The Three Musketeers ( all 4 of them ) !

[Tim Marlow]

That's a damn good question, Dave. They were members of The King's Musketeers, even though they mainly used swords as their main weapon. Why? I do not know.
John.

Just looked it up. Originally the term mousquetairre referred to an infantryman with a musket, but in France this evolved over time to mean a soldier of high status. Apparently there were two royal horse guards regiments both named mousquetairres. They were high ranking regiments, a bit like the Blues and Royals over here. The regiments were called the grey or the black mousquetairres, named after their horse colours. The musketeers, as we know them, is just a poor translation of the original French.

[JayCee]

Tim, I thought the Black Musketeers were the king's men and the Red Musketeers were the Cardinal's. Maybe that is only in the books. .
John.

[Tim Marlow]

Interesting stuff here John

https://www.musee-armee.fr/ExpoMousquetaires/the-birth-of-a-masterpiece.html

Go down some interesting rabbit holes being a member of this site……

[PaulTRose]

I've just finished bingewatching the musketeers on bbc......defiantly use muskets in that lol

[PaulTRose]

The regiments were called the grey or the black mousquetairres, named after their horse colours.

I think that was well after the period that the books are set in

[JayCee]

Hi, Tim. These "rabbit holes" are one of the best things about his site. The knowledge here is unbelievable.
John.

[Tim Marlow]

I think that was well after the period that the books are set in

Quite possibly :thumb2:
Reading around it a bit in later times they seem like a unit designed for rich youngsters to play at soldiers…….so matched horses would be something they’d go for :tongue-out3:

[JayCee]

Well, it is time to start the final figure in this quartet. This is Aramis, based on the historical musketeer Henri, Seigneur d'Aramitz. This is not the best of this set. It appears to me to have been a Friday afternoon cast, when the Q.C were having the day off. There are signs that the mould/metal or both were not hot enough. Some pieces show where the pour has started to set before the mould was full. Detail on other pieces is somewhat muddy. Careful clean up and painting should hopefully put things right. there are 24 pieces to this model, although 5 are for the wall he is sat on. Here is the box art and the main figure pieces.
First job is a good soapy wash. Then assembly can begin.
John.

[JayCee]

After the end of year festivities I managed to get another start on Aramis. I joined the pieces of his legs and torso, including the head but not the arms. Contrary to my normal procedure I then gave him a light coat of primer. This was mainly to check the mis-molding but also highlighted the otherwise blurry details. Luckily the main parts affected by what I suspected was temperature problems was his cloak. With some filler and careful shading this should be no problem. Once this was done I then undercoated the whole figure and started to detail paint some parts. Having got this far I had to stop once again as life got in the way. I have had to do my duties as a land owner and get the winter pruning done. A few days after starting Winter arrived. Torrential rain and the worst floods I have seen in all the years I have lived here. The worst of it missed us by about a mile, but no way was I being outside in it. Got a bit more done and this is how he stands at the moment.
He looks pretty gruesome in close up, but not too bad at the 2 foot rule. A week after Winter started it ended and we are back to clear skies and about 20c temperatures. Bench time gone once more and my hands employed with loppers and pruning saw. I will be back asap. Bye good folks.
John.

[JayCee]

I think I can finally call Aramis done. He has not painted up too bad considering I was very perturbed at the frosty look of the castings and blurry detail. He is not yet glued to his piece of wall, I will do that when I have sorted a base for all 4 of them together. Any touch ups will also be done after they are based. So here is the completed figure.



Looking at him at this size, I can see that he does need some touching up. ( can I make a comment like that ? ). :smiling: .
That is the figure build stage completed. Just a base to sort out. I will then put the finished article in the Completed Diorama section.
Cheerio for now, all comments, good, bad or just plain abuse welcome as always.
John.

[Tworrs]

Looking really good John, well done.

[adt70hk]

Very nicely done..... Figures at this scale scare the #@*!&£ out of me!

[JayCee]

Garry and Andrew, many thanks for your kind comments. It make all the swearing and hair pulling worthwhile.
John.

[PaulinKendal]

Looking really good. Including an open book on the sculpt is almost gratuitously cruel - but you've made a very good job of it.

[JayCee]

Thank you Paul. That is praise indeed coming from a painter as accomplished as yourself.
John.