Hinchliffe Mexican Bandidos

One of the things I've done this month is to rebase and touch up the paintwork of some of my old 28mm scale Wild West figures. I was quite surprised at just how many figures I had from Hinchliffe Models, all now sadly out of production. By far my biggest set were my Mexican Bandidos and it is these I'm going to showcase here. Every one of these figures were based on 54mm scale figures that I own, in terms of names, colour schemes and as near as possible, poses. I have just finished creating Character Record Sheets for them to use in my Six Gun Sound batreps.

At the far left is Leon Cordoba, who was one of the gang leaders. Sometimes I used all of the figures in one gang and at other times split them up into smaller gangs. Cordoba is smartly dressed and is armed with a pair of Colt .44 Army Pistols.
Next to him is the other figure who was also a gang leader, Emiliano Muerte, whose surname means "death". He is also smartly dressed with gold-trimmed clothing and he is also armed with twin Colt .44 Army Pistols.
In the centre of the group is Pachuco "the Bloody". This figure is a conversion of the Muerte figure. I repositioned his left arm and gave him a Winchester Rifle from my spare parts box. I filed off the gold balls from the sides of his trousers. His pistol is a Colt .45 Peacemaker.

The kneeling figure is Nino Garcia, who was originally standing up. I reposed him to better match his 54mm scale version. I can't remember if the original figure was bare-headed or not (he probably was) but I do know that I added his sombrero, which I made out of Milliput. He is armed with two Colt .45 Peacemaker Pistols.
At the far right is the only figure from this set not made by Hinchliffe Models, but I have included him anyway as he often appeared alongside the others. He is called Juliano Ortega, who is a sadistic homosexual hunchback! I based him on a Dixon Miniatures Confederate Trooper and sculpted on his poncho around his backpack to represent his hunchback. He is armed with a Trapdoor Springfield .45 Rifle and a Colt .44 Army Pistol.

The next batch of five are all rank and file footsloggers of average quality and ability. At the far left is Alfredo Esposita, who is armed with a Trapdoor Springfield .45 Rifle, a Smith and Wesson .45 Schofield Pistol and a Bowie Knife.
Second from the left is Juan Juose, a conversion of the Alfredo Esposita figure. I repositioned his arms, added a Bowie Knife to his left hand and made his shirt hanging out from his trousers. He is armed similarly to Esposita but his Pistol is a Colt.44 Army model.
In the centre is Fernando Almeria, another conversion of Alfredo Esposita. I repositioned his arms so that he is holding his rifle in both hands. He is armed with a Trapdoor Springfield .45 Rifle, a Colt .45 Peacemaker Pistol and a Bowie Knife.

Second from the left is Gabriel Valencia, a cowardly man who will happily shoot an opponent in the back but is more likely to run away if charged than stand and fight. He is armed with a Winchester .44 Rifle and a Colt .45 Cavalry Pistol.
Finally, is Jose Carrillo, who is a conversion of the Gabriel Valencia figure. I reposed him so that he was kneeling. He is armed with a Winchester .44 Rifle and a Remington .45 Pistol.
Hinchliffe Models had a distinctive look about them that made them very recognisable. They were certainly not the best sculpted figures on the market but nor were they the worst and I must admit I liked them. I got into their range almost as soon as I started wargaming seriously in the late 1970's, when I collected some of their Napoleonic figures. Most of my current Mexican Bandidos are made by Black Scorpion, who are far superior sculpts, but even so, I do like these old figures and I most certainly will use them in my Six Gun Sound games.