The Hogmanay Highlanders

The expanding of my festive-themed imagi-nation “The Army of Advent” has become something of an obsession over the years. Some eleven years ago, in 2013, I created the first platoon of Christmas-themed troops with the raising of the The First Noel Regiment of Foot.

Standing guard over the fireplace each Christmas time for a couple of years, they were soon joined by a sister regiment, The Yule Grenadiers. Thereafter, the Army of Advent has grown, with more and more regiments being raised from the Cavalry and the Artillery, as well as the infantry arm.

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Year Raised	Regiment(s)
2013	The 1st Noel Regiment of Foot
2015	The Yule Grenadiers
2017	The Christingle Dragoons and The Carolling Hussars
2018	Cracker Battery, Christmas Artillery
2019	The Midwinter Fuzileers and The Mistletoe Guards
2020	The Eggnog Cuirassiers
2021	The Poinsettian Rifles
2022	Pudding Mortar Battery, Christmas Artillery
2023	The Christmas Carabiniers
2024	The Hogmanay Highlanders and more to be announced…

For the latest additions, I’ve decided to add three regiments of Highlanders to the Infantry to form a kind of Highland Brigade. All my figures for this imaginary army have hitherto come from the Seven Years War era. The Highlanders I’ve chosen are admittedly a little outside of this, coming from the Napoleonic period. However, the uniform of the Napoleonic highland regiments were not dramatically different to those from the 1760s. The first highland bonnets being introduced around that time. Not even sure why I’m justifying all this as it’s an imagi-nation anyway but I suppose I’m trying to say that I think they fit the vibe!

So – introducing The Hogmanay Highlanders!

The figures I’m using are Strelets Highlanders Standing (Order Arms) 1/72 scale set. Strelets also have Napoleonic Highlander sets “At Ease”, “On the March”, “In Attack”, “Firing Line”, “In Square” and “Shoulder Arms”! I thought the Order Arms set looked the most suitable for parading.

I decided that I would keep traditional British army dress for the most part so as to keep them recognisably Highlanders. I would get enough free range to invent the tartan pattern and choose distinctive regimental facings, etc.

I’ve always had a deep-seated fear of painting tartan at 1/72 scale, never mind all that diagonal red and white sock tops and the chequered band across the bonnets. I decided that a relaxed approach to this was the best way to preserve sanity and found a process that worked after some trial and error. My original plans for the design of the tartan were soon shelved in favour of ‘what worked’.

The ‘Hogmanay Tartan’ I’ve created has a dark green background, red threads, with a contrasting deep green squares.

For the diced headband and the sock tops a few white dots on a red background here and there seemed to create a decent enough effect.

The Hogmanay’s are also distinguished by blue collars and cuffs and a white over red hackle.

The set came with a small command unit featuring an officer, ensign, a piper and some NCOs. I haven’t designed the Hogmanay’s flag yet and may just keep it vague and simple as it already moulded into a folded shape.

I do like the piper whose bag is painted to the same Hogmanay Tartan design. I recognise that if I was to be authentically Napoleonic, then it would have been featured reverse facings, but I’m not – so I didn’t!

All in all, painting Highland regiments involves a lot of effort but the results, with a little patience, are worth it, I think

The next regiment in the Advent Army Highland Brigade are approaching completion too. So watch out for The Cranachan Highlanders, with different distinctions and a different tartan, in a future post!

A Hogmanay Highlander

Easter Bunnies and a Scotch Egg

I confess that ‘Easter Bunnies’ is not the kind of title that I thought I’d be using at Suburban Militarism blog, but I realised that Easter was a perfect opportunity to paint a couple of critters which I recently received as a freebie with some other figures from Bad Squiddo Games.

These two tiny rabbits at 28mm scale are part of a range of animals provided by Bad Squiddo including such things as slugs, snails, guinea pigs, pigeons, rats, horses, pigs, tortoises and kittens. Also, the more exotic are catered for such as lions, giant chameleons, moose and even tardigrades!

I’m fairly sure they are the first bunnies I’ve painted at any scale and I really enjoyed doing them! They’ve joined a modest Easter display in the household.

I’ve based the little guys on a 2 pence piece and scattered some spring grass and flowers around.

I’m not sure why, but this crouching fellow looks like a hot, cross bunny!

I have some Christmas painting traditions practiced at Suburban Militarism, so perhaps Bad Squiddo bunnies could become an Easter one?

Meanwhile, another Easter tradition practiced here is the painting of an egg. I blogged about this tradition back in 2017 in a post titled “Shell Shock“…

An eggsample from 2017: The Duke of Omelette’s Own Yolkmanry

…and again in 2019 based on a Victorian cavalryman in the post “The Last Charge of the Yolkshire Hussars“.

An Oeuf-ficer of the Yolkshire Hussars (sorry…)

This year, I thought I’d daringly attempt a Scottish regiment based on an example of the Highland Light Infantry.

Highland Light Infantryman by Caton Woodville from my copy of his “Territorial Army Album of 1908.“

Hard boiled egg at the ready, I set to work with some acrylic paints to recreate the Highland Light Lunch Infantry uniform of 1908; scarlet doublet with buff facings.

The tartan trews were created by mixing the base colour and then adding red and white lines. This is the Mackenzie tartan. This is a regimental tartan and has also been known as “MacLeod and Seaforth” from MacLeod’s Highlanders (a predecessor to the Highland Light Infantry) and the Seaforth Highlanders.

The ultimate fate of this ‘Scotch egg’ is to charge downhill to his doom but at least he’ll look smart whilst on his way.

US President Joe Biden has also announced the return of the presidential egg roll after suspension due to Covid-19. The article about the history of presidential egg rolling and painting is an interesting read, apparently there is even an International Egg Art Guild. Perhaps I could apply? Judging from the examples on display – probably not.

Lovat’s Scouts

As my immanent house move appears to have suddenly become less then immanent due to circumstances beyond my control, I’ve been occasionally getting some work done on another of my growing 54mm yeomanry collection. The figure is from Tradition of London and shows a trooper from 1911, squatting down to pet a cat.

The Lovat Scouts were founded by the 16th Lord Lovat in response to the Anglo-Boer War emergency in 1899. The Boers were proving so elusive and manoeuvrable on the veldt that Lovat recognised the need for an effective mounted scouting force which could match them. He identified the stalkers and hunting assistants on his own estates in the Highlands as being ideal for this kind of work and by May 1900 many of them were serving in South Africa. Disbanded after the war, they were re-raised when accepted into the Imperial Yeomanry in 1903 as two regiments of the 1st and 2nd Lovat Scouts. The name seems to be variously either Lovat Scouts or Lovat’s Scouts, and so I’ve simply gone with Tradition’s own title.

Although it’s not a pose based directly on any of R.J. Marrion’s covers for the “Uniforms of the British Yeomanry Force” series, Marrion did indeed paint this uniform on the cover of Volume 8 in the series on the Lovat Scouts and Scottish Horse (see figure below on the right wearing a bandolier). Being clean shaven like my Tradition figure, (and I’ve given him the same ginger hair) perhaps I could consider Marrion’s illustration as a key inspiration behind him.

Trooper of the Lovat’s Scouts, 1914.

Tradition’s trooper wears a dark blue bonnet called a ‘Balmoral’ or ‘Scout’ bonnet. The top features a dark blue bobble known as a ‘tourie’. Around the side of it is a blue and white diced band which was challenging to paint but fun. At the back are two black silk ribbons.

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Our trooper is wearing a 1903 pattern, 50-round, leather bandolier probably with Short Magazine Lee-Enfield ammunition, replacing the Lee-Metford which were exchanged around 1910.

The honour guard at Lord Lovat’s wedding in 1910, looking much the same as my figure.

The ‘scout’ bonnet he wears includes the regimental badge which I’ve managed to replicate quite well but which I haven’t captured very well on my photos!

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  Later badge with “Lovat’s Scouts” legend

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  Early Lovat’s Scouts badge featuring Lord Lovat’s motto.

Other Ranks, such as this trooper, wore khaki drab cord riding breeches with thin blue piping down the seam, blue puttees and black ankle boots with hunting spurs. The riding breeches were apparently a very slightly lighter shade than the khaki jacket, particularly on the inside parts, which I’ve – sort-of – replicated.

The colours of the cat are based on one of my own cats. He is much bigger, fatter and lazier than the playful proportions of this little feline, so there the similarity ends! The cat figure was very tiny and, being cast in metal, the details were too subtle for fussing over so I’ve kept it very simple, but it’s a lively figure and the first cat I’ve painted in any scale. I’m not sure what inspired the sculptor to go for this eccentric pose but I love it and it provides a nice contrast to the other poses in my 54mm yeomanry collection.

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British Infantry Uniforms of the 19th Century: #10

10. The Gordon Highlanders

“The Gordon Highlanders were formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 75th Stirlingshire Regiment and the 92nd Highlanders. The Duchess of Gordon played an active part in the recruiting of the regiment by bestowing a kiss on each intending recruit. The drawing depicts a private of the regiment about 1840.“

Number 10 of 25 from “British Uniforms of the 19th Century” – a cigarette card series issued by manufacturer Amalgamated Tobacco (Mills).

TYPES OF VOLUNTEER & YEOMANRY (1902) #15

From the cigarette card set “Types of Volunteer and Yeomanry”, issued by W H & J Woods Ltd of Preston in 1902.