach and an Indian Village |
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| All can feature in the game! |
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| Six horse stage coach and tipis scratch built from paper clips and clay |
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| Townsfolk, Ranchers, Rustlers, Buffalo Hunters - a cast of thousands (ok hundreds) |
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| One of a half a dozen waggons for the game |
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| Some of the civilians that will need rescuing |
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| One of the homesteads |
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| More US forces that are needed, infantry artillery, scouts etc. it just goes on and on |
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| The gatling detachment |
It's been some years (at least) since this 'army' saw the light of day, but I can recall that it was used on several occasions and was a truly fun game, that could be played solo. There were many laughs to be had alone the way too as the The cattle Drive would intercept the route of the stage or the Buffalo whilst the Lone Ranger (and his mate Tonto) tried to stop the Indians.
It's a game that's not seen around shows these days (hardly surprising considering the amount of preparation that's required) , but a very enjoyable romp that I have many happy memories of !
The 15mm figures etc. came from many sources, Irregular, Minifig (iirc), Skytrek and probably others.
That's it then for this week, another that has seen me do absolutely nothing in regards to the hobby (save for doing this blog), but on a good note, I think I have finally caught up with my reading of others' blogs.
What a wonderful collection Joe,the game which if I recall rightly you didn't give us the name of sounds like a reel good one though it would require a lot more work then I would ever commit to, so I take my hat off to you for such a great effort :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Frank, the rules were simply called "Pony Wars", from "Table top Games" now long out of print,being printed sometime in the early 1980's.
DeleteHere's the Boardgamegeek https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9393/pony-wars-miniature-ruleslink:
I don'tknow why but I've also got some figures for the game in 6mm !
The whole project (like most of my projects) took about a year to come to fruition iirc.
That is such an incredible collection Joe.
ReplyDeleteThanks you Michael and there is a lot that isn't given a mention, nor highlighted in any photograph - such as the two fires with accompanying idians, to represent smoke signals in the game !
DeleteThat’s really impressive mate
ReplyDeleteThanks dGG, impressive maybe, but sadly gathering dust !
DeleteNice! The scratchbuilt teepees are great, Zab. You can see the individual skins used to make the cover.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jay. that was one of the reasons I did them in clay, my 28mm ones were made the same way(now in someone else's hands though).
DeleteFantastic collection sir!!
ReplyDeleteThanks you Michal, I think it's quite a niche collection.
Deletesplendid. Utterly splendid
ReplyDeleteThanks you Clint, they'd look a lot more splendid on a wargames table imo.
DeleteThat's a bloody lot of fine western wonder!
ReplyDeleteThanks AL and you probably appreciate that they're all15mms too!
DeleteWhat a great looking collection and your fort is excellent too!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks Iain, I think the fort was knocked up in a couple of hours (from BBQ skewers and coffee stirrers iirc).
DeleteAn excellent collection Joe! I've always wanted this period myself!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ray, with your prolific painting skills, you should go for it (or maybe tell Poastie he's got to).
DeleteA interessting game and a very nice collection of figures Joe.In my early days I bought some western-figures from Atlantic (plastic 1:72) and they are still stored but with these pictures I got some inspiration to start using them on the gaming table.Thankyou Joe.Please keep posting
ReplyDeleteThans Ptr; Imy early days of western gaming was with both Airfix figures and later I used 54mm Timpo figures (which I still own). Atlantic figures were mostly beyond my means though Iirc correctly I did buy two sets.
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