Dead Man’s Hand – US Cavalry on Foot

Great Escape Games added the US Cavalry to their range of plastic sets for Dead Man's Hand. These were financed through a Kickstarter campaign in November of last year. If you missed them as part of the Kickstarter campaign, don't worry: you can pick them up now from their online store or through various retailers all over the world.

The DMHP006 boxed set "US Cavalry" contains 10 multi-part plastic miniatures for an RRP of 18 GBP, and gives you the opportunity to build US Cavalry on foot, as well as units from the 9th and 10th Buffalo Soldiers. We received a sample sprue each from both kits — the foot and mounted versions — in Q1 of 2026, and we are catching up with them now in separate reviews.

Casting is properly done. There are only minor mould lines, no issues with flash, and the details are crisp. The layout of the sprue is similar to the others in the range, or to the plastic kits you may know from North Star, for example. Each sprue contains enough parts to build five miniatures, along with several options for pistols, cavalry carbines, various bags, and a total of 16 different heads per sprue. There is also a dog and a cactus included.

Each sprue includes five different sets of legs, one of which has the longer uniform of the officer. The upper bodies also come in five different designs, with various neckerchiefs, one with suspenders, and one with an open uniform jacket.

Now we have to choose the weaponry. As mentioned above, there are different options: five sets of arms with carbines, five sets of arms with pistols or revolvers, one with a sabre, and one with a bugle. I chose a varied selection to show you the range of options.

We have a total of 16 different heads to choose from, with kepis and cavalry stetsons, including different faces and expressions.

The heads are a bit oversized in places, and some of the necks do not fit the bodies that well without a bit of filing or trimming.

In the last step, we add the optional bits and pieces to the set. Each sprue comes with a dog and a cactus, as well as several holsters and flasks.

Some of the heads are the same design across both kits, both the mounted and the foot versions, giving you the opportunity to build both variants of your models. Just as you may remember from some of the old West ranges cast in pewter.

The scale of the Great Escape Games plastics matches that of the Gripping Beast and North Star plastics, so you can mix and match them. For example, if you intend to use these old West miniatures with sci-fi bits from Stargrave to recreate some Space Western atmosphere, such as Galaxy Rangers or Bravestarr, the scale works well.

Regarding scale, here is a comparison shot of the plastics next to Artizan Design (left), Boot Hill Miniatures (middle), and old Wargames Foundry (right). Some of the older Foundry miniatures are closer to 25 mm and will stand out depending on how you base them.

There they are: our small unit of US Cavalrymen.

Conclusion

An interesting addition to the range. The Cavalry is a popular faction, known from many films and usually iconic for their last-minute arrival to change the outcome of a battle or save the heroes in the very last minute.

We covered the plastic Gunfighters from Dead Man's Hand here as well, back in 2021, and my verdict is pretty close. The range has grown to provide more variation across the kits. That is a great thing, as is the production quality, which is beyond reproach: you get clean casts with proper detail. My only issue here is the proportions. Some of the arms, especially the ones where both hands hold a carbine, look a bit small, especially compared to the large heads. And while the duplicated heads are useful, I would have liked a bit more variation in facial expression. Since the US Cavalry had a rather fixed layout in terms of equipment, there is not much missing here: you get pistols and rifles, and you get the options for the officer and the musician. A banner or pole would have been an interesting addition, and I would have liked to see one among the parts on the sprue.

You can build proper units from these sprues. The poses are well chosen, as are the options included on the sprue. And it is certainly a great advantage to have access to plastic if you want to play larger games or battles, for example the American Indian Wars. In addition, there are now a total of five plastic boxes to choose from — two gunfighter kits, two mounted gunfighter kits, and the mounted US Cavalry — which gives you plenty of room to mix and match, kitbash, and convert.

That they went with a Kickstarter campaign to finance these kits makes sense as well. Old West wargaming is a niche, and plastic is usually used for volume, which you do not typically need in skirmish games. So gauging demand for these additions to the range is exactly what crowdfunding is for.

If you want to read about the US Cavalry, I recommend these two Osprey books: Men-at-Arms 33 US Cavalry and Men-at-Arms 168 US Cavalry on the Plains 1850 - 90, with the latter being the more relevant of the two.

• Production Quality: 4/5
• Design Appeal: 3/5
• Options / Customisation: 3/5
• Value for Money: 4/5
• Ease of Assembly: 4/5

Dead Man's Hand is a game by Great Escape Games.

The reviewed product item was provided by the manufacturer.