Caledonia! Ancient Celts of Scotland

I enjoy wargaming in much of Scottish history, my Highlanders have already been posted, now I cover another favorite period of mine, Roman-era Caledonia. I finished a couple of Warlord Games plastic test models recently, and a large beast to go with them...

 First is a standard warrior, armed with sword and shield. His body is covered in blue woad tattoos or warpaint, and his breeches are a bright plaid, all of which I painted by hand. There are many conflicting views on how the Celts, particularly in a fringe region such as Scotland would have looked and fought, I went for more of a primitive, tribal look for aesthetics, as much as anything else.

The shield is blank, so far, although once he goes through a game or two it may gain some sort of decoration. I'm still unsure as to what game to use these in, most likely Games Workshop's LotR skirmish game, adapted a bit to suit my needs. These models have a lot of character, well sculpted and very dynamic, as is illustrated well by the next warrior...

...who runs, hunched over his shield. The raven, the carrion bird, was a symbol among the Celts and Germans of battle and death, the Irish goddess Badb was said to appear in the shape of one. The raven on the shield was inspired by an illustration by Louis le Brocquy  from Thomas Kinsella's translation of the Irish saga Tain Bo Cuailinge, a great source of inspiration for my Celts.

He, too, has a plaid on both breeches and tunic, and has similar warpaint to my other warrior. I tryed to stay away from the 'Braveheart' look on the woad, using La Tene style Celtic art as inspiration. I then took leave of history, adding a touch of the fantastic with...

...a Wendigo. While actually a Native American creature, the Reaper model, bought for my Frostgrave games, fit too well with the feel of my Celts to pass up. I based the paint job on an illustration in Pathfinder Bestiary II, but toned it down somewhat, and adapted it to Reaper's model. A wash of red was patchily applied to blend in with the hands, and, although you can't tell in the picture, I painted the eye-sockets crimson as well.

In game he'll serve as a good spirit of the forest, ready to destroy any desecrating Romans who happen to venture on his turf.

Interested in your own Caledonians? Check out my Etsy shop for pre-painted miniatures, and custom commissions.