The Tartan Delemma

[Driscoles]

Hello,

I have a dozen of Foundry Highlanders for the North West Frontier on my painting desk. I am not sure what tartan I should use.

I am aiming for a tartan I can use from 2nd Afghan War until the end of the 19th century for Afghanistan. After surfing the web for infos I am completely confused.

I am about to decide to create my own tartan  for my own Scottish Regiment on the other hand I am sometimes very much into historical accuracy.

Got my dilemma ? So please help me. Any suggestion is very much appreciated.

Thank you
Cheers
Björn

[Hammers]

I would say Gordons. They were thrown in several times from 1840s to 1920s

Hello,

I have a dozen of Foundry Highlanders for the North West Frontier on my painting desk. I am not sure what tartan I should use.

I am aiming for a tartan I can use from 2nd Afghan War until the end of the 19th century for Afghanistan. After surfing the web for infos I am completely confused.

I am about to decide to create my own tartan  for my own Scottish Regiment on the other hand I am sometimes very much into historical accuracy.

Got my dilemma ? So please help me. Any suggestion is very much appreciated.

Thank you
Cheers
Björn

[Gluteus Maximus]

Hello,

I have a dozen of Foundry Highlanders for the North West Frontier on my painting desk. I am not sure what tartan I should use.

I am aiming for a tartan I can use from 2nd Afghan War until the end of the 19th century for Afghanistan. After surfing the web for infos I am completely confused.

I am about to decide to create my own tartan  for my own Scottish Regiment on the other hand I am sometimes very much into historical accuracy.

Got my dilemma ? So please help me. Any suggestion is very much appreciated.

Thank you
Cheers
Björn

The Black Watch, or Government pattern, is probably the easiest to paint and is the basis for several others, so you could use it and add a couple of white or red stripes for your own design if you wished.

The only downside if you are doing the Black Watch is the devilishly difficult Royal Stewart tartan worn by the pipers 
I managed it once, about 15 years ago, but have no chance of doing it theses days with my poor old eyes 

There are some very nice tartans around which were not used by any regiments, so they could be a good starting point for your own design.

My particular favourite is the Gunn tartan, which a good friend of mine used to wear:

[Hammers]

The Gordon Tartan, also based on the govt. Black Watch, is notthat difficult to paint, green on dark blue (black and blue really) with a thin yellow stripe.

[Gluteus Maximus]

It's those little yellow stripes that would defeat me. The main green-blue-black colours are fairly simple, but those tiny stripes 

I tried this recently, as I lost the old piper I had and the new figure nearly got thrown out of the window:




 

[Galloping Major]

It's those little yellow stripes that would defeat me. The main green-blue-black colours are fairly simple, but those tiny stripes 

I tried this recently, as I lost the old piper I had and the new figure nearly got thrown out of the window:




 

  Gaaargh, not surprised 

[Gluteus Maximus]

The sad thing is, I've done one which actually looked pretty good. I think I got a hint from an old Yahoogroup post (in the days before it became Yahoo) which explained a way to do it without actually painting that pattern. It was a kind of painting "shorthand" which gave the same result in 28mm at normal viewing distances for far less stress than it would take to do it properly. Can I remember how to do it? 

[vikotnik]

Is it just me or do the yellow stripes start to move if you watch long enough?

Seriously, if the pattern is too complicated, I believe it would look messy on a 28mm miniature. Besides, the black watch would be quicker to paint...

[Gluteus Maximus]

Is it just me or do the yellow stripes start to move if you watch long enough?

Seriously, if the pattern is too complicated, I believe it would look messy on a 28mm miniature. Besides, the black watch would be quicker to paint...

True, but those rascally Scots don't make life easy for figure painters;



Although I have seen pics of pipers in government pattern kilts, I'm not sure if they are accurate

[former user]

don't know, I'd coose something that is not pleaded to set, then You'll only have to worry about the front

[Svennn]

May be of use?

http://www.angelfire.com/tx/ToySoldier/tartan.htm

[timg]

Ony two kilts i would try, later Scots with kilt covers or the London Scottish in their hodden grey. Would like to see some of your finished tartan some time as i just cant do it.

[Driscoles]

Thank you for your posts guys.
So you think that green blue yellow from the Gordons ?
I was looking at that one too. 
Thanks for the painting tutorial Svennn.
The rear side looks different than the front ?

[Westfalia Chris]

Thank you for your posts guys.
So you think that green blue yellow from the Gordons ?
I was looking at that one too. 
Thanks for the painting tutorial Svennn.
The rear side looks different than the front ?

I personally prefer dark, green tartans with only a small number of lighter areas, since they are both easier painted, and look better at usual gaming distance. Go for the Gordon's tartan, and concentrate on the discernible areas; maybe you should use a slightly lighter tone of green, since it'll look darker, anyway.

That said, I really like painting tartans, but it's getting more and more challenging with every year that goes by.

[Gluteus Maximus]

The rear side looks different than the front ?

When the kilt is pleated (or folded) at the rear, the vertical coloured stripes are usually hidden in the folds, which makes it appear as if there are only horizontal stripes.

Svennn, that Royal stewart tutorial is very similar to the one I saw earlier and is much better than trying to do the full thing!