Great thoughts Dan,

May even mean another mounted figure coming up on the troop. I like the idea of the dispatch rider coming up on the troop though passing a message. My original premise this was a recce group and passing of messages will really fit in.

Thanks Dan

Cheers

Ray

Dan,

You got me thinking about some other layouts so when I got home from work I modified a horse, started another figure and going with the messenger concept. The troop is coming down the road and a single rider rears up to meet them pointing in the opposite direction. I just put it on paper right now with the road drawn in. Eventually there will be dead space on the corners that I will deal with but right now just testing out the concept. Comments welcome

Ray,

I like this new composition as it tells a story and provides a focus for the viewers attention.

Anthony

Ray - I don't want to stick my oar in too much or too often, but I'd move the officer figure a bit closer to the dispatch rider. You could just swap position of the column leaders.

I'm not a horseman personally, don't ride, etc., but I've seen enough western movies to know how much some horses get skittish and how hard some of the riders have to work to keep them in position. So having said that, I like the rear rider and horse and the way you've pulled up the dispatch rider horse - looks spot on to a non-horseman. How about having one of the horses in the back of the column rearing? Or maybe tossing its head and moving too close to another horse - and then that rider is having to hold his horse also. Maybe this would be too dramatic?

A source for good photos of horses and equipment is www.militaryhorse.org/forum. Might be helpful.

We have some horsemen on Planetfigure and involved in the hobby. Would be interested to hear what they have to say.

Just thoughts...feel free to ignore all of it.

All the best,
Dan

Thanks Anthony and for all the likes.

Dan no worries I asked for feedback and based on that the dio concept is coming together better. I was also thinking of moving the officer calling a halt closer. Actually the two front riders are both officers one will be a lieutenant and the other a captain. The next two in line will be the sgt and bugler and the last two normal troopers. You can't see in those pics but I still have the one horse nipping at the other. I will be putting the road on an incline in the groundwork so should see that better.


Cheers
Ray

Looking fantastic Ray love all the ideas with the concept love the dispatch rider great movement so looking forward to its transition, will get bits and bobs away in the post to you ASAP got back from work this morning
Cheers Chris

Thanks Chris,

No hurry there, got a bit of putty to mix before I can add the parts. This one is going to take me a better part of the summer to complete I think. This is a great site for exchange of ideas and encouragement. Based on the feedback I'm liking the way the concept is going. I'm going to put some thoughts into the groundwork now and what that should look like. Maybe do a bit of reading on the Strathconas in late WWI (i.e. Moreil Wood) to get some ideas.

Cheers

Ray

Ray, you might consider having the road in the background be elevated slightly, so that all the troopers could be visible in one glance. The messenger could be riding up a slight incline, adding further drama to the scene, with the head of the column at the crossroads on the middle level.

Thanks Don,

I was thinking something similar. Kind of like a curved road coming down a hill and meeting up with the rider coming up. I will need to build the base and start planning this out a bit more.

Cheers

Ray

Ray, the other aspect is to build the scene, then chop away any dead space. There's no rule that holds that all bases have to be of a uniform size. If an asymmetrical base presents the story best, go for it!