Comanche LEGOs based on Lone Ranger

Indian Country Today's posting about actor Gil Birmingham (below) alerted us to the existence of a Comanche Camp LEGO set. Naturally, it' based on Johnny Depp's Lone Ranger.

The Lone Ranger--Comanche CampVisit the Comanche Camp with the Lone Ranger and Tonto!

Journey to the Comanche Camp with the Lone Ranger and Tonto! Visit Red Knee in the teepee with removable canopy and campfire. Check out the weapon rack then jump in the canoe and go fishing. Watch out for the scorpions as they launch a surprise attack from the rocky outcrop with the attack function! Includes 3 minifigures with weapons: the Lone Ranger, Tonto and Red Knee.

• Includes 3 minifigures with weapons: the Lone Ranger, Tonto and Red Knee
• Features teepee, weapon rack, canoe with oar, and rocky outcrop with scorpion attack function
• Teepee features small campfire, entrance flap and removable canopy
• Weapons include 2 revolvers, tomahawk, spear and a bow with quiver
• Also includes a fish, 3 scorpions and 3 bones
• Survive the scorpion attack!
• Go fishing in the canoe!
• Remove the teepee canopy and play inside!
• Teepee measures over 6" (16cm) high, 3" (10cm) wide and 4" (12cm) deep
• Canoe measures over 4" (12cm) long and less than 1" (2cm) high and wide
• Weapon rack measures over 1" (3cm) high, and less than 1" (2cm) wide and 1" (1cm) deep
• Rocky outcrop measures over 2" (7cm) high, 3" (10cm) wide and 2" (7cm) deep

If you're wondering who Red Knee is, here's an answer:

Yes, Gil Birmingham is in 'The Lone Ranger'--Here's the LEGO that Proves ItWhen ICTMN contacted a representative for Birmingham yesterday, hoping to verify that the actor is in the film despite his omission from the IMDB listing, she replied that yes, absolutely, Gil Birmingham is in this movie. He plays a character named Red Knee.

She further informed us that Birmingham has a figure in the Lone Ranger Comanche Camp LEGO playset alongside the figures based on Tonto and the Lone Ranger as played by Depp and Hammer.Comment:  A brief discussion about this LEGO set with Kevin Gover, director of the NMAI:

Get your Johnny Crow-Head LEGOs while they last! Weapons! Canoe! Guy in buffalo hat! Scorpions! It's a totally authentic representation of Comanche culture!

Your kids will have fun learning about Indians for years! They'll want to pass these LEGOs on to their children too!How else are you going to get a Comanche canoe?

And the two-pole tipi. An engineering marvel!I presume the tipi's cone could stand on its own without any poles. It might be interesting if you actually had to build your own tipi. You know, tie four poles--the Comanche standard--together and drape the covering around them. But I imagine that's not the case.

I presume the "weapons rack" is the item on the left that looks like a headless Indian. I guess there was no room for cooking utensils, tobacco pipes, or other nonlethal aspects of Comanche culture.

I'm not sure the Comanche had or used tomahawks, which are associated primarily with eastern tribes. Moreover, the original Tonto used guns, not a tomahawk or bow and arrow. If Johnny Depp's Tonto uses a tomahawk, that's another step backward.

Comanche buffalo hunting?

I'd guess the buffalo headdress was found only on the northern plains, not the southern plains or Texas. But I can't swear that the Comanche didn't wear such headdresses. Do you know anything about that, Kevin?

P.S. This could be a big-selling item in the NMAI's gift shop. I say go for it!They mighta had buffalo headdresses. Certainly had plenty of buffaloes.A plausible chronology says the Lone Ranger donned his mask in 1874. I don't think Texas had a lot of buffalo then.

Masked Men: A Chronology of the Lone Ranger and the Green Hornet

The buffalo were on their way to near-extinction by then. But I suppose there were enough left for someone to fashion a buffalo headdress.

Comanche history--Buffalo hunting

As for the canoe, I presume it's made of genuine birch bark from a Texas birch tree.

For more on Johnny Depp, see Lone Ranger Has Comanche Adviser and Depp's Tonto: True or False?