SPECIAL THANKS. I would like to thank Paul Watson for his sponsorship of several lead figure collections on this blog. Having decided to clear his spare/surplus figures, he generously forwarded them on with no other requirement than they deserved to be restored. I would also like to mention George S. Mills, who kindly furnished a quantity of plastic figures which greatly enhanced several collections.

Wednesday, 22 September 2021

LONDON SCOTTISH REGIMENT (Alternatively, Toronto Scottish Regt.)

About a year ago I converted/repaired some lead highlanders and painted them up as the London Scottish Regiment or 14th County of London Battalion (nicknames, the Piccadilly Allsorts, Cockney Jocks, Duke of Bangkok's Rifles). Formed in 1859, it still exists to this day as a reservist company. They were classified as light infantry, and adopted a distinctive uniform colour of hodden-grey with blue facings. When Paul Watson kindly sent me some additional Highlanders, decided to increase this battalion to ten figures.

(Footnote. This uniform is shared with the Toronto Scottish Regiment, their brother battalion, raised in Canada in 1915.)

MGB







6 comments:

  1. They look rather smart , I'm in two minds about lying down figures I must admit .

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    1. Hi Tony, same here, I don't purchase such figures as a rule, but I wasn't going to put them in the melting pot either, decided to raise a unit for skirmishing and the lying down figure seemed appropriate for this unit.
      Michael

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  2. Beautiful job of repair/conversion Michael! An interesting uniform color, quite handsome! The reference pictures are marvelous! Very well done!

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    1. Thank you Brad, its a nice, interesting unit to have in the collection, and it was the most appropriate for lying down castings, being a genuine light battalion of Highlanders. As you might expect, there is a fair number of period prints for this interesting unit and its distinctive uniform.
      Michael

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  3. They look great. Always found it an attractive unit.

    When researching Hodden grey for 17thC Scots, i found out the shade of grey is actually a mix of 2 colours of undyed wool. No idea if it still is.

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    1. Hi Ross, in researching the unit I too discovered how the hodden fabric was originally a combination of black and white fleeces in their natural state. What I found particularly interesting, with the modern cloth, being de facto a regimental tailor, is how the colour looks distinct according to the light, or how close or far away you view it! It has a slight pink and also beige tint on occasions, and while it looks grey on its own, placed next to a pure grey cloth is very distinct.
      Michael

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