Faced with the prospect of painting a couple of hundred tartan clad figures I thought I had best do a bit of research , so I bought the above book which has a modern take on the Highland army and it's dress and accouterments . It's very interesting and a must for anybody interested in the subject and quashes lots of the perceived myths on highland dress . Of course the tartan we see nowadays is a product of the Victorian resurge in interest in all things Scottish and there was no such thing as Clan tartans , but it could be quite bright the dyes used were imported so bright red and blue are okay .
This is the sort of thing we are after.
NOT this !!!!
A modern re-enactor , notice that the tartan appears rather 'jumbled' and not very apparent - which is GOOD when you have a lot of 1/72nd figures to paint , remember these will be viewed at a 'wargaming distance' of about say two feet (2') . The socks are complicated - BUT they appear grey/blue at a distance . So you say - 'all this is Tony making excuses to get around painting to much detail on the figures ' - Damned right it is ! - I've got hundreds of these b****rs to paint ! .
No ! not a photo of the author , that jacket could be a bit of a trial to get right so it may be reserved for leaders and officers . Have got a number of figures done and have just gloss varnished them to protect from paint flaking and then a matt coat and I'll take some photos to show the results .
Yes tartan. I find I have to be in a particular frame of mind before tackling that. I admit I am always grateful when its over, either through frustration or the final look in equal measure.
ReplyDeleteYes I find some painting sessions are better than others.
DeleteYou are a braver man than me tackling that in 1/72! Good luck.
ReplyDeleteThink it's a tartan effect I'm after rather than the real thing which should be simpler to do - I hope .
DeleteMany years ago I painted a bunch of Front Rank Jacobites...
ReplyDeleteSubdued it definitely the way to go... keeping bolder colours for the rich.
Also period or near periods paintings mostly show trews with the set on the diagonal.
Good luck...
All the best. Aly
Hoping mine they look alright at 'wargaming distance'
DeleteI look forward to seeing how it goes.
ReplyDeleteAlan
Photos up soon .
DeletePrivately, I am disappointed that The Army Painter never produced tartan paint - I think it's probably not going to happen now. More power to your brushes on this - tartan is hard to produce in miniature and - as you say - so many errors, misunderstanding and myths are perpetuated.
ReplyDeleteTartan has maybe calmed down a bit in Scotland now - there was a time when the Tartan Gift Shop in Princes Street in Edinburgh would find your family tartan (and make you a fantastic custom kilt, naturally), even if you had thought that your ancestors came from Armenia or Mali - no problem. One of the more spectacular sights of the tourist season used to be wealthy American ladies arriving all garbed up in plaids, capes and so on in the Shortbread-Tin Hunting Stuart, presumably so that they could blend in with the locals.
Like a set from Brigadoon.
Anyway, very much looking forward to seeing your figures when they're done - rock on.
Yes modern tartan is a no no ! , there is even a Sikh tartan evidently.
DeleteIts worth going to some sort of Highland event, whether games or a parade, stand across the parade square/common etc and see what the tartans look like when the figure appears only 90mm or so tall. 9 times out of 10 you can't tell more than red or green or just dark etc. Keeping that in mind helps with 1/72nd.
ReplyDeleteJust suggesting the sett works best for me.
Yes that's a great idea - no events locally but have been looking at internet photos of highland dress at a distance and as you say most of the detail blurs and vanishes , just the result you want for 1/72nd figure painting !
Delete