One of Steve Weston’s versatile Mexican peasants figures in a Tudor head-cloth
For those of you who wonder where the Arma-Dad’s Army 1590s Elizabethan Home Guard Project is going, here is my next addition to the Cornish Muster and townsfolk who oppose the Spanish Fury of the raids along the West Country coast.
‘Battling Aggie’ is a versatile Steve Weston Toy Co. Mexican peasant woman, easily adapted with a tissue paper or kitchen towel head scarf into a handy medieval and Tudor through the English and American Civil Wars to the Wild West.
Spanish Invaders – go home! Don’t look round, Don Pedro …
Duelling hombres with the trusty old length of 2 by 4 …
I have been trying out some more “Lunge Cut and Stop Thrust” duelling skirmishes using the Gerard De Gre rules set out in Donald Featherstone’s Solo War-gaming:
These rules suggest many different two or three figure bouts, contests or wallopings.
Duelling Mexican ladies – besoms at dawn.
The figures used are Steve Weston’s Mexican Peasants – I got mine through a good deal on his website or EBay site for some sets with water damaged packaging. This got me two packets for the price of one. Not quite Pound store prices but still cheap.
For a quick and lazy paint job on these white plastic figures, I used the “Pewtering” technique. I learnt this from the Prince August website, giving them a quick brush over with black acrylic paint, them wiping the paint off a minute or two later before it dries. Details are revealed as highlights and shadows, whilst you can always repaint in more detail at a later time.
Useful generic peasant figures
This wounded or winded peasant looks like he has got on the wrong side of the “bald headed end of the broom”. Defeated duellist.This wounded or sleeping peasant has the look of an old woodcut with this pewtering paint technique.
Some of the peasants are armed with rifles, very useful for irregular forces, guerillas and settlers. Not so useful for the duelling games.
Mexican Peasants with rifles or whatever troops your Imagi-Nation requiresDice are being used as counters, each figure starting with 5 combat or life points.
Here the Mexican lady is the attacker – I threw a coin to choose. The man is the defender.
Playing as the attacking angry Mexican lady I have a limited choice of three duelling moves – cut or swipe to head, parry and lunge and stop- thrust.
Playing solo I will be drawing the man’s cards from the top of his deck each time, replacing them to the bottom.
Gerard De Gre’s duelling table (reprinted in Donald Featherstone’s Solo Wargaming)The defending Mexican hombre loses a point.Eventually he is defeated by the attacking Senorita and loses his last combat point with his drawn card.
Mexico Gold Rush: A renewed duel between angry Mexican machete guy and man with shovel over the golden nuggets in the basket.
Shovel Man down to two combat or life points.Shovel Guy draws one of the random cards, wiping out his last combat or life point. Adios amigo!
Dice simplification
In his comments on Alan the Tradgardmastre’s use of this limited fast game in a school masterclass club, Kaptain Kobold came up with a very useful dice simplification of the Gerard De Gre duelling rules http://tradgardland.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/master-classes.html
Using the cleverly simple dice version (keeping the other dice as points counters)Last life point gone … Machete guy still has the gold. But for how long?
Flint, Feather, Scissors, Paper, Stone
Dan Foley in the same comment section pointed out an extension of these limited scissors paper stones type rules in the melee section of some beta play test Native American conflict rules : “For a similar idea taken a bit further check out the beta version of Flint & Feather” https://www.cruciblecrush.com/files/Flint%20and%20Feather%20Basic%20Rules(1).pdf
These look an attractive set of miniatures and some interesting rules or games mechanicisms which give me a few new ideas for expanding the limited choices of these fast duelling games.
Postscript
Steve Weston’s Mexican Peasants are very versatile figures that could stand in for many eras and nations such as Boxers or Chinese figures from Asia, peasants from Europe as well as the Wild West.
Pound Store Plastic Warriors 