Dead Man’s Hand – Mounted US Cavalry

The second part of the US Cavalry range for Dead Man’s Hand by Great Escape Games is a box of mounted soldiers: the Mounted U.S. Cavalry. It continues the line of cowboys (and cowgirls) on horseback and makes perfect sense for the US Cavalry. The mounted US Cavalry was crowdfunded through Kickstarter in March 2026 and delivered in April and May this year.

If you missed it, we already covered the US Cavalry on foot earlier on the blog.

The Mounted US Cavalry (DMHP007) boxed set contains 10 multi-part plastic miniatures for an RRP of 28 GBP. Just like the infantry set, it gives you the parts you need to build US Cavalry on horseback, as well as options for the 9th and 10th Buffalo Soldiers. We received a sample covering half a box, with three different sprues.

There is nothing to complain about when it comes to the casting quality. The mould lines are perfectly acceptable, and the sprue layout does not waste much space. You get clean casts that capture the details properly. The mounted models come with sprues for the horses and oval bases as well. As far as I understand it, and since I have not handled the other mounted sets myself, the horses are the same across the different mounted DMH sets.

Each sprue covers enough parts to build five miniatures. In the case of the US Cavalry, that includes weapon options, 16 different heads, a few bags and holsters. The horses have five different poses and various saddle bags and luggage.

Here is a comparison of the US Cavalry heads from both sprues. As you can see, some are identical or at least very similar. At first, I thought this was a great idea, since it would let you represent the same character mounted and on foot. In practice, though, it feels more like a missed opportunity. These sprues come in pairs anyway (two per five models), so you end up with a duplicate of each head in the box. That means they could have added a few more faces or poses instead, and the set would have benefited from the extra variety.

Let us start with the horses. As mentioned, there are five different poses, they are labelled with letters, and you should be able to mix the bodies. In addition to the horses, there are plenty of saddle bags and similar bits on the sprue. Assembly went quickly and without any hassle.

They stand firmly on the bases. The horse heads may not be the most beautiful sculpts, but they absolutely do their job.

Next up are the riders. The legs have a broad stance so they fit the horse backs properly. Minor details, like the different belt buckles and the lower part of the officer’s jacket, help distinguish them. We also get different torsos to go with them, building on the designs we already know from the unmounted bodies.

The weapon options in this kit are similar, but the poses are adapted to holding them while riding. To show the variety, we went with a sabre for the officer, a bugle, and a mix of carbines and pistols/revolvers.

There are different heads in here as well. As mentioned above, some are identical to the unmounted versions.

I used the head from one of the officers from the unmounted sprue to keep the character more recognisable. Beyond that, you can mix and match them, not only from this set but from other DMH kits as well. This is actually the only step in the entire build that is not as smooth as it could be. The ball joint between the heads and the necks is not always a proper fit, so you need to trim a little off the neck in some cases to keep the heads from sitting too high on the body.

Now for the optional bits and pieces. We used the various bags and items from the horse and rider sprues to add a bit more variety to the miniatures. You can give them holsters and a range of gear for each figure.

As mentioned, you can build some of the characters almost identically, or at least very close to each other, so you can use them both on foot and on horseback. I also want to show a comparison shot of the plastics next to Artizan Design on the left, old(er) Wargames Foundry in the middle, and Boot Hill Miniatures on the right. Some of the older Foundry miniatures are closer to 25 mm and will stand out depending on how you base them.

And to finish the review, the last set of pictures shows our cavalrymen on horseback.

Conclusion

The upgrade to get your US Cavalry on horseback costs another 10 GBP on top compared to the set on foot. I think that is fair, since you get two sprues for the horses and two for the bases. Other ranges often cut the content in half when you go for mounted miniatures. If we use that as a benchmark, 28 GBP for 10 mounted miniatures is a better deal than 18 GBP for 5 mounted miniatures.

I do not have a problem with the crowdfunding. Quite the opposite. Old West gaming is niche, and most games in the genre are skirmish games that focus more on high-street shootouts than mounted miniatures. So I can see the benefit of testing demand this way.

I really like the fact that we now have more mounted miniatures (in plastic) for this era. Especially in a setting like the Old West, where horses are such a central element, I always found it a bit tricky to have so few mounted options. Or, for example, with Foundry, who repacked some of their sets: you could end up with the same character on foot and on horseback in different sets, and then later with doubles if you wanted to add them to your force. This approach is more flexible. And while it is a neat bonus to have your regular gang of cowboys mounted, here it is even more important from my point of view. I mean, they literally are the cavalry. It also opens up your game to scenarios that do not really make sense for unmounted miniatures, like a train heist or a skirmish on the open plains.

So far, this is a solid kit. My only issue is the proportions, which is the same problem the infantry kit has. Some of the hands and arms, especially the ones grabbing the rifles, look small compared to those holding pistols or revolvers. And then there is the issue with the heads. Most of them need some work to sit properly on top of the shoulders. As I mentioned in the review, 16 different heads is plenty, but it would have been even better if the set had not already included duplicates within the box, especially since some of the same designs appear in the other kit as well. In some cases, that gives you four of the same heads across two sets, and that is a pity because those spots could have been used for even more variety.

Still, you can build dynamic miniatures from this kit. They capture the movement of soldiers on horseback, and the arm poses fit nicely. And if you are missing something, there are two more mounted cowboy kits available. Beyond that, there is a lot more plastic out there that you can mix in, depending on whether you want to stay in the Old West or branch out into Horror West, like Dracula’s America, or even more sci-fi / Wild West / steampunk settings.

I gave you some Osprey book recommendations in the other review, and I would like to repeat that here. The issues Men-at-Arms 33 US Cavalry and Men-at-Arms 168 US Cavalry on the Plains 1850 - 90 provide more background on these models.

• 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.