Gatling Guns & Machine Guns in Spaghetti Westerns - And a related Figure Conversion

Since the Dawn of the 'Spaghetti Western' movie-genre, it seems that Gatling- and machine guns have been present in several of them. Someone (with better time than me) have counted the presence and use of such weapons in about 95 Western-movies. Most of them are 'Spaghetti Westerns' and someone even took the time to counting kills and estimating type of guns. In some of the Spaghetti Western movies the Gatling- or machine guns are not stationary, but even carried and operated by a single person in 'Rambo style'. The first time I saw this in a western movie was in "Django" (where he kept his freelanced machine gun in a coffin).

Realistic or not, this is something I've been wanting to replicate and capture in model when doing cinematic Old West wargames, and it would give much more firepower to a single figure. The only 19th century Gatling gun I own, is an ACW Union (firing) Gatling from Britains. This is a large crew-served weapon and not exactly what I was looking for.

Many of the Gatling- or machine guns in western movies are not exact replications of the real thing, and many of them looks like 'fantasy guns'. Therefore it was not important to me to make an exact model of such a weapon, just more like a resemblance.  At Thingeverse I found a 28mm scale "Gatling-Machine gun". It's actually neither as it has the same rotating barrels as a Gatling gun (looking like a Colt) but at the same time has the trigger system of a 'Maxim Machine gun'. I liked the magazine. I think this will look good in the hands of a Cowboy.

Now I needed to find a suitable figure. Last year I re-armed one of my inexpensive Airfix Cowboy knock-offs with a shotgun. I like this hip-firing pose, and thinks that would be a good starting-point for a 'Rambo-looking mitrailleuse firing Cowboy'. 

I also wanted this cowboy to look a little different than the 2 other figures I have in the same pose, so I decided to add a coat to him made with 'Green Stuff'.

Then he was finally ready for some priming, painting and sealing. I was inspired by Franco Nero's first appearance as 'Django' when I painted this miniature. Even if he looks all black, I've tried to capture the very dark blue from the movie:

How to use this miniature in games?

No any (free) 'Old West' wargame- or RPG rules I know include rules for machine guns, so some improvisation is necessary to use this miniature in a game. I simply suggest to use this as same stats as a 'rifle-shooter' but with 3 rounds each time instead of one, making it more likely to hit one target or to make multiple damage in a cluster of targets. 

Alternatively if using other rules than specific 'Old West' ones, just treat it as a LMG if the rules include such weapon.

It looks like he is ready for going rouge in future games...

Tour de Garden Part II - Pletten Railway revisited

It's typical, but as soon as I hit the publish-button on my last blogpost about our 'Garden Railway Marathon', another day out and running session was suggested. -This time as running session instead of a regular Tuesday club-evening at our Model Railway Club. I usually work odd hours, nights, weekends, red dates and so on, so I'm not always able to attend to our club-meetings on Tuesdays. But last night Thomas invited the club over for a running session at his Pletten Railway again, and that is actually on the way (via a slight detour) to my work, so I was able to make a stop there before going to work. Since I'm commuting by motorcycle I wasn't able to bring more trains that I could fit in my pannier again

This time I was able to fit wagons loaded with a complete Flosssack Pionierfähre/ Pioner Ferry.

The trains are getting ready in the Fiddle yard. These two are firing Live Steam Locomotives:

Here are some impressions of our day out:

I saw the prototype for this model when we visited Switzerland last year:

This is a Piko G-scale model of a V60 repainted as a Norwegian State Railway Di.5 from the 90ies. A very well done paint job indeed:

It looks like there is a small music festival by the coffee-machine:

As I've said before, Garden Railways are in the very social end of the hobby:

Thank you very much for your invitation and hospitality Thomas!

The next blogpost will be something more 'wargame' related...

Tour de Gardens - A Garden Railway Marathon

The weather has been too nice to sit in and do modelling or wargaming lately, so the last couple of weeks have been busy with several members from our model railway club visiting several garden railways. It has also been a large variation on rollingstock and some unusuak seen during our running sessions. Therefore I hope you watch this blogpost to the end. 

The last couple of weeks I've visited a couple of other Garden Railway layouts since I've attended to the Grand Opening of Pletten Railway.

White Pass & Yukon Route Garden Railway

A friend and fellow model railway club member, Gunnar, has a very overall and well executed G-scale White Pass & Yokon Route railway in his garden. He wrote a blog on and had a YouTube-channel on his old layout at his old house. Gunnar and his family has since moved houses within the same neighborhood, and he has been creating a new version of his layout in his new garden. This was not a running session so I wasn't bringing any trains this time. The was just lending a hand to get his layout ready for the season. I'd like to share a couple of photos from it though:

This is how Gunnar's layout looks like before we've inspected, leveling and adjusted the tracks and placed the structures 

Bennett Station

White Pass Station

On 'the wrong side of the tracks' in White Pass the Bank is strategically placed besides the Saloon... 

-And that might become handy as there seems like there are someone who plans for a 'good time' in the Saloon. 

A final test run to see if everything works. This German Mallet locomotive was just for testing the tracks as Gunnar har proper American White Pass rollingstock which he uses on his layout. 

Gunnar's Garden Railway is now ready for running this season!

Opsundbanen/ Opsund railway

Just a few days after our club-members made an effort at Gunnar's garden railway, another member in our model railway club, Heine, invited to a running-session and BBQ in his garden for the Pentecost weekend. This time I brought a train though:

It's the first time I see this Nohab diesel in G-scale by Piko. It's hughe! Similar locomotives was used by the Norwegian State Railway NSB, and I think the ownerhas a plan to eventually give it a Norwegian livery:

Erik's garden railway at Kvastebyen

Less than a week after the day out in Heine's garden, Erik invited us over to his garden to run trains on his garden railway as the weather was really sunny and hot. Usually when I bring my trains over to friends I fill up several boxes just for a modest train. This time I didn't have the car as my wife was using it, so I had to ride my motorcycle instead. -So several boxes was out of the question. Luckily I have an old pannier which is quite large. Which will hold some trains even in large scale.

This is how much trains I could carefully fit into the pannier. It had to be loaded with 'motorcycles' as I was driving one my self to this day out:

Here are some photos and videos of my German Military while running on Erik's lovely garden railway:

Here are some of the other train on the line this day:

Erik is also into H0e and 009 modelling. Both these are narrow gauge locomotives of similar class:

After running trains for a while it was time for a break...

...and BBQ some hotdogs...

...but it's pastry which is Erik' specialty:

Opsundbanen revisited 

Every time I'm about to hit 'the publish button' on this blogpost, someone invites to another running-session in their garden, and this blogpost goes back to the draft again. Earlier this week Heine suggested that instead of going to the weekly meeting at our model railway club, we could bring some trains and food and come to his garden for a running-session and BBQ as the weather was perfect. My wife was using the car again, so this was same procedure as last time:

I brought another train this time though:

Heine was running his German Military Heeresfeldbahn HF110C locomotive in a camouflage livery:

One German, one British. Both military 

There were not so many other trains this afternoon:

We had a great time together with coffee, cakes and barbecuing:

To all of you; Gunnar, Heine and Erik; Thank you very much for inviting and having us and for your great and warm hospitality!

I think this must be one of the most active model railway clubs or societies in Norway regarding the number of running-sessions, so thank you for making it possible guys!