"Major Dundee Figures" Topic

've always wanted to game the charge across the Rio Grande skirmish at the end
of Major Dundee. Rather than paint up dozens of French Lancers, who weren't
actually there, I plan to use Chasseurs d' Afrique and Line Chasseurs. For the
Americans, I'm not that familiar with ACW 25/28mm lines. I'd like to find
figures to use for the African American prison guards who volunteered to ride
with the Major. Ideally, they should be wearing infantry uniform and kepis. I'm
also looking for a figure I can use as Potts, the one armed scout. I seem to
remember him in buckskins, with an unusual hat, like a tall bowler. Of course,
I'm prepared to perform the amputation myself ;). Last figure I need is Major
Dundee himself. I think I'm going to have to convert him since I doubt I'll find
a US cavalry officer wearing a sarape. I think the Confederate cavalrymen should
be easy to find.

The Major Dundee scenario has turned up in a couple of rules books. Has anyone
out there tried it?

"Until the Apache is killed or taken."

I think you are on the right track with Chasseurs d' Afrique and Line Chasseurs as the French occupation troops.

With the combined Yank and Reb Cavalry force, don't forget they also had Lt Graham's mountain howitzer at their disposal.

Potts can be depicted by various wild west figures.

Greg Novak ran this very game several years ago using 15mm figures. Every time a major character took a hit they could negate it by saying a line from the movie. It was great fun.

You could also use Imperial Mexican lancers instead.

Most of the military should pose no problem, even Potts. Look to a mounted figure from an 1812 line. Even the Mexican patriots can be found from an irregular or miiitia figures from most MAW series.

The most important question remains, where do you find a Senta Berger figure?

link

Maybe with some extra "green stuff"?

Here are your free troops of color,
link
search on "negro"

I used some of these for Martinique troops in French army in Mexico.

They were pretty cheap, from Wargames remainders boxes at H'Con. Heard they are not coming to Cold Wars, too bad.

Nick,

"MAJOR DUNDEE" is one of my favorite movies of all time!!!

doc mcb: you may very well be right, but I remember that great line as: "Until the Apache is taken… or destroyed."

I always think of Major Dundee as one of, if not the first, big Hollywood movie in which the hero has a "Kill Tag" which he delivers several times (such as became common for Eastwood, Stallone, schwarzenegger, et al. to deliver throughout the late '70s and '80s). Dundee's "Kill Tag" goes something like this:

"I order you to ride, you ride. I order you to charge, you charge. I order you to run -- you follow me and run like hell."

Nick, did you see the restored version with the "original" soundtrack that was theatrically released a few years back? It was good but to be honest I love the soundtrack from the 1965 release, complete with the sing-a-long with Mitch Miller marching theme.

Any chance you can relocate this game a few hundred miles south…?

Mad Guru!

Yet another favorite movie we share! I do have the restored version and I too missed the Mitch Miller Singers: "Fall in behind the Major". The restored version also deleted some dramatic music in the middle of the film which leaves those scenes feeling flat. There's a very good comparison of the reissued disk with the original release and a list of missing scenes:

link

I wish they had shot the original opening sequence at the Rostes Ranch set during a Halloween party with ranchers dressed up in costume as Apaches and the real Apaches show up!

I'm a few months away from collecting and painting all the figures needed. But as you, yourself proved over Labor Day, "A Wargame is a movable feast"

Nick!

My son's buddy Wil, who was there with us on Maiwand Day 130, asked me to set up a game for him to participate in this coming Sunday. Mir happens to be in town, so I will be doing something NWF-related -- hopefully on a smaller scale than the full-bore "Maiwand" scenario! So just in case you can travel over the coming holiday weekend, put LA on your "to-visit" list!

I just checked it out and that is a great link, thanks!

As far as the "movable feast" goes, there's always room at my table (both dining table and the far more important one in the garage!) for you and yours, be they friends, relatives, miniatures, terrain pieces, rule sets and/or scenarios!

Here is the scenario that I have run in the far past

link

Greg Novak

Greg, thank you for sharing this. I've been wanting to try it since I bought Yellow Ribbon around 1990.

Jeeze, I've been waiting 20 years. Actually, probably more like 45, since I saw the movie when it first came out. First time I ever heard of the French Intervention.

Does anyone have the info on the Major Dundee scenario mentioned by Greg Novak above? Since he passed away, his blog, which I think had the scenario description, has disappeared.
IIRC it seemingly made for a fun game, using his Yellow Ribbon rules. Would like to try it. Any assistance greatly appreciated.
Jerry

Jerry, PM me and I'll see what I can do. I did not know that Greg Novak had passed. Seems only fitting to run a game in his memory.