The Three Musketeers - Larger than Life! - Update 09/06 - Monsieur de Tréville

[white knight]

It's the Musketeer's job to keep the King out of harm's way, but it's not the King's job to make that an easy task. When war is being waged, all kings will eventually have to make a show of being a warrior in the thick of the action, albeit from a safe distance, and so we have King Louis here decked out in his finest battlefield threads.


"It is your duty to protect France. And therefore... me."

The figure is actually King & Country's retired model of the British King Charles, but as he strikes a passing resemblance to the King Louis model, he will work perfectly well in that role.



No begging from the women can sway this brave warrior from his plan to put his guards into grave danger.

[DintheDin]

These pictures are real eye candies! Cheers!

[white knight]

Thank you!

In reply to this;

I'm considering partly repainting the figures in the Witchfinder faction to set them apart more from the Buckingham faction. Mostly, I would paint the sleeves and trousers in darker colours (maybe even black) and possibly the buff coats in grey. On the one hand, the figures are great the way they are so I'm a bit reluctant, but on the other hand, it would cement their new identity and take them out of the ECW where they originated.
[...]
Opinions? Yay or nay?

Yay. But very subtle (either dark/black sleeves, the variation in buff coats or even a little symbol on them- painted or a field symbol, etc).

They are so nicely painted as they are, would be a shame to retouch them.  If so, maybe just the variation in the buffcoat (darkening it a bit).

I think I'm going to go ahead with it and try it out on a figure I just got that has some minor wear to the paint. Sleeves for sure and maybe trousers to match, then see if that does the trick.

I think something like this random picture I found on the internet should work:


An alternative of course would be to go all the way and make them match the soldiers from the Witchfinder General movie, with grey coats, red sleeves and trousers and black gloves and boots:

[Metternich]

That is a nice color combination (but they are already so nicely painted !).

[white knight]

This may lose me some fans, but I went and did it and changed the sleeves on some of the witchhunter figures (not on the Witchfinder General himself so far) to be black. I'm still not sure it was the right thing to go, as they were so nice before, but it does give them a nice sense of uniformity and more of a puritan look. Will take pictures when light allows.

[Captain Blood]

Wonderful additions, and I love the theatricality of the whole undertaking 

Must be costing you an absolute fortune though 

[white knight]

Thanks! Most of them have been bought second hand at 30% or 35% off. Still not cheap, but not *that* expensive if you factor in the size of the figures and the quality of the paintjobs. Since there aren't all that many left to get (that I can see a place for in my narrative), and my discount source isn't getting them in currently, I've resorted to ordering some direct from K&C from Hong Kong. The original price from them is considerably cheaper than retail price in the UK/EU, they offer free shipping if you order a certain amount and so far I haven't been stung on customs with packages from HK, so it's an acceptable solution.

[Metternich]

Have you seen the Kronprinz line of painted 30 Years War figures ?  Made in Spain, they depict Spanish and French troops at Rocroi and are advertised as  1/30th scale. 

Below link has four pages.

https://kronprinztoysoldiers.com/en/35-thirty-years-war

[white knight]

Yes, and I acquired a couple test figures but, to me, they are not a great match, much slimmer in build. Shame as they would have had some really useful additions. 

[Metternich]

A shame indeed - some nice figures there.

[white knight]

Finally managed to get some pictures of my paint touch-ups on the Witchfinders. I didn't touch the Witchfinder general, as he's allowed to stand out, but I did touch up the other members of his faction to better reflect their grim occupation. So, I can now present the updated Witchfinder expedition:

The group shot:


The Preacher
Most of the Witchfinder General's henchmen are merely hired thugs, men of little moral integrity with a penchant for cruelty, but some, like the Preacher, are true zealots. A bonafide man of the fate, the General's right hand man truly believes in the holy mission. An otherwise kind and intelligent man, he will not hesitate to unleash his righteous fury on those he is led to believe are the spawn of Satan. A complex individual and a great swordsman to boot.



This characterful model is another King and Country ECW figure. As with the others in this faction, I took the liberty to make a few changes to better reflect the grim nature of his occupation. The colourful red and yellow striped sleeves were replaced with a more sobre black.



The Captain of the Witchfinders

Originally a King and Country Parliamentary Gun Commander, he's the most extensive repaint as in addition to the sleeves, his dark blue trousers were repainted to match the others and his orange sash was darkened to match the red on the other figures.





The Witchfinder's thugs

More black added. The one with sword and pistol had a highlight added to his trousers to make it match the others even more.






And a small reminder of what most of these looked like before. They were fine models as they were, but I think they make for a more coherent force now, without becoming too dull.

[Metternich]

Very nicely done.  You certainly brought them together thematically as a faction.

[white knight]

Thanks! I'm well pleased with the result.

[von Lucky]

Agree, a simple but effective transformation.

[DintheDin]

Very nicely done.  You certainly brought them together thematically as a faction.

Exactly this!
And I don't stop coming back to admire all your pics, these gorgeous figures put in front such beautiful and well-chosen background are a feast for the eyes!