Little Bighorn 1876 in 20mm (part 7) - The Indian Teepees

 

There were a bit over 1000 Teepees at the Little Bighorn divided among 11 tribal groups. With these 31 Teepees I reached the 34 mark (with the three plastic ones of part 5) which seems Ok to represent the huge Indian camp, probably, the biggest ever to be seen in that part of America. 

Everything started not on this piece of BlueBoard but on Chinese shops of my city. I remember in the past lots of small and big plastic bags filled with Indians and Cowboys (with a few Teepees inside) in those shops but somehow I couldn´t find any after entering a few of them.  Having quit buying Teepees I resorted to my trusted 4cm thick blueboard. This small board of around 35cmX35cm  was enough to make over 30 of them. 

Each was cut into a triangular shaped piece not exactly the same size and around 7cm height and 5cm at the base. The Teepees are round based structures but these became egg-shaped as the 4cm thick block doesn´t allow for more and I was lazy to use a thicker one. The Indian camps are mostly for decorative effects, excluding actions like the Washita massacre, and a "2d" representation is enough for me (the problem is if the cavalry wins and enters the village... well, highly unlikely). 

Each Teepee was slightly rounded with an X-acto and then sanded. On the tip five plastic broom stick pieces were stuck and then glued with hot glue simulating the long poles that hold the Teepee and cross each other at the top. 

The larger type made is the circular one with five Teepees each. Teepees were always facing the rising sun and the disposition of the bigger and smaller bases had to have this fact into consideration. 

The doors are simply painted black oval holes without the flapped doors. Maybe one day I´ll add them with a piece of Milliput. 

The top of the teepees were blackened as smoke was always coming from the central fire place. 

Next: more LBH or a return to Bir Hakeim.