Finally done with these boys. I’ve had them sitting around for weeks, waiting for me to swallow my hatred of painting horses. Well, I did it… mostly by phoning it in. At least they’re done!

The real nuisance wasn’t the horses. They were fine (drybrush, pick out details, wash–I should do another drybrush) but the cowboys themselves had to match my existing stock. In retrospect, since I knew I would paint these mounted cowboys to match my on-foot cowboys, I really should have painted both sets together. The colors are pretty close and the men are definitely recognizable; the issue is that I’ve forgotten how I did the highlights and such. Again, I was phoning it in here so I just didn’t bother.

They’re not likely to be on board long. Really, I’ll use them to ride up to an objective, dismount, and then mount again to ride away. Which is why…

They’re magnetized! This will let me dismount and keep them on the map to remount onto later without dealing with the awkward double-body issue. This was plenty easy: I used 2x1mm magnets. The plastic in both the bodies and the horse saddles is thick enough to stomach up to 2mm of drilling, as I discovered with holes that I had to put two magnets into. I have to hand it to Great Escape Games: these kits are great.

Really. This plus the regular cowboy kit is an easy recommendation. For around $50 shipped, you have ten cowboys and their mounts. You’re basically set to go for any cowboy game out there. While they aren’t quite as pretty as some of the metals you can buy they are definitely worth considering and will ultimately cost you less.

And there we go. Aside from a wagon that I’m increasingly realizing I really should paint, I’m just about done with my cowboy kick. As I sit here writing it, the itch to build the wagon grows. It’s actually used in one of the core scenarios in What a Cowboy, so I’ll kick myself if I don’t do it. Gonna paint a wagon, gonna paint it good…