Raising the clans

Hello again.

Apparently, in centuries past those north of the border in the northerly parts of this Hallowed Isle of Great Britain called each other to muster and battle by sending out a burning cross around the mountains and glens. If nothing else, it could have kept a few people warm in those sub-arctic climes of a Scottish summer, and perhaps kept the midges away.

So, I got to thinking, what would the Strath Clotans in "Burrows & Badgers" do in such circumstances? How would they send word that a muster was afoot? Why not use the same process!?



Scobie McSewer is the eldest of the four McSewer brothers, black rats all, and has an honoured place in his clan as the only one daft enough and strong enough to tote this thing around the highlands of his homeland. Actually, quite a number of beasts are daft enough, but the necessary muscle is a rare thing. Just look at the size of that cross! And it is mounted on a metal pole!!! It looks like they have dug it up from a cemetery somewhere rather than just nail a couple of planks on a spear staff. In a nod towards Health & Safety, however, they did at least put some strapping around the pole to ensure no one's hands froze to it whilst carrying it or were burnt as the heat conducted its way down the staff. They even supplied some arm protection to allow for the odd flame or piece of burning wood falling away onto the arm of whoever was carrying it. Civilisation may not be too far distant in the land of Strath Clota after all!

 

 

I came to the end of my regular, Oathsworn Miniatures-supplied Strath Clotans a little while ago with the conclusion of Clay Muir the ferret, but wanted more. Being the proud owner of more figures than I will ever get around to painting or using (!), I have a large Skaven army for Warhammer, a lot of which is built but unpainted, but I have boxes of unbuilt figures too, including Night Runners, and it is from one of these latter boxes that I sourced the parts for Scobie. He is pure GW in origin, with a bit of conversion work to make his cross. I used the arms that were supposed to hold a flail, for those of you who know your older Skaven figures, then simply drilled through for the cross. The cross itself is indeed an item of grave furniture, from the Renedra Gravestones pack I used examples of within my Witch Hunters band, and the "flames" are from a pack of coloured wool-like material from the "Flames of War" range of World War 2 stuff, designed to be torn up and used to show destroyed and bailed out vehicles I think.

 

I may well tat around with the flames and add some paint to try and make it look a little less like wool glued to a cross, but I am happy with what must be my first converted figure in quite a while, since I did my Medieval English for the Scottish Wars, I think. I also have a few more conversions in the offing, from the same figure source, to represent Scobie's three brothers and further round out my Strath Clotan band for "Burrows & Badgers". I will post those soon.

 

In the meantime, get those clansmen out of their beds. Scobie McSewer has come a-callin'.

 

G