American Southwest, Circa 1876, Sioux Warriors vs US 7th Cavalry

[Steve Ski]

In keeping with my latest trend in this Sport of “sniffing paint and gluing my fingers together,” I’m headed into another area that is completely out of my norm, painting Big Dogs, aka, horses. My last venture took me into the realm of aircraft kits where I learned a lot, all while still having fun. So, I see no reason not to expect the same here. Preliminary research has indicated that this is not rocket science, and with a little practice, i.e., crash and burn, scrub and redo, I should be fine, right? HA!

I’ve had these kits on the shelf for a very long time, over 15yrs, some of them close to 20yrs. So, when your better half tells you it’s time to get it done, ya tend to listen with a more attentive ear. This is the perfect opportunity to not only learn how to paint horses, but also darker flesh tones, all of which I will approach as I always do, carefully. I will post any sites used for research that may be of help to others, mainly how to paint these Big Dogs and make them look more than halfway decent. I’ve scoured YT for decent tutorials for painting horses in oils and have found that most of them tend to be more towards the less realistic side of painting. Some of the major models sellers have decent tutorials, but they weren’t in the direction I was looking to venture. My search is proving frustrating, so if you find any links, please let me know, I’m all ears and I’d greatly appreciate it.

During my search I have dug into countless photos of finished work just to get an idea of what the artist has done to arrive at the effect portrayed. This is the difficult way to go about this research, but since I don’t have a boat load of magazines from an almost gone-by era to draw from, I have to interpret what I’m looking at and go from there. Well, if it wasn’t a challenge, this would be boring, right? We Ruck On!

On a side note, I’ve seen quite a few vids where some gals have used chalks, or pastels, to create a dapple effect, and the results are stunning. I just might be adding that to my quiver, pun intended, because the end result is, IMHO, very realistic. One link I found useful, but still searching for more; https://www.youtube.com/@juliamoshura129/videos I have mentioned Julia’s work before, she’s got an incredible talent. I’ve also grabbed photo references to numerous Mustangs Paints, US Cavalry horses in general, and a lot of reference pics for Sioux Indian dress and typical horse outfitting for that era. And lastly, I’ll be taking numerous photos of the Big Dogs we’ve got out in paddock. Nash and Story will be my main focus, Story being a pup, but has an incredible color to her; she’s a paint. More on them later.

So what’s in the line-up?
Andrea Miniatures: The Golden West, 54mm;
Shot Down, 1876 - S4S07
Sioux Chief - S4-F01
Sioux Warrior Loading Carbine - S4-F02
Sioux Warrior Shooting Arrow - S4-F03
Sioux Warrior Shooting Carbine – S4-F04
Sioux Warrior Falling Down -S4-F05
https://www.andrea-world.com/en/1/a...logue/104/the-golden-west.html?p=5&tamanio=12

We’ve got six Big Dogs to work with, so I recon we should get some halfway decent results before this is all said and done. But yall know me, if it ain’t up to speed, it gets and Oven Cleaner bath, and we start over, till it’s right. So, this won’t be going at any neck breaking speed, but more like slow and low, no rush, just learn and have fun while I’m at it.

I’m impressed with the figures in these kits, and every one of them has a Quality Control tag included inside each box. Not having worked with white metal before, it’s been a messy experience in one sense, but not so bad in dealing with fitting. I figured since I was going to paint one horse, get em all ready, run a production line, keep the process flowing, and adjust my techniques as needed.

More to follow soon and thanks for watchin. Cheers, Ski.

 

[moon puppy]

This should be fun to follow along.

 

[Steve Ski]

I sure hope so, by golly!

I heard an old Tech Sgt say once, while on the line at Happy Holloman AFB; "When ya find yourself hindquarters and elbows in alligators, ya begin to wonder why ya came to drain the swamp!" At 20yrs old, I had no clue, now I do,........................

 

[centaur567]

This should be great. Gary S.

 

[Rhino]

Not many model The People. A very interesting choice!

 

[Steve Ski]

This should be great. Gary S.

Well, let's hope so, lol. I've had my reservations about these kits for years thinking I'll get to em someday, but now they are at the head of the cue. Thanks for watchin, Gary!

Not many model The People. A very interesting choice!

I agree, but on PF some of the guys have been adding some great links to incredible work, so I'll be in class learning as much as I can before the brushes get wet. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Steve Ski]

Just when ya think you're getting caught up on outside work, everything is moving along smoothly, and ya begin to see light at the end of the tunnel, only to find out it's a bloomin train coming the other direction, YIKES!

Ya, we had lighting strikes Friday PM, the 29th, that struck two mountain tops adjacent to each other roughly10-12 miles north of the Ranchito. Of course, they had to be pals and create a huge forest fire that has been threatening quite a few areas in the mountains, not to mention the choking smoke that lingers like a you know what. Pins and needles for the past week, naturally, but we prepare for these kinds of things knowing that someday it will eventually come close, if not in our laps. It's the price we pay for living in the timberline and the peace and quiet we enjoy. Nothing is for free, they say, but we try to minimize the possible dangers that are notorious in our area, and all of which have seemingly increased over these past 10yrs or so. The lack of a normal rainy season this year sure didn't help either.

Now that the temps have dropped and some kind of precip is here for the next two weeks, so we believe things will settle down and some of the folks in the heavily affected areas will be back home soon. So, I can slowly get back up to speed and finish that pergola, the paint/stain is highly flammable, and eventually get to the firewood, the last item to be had before the snow fly. We'll see how this goes.

Good news is, I've got a breather, so now for a short update.

What References to Use?

With so many photos to choose from to work into this scenario the question becomes, what’s my preference, and what do I want to tackle/learn as far as patterns are concerned. Maps of Sioux territories in the 1870’s are ambiguous, no map being alike, but the general area ranges from southern Nebraska up into North Dakota, east into Minnesota, and west into Montana. Still, too large an area to be specific for the button and rivet counters. HA! So, we can, as they say, “free range it.”

Below are some photos of Nash, our 24yr old Mustang, which will suffice for our Calvary Solider. Yes, I do understand that US Calvary Officers did not like the Mustang, but Nash is a stubborn Big Dog and served his country well. Therefore, he will be honored in this dio. Story Brook is my daughter’s 1yr old who will represent one of our Sioux Big Dogs. Story is just over a year old and already as tall as Dancer who is a quarter horse Arabian mix not pictured here. Story is ¾ draft, so she’s gonna be a biggin, and she’s got an awesome disposition. The other two fillies are general ref pics for paints, and of course an awesome example of a wild looking paint from my general inet research. Last in the line-up is the huge stud, Story’s daddy who just has that cool look to him. He’s all girth and has an awesome appearance, like he’s saying, “Dude, let’s ride!”

Another Big Dog I’d like to throw into the mix is an Appaloosa. We did have an Appy a few years ago, completely black but for one small white spot on her chest, and she too was an awesome horse. Basic research indicates that Appaloosa were found as far west as eastern Washington, down through Oregon, and east through Montana, Wyoming, and into the Dakotas heading downward towards Colorado, etc. Basically, the western plain states where the Nez Perce tribe is credited with propagating this particular breed. So, my choice of which Big Dog to paint may take some careful study to understand the different painting techniques, but I’m game.

Nez Perce Chief on his Appaloosa, circa 1880’s, not exactly sure, but a great historical example.

Wild Appaloosa herd. The range of painting possibilities is unlimited as the variations a numerous.

Wild Mustangs herds, and IMHO, these big Dogs just look cool.

So, as soon as I’m able I will get this venture going. Thanks for watchin. Cheers, Ski.

 

[Rhino]

Your Pale-face paint is a stunning critter!
I kept a Mestizo here for a bit, in the '90's. Memphis Belle or just Belle was her barn name. She was long-winded and speedy but pretty well behaved. She was absolutely terrified of school buses. She shied and bolted at a bus once and flat-out ran for miles. I let her have her head. She was small, 15 hands or a shade bigger. When she was out of school bus danger, she slowed down on her own and looked at me like "OH! You're still here." He had a nice walk home, and after that I learned to hop down and pet her neck when the bus came. She was nervous, but didn't bolt again.
I could shoot off her, I used to carry my old Walker Colt .44 when we rode. Fireworks didn't bother her, and she was fine on trails, but any turbo diesel engine set her front hooves to pitty-patting.
She was a fine Big Dog and a trusted friend.
I hadn't thought of Belle in a long time.

 

[moon puppy]

I purchased the German kitchen set just for the chance of painting the horses but like so many things, haven't gotten there yet. Watching with great interest!