Del Prado · Napoleonic era · 1806
The tartan, feathered headgear and pipes make this Del Prado musician an immediately engaging subject. The reference identifies the 71st Highlanders in 1806, placing him before the regiment’s later light-infantry designation.
- Maker
- Del Prado
- Subject
- 71st Highlander Piper 1806
- Historical setting
- Napoleonic era · 1806
The date precedes a regimental change
The National Army Museum records the 71st’s conversion to light infantry in 1809. The 1806 date therefore matters. It helps explain why a figure with a strong Highland appearance should not automatically be used as an exact uniform guide for every later campaign associated with the regiment.
Compare makers without assuming a match
K&C’s Black Watch piper is a different regimental subject from another manufacturer. The two can form a useful comparison of how military musicians are represented, but they should not be described as the same figure in two scales. Compare actual height, proportions, headgear and instrument details before mixing them into one display.
The thin instrument parts come first
Check the drones, mouthpiece and hands, then the bonnet details and painted tartan. A small missing pipe section can be hard to see in a low-resolution image. Ask for both sides and the underside of the base. Keep the full 71st-and-1806 identification with the photographs so the model does not become an anonymous “Scottish piper” when separated from its booklet.
Figure reference
Del Prado 71st Highlander Piper 1806 — Planète Légendaire catalog record. The collecting observations above refer to the pictured model; condition varies between individual examples.