Dead Man’s Hand – Standing Horses

Great Escape Games has sent us one of their novelties for Dead Man's Hand. It is a scatter terrain sprue covering standing horses with a few extras, and we're going to take a closer look at it.

The Dead Man's Hand - Standing Horses set covers four standing horses (two sprues) at 13 GBP, and there are bundles of 3 sets for 33 GBP instead of 39 GBP and 5 sets for 50 GBP instead of 65 GBP. Each set includes two of the sprues shown below, along with another sprue of 5 oval bases.

Casting overall was solid. Crisp details, but mould lines were an issue, as they were quite present. This might be due to the fact that we got an early production sprue for the review and they are still dialing them in. Nevertheless, all the details were captured properly and removing mould lines is less time-consuming than filling in gaps.

Each sprue covers two horses, each split into two halves, along with four different heads. Fit is okay, but I'd recommend adding a bit of green stuff to cover the seam on the neck, especially on the horse with its head lowered.

Just like the mounted cavalry and mounted cowboys, these come with a bit of luggage and saddle details that you can add to the horses. This is a neat detail, as it adds immersion to the scenery.

In addition, this sprue covers hitching posts, single ones and a broader one, along with a horse trough, a few ropes that fit the mouthpieces of the horses, a meerkat and a small cactus.

These are a neat addition to your western cities and they go a long way.

To give you an idea where the horses of Great Escape Games / Dead Man's Hand are sizewise compared to other manufacturers, here's a picture from our cavalry review (Artizan Design on the left, old(er) Wargames Foundry in the middle, and Boot Hill Miniatures on the right).

Conclusion

I was surprised by these, as I really wasn't expecting something like this. They might not be a bargain for scenery, but I think they are still reasonably priced, especially if you go for the 33 GBP bundle that gives you 12 horses and a lot of additional scatter to add to your terrain collection. At roughly 3 GBP per horse, including the additional scatter pieces, they land in upper range as mounts from other companies. The individual horses sprue by GEG is 15 GBP for 5 horses, Empress takes 11 GBP for 4 metal horses, Wargames Atlantic has the cheapest at 18 horses for ~35 EUR. But those are the prices just for horses, without additional terrain.

As these are injection-moulded plastic, they are very easy to handle and easy to modify as well. The only way to get these cheaper would probably be printing them yourself, as resin casts or prints from third parties will end up around the same price. I can see myself picking up another two sets, just to give a bit more life to my Colorado town. Add maybe one of the farm animal boxes, and you have quite the side characters for various scenarios. Maybe we will see some cattle by Great Escape Games next? It is a game about cowboys after all, isn't it?

The plastic range for Dead Man's Hand, both for units and especially for terrain, has grown impressively and I am very happy that we have access to these pieces in hard plastic and that they are broadly available through traders all over the world. For example, I pick mine up at Miniaturicum.

• Production Quality: 4/5
• Design Appeal: 3/5
• Options / Customisation: 4/5
• Value for Money: 3/5
• 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.