Saturday 7 November 2020

Highlanders, Cherilea and Replicants toy soldiers

Some time ago I thought it would be a good idea to start a Jacobite collection, I gathered together what figures I had to hand and started painting but somewhere along the line the project just ran out of steam. Since then they've been sitting in a display case amongst my other C18th armies, until last week when the need to free up space meant they had to find a new home.  while they were out I thought I'd take a few pics, and here they are:


There's not a lot to be said about them, they're a mix of Cherilea and Replicants Highlanders, nothing unusual and no conversions, just simple basing. 


The Cherilea chaps are a good bit bigger than Replicants something like 60mm versus 54mm to even things up I put the former on thin steel washers and the latter on poker chips which have the same diameter but are nice and thick to give the replicants a bit more height.


I painted them wearing the Macdonald of Clanranald tartan, or at least my interpretation of it!  I had some trepidation about painting the tartan but sticking to toy soldier style it was quite easy and overall they were quite fun to paint.


The background buildings are odds and ends of ceramic tea light candle holders and such ornaments picked up cheap at car boot sales, they're not to scale but work well enough.


I think some of the poses could be used for other periods and scenarios, perhaps late medieval towards renaissance?


I do like that red lion standard, it adds quite a splash of colour to the line up.


I'm not sure I'll ever get the momentum back for this project, it was fun but there are too many other projects vying for my time.  I'd like to be more focused and methodical in my approach to collecting toy soldiers, but lets face it the time for that is long passed!


18 comments:

  1. Don't sell your painting skills short Brian! These tartans and stockings are excellent! The washer-poker chip tip is brilliant and very effective! Focused and methodical approaches are way overrated, just have fun and enjoy!! With the holidays approaching, Google Radio City Rockettes and "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers." It is magnificent and will get any toy soldier collector into the holiday spirit!

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    1. Hi Brad, I just googled the Rockettes, I'd never seen the Parade before, it really is quite uplifting.

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  2. These are really braw laddies ! They really look the part. Perhaps some redcoats would engage in some small but tactically interesting skirmishes with them...

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    1. Redcoats have been in the painting queue for some time, perhaps I should bump them up the list.

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    2. Sounds a plan, just the thing for a beginning lockdown. Stock up on the red paint!

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    3. I'll be working through the lockdown but have booked two weeks off at Christmas so I'll write to Santa for the red paint.

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  3. They do look good. Long health and exciting action to them in their now home!

    The Cherilea figures always had lots of life. (and sculptors with lots of imagination). After decades of trying to do a bit of everything, I'm starting to really enjoy a tighter focus and starting to get at finally get at some of the "one day" things.

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    1. Cherilea figures certainly are unmistakeable!

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  4. Brian, its a nice collection even if you don't plan to war-game with them. Those targe shields look good. Those buildings must be very useful. Nice post.
    Michael

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    1. Since breaking them out I have been wondering if I could get away with a skirmish game, a raid or something like that, just need to find some suitable rules.

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    2. There was a lot of animosity between clans. Rob Roy is a great film for skirmishing scenarios, cattle rustling, etc, involving a handful of figures on each side. I have left the 18th century to my 28mm, but if I hadn't, I would want to keep them. The slight difference in height is fine when using 54mm toy soldiers, its actually a point of discussion.
      Michael

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    3. Well I have more Highlanders in a cupboard somewhere so I guess I could paint up some more as another clan?

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  5. An interesting blend of figures,having two makers works well even though there is a light size mismatch as these Highlanders were never going to be a "uniform" unit and look alike.

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    1. You're right, a look of uniformity will be needed for the opposing redcoats but irregularly formed units can be very forgiving size wise.

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  6. Very nice figures and painting! I always love to see 54mm figures for the 18th Century!

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    1. Thanks Jordan, as soon as lockdown is over we're planning to get the 54mm 7 Years War collection out on the table, they're long overdue for an airing!

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  7. Good Job Brian. People vary in size so it should niet bother when figuren differ in height.

    About the tartans: clan tartans are a rather modern item. Back then, it was more something regional, not specific for a clan.

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    1. Hi Dirk, I don't bother too much about figure size or accuracy so long as the look feels right overall. I'm using the clan tartans as a guide so that each unit will look a bit more distinctive when they finally get to the wargame table.

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