So without further ado, let's say hello to Major Tam McLeod.
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| A stoic Scot, ready for action... |
He is a Perry Miniature, from pack SW3 (I think - the picture is not shown on their website). Although he's in a similar pose to the NMA leader - Major Rob Hawkins - I still like the fact that he's urging his men on with a suitably martial air.
He's mounted on a 30mm hex base from Warbases, to mark him out as the Leader figure of the faction. I decided to paint his doublet a golden yellow colour, using Foundry's Yellow 2 palette, which gives him a distinctive look. This was contrasted with piping of red, using Foundry's Bright Red 15 triad of shades. I painted the piping in first, along the sleeves, and around the 'tabs' of the coat, then added a trim to across the shoulders to indicate 'wings', which were a particular fashion of the 17th century. Then I blocked in the yellow colours, and worked up the main tones and hi-lights of each shade. His breeches were picked out in a grey colour - I forget which now, but I think it's Quagmire 63. I added some piping to his breeches in Butter Fudge 55, with leg ties of Madder Red 60. I picked out his hose in Storm Green 27. His sash was painted using a combination of colours, starting off with a shade and main colour of Deep Blue 20, then a hi-light of 20C mixed in with Sky Blue 21B tone, just to give the folds a bit of a 'pop'. Blue sashes were a recognised 'marker' of Scots Covenanter officers and sergeants. His bonnet is done with French Blue 65, mixing in a touch of Deep Blue 20B with the final 65C shade. I decided to give Tam a slightly darker and richer bonnet, which marked him out as being able to afford a more expensively dyed wool, rather than the usual colours I use for my Scots rank and file of Night Sky 62 and Storm Blue 39.
I'm not entirely sure how I did the tassels/fringe of his sash - I know it involved some washes, over (I think) Deep brown Leather 45C highlight shade, and other yellows, but whatever it was - it gives a nice subdued yet 'just bright enough' effect. His hair was a bit of a cliché I'm afraid, as I went for a red-head shade. It's done using Conker Brown 54A as a shade, main tone of Chestnut 53A, and hi-light of Tan 14B. Gauntlets are done in the Rawhide 11 triad.
Overall, I'm rather pleased with Tam. The mix of yellow and red echoes the Royal 'Lion Rampant' flag of Scotland, and the combination of these two colours, the blues of the sash and the bonnet, and the green of the grass and bushes on the base, give a nice colourful feel to this figure. He's had an eventful time so far in the games that we've run, including a stand-off with Rob Hawkins where Tam hid behind a wall, and Rob was lurking behind a stone cross. It only ended when Tam carried out a do-or-die charge (with a suitably blood-curdling yell, of course!), and fired off both his pistols, winging Rob and ending the game in the Scots' favour!
Next up will be a post on my favourite troops of the Scots faction - the dragoons! See you soon!
