The guards of the White Lady (part IV)

 One additional figure: the hornblower.

That's it for October!

And ten!

 I have finally found some time to paint a 10th mourner to complete the regiment. It's an homonculus bought on one of Andrew May's kickstarter campaign. Still a few flagellants waiting for conversions, but that will suffice for the moment.

And the whole regiment:

The last Four... and a half

I couldn't move to the next project until I painted the last models lying on my desk. 

So, here they are, two classic spearmen (with head swaps), one modified halberdier (spear and man heads replaced), and the drummer, protected by his personal bodyguard, an old Marauder Miniatures reference.

Since these guys are not supposed to be on the front rank (except the musician of course), I have used more black than white on them, quicker and easier to paint.

And the whole lot:

For the White Lady - The Death Crier

As explained in my preparation posts, most of the regiments of the White Lady will have a Death Crier, who chants and reminds to his brothers-in-arms the names and exploits of their fallen comrades. The bell is meant to frighten away evil spirits, while the lantern guides lost souls.

Here is the Death Crier accompanying the spearmen:

The starting point of this miniature was an illustration of a Death Crier (or Bellman of the Dead) one can find in several books:

• Paris à travers les âges aspects successifs des monuments et quartiers historiques de Paris depuis le XIIIe siècle jusqu’à nos jours fidèlement restitués d’après les documents authentiques, by Fedor Hoffbauer (1875)
• Les rues du vieux Paris, by Victor Fournel (1879)
  
• A History of mourning, by Richard Davey (1890)

On the left, Richard Davey's crier. On the right, an alternative and more sinister version that I am unable to source, but that finds an echo on the front page of Les Hymnes de la Fête des Morts en Basse-Bretagne, by Canon Pérennès (1925).

 

I have then tried to adapt the death's-heads, cross-bones and tears on the lower half of the coat, opting for the white version, more forgiving for my badly drawn skulls 💀. Hope you like it!

Dieter Muller

Small conversion of Dieter Muller, one of the F2 fighters designed by Aly Morrison: I've replaced the mace by a sword, and inserted a trumpet in his closed fist.


My 2019 swordsmen so far:

Mounted Söllsguard Knight #3

Same model as the first knight, slightly converted into a drummer.

Söllsguard #8

With only five available models in the MM65 range, the possibilities to include a musician are quite limited: here, I have replaced the dagger in the left hand by the sword initially held in the right hand. The drum is a bretonnian bit from the old plastic Men At Arms box, and the mallet comes from the plastic sprue of the Chaos marauders. And that's it!

Citizen CZ20

I've started this model during my last holidays, when I ran out of bergjaegers to paint. This is a Marauder MM62 model, referenced as CZ20. Like most of the miniatures from this range, the proportions are slightly odd, and I assume that Trish Morrison is their designer.

I've spent some time on the drum, trying to find a proper design: cross, sun, stains, nothing worked until I remembered Pandera's comment saying that my painting style lacked "oldhammerness". I've then tried the good old red & grinning face... and it worked: sad face for the beaten side, and smiling face for the rear one :)


I don't know yet which unit this musician will join. We'll see.

Militiaman #5 again

Not totally happy with the initial painting job, I've decided to re-paint this model and give the guy a new job: musician (well, kind of). 

Before:

And after: