Showing posts with label France. Show all posts
Showing posts with label France. Show all posts
Friday, 12 August 2016
French Uniforms from "The Age of Napoleon"
I found a pdf file yesterday of a book called "The Age of Napoleon: Costume from Revolution to Empire 1789-1815". Mostly it features civilian dress and costumes; everything from ladies ball gowns to workers shoes. There is also a chapter focusing on uniforms. I've not read this chapter yet but here are the images of early uniforms that were included...
Monday, 8 February 2016
15/18mm French Revolutionary Infantry Comparison - Part 2
I posted a few comparisons on my blog in the past and they have all been very popular, so after doing one of Revolutionary and early Napoleonic era French, I thought I'd give you an other quick side-by-side comparison of some command bases.
This image consists of, from left to right...
1. AB French Line in greatcoats with Blue Moon also in greatcoats. These mix reasonably well. I would have used Blue Moon command figures but they came with an eagle whereas the AB had a standard flag pole. Blue Moon are nice models but the have very short bayonets compared to other brands.
2. French Legere in Egypt from Fighting 15s, previously Black Hat.
3. Demi-brigade using Warmodelling, previously Fantassin and now Capitan or Battle Models. Its hard to keep up with what this range is called. These are nice and mix really well with AB, but they are suffering from some poor casting. This is supposed to be getting sorted but I'd check before ordering.
4. These are the newest entry for this period and are from Campaign Games Miniatures in Spain. These are lovely figures and paint up really nice. There is a choice of two command sets and you can have the grenadiers in bicorne or bearskin. The standard bearer comes with separate flag pole or eagle, so you can use these as later as well.
Hopefully this will be as useful as the previous comparison posts.
This image consists of, from left to right...
1. AB French Line in greatcoats with Blue Moon also in greatcoats. These mix reasonably well. I would have used Blue Moon command figures but they came with an eagle whereas the AB had a standard flag pole. Blue Moon are nice models but the have very short bayonets compared to other brands.
2. French Legere in Egypt from Fighting 15s, previously Black Hat.
3. Demi-brigade using Warmodelling, previously Fantassin and now Capitan or Battle Models. Its hard to keep up with what this range is called. These are nice and mix really well with AB, but they are suffering from some poor casting. This is supposed to be getting sorted but I'd check before ordering.
4. These are the newest entry for this period and are from Campaign Games Miniatures in Spain. These are lovely figures and paint up really nice. There is a choice of two command sets and you can have the grenadiers in bicorne or bearskin. The standard bearer comes with separate flag pole or eagle, so you can use these as later as well.
Hopefully this will be as useful as the previous comparison posts.
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
French Uniforms of the Egyptian Campaign
While having a look online to see if I could source some more information on the Coptic Legion in Egypt I found these rather nice flats from a company called Glorious Empires (http://www.gloriousempires.com/). They supply a good selection of 54mm unpainted miniature flats for the Egyptian campaign and there are some interesting uniforms within the set...
Left to right: Foot Guides, Coptic Legion, Dromadary Corps
Left to right: Grenadier, Line Drummer, Greek Legion
Left to right: Marine Infantry, Maltese Legion, Line Infantry
Left to right: Officer of Demi-brigade, Marine Infantry
Tuesday, 26 January 2016
The Coptic Legion, Egypt 1798-1801
When I posted my pictures of the 21e Legere in Egypt someone was asking about a battalion of local Christian Coptics that fought for the French. This, as usual, sent me off on a tangent when I should be researching troops for Marengo.
I found this...
The Coptic Legion (Légion Copte / Légion Cophte) was part of the French infantry, and their uniform was indistinguishable from the uniform of French infantry except in colour.
The Coptic troops wore a bicorne made from sheep’s hide leather, and dyed black, with a red horse-hair plume falling from it; and possibly the tricolour cockade fixed to its left side, as all troops in the French Armee d’Orient were required to wear.
They wore yellow trousers made of unbleached linen, and short (calf-length) gaiters of either black or white colour, along with black boots.
They wore a white waistcoat, and over this a green (Dartmouth green) coat that was to buttoned straight down the front. The coat’s collar was either red or yellow; while its cuffs were yellow. The epaulets were red.
They each had a cow-hide knapsack with black straps to contrast with the habit-veste.
I also sourced a few images of these troops, along with one showing the Greek Legion as well. One of the images shows contradictory white straps.
I found this...
The Coptic Legion (Légion Copte / Légion Cophte) was part of the French infantry, and their uniform was indistinguishable from the uniform of French infantry except in colour.
The Coptic troops wore a bicorne made from sheep’s hide leather, and dyed black, with a red horse-hair plume falling from it; and possibly the tricolour cockade fixed to its left side, as all troops in the French Armee d’Orient were required to wear.
They wore yellow trousers made of unbleached linen, and short (calf-length) gaiters of either black or white colour, along with black boots.
They wore a white waistcoat, and over this a green (Dartmouth green) coat that was to buttoned straight down the front. The coat’s collar was either red or yellow; while its cuffs were yellow. The epaulets were red.
They each had a cow-hide knapsack with black straps to contrast with the habit-veste.
I also sourced a few images of these troops, along with one showing the Greek Legion as well. One of the images shows contradictory white straps.
Sunday, 24 January 2016
21e Demi-brigade Legere, Egypt, 1800 - 18mm from Fighting 15s
When I was deciding which era of the Napoleonic Wars to focus on, one of the options was the French invasion of Egypt. I visited Egypt about 18 years ago and one of the things that stuck with me was the graffiti on the ancient relics left by French troops. I already had a knowledge of ancient Egypt when I visited, but I could only imagine what it was like to see these sites for the first time having come from Revolutionary Europe.
Not only was the venue for this campaign of the Revolutionary Wars fascinating, but also the troops that took part. With limited resources the French Army had to re-equip its troops with whatever was to hand. This meant that the army began the campaign wearing the standard uniform of the period, then changed to a new design in the French colours that was more suitable to the climate, and then had to replace those with a multitude of different coloured uniforms due to a cloth shortage - the Kleber Ordinance.
When I decided I was going to paint a battalion of infantry for this campaign I had a look through the various sources that I have - Osprey's French Soldier in Egypt 1798-1801 and Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign 1798-1801, and Uniforms of the French Revolutionary Wars 1789 - 1802. There were a few choices that caught my imagination, but one that really inspired me was the 21e Demi-brigade Legere - especially the illustration in Uniforms of the French Revolutionary Wars 1789 - 1802 of the black soldier and its description; 'the ranks of the 21st were made up of Negro slaves bought by Kleber from Abyssinian slave dealers'.
The figures I used were from the excellent Napoleon in Egypt range from Fighting 15s, which used to be owned by Black Hat. They paint up really easily and looked great. I must admit I made a small error in painting these and painted the flask/gourd strap white instead of a rope colour. I'll have to examine if I can repair that mistake. I also painted all the facings/cuffs etc in yellow, but some of these should be orange due to a lack of yellow cloth, and even some pink mixed in for the same reasons.
So here they are, finished all except for a flag, which is in progress and should be designed and printed in the next week or two.
Here is the illustration that inspired the battalion...
And some other illustrations. The drummer image was found after I had finished painting the unit and shows a uniform matching the colour of the rest of the unit, but I had read that musicians wore a reversed colour scheme. This uniform is different from the figure so I'm happy to have the yellow jacket.
Not only was the venue for this campaign of the Revolutionary Wars fascinating, but also the troops that took part. With limited resources the French Army had to re-equip its troops with whatever was to hand. This meant that the army began the campaign wearing the standard uniform of the period, then changed to a new design in the French colours that was more suitable to the climate, and then had to replace those with a multitude of different coloured uniforms due to a cloth shortage - the Kleber Ordinance.
When I decided I was going to paint a battalion of infantry for this campaign I had a look through the various sources that I have - Osprey's French Soldier in Egypt 1798-1801 and Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign 1798-1801, and Uniforms of the French Revolutionary Wars 1789 - 1802. There were a few choices that caught my imagination, but one that really inspired me was the 21e Demi-brigade Legere - especially the illustration in Uniforms of the French Revolutionary Wars 1789 - 1802 of the black soldier and its description; 'the ranks of the 21st were made up of Negro slaves bought by Kleber from Abyssinian slave dealers'.
The figures I used were from the excellent Napoleon in Egypt range from Fighting 15s, which used to be owned by Black Hat. They paint up really easily and looked great. I must admit I made a small error in painting these and painted the flask/gourd strap white instead of a rope colour. I'll have to examine if I can repair that mistake. I also painted all the facings/cuffs etc in yellow, but some of these should be orange due to a lack of yellow cloth, and even some pink mixed in for the same reasons.
So here they are, finished all except for a flag, which is in progress and should be designed and printed in the next week or two.
Here is the illustration that inspired the battalion...
And some other illustrations. The drummer image was found after I had finished painting the unit and shows a uniform matching the colour of the rest of the unit, but I had read that musicians wore a reversed colour scheme. This uniform is different from the figure so I'm happy to have the yellow jacket.
Thursday, 12 November 2015
15/18mm French Revolutionary Infantry Comparison
Its been ages since I had time and motivation to get any painting done. I keep trying to get back into the mood, but I just haven't been able to. I suppose a promotion to a management position, mixed with a hectic and very stressful family situation has to take its toll somewhere, but I annoyed that it has been my hobby that has suffered - and therefor the blog has slowed as well.
But then it only takes a couple of things to get you back in the mood - for example a new release of figures. And that's whats happened. Campaign Game Miniatures in Spain have just released early French infantry, and they looked great. I had to get myself some, even though I have about 6 or 7 unpainted demi-brigades already.
An order was placed for a 32 man battalion, and while I was at it I thought I would add in another Austrian set, as I've never used CGMs infantry before. The Austrians were just as nice as the French turned out to be. I'm a little annoyed that I hadn't got these earlier, but I'll do another comparison with the Austrians very soon.
So what do you get in a 32 man battalion pack? CGM have packs available with varying amounts of figures, as well as the separate packs, so that you can choose exactly what you want. This pack was perfect for my needs, and its great to get all the figures you need without wasting money on spares.
As you can see, you get a variety of poses. For the bulk of the infantry there are 20 figures in four poses, with five of each pose. For the elite/Grenadier/light companies you get another four poses, two of each, plus the four figures in the command set. You get separate standards, one flag pole for early battalions, and an eagle for later.
The figures look really well cast, with sharp details, and no flash or visible mold lines - so these can go straight into the painting stage without lengthy a clean up first.
The important question when buying a new range is always, will these mix with what I have already? I think they will, especially with AB or Warmodelling (or Battlemodels as these are now called).
In this picture I've shown them alongside (from left to right) 2x Warmodelling, 2x AB, 2x Old Glory (Saxons as I don't have French), and finally 2x CGM. As you can see the size and proportions are very close to AB. The equipment looks the same, whereas I found that figures from Blue Moon for example, the muskets look totally different from other companies.
All in I would highly recommend these figures from CGM. They mix well with others, they look great, they are top quality, and the service from the company is excellent.
Marks out of ten, I'd say a high 9. And if they paint as well as the other figures I have from CGM that may go up to a full 10/10!
But then it only takes a couple of things to get you back in the mood - for example a new release of figures. And that's whats happened. Campaign Game Miniatures in Spain have just released early French infantry, and they looked great. I had to get myself some, even though I have about 6 or 7 unpainted demi-brigades already.
An order was placed for a 32 man battalion, and while I was at it I thought I would add in another Austrian set, as I've never used CGMs infantry before. The Austrians were just as nice as the French turned out to be. I'm a little annoyed that I hadn't got these earlier, but I'll do another comparison with the Austrians very soon.
So what do you get in a 32 man battalion pack? CGM have packs available with varying amounts of figures, as well as the separate packs, so that you can choose exactly what you want. This pack was perfect for my needs, and its great to get all the figures you need without wasting money on spares.
As you can see, you get a variety of poses. For the bulk of the infantry there are 20 figures in four poses, with five of each pose. For the elite/Grenadier/light companies you get another four poses, two of each, plus the four figures in the command set. You get separate standards, one flag pole for early battalions, and an eagle for later.
The figures look really well cast, with sharp details, and no flash or visible mold lines - so these can go straight into the painting stage without lengthy a clean up first.
The important question when buying a new range is always, will these mix with what I have already? I think they will, especially with AB or Warmodelling (or Battlemodels as these are now called).
In this picture I've shown them alongside (from left to right) 2x Warmodelling, 2x AB, 2x Old Glory (Saxons as I don't have French), and finally 2x CGM. As you can see the size and proportions are very close to AB. The equipment looks the same, whereas I found that figures from Blue Moon for example, the muskets look totally different from other companies.
All in I would highly recommend these figures from CGM. They mix well with others, they look great, they are top quality, and the service from the company is excellent.
Marks out of ten, I'd say a high 9. And if they paint as well as the other figures I have from CGM that may go up to a full 10/10!
Thursday, 14 May 2015
Revolutionary Flags (NEW RELEASE) - 4th Cavalarie (Cuirassiers) 1794
While its been quiet on the figure side of things (I'm working on a few things) the flags have been progressing.
The next is almost finished. This one was a request from Von Winterfeld on TMP who had done some fantastic conversion work to create some early French Cuirassiers.
This is the first version of that flag. There are a couple of slight questions that I need answered so this may change.
The second version will have the Royalist emblems removed and/or patched over.
The next is almost finished. This one was a request from Von Winterfeld on TMP who had done some fantastic conversion work to create some early French Cuirassiers.
This is the first version of that flag. There are a couple of slight questions that I need answered so this may change.
The second version will have the Royalist emblems removed and/or patched over.
Saturday, 21 March 2015
Les Carabiniers Classique - 15mm Revolutionary Range Part 2
My review of some the Les Carabiniers Cassique range was very popular and I was happy how the Revolutionary General painted up, so I ordered a few more packs from this 15mm range.
This time I ordered Camp followers and Priests, Camp Followers and Sutleress, and Republican Artillery, and as before the service was great from Stonewall Figures - the figures only took a few days to arrive after paying securely with paypal through their website. Edit: I just noticed that on the packs it says Les Carabiniers Classique, and not Cassique as it says on Stonewalls website.
The first pack I opened was LCC11 - Republican Artillery. You get one gun and four crew in the bag for £3.50. There is no information to what weight of gun this is, or whether these are foot or horse artillery, but I would guess they're foot.
The figures and gun are well cast, mostly - unfortunately the leg fell off the kneeling figure. It was still there (you can see the leg sitting next to the badly wounded figure) so hopefully it can be reattached.
The gun goes together quite well. I have to assume its a heavy calibre judging by the size of the gun. Feel free to leave comments if you know what this gun is...
The next set opened was LCC 06 Camp Followers and Sutleress, consisting off "Dismounted hussar leading heavily laden horse and three Sutleress".
The three sutleress figures are very similar, and quite small so I couldn't see the differences until I looked at the enlarged photos. These should be reasonably useful, but the real reason for getting this pack is the lovely dismounted who is carrying a bag over his shoulder and has a horse with baggage draped over its saddle. Although the figure is a small 15mm figure, it doesn't look too bad and I'll be using this on a general base. The detail on the braiding on the uniform and pelisse looks good and should paint up very well - especially if your eyes and hands are better than mine are now.
Next we have LCC 07 Camp followers and Priests, which includes "Three Priests and dismounted cavalry officer with mount".
There are three different figures for the priests - but I'm not sure why these are in a Republican set. I would have thought these would have been better along with the Royalist sets. Again these are very small, with quite limited poses, but overall they are interesting figures.
The dismounted cavalry officer is another useful miniature, again wearing a pelisse, but with a bicorne. I'll paint this guy up as an aide or guide.
Of course its always helpful to see these miniatures alongside some other ranges, so here are some pics with AB and Warmodelling for scale...
I'm not 100% sure about this range as the quality seems to vary, and the little information that goes along with them leaves some of the figures a bit of a mystery, but overall I'm finding them useful little additions.
I'll paint some of these up and post pictures when I can.
This time I ordered Camp followers and Priests, Camp Followers and Sutleress, and Republican Artillery, and as before the service was great from Stonewall Figures - the figures only took a few days to arrive after paying securely with paypal through their website. Edit: I just noticed that on the packs it says Les Carabiniers Classique, and not Cassique as it says on Stonewalls website.
The first pack I opened was LCC11 - Republican Artillery. You get one gun and four crew in the bag for £3.50. There is no information to what weight of gun this is, or whether these are foot or horse artillery, but I would guess they're foot.
The figures and gun are well cast, mostly - unfortunately the leg fell off the kneeling figure. It was still there (you can see the leg sitting next to the badly wounded figure) so hopefully it can be reattached.
The gun goes together quite well. I have to assume its a heavy calibre judging by the size of the gun. Feel free to leave comments if you know what this gun is...
The next set opened was LCC 06 Camp Followers and Sutleress, consisting off "Dismounted hussar leading heavily laden horse and three Sutleress".
The three sutleress figures are very similar, and quite small so I couldn't see the differences until I looked at the enlarged photos. These should be reasonably useful, but the real reason for getting this pack is the lovely dismounted who is carrying a bag over his shoulder and has a horse with baggage draped over its saddle. Although the figure is a small 15mm figure, it doesn't look too bad and I'll be using this on a general base. The detail on the braiding on the uniform and pelisse looks good and should paint up very well - especially if your eyes and hands are better than mine are now.
Next we have LCC 07 Camp followers and Priests, which includes "Three Priests and dismounted cavalry officer with mount".
There are three different figures for the priests - but I'm not sure why these are in a Republican set. I would have thought these would have been better along with the Royalist sets. Again these are very small, with quite limited poses, but overall they are interesting figures.
The dismounted cavalry officer is another useful miniature, again wearing a pelisse, but with a bicorne. I'll paint this guy up as an aide or guide.
Of course its always helpful to see these miniatures alongside some other ranges, so here are some pics with AB and Warmodelling for scale...
I'm not 100% sure about this range as the quality seems to vary, and the little information that goes along with them leaves some of the figures a bit of a mystery, but overall I'm finding them useful little additions.
I'll paint some of these up and post pictures when I can.
Thursday, 12 March 2015
Les Carabiniers Cassique - Republican General
I've not had much chance of getting much painting done over the last few weeks, now that I have a new graphic design job, but I did manage to finish off this general from the Les Carabiniers Cassigue range.
The pack consisted of two generals (one with a flag pole), a figure wearing a shako and another wearing a bearskin.
The two figures on this base are probably the most useful of the pack - I'm not sure what use I'll have of a general carrying a flag - excepting a Napoleon at Arcola of course.
I also wasn't sure as to what the figure wearing the shako should be, but it looked like a chasseur of some sort. I couldn't find any reference, so I just used guesswork and went with a chasseur uniformed Aide-de-camp. Hopefully it looks right, even if its not...
The pack consisted of two generals (one with a flag pole), a figure wearing a shako and another wearing a bearskin.
The two figures on this base are probably the most useful of the pack - I'm not sure what use I'll have of a general carrying a flag - excepting a Napoleon at Arcola of course.
I also wasn't sure as to what the figure wearing the shako should be, but it looked like a chasseur of some sort. I couldn't find any reference, so I just used guesswork and went with a chasseur uniformed Aide-de-camp. Hopefully it looks right, even if its not...
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