Foil Saddle Blankets

 The AIP horses get mixed reviews. For some reason they remind me of larger versions of Timpo, something which evokes nostalgia for me. On the other hand, they are big and appear bigger because of raised bases. The bases offer stability but for wargaming I still want something wider, so the added bases will add more height again. I usually cut down the existing bases by cutting or grinding down their perimeters to decrease height.

Anyhow, I have bought a lot of AIP figures, including cavalry they are really good for making large, cheap armies. However, as previously intimated, not everyone likes these horses. Some even replace them with different brand horses. For this reason I obtained, from another collector, quite a swag of the horses without riders and also without saddle blankets and saddles. The original riders are chunky lads but so are some other brand cavalry, such as Timpo Action Pack. I am working on a unit of Napoleonic British dragoons and I think they look good on these horses. Not all the riders are originals as I made a few copies.

Saddle blankets I have previously made from paper but recently I mused about using those foil covers that come, under the lids, on margarines and other products. In fact they might  even have a vaguely chainmail look so they could be left unpainted or given a black wash for medieval horses armour. For my purpose I need to put the paint on thickly to obscure that. Actually, as I added the blankets after painting the horses, they were not undercoated and acrylic paint does not cover metal well. I'll end up giving them two coats of gray.

  As for the shape of the blankets I am a little confused about it. Some sources show the shaped blankets, pointed where they hang down at one end and rounded at the other these ones are generally reasonably colourful and with different coloured trim. I see this in the American Civil War, also. The other style is simply square, grey and smaller. I assumed the latter more likely to be used on campaign but someone who is an expert on Napoleonic horse furniture might be able to enlighten me.