Lieutenant Gillette (Hawthorne Village)

Introducing Lieutenant Gillette of the Royal Navy!  A dedicated pirate hunter, he is not above acknowledging a worthy opponent.  He is a conversion of Hawthorne Village's Commodore James Norrington figure.  Gillette's arm is bent down near his waist and he is armed with a drawn sword (the blade is made with a pin).

The figure's uniform is closely copied from his appearance as Norrington's lieutenant in Pirates of the Caribbean.  Gillette's elegant blue and white uniform outshone Norrington's, so a purchase of more gold lace was in order for the proud Commodore.  Now he feels that he has a sufficient amount of gold lace to make his rank easily apparent.

Four inhabitants of Port Royal.  Are more coming soon?

Not every member of the Royal Navy is always chasing pirates on the high seas.  Pirates have to sell their plundered goods somehow and smugglers fill that niche--for a price.  Here Lieutenant Gillette inspects a load of merchandise being transported by a woman strongly suspected of piracy and smuggling...

(meet her at http://redcoatsandruffles.blogspot.com/2023/02/redheaded-pirate-mars.html)

Lady carrying wood (Lemax)

As mentioned before, Red Coats & Ruffles is constantly on the lookout for female figures in 18th Century garb. (see http://redcoatsandruffles.blogspot.com/search/label/Female%20Figures)  This woman was released by Lemax for their 2022 Christmas collection, under the name of "Carrying wood for the fire".  

Despite her 19th Century styling, she clearly had potential to be transformed into the 18th Century.  The major change needed was to change her bonnet into a cap.  Lemax figures are also very tall, so some of her dress was trimmed to give her a height closer to the rest of Redcoats and Ruffles.  Notwithstanding this, she is still a tall lady.

Her outfit's colors are based on a background character from Sofia the First who is also a woodcutter's wife.  Their outfits were unusually similar.  The pose is a useful background character, whether gathering sticks from the forest or preparing to replenish her stove.

Figure by Lemax; painted with acrylic paints.

Redheaded Pirate (Mars)

This figure began with seeing a picture of a new redheaded pirate on Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  Her design was distinct with lots of red!  This made her a pirate character, or a decent camp follower for the British Army.  Besides, how could a blog named Red Coats & Ruffles not add a figure who sports both?

After a long and involved search, no suitable figures of the redheaded pirate were found.  She has a fair amount of her own merchandise, but not in 54mm.  Clearly, some heavy conversion of an existing 54mm figure would be required. 

She began as a Mars female pirate, actually as the same figure as Arabella Smith. (Meet Arabella at http://redcoatsandruffles.blogspot.com/2022/05/arabella-smith-mars.html).  Arabella's conversion was relatively easy, but this redheaded swashbuckler would need more than that.  Her hat (including plume) had to be sculpted, her sleeves needed ruffles at the wrists, and most importantly, she needed a skirt with two separate layers, a belt, and a decorative waist-mounted pocket.

Her skirt was easily the most challenging thing to sculpt, but it turned out well.  The ivory-handled, brass-barrelled pistol in her belt is one produced by Helmet Soldiers (http://www.helmetsoldiers.co.uk, whose website seems to be offline).

I envision her as a pirate when it suits her, but a smuggler and businesswoman far more often.  Perhaps she is the one trusted by other buccaneers to turn looted items into cash--for a price, of course!

Figure by Mars, painted with acrylic paints.

Pirate with Musket (Safari)

This salty sea dog was originally from a Safari Ltd. collection of pirate figures.  He is based on a rather famous painting by Howard Pyle.

Originally, his musket was badly bent out of shape.  Sometimes a simple dip in boiling water is enough to straighten bent parts (this works especially well on Armies in Plastic figures).  However, the musket stubbornly returned to its crooked state.  Clearly a more aggressive treatment would be needed.  This was accomplished by running a heat gun along the musket until it became soft (but don't let it get too soft).  Once softened, the musket was positioned correctly and allowed to cool in the open air.  The other element required for a proper musket is the lock, which was sculpted with Milliput.  Brass decoration was painted on to the stock, as the character demanded a little more ornament on his gun.  Perhaps he borrowed the idea from guns of India?

The sculpt is not an action pose, but I think that he makes an excellent pirate sentry, guard, or even an idler, watching his more swashbuckling companions.  The parrot is a colorful and unique companion, though I do wonder what he thinks of supporting part of the musket on his back!

Figure by Safari, painted with acrylic paints.