Female Archaeologists: The Croissant Sisters

Left to Right: Veracité, Veronique, Varsité, Virginie and Velocité (all Copplestone except far right Artizan)

A long time ago, during a very drunken dinner with my friend Bill, we created the concept of a group of female archaeologists called, for reasons we are completely unable to recall, the Croissant sisters. They were brought to life to inhabit an erotic story set in Egypt in 1921 which would involve diggings, paddle boats up the Nile, chases in the souk, kidnappings, shoot-outs, desert tribesmen and lots and lots of kinky sex. Having then mentioned it to some of my other (largely female and foreign) friends thay have all encouraged me to actually write this epic. So far we have written an amazing 210 pages and in the most recent episode Veronique was blasting away at murderous tribesmen with a Sharps Buffalo rifle from the back of their Thorneycroft J lorry whilst Veracité got up to highly dubious and dangerous things in the front of the vehicle with male archaeologist Idaho (so named because when he was born he looked like a potato) Brown.

When I first started writing this deathless epic I stuck a picture of the Copplestone female archaeologists set at the top to give me an idea of their characters. When the plot required a fifth sister I used one of the Artizan Designs Thrilling Tales figures. I have just finished painting Varsité (in the natty blue and cream ensemble) which completes the sisterhood.

Left to right we have:

Veracité

Although she is the youngest of the sisters she raises the money for the girl's digs (usually from impressionable older men), obtains firmans (permissions to dig) and generally runs things. She has lived and excavated in America and enjoys driving sports cars (usually in fast get aways from shocked wives who have discovered her with their husbands).

Veronique

The second youngest sister and the only one to have been married. Her Belgian husband was murdered by renegade Schutztruppen in German East Africa and she led a group of her own Askaris to wreak revenge on the Germans during the Great War. A crack shot she favours a Sharps rifle for sniping and a Holland and Holland Nitro Express for close up work. Borderline psychotic.

Varsité

The second oldest sister and the team's artist and cataloguer. A keen cyclist and rather distant with the others as she was sent abroad to school in disgrace when she was fifteen after being found in bed with her older friend Coralie during the summer holidays in the family house near Lyon. Collects erotica. Likes girls. A lot.

Virginie

The oldest and most serious of the sisters. She is the historian and writer of the team and despairs of the romantic escapades of her younger siblings. She writes long and appalled letters home to dear maman in Lyon reporting her sisters' shocking behaviour. Completely unaware that her dear maman was a bar girl (and she didn't just serve drinks) in Shanghai in 1885 when she was bought for a week by her father who eventually brought her back to France.

Velocité

Has no interest in history or archaeology but is a daredevil pilot. Likes the tango and seaplanes.

Up until now I have not really had any thought about what to do with their 28mm avatars but this week Askari Miniatures have released their brilliant Egyptian diggers and things are coming together in my mind! The Croissant sisters, Idaho Brown, renegade Turks, dangerous tribesmen. All very loosely based on one of the Caspasian novels by Anthony Conway, The Colonel's Renegade. So I should also be able to cram in some Ghurkas, the French Foreign legion and some Germans as well!