It's High Noon! Painting Gunfighters of the Old West from Great Escape Games [How I Paint Things]

Reach for the sky! A gunfighter of the Old West period from roughly 1840-1890 wouldn't oblige us by wearing a uniform when stepping into the street to do some business with the big iron on his hip, but there are a few general concepts to keep in mind which might help. It's also a fine excuse to watch some classic westerns for inspiration!
Find Dead Man's Hand and the plastic gunslingers box from Great Escape Games: www.greatescapegames.co.uk/
Find 'Ruthless' and the Tombstone Tinderbox from the team at Little Wars TV: www.littlewarstv.com/tombston...
Or go hunting for the classic 'Legends of the Old West' from Warhammer Historical. Despite the fact it's long out of print it remains one of the best total conversions of the Lord of the Rings game system, and finding a PDF isn't hard in this day and age.
00:00 - Intro
00:48 - A Brisk Review
03:48 - Painting Time!
16:00 - The Finished Gunfighter
Thanks to Producer level Patrons Alan Nuttall, Kyrie Crawford, Trainboy, Fred, and Jimmy - as well as all the other Patrons that made this video possible, and Exit23 Games for recording equipment that helps keep the channel ticking over! Find out more at the following links:
/ sonicsledgehammer
/ sonicsledge
/ sonicsledgehammer
ko-fi.com/docwholigan
exit23.games
Grab your own Sonic Sledgehammer mug (or more!) from Redbubble! www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/841... Note that shipping is charged according to where the product is made, so those charges will be higher or lower depending on where you are in the world - this, unfortunately, is something I can't control!
THE BASE: Armageddon Dunes, Seraphim Sepia, drybrush Tyrant Skull. Base rim painted in XV-88 and tufts to taste. Done! "But how did you cover the integral base on the miniature's feet?" Just slather on the Armaggedon Dust into that gap and it'll disappear once it's painted - don't overthink these things!
PAINTS USED:
PRIMERS:
Zandri Dust (Citadel)
CITADEL:
Steel Legion Drab (Base)
Mournfang Brown (Base)
Rakarth Flesh (Base)
Khorne Red (Base)
Iron Warriors (Base)
Retributor Armour (Base)
Agrax Earthshade (Shade)
Cadian Fleshtone (Layer)
Administratum Grey (Layer)
Wazzdakka Red (Layer)
Baneblade Brown (Layer)
Skrag Brown (Layer)
Fenrisian Grey (Layer)
Iron Hands Steel (Base)
VALLEJO:
Deck Tan
Pastel Blue
Black
Flat Flesh
Off White
ARMY PAINTER:
Tanned Flesh
Uniform Grey
Fur Brown
VARNISHES:
Vallejo Matt Varnish Spray

[@zackcook5123]

A box of these, some western and wasteland parts off anvil industry and I could make something with a new Vegas vibe!

[@peterclarke7240]

Ooh, the other good thing about having the double-barrels of the shotgun separate from the stock is you could glue them together so it looks like your character is in the middle of a reload, if you wanted to. Nice little touch!

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

I hadn't even thought of that! Well, now, that's something to think about with the next box. :D

[@DukensteinA1]

I’m deep in playing RDR2 at the moment so this hit the spot. Looks like a lot of fun to paint!!

[@JackSargePainting]

Well done sir Troy

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

"The good, the bad and the Agrax". LOL. The end result is excellent.

[@monicabello3527]

Nice paintjob mate😍

[@paulofreire7520]

Very cool! 👍🏻

[@glynstimpson]

Great video very enjoyable thanks very much

[@philloynes]

Sonic Sledge and 90s rappers: "Flow is what I want here, not necessarily coverage"

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you , Troy

[@johnkelley9877]

Even if your not playing the game the figures would make a great diorama and there are so many poses on the tree. The color scheme looks great and is very realistic . Thanks for sharing this.

[@beaushaver3779]

This works for my Malifaux minis 😄

[@ratelmike8825]

Terrific miniature, amazing kit box for a fantastic game. Dead Man's hand is an absolute blast!!! Excellent guide and thank you so much for this one Troy.

[@danelmore2783]

Oh man these with Mantic zombie heads! You got me thinking. Excellent video!

[@timothyyoung2962]

Stargrave box sets and this... Cowboys vs. Aliens... Or just space cowboys. Ah, the possibilities. The gunfighter turned out great. I really like the color scheme.

[@michaelvergamini9550]

I’ve took a box of Stargrave plastics and build some fun space cowboys for a kitbash. What a great kit!

[@Vanye111]

I play D&D, and Freeblades (tabletop skirmish game), but I greatly appreciate the variety of miniature styles you paint. It provides an excellent reinforcement of the techniques you use, and how they can truly be used on any minature. Thanks.

[@ValkGame]

There's also an Osprey game called Dracula's America where - you guessed it, Dracula is the president of the united states during the Wild West.

[@BillAllanWorld]

Amazing! This is precisely the tutorial I needed. Thanks - I'm subscribed now.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

A lot of folks seem to have found this one again recently! Great to see it still getting some use. Cheers! ✌

[@andymansgamingchannel3356]

Great job brother!

[@emmamarx9284]

Would love to kitbash some scifi final frontier cowboys with this kit. Great paint job btw, looks incredible! You make it look easy haha

[@IanGerritsen]

There's low tack 1mm and 2mm tape you can use to mask things to make painting stripes like that nice and easy.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

That's a great idea!

[@stevepickering5978]

Lovely and clean paint job looked brilliant and then the Agrax made it look stunning 😁

[@cmdfarsight]

I like how you've painted the guy's shirt. That must have taken a lot of concentration.

[@bonysminiatures3123]

cowboy its brilliant )

[@escaperealityhobbies]

Looks GREAT and inspirational as ALWAYS! I picked up this set and hope to use it for Gunfighter's Ball! Thanks for sharing!!!

[@TashiMortier]

It's magical to see you go from the first lines of the highlights to them all finished. :D Makes the details pop!

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

It doesn't take much and a lot of it depends on what style you like, but a nice sharp border between areas of colour really can make a massive difference.

[@worldhistoryminiatureshous9757]

A very cool and useful tutorial . A great inspiration for my next project , a wild west diorama . Thanks for this nice video !

[@AF-kj2zl]

Looks great! Love the stripes!

[@DarkWatch-Ian]

Wow! Loving these miniatures. Making me want to get some and paint them like the characters from Red Dead Redemption!! So many possibilities. As always a fun, informative and entertaining tutorial. Thank you. Also check out reddit, for the jungle soldiers painted like the cast of 'Predator'! A joy to watch as usual. Thank you.

[@davidnandrin8825]

Brilliant !!!

[@TheEccentricMan]

A great kit and you've done a smashing job on it.

[@irishtom30]

Tremendous stuff, mini looks awesome. I bet making terrain for the old west would be a lot of fun

[@Myhayv]

I just found out about DMH a few days ago. I pre-ordered the starter. It's going to take 2 - 3 months for it to get her but the minis look like a lot of fun.

[@tethys17]

These look great! Especially as they also do a set of female gunslingers so I can easily make the Van Der Linde gang. Its a shame theres only two boxes in the set. I hope they do more, especially horses.

[@jeffr7752]

Check out the stellar game and miniatures for Gunfighter's Ball from Knuckleduster.

[@tp6498]

Hey Sonic great video 👍. Last year I backed the western themed kickstarter from zombicide called Undead or alive. I haven't received it yet but when I do I will be coming back to this video when I begin painting all that cowboys and zombies goodness. Thanks and be well.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Fingers crossed it arrives some time in this year!

[@tp6498]

@@SonicSledgehammerStudio Hiya Sonic, I received an update from CMON this weekend. They said given the overall state of things due to the pandemic they have been forced to push back the start of mass production and shipments of Dead or Alive should begin rolling out in July 2022. We'll see. As you said "fingers crossed". Be well.

[@HighEyeWorkshop]

I love your channel. You are very welcoming and I love the content, too. Helped me out a lot as I prepare to paint some WWII minis. Thanks for doing what you do.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Thank you kindly! I've just taken a look at some of the river diorama work you've done; those are stunning. It's really time I was upping my game on terrain!

[@ramadiredleg4801]

Well, I reckon ya did a grand ol' job on that there painting. Looks mighty nice, and all citified. keep up the good work, and don't take any wooden nickles from those city slickers.

[@caseyrogers7538]

You could also use them for Dracula's America. Great review and paint job!

[@davrosdavros7198]

They need to make more of these with some more variety

[@southpaw5483]

Very nice, enjoying your videos and tutorials; Any plans to demonstrate Army Painter "Speed Paints"?

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Whenever they come out! I think I'm one of only three people in the world so far that didn't get offered any samples. 😅

[@jmaccsarmiesofmiddleearth]

Oh brilliant I was just thinking about geting some of these. Love the shirt technique.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

They're really a lot of fun to assemble, and thanks! The shirt was a little more work than I'd usually put into something at this scale, but I'm pretty happy with the result. Patience and perseverance - those absolute sods! 😂

[@jmaccsarmiesofmiddleearth]

@@SonicSledgehammerStudio I'm finding it hard to keep my "No more minis till I paint my backlog" promise after seeing these. Shirt really makes it pop.

[@furiousv775]

11:15 for the main attraction.

[@dennisbridges8971]

I was looking for a box just like this!!

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Glad I could bring them to your attention, then! They're really cheap for what's in the box, too.

[@R0xxo]

Lawmen get the white hats! Love these miniatures. They would work well with the Little Wars western game Ruthless.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Yeah, the Ruthless rules have extremely similar ranges compared to most other games I've played. I can see it working really well with the slightly larger figures.

[@winstonjohnson455]

In my opinion skirmish gaming the Wild West in any scale less then 28mm is just too small. Years ago I purchased 15-20 of the Kibri Old West buildings in HO scale and several boxes of the Atlantic Wild West miniatures in HO scale, both are really nice but just too small.@@SonicSledgehammerStudio

[@IanGerritsen]

Really should get around to painting my Wild West Exodus kickstarter minis one day. They're awesome sculpts but dat wall of shame -_-

[@skinko_hobby]

Deck Tan!

[@rjlarose5271]

Kinda want to paint these guys like The Magnificent Seven. Now I just need a samurai kit to build their counterparts.

[@jeffr7752]

Knuckleduster offers a faction pack for The Seven.

[@rjlarose5271]

@@jeffr7752 thanks ill grab those.

[@OPShergottite]

hey just discovered your channel by coincidence. what can i say, you have a new subscriber :). and im getting the gunfighter kit to have fun with it upcoming weekend :D. a question: how did you make the base? i havent painted any western minis so far...

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Check in the description for the step by step. :D

[@JohnWise-vg3zj]

Do you sell any of your painted figures? This one is awesome!

[@randolphcarlisle2976]

Looking at these makes me want to make gunshot noises. "P-CHOWWW"

[@nickdavis5420]

Mmm gather a posse for deadlands

[@mattcappelli5822]

As always, looks great! What did you use for the basing texture?

[@Steven-yd4ni]

Quick question, I was just wondering how did you paint the base?..

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

All listed in the description!

[@southpaw5483]

I am looking to purchase a new set of "washes"; Any thoughts on the Army Painter versus Citadel washes? Leaving aside cost, any preferences?

[@galan8115]

Howdy.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

HEY THERE, MISTUH!

[@BrucePatnaude]

Another good video. Question: Have you ever painted Black Scorpion's Tombstone line of western minis? I am planning on dropping a bit of money on old west minis and I would like to know how these compare to those. Thanks.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

I haven't, I'm afraid, but I've seen some comparisons with other lines I've painted in the past. The Tombstone line are a little more realistically proportioned, so generally thinner than most of the other western stuff on offer. I've got a fair few of the Artizan Designs old west range in metal which I really like, if that helps!

[@BrucePatnaude]

@@SonicSledgehammerStudio Hmm I'll check out the Artizan line, I've never heard of them. Thanks a ton for the reply, much appreciated.

[@stefan020290]

How tall are these in comparison to 40k guardsmen? Thinking of making a custom regiment or kill team with these and would be nice to use some guard bitz if they are not totally out of scale.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

They're roughly the same height, but slightly more realistically proportioned. Arms and legs are going to look a little spindly on Guardsmen. As luck would have it, though, the heads that come in the box would fit well, and the ball mount for the neck is just the right size to fit the Cadian torsos.

[@phoen31]

Is it Trainboy Fred... or is it Trainboy (and) Fred?

[@bee-beargaming]

I'm here bc of red dead redemption 2

[@Nazgull2k1]

Multiple coats.. primed tan brown.. then using whites.. I mean... bruh.. Im a novice painter, and I would DEFINITELY go a different direction. For a (IMHO) Much better look..for ALOT less effort. Base Spray Corax White GW Primer Guilimane Flesh for the skin. 1 Coat. done. Black templar for the back of the vest Skeleton Horde for the hat Snakebite leather for the boots, hat brim and holster Baal Red for the bandana Aggros Dunes for the pants Apothecary White for the shirt, then if you absolutely want to draw straight lines.. use a thinned down white paint. (I wouldnt.) Leadbelcher for the pistol. Agrax Earthshade for a "dirty" effect on the boots and maybe the pants... just to give that dulled down old west grime feel.. Nuln Oil for the Pistol and the bandana.. maybe the hat. Yer tabletop ready in about 10 minutes max.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Well, sure. You can paint your miniatures any way you'd like; so long as you're happy with the end result, that's the whole point of a hobby. If you're sure it'd look *much* better, I'd invite you to give it a shot for the sake of comparison.