Mound builders
After getting a couple of boxes of Revell Aztecs, I realized I havd no
opponents
for them. So I took my spare Sioux from the Little Bighorn set,
and
some Dollar store "Indians" and set about making up some North American
armies.
The Mound builders called out to me because of the unusual troop
types
(Litter General). It turns we know very little about how they
looked.
I could have used even more Aztecs for the blades but ended up
using
the "Indians" despite the anachronism. Sioux archers made up the
Bows
and a mix of troops were used for the Auxilia, Warband, and Psiloi.
In
the end I had enough of each troop type to field Eastern Forest
Indians,
Dog People/Pueblo Culture, and Mound Builders/Mississipian culture. The
only
true conversion (apart from giving the Sioux some clubs and spears
rather
than the weapons they came with) is the Mound Builder general below:
Although the war bonnets seem out of place, in fact feathers were worn
by
many Native Americans, including some Mesoamericans like the Aztecs.
I
don't know what the staff weapon they hold is supposed to represent --
possibly
a coup stick, or spear. I painted the end grey to suggest a flint
blade
and these same figures make up a Blade element as well. The two
back
rows are supporting the platform. Their staves were cut, hands
drilled,
and a wire run between them to provide two "joists." The general
himself
may be holding a rifle in his left hand but the casting is poor enough
to
leave it ambiguous and I painted it as a club.