Dirty cavalrymen and horse weathering.

[billyturnip]

I've been thinking .....

Obviously this would be post cavalry charge but is this too much and best left to armour modellers?

One final thought...

 

[Helm]

You've been warned about thinking young Rog, but some interesting ideas there.

 

[Ferris]

Perhaps only the guy in pole position remains clean?!

 

[DaddyO]

I hear what you are saying Roger and agree that riders and soldiers get dirty very quickly on soft wet ground, but it's a very difficult trick to pull off. One of the best I've seen depicted a US cavalryman in a dust storm, hat pulled down covered on one side with powdered grey/white dust yet the reverse of the figure was still recognisably coloured in his uniform.
On obviously soft ground the belly and back legs of horses get pretty dirty if the horse has been moving at more than a walk (An effect I'm luck enough to study being just down the road from a stable which is something I'd like to see a bit more of. An understated bit of dust/dirt also fixes the figure to the groundwork which is definitely a good thing

I'd also add that racecourses tend to deliberately keep the tracks soft to keep them safe for the very expensive beasties that run around them (A bit like Twickenham compared with your average sports field)

Interesting area and thanks for bringing it up
Paul

 

[billyturnip]

I'd also add that racecourses tend to deliberately keep the tracks soft to keep them safe for the very expensive beasties that run around them (A bit like Twickenham compared with your average sports field)

I had the same thought Paul.
Obviously this kind of effect will work better if the setting is a battlefield which was known to be particularly muddy, for example Waterloo.

 

[billyturnip]

Probably more akin to cavalry than a race course....

and my favourite

 

[fogie]

Perhaps only the guy in pole position remains clean?!

You remember what they say about dog sledge racing ... unless you're the lead dog the view never changes

 

[billyturnip]

You remember what they say about dog sledge racing ... unless you're the lead dog the view never changes

I imagine the view in the rear rank of a cavalry charge was little better.

 

[swralph]

Apparently the Welsh like to get dirty with their sheep.

 

[billyturnip]

Apparently the Welsh like to get dirty with their sheep.

Don't fancy your's much Ralph....

 

[swralph]

And she's the pretty one.

 

[Martin Antonenko]

Cossack and horse after battle..

 

[billyturnip]

Thanks for posting that Martin.

 

[Kevin D.]

Your second posts are, I suspect, the most likely weathering for our displays although there is obviously no fast and hard rules. We depict humans and horses in the nastiest of circumstances (Martin's picture, WWI trench, Blizzard retreat from Russia, etc) on up to pristine displays. My rule has always been to tie the figure to the base well enough to tell the story (again, Martin's pic is perfect!) to the extent of informing the audience. If the audience will only be me... GO FOR IT, LOL. The best example, IMHO, is "Eye Deep in Hell" by Andrei Koribanics. We know the figure should be MUCH filthier but his display works so well!

For my taste, I would go with the second set of posts but it all boils down to what your are trying to convey. Good luck.

Kevin

 

[billyturnip]

I don't have any mounted figures in my grey army (apart from a few hundred flats ) otherwise I'd be giving this a shot and I'm not buying one specifically for this little experiment. However I do have a dismounted cavalryman....

 

[1969]

DIRTY CAVALRYMEN !!!! For a moment I thought you was going to give an account of yourself going ashore in your Naval days

Never thought much about how dirty it can get horse riding but going by those pictures you have a very good point there Roger, most mounted (if not all) figures that I have seen have been relatively clean including the horses, maybe that should change.

Steve

 

[Helm]

I had the same thought Paul.
Obviously this kind of effect will work better if the setting is a battlefield which was known to be particularly muddy, for example Waterloo.

Agincourt would be another Rog.
Steve

 

[billyturnip]

Agincourt would be another Rog.
Steve

Good one Steve, yes I remember reading about the conditions there. it was in the Juliet Barker book I think.

 

[billyturnip]

DIRTY CAVALRYMEN !!!! For a moment I thought you was going to give an account of yourself going ashore in your Naval days

No but on a related subject the bus load of ermm, young ladies that used to come to Faslane for the Thursday night disco were known as the Dumbarton cavalry.

 

[Helm]

Good one Steve, yes I remember reading about the conditions there. it was in the Juliet Barker book I think.

Heavy clay soil after days of rain, never going to be good for mounted troops.
Steve