Grenadier Old West Heroes

Way back in the early 1990's I bought a boxed set of ten 32mm scale Western Gunfighters produced by Grenadier Miniatures. They were beautifully sculpted by Andy Chernak but at the time were over-scaled as most Wild West figures back then were either 25mm or 28mm scale. Now, however, they are a perfect fit with the majority of my collection of Wild West figures. I have shown one of them - the Gambler - in a previous post (see here - http://vampifansworldoftheundead.blogspot.com/2017/06/assorted-wild-west-gamblers-01.html ). Two of the figures - the Gunfighter and the Rifleman - never got painted and have gone missing. I have no idea where they went. So that leaves just seven to show you and here they are.

First up is the easily identifiable Man With No Name as played by Clint Eastwood in the Dollar trilogy of Spaghetti Westerns. I do love this figure but I must admit I was conflicted when I bought the Shadows of Brimstone male Drifter, who was a superb sculpt of The Man With No Name (see here - http://vampifansworldoftheundead.blogspot.com/2017/10/shadows-of-brimstone-heroes-03.html ) as to which one is the best. On reflection, I do think the Shadows of Brimstone version only just edges this Grenadier version. The boxed set lists him as a Range Rider and not a Bounty Hunter. It also shows him in an alternate colour scheme, which I may use if I decide to repaint him. It is a distinct possibility because I don't want two versions of the same character.

In the centre is the U.S. Marshal whom I have named as "the Duke" due to his uncanny resemblance to John Wayne. Note the way he is cocking the lever of his Winchester Rifle - a nice touch.
At the far right is the Cowpoke, whom I named Johnny West. When I was a young lad growing up in the 1960's my parents bought me a 12" action figure of a cowboy called Johnny West as a Christmas present (see below). This figure reminded me of him so much and so I had to name him Johnny West. Johnny will be a recurring character in my Six Gun Sound campaign, although not as a Cowboy. Most likely, he'll be a Bounty Hunter or a Gunfighter. Johnny is armed with a Winchester .44 Rifle, Colt .45 Peacemaker Revolver, .41 Derringer Pistol and Bowie Knife, just as his taller version is.

Moving on is Saloon Girl Madeleine DuBois, who is described as being "vivacious" by Grenadier Miniatures. Yep, that's a good description of her.
She works for Bartender Guthrie Fullwright, who is an expert gambler. He is armed with a 12 Gauge Scattergun, which he keeps behind the bar to deal with troublemakers.

Last up are the two outlaws. Second from the right is Mexican bandida, "Hole in Juan" Gomez, who is armed with a pair of Colt .44 Army Revolvers and a Knife. He is a crackshot pistolero.
Finally, is young Bank Robber Gil Hardy, who goes by the nickname of "The Cheyenne Kid". He is left-handed and is armed with a Colt .45 Peacemaker Revolver.
Sadly, this set is long out of production. I think it would sell very well if it was re-released today as all of the figures are superbly sculpted and because of their size will fit in so well with so many other ranges.

To the left of here is this wonderful picture of 12" action figure, Johnny West, showing him and all of his accessories that came with him. This figure was produced in 1965. I still have mine but some of his accessories have gone missing. In the same year as I received this figure, my brother got the 12" action figure of Chief Cherokee and a horse to go with him as his Christmas present. I also got a horse who was named Thunderbolt and my brother's horse was named Comanche. Note that unlike the humans, the horses were not pose-able. These figures were made by the Louis Marx company. The Johnny West range of figures were very popular. In later years, Johnny gained a family, wife Jane, daughters Janice and Josie, and sons Jay and Jamie. Chief Cherokee also gained a family - his wife was Princess Wildflower. Other figures like Sheriff Garrett and Outlaw Sam Cobra were added to the range but my brother and I never got any of the others. Below is the complete range of figures. If they were sold now I'd definitely want them all but whether I could afford them is another matter entirely.