#5 Cowboys on Mars

Today decided to kick my ass. Just bad news, on top of bad news. Sometimes it’s like that I guess. So I drown my sorrows in paint… I have beer but paint seems like a better, more constructive solution. I discovered this line of Western miniatures from Artizan. They really are a joy to paint. Amazingly sharp, clean, metal castings, all hand sculpted.

Here’s two of the Artizan miniatures on the left, along with a plastic modular cowboy from Great Escape Games. The Great Escape kits are also really wonderful. Each box has loads of spare bits and bobbles so you can really put together some interesting looking guys. I wanted this one to be a grave digger, so I borrowed his shovel arm from a box of Fire Forge Games peasants. It was a perfect fit and totally looks like it could have been part of the original kit without any sanding or greenstuff at all. It’s nice when things work out like that.

Here they are again, this time with a different Great Escape Games cowboy. I swapped the head for a space ape from Northstar Miniatures. Chimp cowboy here may be one of my favorite things I’ve ever painted. I went out of my comfort zone with him and attempted pinstripes on his pants, I was certain I was going to muck him up but the paint gods smiled on me and it game out perfect on the first try.

So why am I painting cowboys?… Well they’re going to be a band of Martian desperados. It’s all part of a super secret project. I’m sure I’ll have more to write about this soon, but now’s not the time. Right now I need to paint and chill, and recover. Be kind to each other. Thanks for reading.