WIP WWII US Packhorse ...Division

[S1LVERBACK]

Not sure which American WW II division this could depict?
10th Mountain Division?
5th Mounted Reconnaicance (hate that word) Division?
Any Division which used packhorses in rocky terrain I suppose.
Hope you like the idea. I'll be trying to get some life in this little vignette.
I would love suggestions on Divisions and/or other suggestions might you have some.

 

[Eric P.M.]

Hi Eric

I like the idea, specially because it from a fellow countryman !
Very original, bringing that ugly Tamiya-horse to life.
I have two remarks if you don’t mind:

What are these stirrups for? A packsaddle does not have these, they would only be in the way.
What ‘s on the other side? On this side it looks like a .50 MG. to keep the poor animal in balance, there should be something of equal weight on the other side.
So it looks like you saddle is wrong. It should look like this.

With the heaviest item on top of the horses back.

 

[S1LVERBACK]

Nice picture Eric! I didn't know special packsaddles existed!
I may remove the stir ups, I havent decided yet. Maybe I'll just leave it this way as being somewhat of a makeshift packload on a riding saddle. The other side might contain the tripod for the .50 cal. and a ammocase maybe. Or a tarp or some such.
I'll figure it out along the way.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Eric P.M.]

….mmm: not a bad idea to leave it like this and call it a field adjustment.
In that case tie up the stirrups so they won’t hamper the poor animal with every step.

If you have appetite for more packhorses, why not model one of the Dutch hussars carrying a heavy MG

 

[S1LVERBACK]

Looking at it now, with your pointer, the stirups really look out of place.
Thats great, because its comments like these that focus on making a better model.
I think I tried to look around it because removing them means damage to the basecoat.
An objective observer just goes right down to the brass tax of it:
What's with the stirups? They're out of place.
Even on a makeshift packing rig it would be common sense to remove the stirups to prevent hampering and possibly getting caught on branches and such.
So thanks again Eric!

Great pic again. Nice piece of Dutch history. That would sure be a nice subject for a vignette!
Are you a rider yourself? I think you atleast like horses for the majestic animals they are?

 

[housecarl]

Great idea, I have to agree about the stirrups. Hopefully when Warhorse comes out, it will encourage some companies to produce more modern equestrian subjects.
Carl.

 

[S1LVERBACK]

Looking forward to Steven Spielbergs take on the book Warhorse myself! Might be a while I'm afraid, no pictures available yet, not to mention a movie trailer.
Stirrups will be gone in future pics.

 

[Eric P.M.]

....heu: There are enough examples of military horses more recent than in the Napoleonic period.
Anyone want some examples of it in the Dutch army up to 1940?
Give me a PM : more than willing to provide you with some pict’s …..

Why wait for Spielberg ? It ‘ll probably look like this:

 

[housecarl]

There's a very brief trailer for the stage show here. http://warhorselondon.nationaltheatre.org.uk/
Carl.

 

[red tom]

The British Army were using pack horses in the Balkans in the 1990's.
Tom

 

[S1LVERBACK]

Progress:
Update:

 

[Dan Morton]

Try this web site. They've been very eager to answer questions and help in my past research, plus it's just a fun site.

http://www.militaryhorse.org/

All the best,
Dan