40k Charted: Unit Spotlight – Rough Riders
February 15, 2016 by warzan
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OK Today’s challenge is to find the ultimate alternative Rough Rider Models
And by alternative I’m really looking for gaming in the gaps type stuff rather than cheaper or clones of the existing ones 🙂
These guys have been on my mind alot 🙂
https://www.perry-miniatures.com/product_info.php?cPath=23_28_65&products_id=2635&osCsid=miq82rl1d4pngj6g5ma81t68r6
BTW More than 2 links in a comment will trigger the spam machines to spread them out if you have more 🙂
I’ll catch it if it does happen – will make sure they get approved 😉
Victoria Miniatures dude. That’s where it’s at.
http://victoriaminiatures.highwire.com/product/rough-rider-legs-x5
http://victoriaminiatures.highwire.com/product/rough-rider-arms
http://victoriaminiatures.highwire.com/product/5-dress-uniform-torsos-resin
http://victoriaminiatures.highwire.com/product/dress-cap-heads
It’s a bit hard to navigate around their site but you can pretty much buy all the bits needed to make rough riders and although they only seem to have one variety of rough-rider legs, they are compatible with the rest of their range AND they’re to scale with current 40k models. They also have a great range of heads available, allowing you to easily create various historically themed troops from Anzacs to Red Coats. They even have Female heads and torsos. The only downside I can see is that they don’t seem to have the horses available
Using the links above, a squad of 5 will set you back $25(Australian) plus shipping. That’s about £12.
have a look at these guys! i think these will suit you best 😛
http://www.blightwheelminiatures.com/terror-bird-cavalry
Used to love the old citadel rough rider mini’s think they might have been perry sculpted…
As for proxies id probably use these with some head swaps and light kitbashing:
http://fireforge-games.com/webstore/mongol-horde/steppe-warriors-32-286-287-288-details
or these with any horse i could use, although rough riders on camels is very tempting!!!!
http://www.theassaultgroup.co.uk/index.php?p=74&page=1
dont forget the new mechanical horses for the wild west exodus confederate faction, lots of cool potential there
Such a great 40k spotlight, one that really pulled on that sense of nostalgia. I love rough riders
That air cav catachan army with surfers was my 1st ever white dwarf and hooked me into 40k
I remember reading about an all rough rider list before IA and GW suggested converting heavy weapon teams to be pulled by horses etc
Catachans on Tigers I think is more David Bowie!
I would love to see Valhallans on Polar Bears
Warren you was thinking of the Scots Grey’s at Waterloo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIDvyGifRE0
^^ Must Watch! 🙂
One of my absolute favourite scenes 🙂
This is a link to the history of the Royal Scots Greys @warzan
Oops
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Scots_Greys
@warzan sorry dude but this vid keeps stopping, like its buffering on my iPad 2 and iPhone 5s, cleared the cache and I have 32mb/s download speed 🙁
@peachey its vimeo’s CDN, nothing to do with BoW try restarting router you might get a new ip from your isp on a better favoured subnet by vimeo’s cdn…
Really? ok, that explains my problems with it as well.
I don´t know what happen but I don´t like Rough riders since the very first time. long time ago.
Though I´m IG collector myself.
They don´t fit with my personal Scy fy scenario.
Meanwhile I´m gonna check perrys ACW range. I always wanted to have a Confederate Army. Horses look like they are fun to paint.
I had an issue with the size of Perrys Napoleonic horses. Not only the horses the riders also are tiny compared to all 40k stuff they are really small. As you can see here
I ended up with horses from the Imperial Pistoleers from the Warhammer Fantasy range.
I bought some French Napoleonic Heavy Cavalry for my Mordians – fantastic models but the breastplates were too small to be 40k compatible…
The Perry British Light Dragoons from their Napoleonic range. Build them as the Peninsula War uniforms, then give them Lancer arms from somewhere else in the range for the Rough Rider’s lances. Scale would be a little off if you use them with standard Guardsmen, though.
Ok Here’s a few historical minis and a few cool conversions
First up are Warlord Games Thirty Years War Cavalry
http://store.warlordgames.com/collections/thirty-years-war-1618-1648/products/pike-shotte-cavalry-plastic-boxed-set
Warlord Games Swedish Cavalry
http://store.warlordgames.com/collections/thirty-years-war-1618-1648/products/thirty-years-war-swedish-cavalry
Should be led by this guy better known as Carolus Rex (Ask John about him Sabaton literally have an album dedicated to him)
http://store.warlordgames.com/collections/thirty-years-war-1618-1648/products/thirty-years-war-gustavus-adolphus-king-of-sweden
And Winged Hussars are cool
http://store.warlordgames.com/collections/thirty-years-war-1618-1648/products/polish-winged-hussars
Perry Cavalry are also pretty good
https://www.perry-miniatures.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_62&products_id=3278
https://www.perry-miniatures.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_62&products_id=1990
https://www.perry-miniatures.com/product_info.php?cPath=23_74_75&products_id=3406
https://www.perry-miniatures.com/product_info.php?cPath=23_35_49&products_id=2437
https://www.perry-miniatures.com/product_info.php?cPath=23_35_49&products_id=2402
Then you can do some weird stuff
Or Cool stuff
http://cfile224.uf.daum.net/image/146424244C676D5A720B46
But if it was me I’d be looking at these with a headswap with these guys
http://store.warlordgames.com/collections/napoleonic-french/products/napoleonic-french-line-lancers
http://store.warlordgames.com/collections/hail-caesar-armoury/products/attic-helmeted-roman-figure-heads-pack-24
If I remember right you guys unboxed some Japanese Cavalry from Wargames Factory many years ago (Who are merging with Warlord) see if you can find those Japanese Cavalry would be really cool.
Warlord Companions would be cool
http://store.warlordgames.com/collections/macedonians/products/macedonian-companion-cavalry-boxed-set
Fireforge Knights are Cool
http://fireforge-games.com/webstore/men-at-arms/sergeants-at-arms-details
Puppetswar have some awesome bikers for use as Rough Riders. http://www.puppetswar.eu/category.php?id_category=193
Always attached to bear riders ….
https://www.coolminiornot.com/shop/celtic-sf-bear-rider-2-1.html
Or… go mechanical horse route with malifaux
https://www.coolminiornot.com/shop/mechanical-rider-1-1.html
I used to use the old Tallern Rough Riders mounted on cold ones
I pretty sure someone was making chocobo mounts for rough riders.
Found them
http://www.blightwheelminiatures.com/terror-bird-cavalry
😀
My current favorite rough riders are space marine scout bikers with Guard torso/heads and misc fantasy spears.
Ah, rough riders :’)
About two years back I was trying to get my brother back into gaming after a long hiatus, I lent him my Word Bearers, set up an awesome looking city board all ruins, trenches, bunkers and barricades and told him I’d be using my Guard. He was expecting plenty of infantry to be dug in, heavy weapons brought to bear, the look on his face after I’d deployed all my infantry – a column of tanks on one flank supported by three squads of Rough Riders – brilliant. Was only just getting into Napoleonics at the time so I’d bought a couple of boxes of French Cuirassiers and ran them as the Pyran Dragoons (unit in the fluff from 5th Ed if I remember right), big helmets, swords drawn, full on cavalry charge on his flank. Got shot to bits but was epic. Against the marines, they sort of looked like the correct scale and they made the tanks look a little bit bigger which is cool, but if I hadn’t put them on the nice big 40mm bases and really built the bases up they really would have looked out of place alongside the infantry. No matter. Looked awesome. One thing I did learn was that the tanks (inc an armoured fist squad) really gave them a punch on that flank, otherwise they’d have dropped dead like any other guardsman assault that I’ve ever made haha. Have to see if I’ve any pics saved of the look of utter bewilderment as I plopped nigh on 30 cavalry with sabres on the board haha
ooh, just thought @warzan, I can’t actually think of a manufacturer for plastic Prussian cavalry, you can however use French Hussars and with the right paint scheme, you don’t even need to convert them. Saw some pics a while back of someone who’d done some Brunswick Death’s Head Hussars using the French sprues and they turned out really well, will try and find a link…
Oh man, nothing in miniature wargaming looks as cool as cavalry! I don’t care if the mounts are horses, bears, tigers, dragons, velociraptors, oxen, centipedes, or ostriches etc etc. Whatever creature, cavalry is awesome!
While maybe not great for conversion purposes, I’m a big fan of Vladimir Tzepesci Great Prince of Umbrey, and Lord General Coleman Stryker from Privateers Press’ Warmachine range. Beautiful and dynamic sculpts for sure:
http://privateerpress.com/warmachine/gallery/khador/warcasters/vladimir-tzepesci-great-prince-of-umbrey
http://privateerpress.com/warmachine/gallery/cygnar/warcasters/lord-general-coleman-stryker
Any Cossacks would probably do the job. A friend when we played epic had a unit of about 100 rough rider stands made up of Irregular miniatures Cossacks . looked fantastic
Rogue Trader and my Biker-jacket Imperial Guard Rough Riders used to chase Tyranids around a pool table 🙂
Luttwak in his Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire said he saw a modern battle with men on horses charging about firing all round them…
Mutant Chronicles had some fantastic riding beasts – armoured camel things and reptile riders from Venus (?)
not a common unit choice may be good to get an objective to win the game?
So some comments on this.
1) including these guys with tank forces is a fairly fluffy idea. In WW2, the soviet cavalry regiments were usually a part of mechanized or tank forces. The reason being was that soviet tank and mechanized forces were about speed and exploitation. For soviets, cavalry were just a way to move infantry across any terrain quickly without he need for fuel
2) for your tank commander… Look to the tanchanka. It was a soviet Cossack/cavalry weapon. Essentially it was just an HMG on a cart pulled by 4 horses. Now while that’s not particularly exciting, you could go balls-out and really do this up crazy-40k-style, having a large team of horses pulling an armored chassis armed with a battle cannon. There is your cavalry tank commander!
Here are images
http://www.warlordgames.com/new-soviet-tachanka-mmg-wagon/
40k version of this thing
for myself …..id opt for dinoriders …5-6 squads ….throw in a couple of carnosaur size models with heavy weapon teams …..and to finish a third carnosaur sized heavy weapon with command crew maybe couple single riders on base too to get that leman russ footprint ……probably have to find a way to give dinos a attack too be a shame to waste all those teeth and claws
Warren how about for hobby time converting a Rough Rider platoon where you turn them into mechanicum Centaurs using either forge world Solar Auxilia or Legion ,or Militia Renegades upper bodies joined to decapitated horse bodies adding pipes, wires, cogs, and twin weapons- 1 per flank.
or keep them as Rough Riders
But Use 28–56mil + Elephants or mammoths ( remember the giant elephants in Lord of the Rings ) add armor to heads, front body, front and rear flanks and rear , add a spiked ball to the end of the trunk, and also an actual armored fort on their backs ( these elephants are probably available as the Indians actually used them configured like this against Alexander the Great ). You could arm these up to Land Raider or Leman Russ Levels , or above and having a squad of guards or heavy weapon teams in the fort also.
You could also turn them into living TITANS and also reintroduce the old epic knight equestria with their 4 legs
http://www.manticgames.com/mantic-shop/kings-of-war/basilea/product/basilean-sisterhood-panther-lancers-10-figures.html
-lions (female) with riders who have spears
http://www.airfix.com/uk-en/shop/vehicles/military-vehicles/british-quad-bikes-and-crew-1-48.html
-quad bikes (ever so slightly oversized)
they are my favourites for rough riders
What do you mean ‘not a great idea’ @warzan? Ratlings on badgers! It would be ratlings, but on f*cking badgers! I can think of no more terrifying a cavalry charge 😛
If only the Hunting Lance wasn’t a Specialist Weapon and wasn’t a One use only.
I love their fluff (although in the current book it was butchered) and mine are a mix of original hunting lances with parts from cadian troops and pistoliers.
They were a great counter charge unit when they just ignored armor but being AP3 is still nice with the +2 to strength. Which is what I have used them for to great effect. Keep them safe and reasonably healthy then charge in to a unit.
The only thing I wished they could get would be lasguns or shotguns. Because that would make just a fun wild west cowboy themed army. Or even a Canadian Mounty army as well.
I love the Zulu Wars period so many years ago I built a rough riders’ unit by cutting up the extra Praetorian Guard standard bearers and sergeants and mashing them with the original metal rough riders. It is worth it whenever I drag out my imperial guard force and my opponent starts coming to terms with my red coated, pith helmeted army, but then when the cavalry comes out to play I usually get a laugh, and then the “how cool are they” comment? Either that or a “how old are you?” Anyway, tried to post a pic of them here but couldn’t’ work it out. Will try and email you them Warren ….
Such a great episode!
I had bought some time ago a box of Chaos Marauder Horsemen https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Chaos-Marauder-Horsemen-2016 that I was going to convert up as rough riders for my Inquisitorial henchmen warband. Since the marauders are human sized, they’d work well with other models. The old box I got had just 5, but the new current box has 10 men for £30. Probably still a bit steep, but you could look around for the bits on bits stores instead.
Or do hoverboard conversions instead, that would be totally ace lol. 😀