Hello,

I have this Wyatt Earp figure : http://www.andrea-miniatures.com/_carro/AspsProductos/Detalle.asp?IdProductoDetalle=33

Is it historically accurate or too much based on the 1990'ies movies ? (Tombstone, Wyatt Earp with K Costner, ...). It is well sculpted and a good casting though ...

I do have my doubts about the double gun rig (thougt that was only for toy guns ?? did he really have that at OK Corral, thought he had his gun in his pocket) and the long coat - is there a more accurate Wyatt Earp figure available ?

Thanks,

J.

If it dosn't have to be in 54mm there is this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-12-WYATT-...ultDomain_0&hash=item230bcaa03e#ht_1166wt_822
This looks like he has drawn from his pocket as opposed to a double rig

Found this "
For those who want to know exactly what kind of gun Wyatt used at the OK Corral Shoot-Out, it is believed to have been a 8" .44 Caliber 1869 Model Smith and Wesson. Earp did state to friend John Flood that this was the gun he used in the shoot-out and the pistol is still in the collection of John Gilchriese, who inherited it from John Flood. The information for this page came from William Shillingberg's Wyatt Earp and the "Buntline Special" Myth. I would suggest anyone wanting more information on this to check this book out and read it."


I make no claims to it's accuracy or otherwise

That seems to be an excellent representation of W. Earp - and I guess this must be one that was sculpted by Mike Good ... 1/12 scale makes a large figure however ! But it is a great sculpt, and looks like a well researched piece.
Well yes I have my doubts about the existence of double rigs in the old west - never seen it in old photographs. I guess it's something invented in the movies and for toy pistols.

Thanks, ! very informative piece of information !

It's a knock-off of the iconic image from the Costner film (uncredited, like with all Andrea figs of this type), it's decent enough but it's not really that great when you look at it in detail. Overall I think it's a bit dumpy or thick and the left hand and gun - key aspect of the pose - leave a lot to be desired. Maybe above all it doesn't look like Earp. Or Kevin Costner for that matter!

I'll say. Express mail my ass, send it on a slow ship and I'll wait!!

Einion

They do a bust as well that looks pretty good
http://www.ebay.com/itm/15041532816...AX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_1424wt_822

Johan,

Most depictions of Wyatt Earp have everything to do with myth and little to do with reality. That is what happens when a man becomes a legend: he becomes a convenient avatar on which to hang all manner of fantasized BS.

When i did my Wyatt Earp, i did as much research as possible. That was before the computer era, for me at any rate, so I may not have had access to all info there was available. But i did learn enough to discover that he was not the upright, heroic lawman of legend, but more like a gambler, pimp and common street thug with an intermittent badge and a gun. So much for legend.....

The same can be said of Billy the Kid who, rather than the pathological killer of legend, turns out to be a well liked and gregarious fellow to those who actually knew him. Certainly he did resort to deadly gun-play when his jig was clearly up. But Billy seems to have been more a victim of circumstance (ending up on the losing side in the Lincoln county range wars, and thus branded an "outlaw" while the winners walked away as free men) whose days were numbered more by circumstance and legend than anything else.

The reality of the old west was definitely a far cry from the reality. Hollywood - and legend - are merely rabid producers of confabulated and slanted propaganda.

According to my research, Earp did not wear any holster rig at the OK Corral, much less the two-gun rig of Hollywood fantasy. He had specially waxed pockets built into his "duster" coat for quick withdraw of his pistol. If I recall correctly, i could not find any definitive opinions on what pistol Earp carried that day. The "buntline" legend surely is pure BS. Consensus seemed to lean toward the old Colt Peacemaker (with a normal barrel), so that is what i gave him. Perhaps he did carry a Smith and Wesson. I make no claims to knowing the actual truth.

I cannot recommend the full length figure of Earp. In my zealousness to make him the rail thin fellow he was (if I recall correctly, 6 feet tall, 165 lbs) I made his hips too narrow and the proportions of the figure are fatally flawed. This could be set right by broadening his hips and widening his legs a bit.

Or, you could go with the bust which does not have that problem! Anyway, I was pleased with the final result of the bust which depicted him as i came to know him through research: A bully with a soup strainer moustache, an attitude and a gun who dressed like an undertaker.

Hollywood, be damned. History is something different...

Mike

Hello Mike,

Thank you for this very informative reply - I've learned a lot here !

Well I guess we all look at the Old West too much trough the filter of "Hollywood glasses". Also, I guess that Wyatt Earp has had the occasion to tell his own story for decades after and inevitably altered the truth somewhat in his own favour.

Oh well ...

But !! On a positive note, to everybody who may be interested in accurate figures of the Old West : I did find one source of information about a piece of the Old West that does not lie : there's a photo collection online of what seems to be genuine Texas Cowboys in the early 20th century : http://www.cartermuseum.org/collections/smith/collection.php

Well do you realise that we do not even have genuine pictures of Indians outside the reserves (only pictures that exist were all taken after the last native american was put in a reserve), but at least here was a photographer who decided to photograph some vintage cowboys before they were all gone - nothing to do with Wyatt Earp, but because the topic of Hollywood and how it influenced our perception of history came up, I decided to share it here. I hope it is of some use.

cheers

Johan

Started out as a bouncer in a brothel, so I heard. I have a set of those Time Life coffee table books "The Old West" which is just great for photographic resource material.

I own your standing Earp and just ordered the bust after being reminded about it by this thread. I think they're both great. You may be right about the proportions but don't people have funny, out of proportion bodies in real life too? Maybe you're more accurate than you know . . . just a thought.

United Empire Miniatures has a 90mm Wyatt Earp and Billy Clanton
www.unitedempireminiatures.com

"This is the west, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."