From SidneyR: More "Characters of Laarden", 1688 - Millsy's Millpond (65 points)

It's time to open up the collector's box, Beloved Fellow Challengers, for another two more character sets in my (very self-indulgent and nostalgic) Challenge X “Characters of Laarden” collection.

First up, we have Gerrit Vermuelen. Every town, regardless of scale and period, needs a rat-catcher accompanied by a small but vicious dog. He’s the sort of person you don’t really look too closely at. A man from a class, or a world, beneath yours. Part of the background to the city in which you live, invisible to the eye in daylight and even less noticeable in darkness. A man to see, but not be seen. Someone to know things, but not be known. What better background for a French spy?

Gerrit is an old sculpt from the famous Citadel C46 Villagers range. He’s been hanging around my spares box for half a lifetime, wait for a moment to creep into the shadows and get painted. He had a wonderful medieval-style head cap on, to which a middling-sized rat was clinging. I’ve updated his “look” to the seventeenth century by swapping his head for a Redoubt head with large but stained and rat-claw-scratched floppy hat.

His character card was fun to do, and looks like this....  I made sure to fade and taint his card, according to the faded and tainted morality of his devious calling.

For the second "character", we move from the villainous to the virtuous in the shape of the villagers of Sint Vaalben. This small, but strategically useful, Flemish village is on my list to scratch-build later this year, mainly to give the villagers somewhere to defend! 

The six villagers are more Foundry 28mm figures, this time from the Foundry ECW range, equipped with wickedly sharp Bicorne farm implements. I’ve no idea how I’ll use these figures. Maybe they will be surly, monosyllabic, unwelcoming locals from every traveller’s nightmare, blocking the road north to Laarden? Or maybe they’ll be mercenary enough to see a handsome profit in supplying the highly-entitled French military nobility with delicacies such as Hoetveld capons, Ghent eels and local woodland-reared wild boar? 

Who knows, but here’s one of their many possible character cards for the “Characters of Laarden” collection....

I was hoping to claim these as the next adventure on Challenge Island, adventuring on Millsy's Millpond. 

So we have "miniatures from prior to the year 2000"  - CHECK - as regards all of these figures. Indeed, all of them were sculpted before 1990 (Gerrit in 1985, I think), and the Foundry villagers from the ECW range being 1987. Indeed, I am sadly old enough to remember getting excited about these ranges when they first came out, folks. 

But, but, but.... when did I ACQUIRE these figures? I think that is what's required to really be floating confidently on 'Le Millpond de Millsy'. Ah, now that's harder.

I bought the villagers in 2018, so in the lead-mountain of Roundwood's Towers, they are mere youngsters. Gerrit, however, is a genuine oldie. In fact, the Gerrit figure is old enough for me to not remember when I got him. It might have been in 1989 when I was playing Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, or he might have been purchased when I started re-collecting the C46 Villagers around 2002. No, it's too hard - I can't be sure, dear Challengers. So, in accordance with the very strict terms of the Millpond, that's not good enough ("...non-specific acquisition date, Sidney? Sorry, no extra bonus points!"). Harsh, but maybe fair in the long run. 

So, after that Shaggy Dog Story, we're back with the final points for these characters:

Six surly villagers = 30 points

One villainous ratcatcher = 5 points

Millsy's Millpond bonus points = 30 points

No extra bonus points for the Millpond because I've no idea when I acquired Gerrit the Ratcatcher.

Oh well, that's still a very fair 65 points for the Challenge total, I'd submit, M'lud Millsy....

And here, with the new Character Cards added, is the Challenge X Laarden Collection so far:

*******

What a superb set of characters to brighten up my evening after having to deal with Ray. Lovely painting and basing as ever Sidney.

TamsinP