Advice for painting tartan

[TinyTerrain]

Hi,

Anyone have any advice on painting tartan please? I fancy doing my Scottish Pike mercenaries for my French hundred years war army with a splash of tartan.

Cheers

Craig
Tiny Terrain Models

[Leon]

<insert tartan paint joke here>

[HPFlashman]

Anything usable here ?  

[fred.]

I think they were simpler plaids in this era rather than the full blown tartens of 19th C onwards - so a basic cross style pattern should be enough - especially in 10mm. You do need to feather the cross overs a bit, otherwise it will look more like checks.

[Wulf]

Yes, 'tartan' only really existed from a few centuries after the Hundred Years war - before that anyone could, and would, wear whatever coloured plaid they liked - patterns & colours would be entirely up to the dyer & weaver, chosen by the wearer (so there was probably some consistency between plaids from a given locality, so individual units would look more uniform). The idea of clan tartans was much later. Colours would also be very muted & natural, with few if any bright colours.

[Leman]

Here's what I do. Base colour, then criss-cross with a No. 1 in a different colour. Next, with a No. 0, another colour inside the criss-crosses. Finally inside the squares another colour if required. Yellows, reds, blues and greens work well, including lighter and darker versions of the same colour.

Dour McPuritan

[Ithoriel]

I hate to be a killjoy but historically such tartan as there was would only be worn by highlanders. Pikemen would tend to be lowlanders. Jus' sayin'

[TinyTerrain]

Good feddback Ithoriel, thank you.

So, whats the consensus everone, paint my scottish Pike Mercenaries for the French (10YW) with or without tartan?

Cheers,

Craig
Tiny Terrain Models

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

If you want to go blind, yes! 

[Ithoriel]

For the Renaissance period Scots pikemen are recorded as wearing white shirts and trousers under their armour - does that help any?

White's got to be easier than tartan!

Highlanders of the Hundred Years War would look more like what we imagine when we think of Vikings - mail shirt, axes and swords - than the "Braveheart Scots" or "Rob Roy Highlanders." 

[Hertsblue]

Grey or off-white unbleached wool would be favourite I would think.

[Fenton]

I would paint them all exactly the same as their French and English counterparts..

[TinyTerrain]

So I am using ER5 AND 6 with a few EMM4 for flavour (all seem to have relatively short pikes which Ive read is about right for the period)  and have added a few greenstuff cloaks and the like for some variety.

I think I will do off- white trousers and shirts, brown leather for the armour and slightly brighter earthy tones for the cloaks Etc (but still pretty drab)

Any other inputs, as you can tell this isnt my area of knowledge,

Cheers,

Craig
Tiny terrain Models

[SV52]

No tartan, it's a Victorian invention.  Colours depend on the available dyes if used at all; plain colours or non-elaborate checks, clothes had  to be cheap with simple patterns from hand looms for the common folk.

[Steve J]

SV52 beat me too it!