"Painting Tartan in 15mm" Topic

Hi guys,

Does anybody have any tips for creating a tartan effect on 15mm miniatures? I'm painting my first ever battalion of Highlanders (either as the Black Watch or the Gordons – haven't made my mind up yet) and I'm not sure how to approach the kilts (no double entendre intended)

Thanks

Stephen

I have some relatively expensive tartan paint for sale.

I have some tartan paint as well but only in Ogilve.

I did some highlanders a few months ago. It is not very hard. I painted the kilts dark blue. Over this I painted some yellow, about 7 vertical lines with two horizontal lines with a tiny brush. In between the yellow, I then did a set of green lines. The end result was a plaid pattern that is visible on the 15mm figures and didn't cause too much eye strain. I got complements on them, so it must have worked.

The figures are tiny, so a basic pattern visible from a few feet away will do the trick. Complicated patterns are for 28mm. I was surpised the tartan was so easy. The checked socks, now, that was a pain!

I hope Gunner Dunbar see's this thread.
His Tartan in 15mm is the best I've seen:
link
Cheers!
trailape.blogspot.com

I paint vertical and horizontal lines over the base color (lines typically black), whenever the vertical and horizontal lines intersect I then paint a dot in a third color (red, yellow, blue, etc.). It gives a very good impression of tartan without the headache (relatively speaking).

I use a Sakura Microperm 01 to put a grid on the kilt, then use diluted blue and green in alternate rows and columns. The ink outline gives it definition, and if you get the glaze right, you get green, blue, and blue-green checks.

Painting tartan can be tricky but if your hand remains steady you can do it. If not, brace your hand on the edge of the table with the other hand holding the figure also braced.

link

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll give the various techniques a try and see which one works for me. Judging from the links the best answer might be to offer to pay Shane or Gunner Dunbar to paint them for me (either that or save up for a bottle of 1968billsfan's paint)

I've got some examples here, in 25mm scale. But they might be useful as reference. Not Napoleonic, but plenty of tartans to be seen.

link

Check the Jacobite pix in particular.

15mm is trickier, but I've seen it done. For Black Watch or the Gordons, I'd begin with a dark blue, and paint medium-size dark green stripes over this, set evenly apart. Then paint a thin overstripe down the center of each green line: black for the Black Watch, yellow for the Gordons. That will give a good impression of these two military setts.You shouldn't need more than two horizontal stripes on a figure at this scale; probably you'll need six to eight vertical.