The Battle of Culloden

Francis Dampierre · April 20, 2010

Ahoy all! After some pretty bad entry attempts at the most recent JRC contest, I wasn't sure if I could knock out a contest-worthy MOC that I could feel proud of. So when I heard of the Bayonets at Dawn contest, I saw a chance at redemption...and a sudden inspiration. Ever since I read Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped, the Jacobite rebellion in the highlands of Scotland has fascinated me, characterized best (in my opinion) by the daredevil Alan Breck. :pir_laugh2:

So, in honor of this well-written book, I have decided to "legofy" the Battle of Culloden, the last defiant stand of the Jacobite rebellion east of Inverness. Rather than directly copy a portrait of the battle, which I have a poor parts selection for, I decided to depict a small skirmish of Jacobite forces attacking a British artillery crew. Without further ado, here it is:

An overview of the skirmish.

Here, we see from behind the British line. The artillery crew has just lobbed off a shot and is preparing to reload under orders of the gun captain.

Now from the Jacobite party. I haven't found any good "kilt" decals for the highlanders, does anyone know where to find them? :pir-sceptic: An interesting bit of trivia: the Highlander tactics (as they were armed only with broadswords and bucklers) were to hit the dirt at the first volley of musket-shot, strip off their heavy kilts, and charge the British line while shouting and bellowing. I decided to keep the MOC PG-rated and let them keep the kilts :pir-wink: .

A closeup of the cannon. Sorry for the bad resolution, I'll use a better camera when I enter the final draft. Perhaps I should extend the shot cloud, or make it arc over? Comments/criticism are welcome! :pir-blush: Note the terrified jacobite who narrowly missed a rather messy demise.

One of the Jacobites leaps on a Redcoat with his broadsword raised. Again, my apologies for the bad resolution.

A link to the Brickshelf Gallery: Click Here

The wikipedia article (Be sure to check out the uniforms and battle map!): Battle of Culloden

Please comment and criticize away, I want honest opinions on the battle. Thanks! :jollyroger:

Edited April 20, 2010 by Francis LeBaron

**Etzel** · April 20, 2010

Nice job, Francis LeBaron!

I think you captured the battlefield quite well with people running in every direction and good expressions of the minifigs. However, I think you need to find a way to make your MOC stand out a little more, it's not much more than a baseplate with plants and minifigs now. I don't know much about this battle but I read on the wiki site that it took place on a moor, maybe you should add some brown and dark tan plates to the ground to make it more authentic?

Now from the Jacobite party. I haven't found any good "kilt" decals for the highlanders, does anyone know where to find them? An interesting bit of trivia: the Highlander tactics (as they were armed only with broadswords and bucklers) were to hit the dirt at the first volley of musket-shot, strip off their heavy kilts, and charge the British line while shouting and bellowing. I decided to keep the MOC PG-rated and let them keep the kilts .

That's a really funny fact! :pir_laugh2: I think you should use it to make your MOC more unique by giving the Jacobites yellow legs. After all, it's just LEGO, no one will get offended by that.