Making a silk purse from a Pachyderm's ear

The parts are in a nasty state.

Yesterday, my Wife chanced upon a collapsed shoe box packed full of "Ancients".  Most of the components are from my old Baktrian project - don't ask! (especially about the origin of Samosas, Naan bread and Paneer!)  I was looking through these bits when I saw some rather manky elephant parts in amongst the Thureophoroi.

I acquired these in a large trade a couple of years ago.  The former owner had fixed the Nellies together (crudely) with Milliput and they looked awful.  I decided to take them apart but at the time had so many other choices for Menander's army that these got shelved - they just looked like a lot of work.

Now with my new project and subsequent Colonial foray I have decided to resurrect these sorry beasties and use a few to mount the Governor, some other notables and a swivel gun.  After all, an Orientalist sybarite isn't complete without an Elephant upon which to ride.

As can be seen, they are not great.  I think they are Old Glory and Essex Ancient Indian models the former being horrendously anorexic - in fact not much wider than a well fed Front Rank horse!  The heads, as is usual in the world of wargames figures, are a nasty mix of African and Indian features and the trunks are just plain wrong!  That said there is a good deal of potential and the models didn't cost me a Dime.  Incidentally the resin head is an old leftover from a Gripping Beast freebie I converted with some Aventine Miniatures spares.

Hidustani Howdah designs.

Howdah and crew will be scratchbuilt and converted respectively.  The former is not too much of a job as I have a good deal of experience with making war-towers for my Baktrians and the non-combat versions are far simpler.

A lot of work as I will work on the crummiest example but an interesting change of scene for the moments when decapitating Chasseurs begins to prove tiresome.