"Suitable Metis Minis?" Topic

I am planning out a 54mm North West Rebellion project and am stuck on what minis to use for the Metis. I am going to use converted Armies in Plastic colonials for the Canadian forces. The only thing I can think of for the Metis is to convert Plains Indians, but my google fu has failed me and I can't find any decent pictures of Metis warriors to see what their costume looked like. Any help?

Mike

My recollection is a rather more euopean/quebequois look, with some details of difference in decoration.

A thought -- consider starting with some boers -- although at 54mm details like the rifle bolts might matter.

Metis were what, south of the line, were called "half-breeds". The generally wore white man's clothes with some Amerind touches. What you want is frontiersman/buffalo hunter/mountain man types.

Do an image search under "Metis", "Dumont", "1885 Rebellion", etc.--I found lots of pictures. They were generally bearded, with somewhat disheveled clothing (i.e., similar to Boers but not as tidy (!!)). Some wore Amerind bands just below the knee, fringed jackets, etc. Not a problem to fudge it at smaller scales, but 54mm will be a challenge. Good luck.

You should also check out two Yahoo Groups: FenianRaids, which covers all 19th C. Canadian conflicts, and Toysoldierwargame, whose moderator, Ken Cliffe, is a pre-eminent authority on the subject (and casts 54mm figures to boot!)

Thanks for the info. My google fu was much better today. It seems my best bet is a mix of converted boers and mountain men. Does that sound about right?

I shall join those yahoo groups as well.

Mike

RAFM make a 25mm Northwest Rebellion range, including personalities, which would give you a sense of what to look for. By and large though – and I taught the NW Rebellion to a couple of classes of 10th graders in Vancouver last spring – I think Boers would be a good place to start, with some Aboriginal touches added. If you can get good 54mm Coureurs-du-Bois those might also lend some useful figures (or bits). Also don't forget there were large numbers of Cree and other Plains peoples involved in the rebellion so they can be mixed in fairly liberally as well. In terms of both modelling and painting consider that coats made from Hudson's Bay blankets were very common – esp. since many Metis worked on some level for the HBC – though perhaps out of season at the time of Batoche. Beards seem to have been common (not unusually for Canadians of the period) and Riel is usually depicted as being quite well-dressed. There were also priests present at several of Riel's battles from what I recall, though I don't believe they played an active militant role.

Be very careful using most of the (roughly) period paintings of Seven Oaks, etc as they tend to be very romanticised, but they're another resource. I can't speak for other provinces but in BC this material is taught in grade 10 and the standard text is called "Horizons: Canada Moves West" (Michael Cranny et al). There are a number of images there – both photos and paintings – which might prove useful. I would think the HBC archives in Winnipeg could also furnish you with copies of images. Most Canadian university libraries should be able to help you with ordering materials, perhaps for a modest fee in the form of a "community borrower" library card. UBC Okanagan (then OUC) had good access to this stuff when I was an undergrad there 10 or so years ago, though their top Canadianist at the time has since retired.

Here's RAFM's link, direct to the NW Rebellion range; scroll down for the Metis figs:

link

Yeah mountain men would also work.

Wow, thanks for all the info. Funnily enough, I am a 10th grader! Learning about the Rebellion in said textbook (along wiht my own research) is what prompted me to look into wargaming the period.

Mike

Odd…when I replied the post count on the frontpage didn't go up…

Mike

That's cool, Warjack. Always good to hear that what we do in class inspires students in their lives outside of school. One thing I forgot is that there's a relatively new graphic novel about Riel, which your school library probably has, and Chapters certainly does. I believe the focus is on the Northwest Rebellion but I haven't had a chance to read it yet.

Irregular Miniatures have Wild West, ACW and Plains Wars in 54mm as well as several British colonial types. Each of these should be able to supply some useful figures. If you're going to cover the Red River Rebellion in 1870, you could do worse than use cowboy figures to represent Thomas Scott's mob. They could work for some of your Metis as well. You'll want a pretty "irregular" look for them so the more variety you have to choose from, the better. Irregular are a good company to deal with and are very helpful. Their prices are also pretty good.

irregularminiatures.co.uk

There was an article recently in the magazine "Toy Soldier & Model Figure" ( issue 105, February 2007 ) which showed a diorama of a Metis rebellion scene, housed at The Toy Soldier ( the-toy-soldier.com ) . It says the soldiers shown were manufactured by Kingcast, and sculpted by Peter Cowan in 1987, but I think some items are also being produced by Dorset, and still available. ( Perhaps the people at The Toy Soldier could help if yopu e-mailed them? )

Very cool article, featuring a sled-mounted artillery piece for use in the snow.

For the Dorset Metis line, go to: dorsetsoldiers.com

The figures are new releases, and include a sled-mounted artillery piece.

Speaking of artillery, ACW ranges may also have a Gatling gun & crew for Batoche… from what I recall the one Middleton had was a loaner (possibly including the crew) from the US Army anyway. If you want to get *really* adventurous, I've even seen paddlewheelers (again mainly for ACW) such as that used so ineffectively on the first day of Batoche, in 25mm. In 54mm, you're probably looking at the plastic- or wooden model market (which may have some very fine offerings) or making it yourself. If you choose the latter option, take notes and pictures as I'm sure there'd be people on here who would be interested in how you did it.