More New Stuff for Indostan

Here are a couple more things for our Indostan game this weekend.

First up is a scratchbuilt palanquin. This thing has bothered me for quite some time, about 4 years actually, and I have already had a shot at building one here, but never completed it, due to its clumsy look. I finally bit the bullet and forgot about being able to fit an actual miniature inside and went with a fully enclosed model instead.

"Sorry gentlemen, I must leave you. My ride is here."

The palanquin is made simply from a foamboard base with thin cardboard sheeting. The supporting "pipe" is made from an ear bud tube, that goes directly through the whole piece. I was able to get the slightly curved roof shape (although it is a little hard to see it) by packing a few extra strips of card down the center of the roof.

The new improved Palanquin 2000

Whenever I set about to build anything my plan usually demands the piece to be versatile, hence I have made the bearers removable. This has two benefits. Firstly the palanquin can also represent a "parked" vehicle and secondly the bearers can be utilised for other projects (I see them carrying a tiger fresh from the hunt between them one day). The bearers, by the way, are Foundry Indian Mutiny figures. The poles are simply toothpicks that have their pointy bits inserted into the palanquin "pipe".

The second piece is a Front Rank ammunition cart. This is a nice model I scored years ago (a pair actually) from a car-boot sale, but like a lot of things has sat unpainted in a box. I'm a big fan of Front Rank and their vehicles are no exception. The cart comes with both a wicker and wooden cover, and includes traces for hitching the draft animals. BIG yoked horses were included in the buy, but of course for Indostan, one must simply demand oxen. They should probably have been painted for use by either the British or the French, in blue or red, respectively, but you know how versatile I like to be.

The wicker...

the wooden...

...and the oxen