Their Infinite Variety...

[Above: First Wave duelists assembled and primered. Click on an image to get a larger view plus controls for stepping through the album one image at a time.]

White Knight recently posted previews of his forthcoming dwarf knights. They are definitely worth a look. Check the link to the left.

And now, back to the Musketeers...

I wasn't happy with my efforts at photographing bare-metal figures, so I decided to primer a batch of assembled figures to enhhance the detail. I'm still getting the hang of this photography thing, but I'm pleased with these results. Eight of these figures are assembled from the first four Musketeer bodies and the eight separate heads. Note that the heads can be mounted looking to the left, right, or straight ahead. It is sort of a ball-and-joint fit, so there is movement up and down as well. In some positions, the neck pin is slightly exposed, but it still looks natural so I don't think it will be a problem.

Eight of the figures are the just-arrived First Wave duelist conversions. These figures have integral heads with long hair and beards. I'm especially fond of the following three fellows who, as gentledwarves of taste and refinement, choose to wear fashionable wigs showing off the latest in 17th Century hair treatments:

And two from the back...

While assembling the figures, I was impressed at how well the separate-hand system worked. While 32 head-and-body combinations (not counting the conversions) ensure variety, the hands, especially the empty hands, are remarkably effective for expressing the dwarf Musketeer's style and attitude. Here are some examples:

A few simple gestures can make all the difference...

Most of the daggers shown here are rapiers that have been cut down and sanded. It was easier and, frankly, less expensive to have the sculptor concentrate on rapiers for the First Wave, the assumption being that any rapier could be converted to a dagger as desired. The primer makes it easier to see the different styles of hilts and guards on the rapiers. These include cup guards, mortuary guards, swept hilts, and sail guards. Coupled with the different angles at which the weapons are held, the rotation of the gauntlet on the forearm adds greatly to the number of possible poses you can get.

For the First Wave, there will be two sets of rapiers, each with four left and four right hands and a mix of hilts and guards. Other hand sets willl include eight pistols, eight empty hands, four main gauche daggers, and eight swords and daggers in the style of the cinquedea, a 15th Century broad-bladed dueling sword for those who want a more traditional dwarfy looking weapon.