I'm always up for adding miniatures from different ranges, and I love to see how they compare. You never know when you'll find a new favourite source of plastic or metal fuel for your miniature addiction, and I don't mind a slightly varied army look. When Warlord Games had one of their recurring sprue sales at New Years, I picked up a few sprues of their French Line Infantry, as the first Perry box wasn't enough for a four unit formation of 32 Fusiliers. The Warlord sprue comes with four miniatures, one of which can be made into a Grenadier or Voltigeur. This sprue is for French units from 1806/1807 when the bicorn was replaced by the shako, and there are alternative heads for full parade dress with plumes and cords. I gave the Fusiliers simple shakos with pompons to fit in with the Perry miniatures, but decided to give the Voltigeurs a little bit of panache with parade plumes. My idea with adding some pre-1812 is both because I learned that it's more historical (as the 1812 uniform was widely introduced in 1813), but also because I like the look of them, especially the parade uniforms with plumes. Compared to our WW2 wargaming I think of this project as an opportunity to cave in to the spectacle of flashy dressed up ranks of troops. Maybe I'll get some more Voltigeurs in parade uniforms to go with these later? FusiliersThe paint job on these were honestly a bit rushed, as I realized that infantry in big blocks don't really stick out that much. Better to get them done and spend more time on showpieces like cavalry and officers. So these were mostly painted with quite rough layers and washes, and slotted into the gaps in my Fusilier formation. However, I took the opportunity to give them some extra features to show that these are experienced veteran campaigners, not raw recruits. Some of them have mended their trousers, as constant marching tended to wear out the knees. Seasoned troops would preemptively strenghten the clothing with an extra layer where they expected them to break first. The troopers where also expected to supply their own trousers, unlike the parade uniform breeches, creating an incentive to use cheaper (or looted!) cloth. So for example striped trousers or trousers in other colours than white would be seen on veteran and/or thrifty soldiers. The photo badly shows it, but the Warlord backpacks added some flair that makes them look like they are on campaign: cooking pots, mugs, and even bundles of onions are attached to their backpacks. A nice addition, and the cartridge boxes comes with "N" molded on them. VoltigeursThe four Voltigeurs got parade plumes. I'm honestly not a huge fan of the pose on these models, as the very tight legs make them look a bit like, well, like the need to pee. The heads also have slightly comic style proportions with huge noses and moustaches. So I much prefer the Fusiliers on this sprue. Finally a size comparison. As you can see, the Warlord figure is quite a bit bigger than the Perry one, especially the shako. It's less obvious on the Fusiliers, who I think fit better into the unit than the Voltigeur. The Alternative Army Voltigeur is huge! He's currenly serving as a leader until I can paint up more Voltigeur officers. VerdictOverall I think the Fusiliers make a great addition to my Perry Fusiliers, with some added variety while still fitting in quite well. I'm less happy with the Voltigeurs, but they'll work as placeholders until I get more of them. Maybe they'll fit in better if I get a unit with parade uniforms. As for now, I'm happy to have filled out the gaps in the Fusiliers formation, and it's high time to finish my Light Infantry Carbiniers and get started on my mountain of cavalry miniatures.
/Jonas
1 Comment
16/3/2017 18:53:01
Nice work. Always like to see figure comparisons too, so thanks for that.
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