This is General William Forbes Geddes, commanding the troops of the Scottish Army of the Covenant serving in Lancashire. "Big Willie" was born in 1592 at Seton Grange, Haddington, youngest son of Alexander Geddes - a wealthy landowner and salt merchant - and his wife Margaret Fallon. A professional soldier since he left school, where he was noted for his prowess in both Latin and wrestling, Geddes is a strange mixture - considered a "hard man" and pretty much humourless, yet he is very highly regarded by his troops, because of his reputation for ensuring that pay and provisions are supplied promptly and in full measure. Unusually tall for the day, he is also gifted with remarkable physical strength which is legendary - at the Siege of Heidelberg (1622) he is said to have thrown a Spanish officer into the river Neckar on one of the rare occasions when he lost his temper.
This casting is by Art Miniaturen, and my humble paintwork is of interest (to me) only in that it is the first time I have made exclusive use of the (cheap) Deco-Art "Crafter" acrylic paints. No particular problems - coverage is not quite so dense as with the more exotic brands, but it's OK, and anything which makes it possible for me to stay away from the GW shops has to be good.
By the way, if anyone noticed a short-lived post earlier this week, it featured a YouTube clip which refused to run properly in Blogger, so I scrapped it. Fair enough - sorry about that.
He looks rather good. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteMen in uniform will forgive a lot if they're regularly fed and watered in my experience.
Thank you sir - you are not referring to the police, are you?
DeleteFine looking fellow!
ReplyDeleteHe does look like he means business - will we be seeing him in action soon?
ReplyDeleteA "hard man" and pretty much humourless" - you mean, he's Scottish? :)
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of him. I use a lot of craft paints as well, often bought in stores full of nauseating smells from scented candles, stuffed with yarn and crafty things, and mostly full of women and the odd tired and irritated looking husband.
BTW, your ECW project has gotten me interested in watch that old 1980s BBC series By The Sword Divided, amazingly on YouTube. Maybe you told us about it there. It's almost as good as I recalled it 30 years ago.
A dashing figure on a fine horse!
ReplyDeleteThank you all, gentlemen - he will most assuredly be in action in mythical Lancashire soon. I forgot to add that the original version of the Spaniard-in-the-river story had the Spaniard accompanied by his horse - I'm not so sure about that one.
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