Wednesday 18 July 2018

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.

18 comments:

  1. Wow, what a visual treat these guys are, Bryan, marvellous palette choices and lots of detail being drawn in with the brush (as opposed to being on the model?). I’m intrigued by the 54mm models too... are they already posted on your website?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks, Simon. Regarding my 54mm scale Wild West figures and buildings, I have never shown them on my blog before. When I first got into Wild West skirmish wargaming in the late 1970's I opted for 54mm scale, simply because there were so many figures and buildings available in this scale. I collected and scratch-built enough buildings to cover two table tennis sized tables and amassed a huge amount of figures. During the 1980's I ran loads of Wild West skirmish games at my local wargaming club. Those were fun times. I still have everything from those days but most of them are stored away in bedroom cupboard and are not easily accessible. It is such a shame they'll probably never see the light of day again but my love of the Wild West remains as high as ever and this project is a real labour of love for me.

      Delete
    2. That's very sad Bryan, but also sounds as if some very good times indeed were had with them. I'm always tempted to pull out a lot of my old stuff - but inevitably would want to repaint them first; thus just adding to the lead mountain. Hopefully one day though you'll dig them out for a last campaign before they ride off into the sunset..?

      Delete
    3. Part of me would like to show off all of my 54mm scale Wild West stuff but like you, there are figures I'd want to paint or repaint. Getting to them is difficult and then there would be the problem of where to store them once I got them out. Finally, given the size of my dining room table, which doubles as my gaming table (it's about 5' by 3') I could only show or use a few buildings at a time. Let's just say it might happen but don't hold your breath.

      Delete
  2. Great looking group of Mexicans Bryan, that you've painted fantastically. Should certainly add some variation with your Black Scorpion models as well

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers, Dave. They are a very colourful group and will definitely add variety to my Black Scorpion Bandidos.

      Delete
  3. Great stuff Bryan, a really colourful bunch, I too would love to see your 54mm stuff, it sounds amazing!

    Cheers Roger.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Roger. You would most definitely be amazed at my 54mm collection of Wild West figures and buildings. Whether I ever show it or not remains to be seen.

      Delete
  4. Nice looking bunch of figures. Great pose on Emiliano fanning his pistol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you most kindly, HP. Yes, Emiliano is a cool figure.

      Delete
  5. The Banditos have arrived! Ok they may be ranchers and not bandits either way they look good and I am sure will do good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Clint. I'm rather hoping they'll do badly! LOL!

      Delete
  6. Hi Bryan a bad looking bunch of figures in a good way :) I had to wait quite a long time until the pictures loaded but it was worth it.
    I have a couple of those figures undercoated but never painted and I thought they might be Hinchcliffe from the style but I'm glad you confirmed it.

    You can't have too many banditi.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks, John. A slow Internet connection is so frustrating! As I said in my post, Hinchliffe Models have a very distinctive style about them so I'm not surprised an old gamer like you recognised them.

      Delete
  7. Well aren’t they cool! Lovely variety you’ve been able to achieve with your conversion skills. Bien hecho mi amigo

    ReplyDelete
  8. If you want loco in your western games just add mexicans..lol..Great job on them all too Bryan.

    ReplyDelete