First Wave Special Characters: Part 1

The first four Special Characters are sculpted and on their way for casting. I've mentioned some of these before, but here's your chance to review all of them together.

The Dwarf in the Iron Mask

His iron mask is inspired by the Sutton Hoo Anglo-Saxon helmet with face mask. He will have a right-hand hand crossbow and a left-hand 17th Century style lamp. His hands will be compatible with the dwarf duelist hands, so he will also be supplied with a sword and main gauche dagger pair from the main range, as well as an extra right-hand dagger.

The Dwarf Cardinal

His Eminence is unarmed, of course. He has minions to do all of the wet work while he sees to affairs of state and bestows the occasional blessing.

The Dwarf King

Sorry I don't have a better shot of His Majesty, but you may be able to tell from this that he is clearly a fashion trendsetter.

In addition to his lavish cape and extravagant plumes, he sports a cane (supplied as a separate hand). The other two hands you see in this picture are the greens for the lamp and hand crossbow, both of which come with the Dwarf in the Iron Mask.

The Vaguely-Ratlike M Roquefort

M Roquefort is, to date, the only human in the range. He is one of the Cardinal's principal agents and seems to have an affinity for obtaining the services of some demonstrably rat-like minions.

He comes with two right-arm options, one with a sword and one holding a goblet. The glue point for the arms is under the cape. I have a doughty band of 5th and 6th edition Games Workshop Skaven ready to serve as his minions.

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There are six more Special Characters in the queue. The next pair should be ready by February, along with a number of new dwarf hands holding things like hat, bottle, handkerchief, torch, etc.

Not easy being greens...

This posting highlights the greens of the first two of ten special personality figures that will complete the Three Musketeers theme of the First Wave. The first, of course, is the Dwarf in the Iron Mask. Here is the concept art by Colin Upton:

The sculptor John Pickford developed an exquisite model from this sketch. As you can see from the following slide show, he is coming along nicely:



He is dressed in common fashion with a ragged blanket for a cloak. He wears the Sutton Hoo style helmet and face mask, which will be fixed in place by a 17th C padlock at the back of the head. He will be released with a a rapier and main gauche dagger and, for additional modeling options, a crossbow, a lantern, and a couple of empty hands.

This figure has become the unofficial logo for Iron Mask Miniatures. He will be limited to a production run of 200, most of which will go out to my Kickstarter backers. Along with the figure, my Kickstarter friends will get a card-sized reproduction of the concept art signed and numbered by Colin Upton. After the Kickstarter obligations are fulfilled, the remaining 80 or so figures will be available for sale (but without the signed art card).

Another icon of the Three Musketeers legend is the Cardinal. Here is the concept art for the dwarf version of Richelieu:

He is dressed in Cardinal's robes, naturally, and bestows a blessing with his left hand while with his right he crosses his fingers behind his back. John, as usual, did a remarkable job translating from a 2-D sketch to a 3-D model:



The Cardinal will be a one-piece casting and, as soon as the Kickstarter obligations are fulfilled, will be added to the figures for sale.

I will soon have shots of the greens of the King and the vaguely rat-like M Roquefort. Until then...

-g