Airfix 1744 "Waterloo French Infantry"

Contains

42 Grenadiers/Fusiliers (See evaluation) + Mounted Officer

• 6 x Firing/Standing
• 5 x Crouching/Standing
• 6 x Loading/Firing
• 4 + 6 x Marching/Advancing
• 2 + 4 x Standing/Holding out musket
• 3 x Crouching/Holding out musket
• 1 x Flag Bearer
• 1 x Trumpeter
• 1 x Drummer
• 1 x Mounted/Officer
• 1 x Standing/Carrying wounded
• 2 x Prone/Dead

Evaluation

Figures/Poses:

+ The human cost of war is illustrated by the man evacuating another wounded soldier on his shoulders while another is left lying on the battlefield.

+ Mounted officer provided. - Their bodies have very strange proportions.

- The trumpeter is making life hard for himself by holding the trumpet by the mouthpiece.

- One of the advancing men is holding his musket to held up to his ear for no particular reason.

Uniform/Equipment:

+ Uniforms are largely accurate with the short-tailed Bardin coatee and shakos.

- They carry the combined sword and bayonet scabbard of grenadiers on a cross-belt over the right shoulder, but also have the shoulder straps of fusiliers and lack the fringed epaulettes and grenadier shako plume which makes.

- The flag-bearer appears to the eagle on top of the staff.

- By 1815 drummer had stopped wearing the regular infantry uniform and instead wore the noticeably different Imperial Livery.

- Most soldiers wore trousers or overalls on campaign to cover the gaiters seen here. 

- The officer is properly dressed with fringed epaulettes and long coat tails. 

Overall

While some historical inaccuracies can be excused by the fact that in real life supply trouble often led to soldiers having irregular uniform and kit there are just too many here to be overlooked. However there is a nice selection of poses which can be useful when used with other sets if you're not too fussed about the details.

Possible paint schemes

• Bergisch Line Infantry
• Danish Line Infantry
• Frankfurt Line Infantry
• French Line Infantry
• Hesse-Darmstadt Infantry (late)
• Italian Line Infantry
• Mecklenburgian Line Infantry
• Neapolitan (Naples) Line Infantry
• Neuchâtel Line Infantry
• Polish Line Infantry
• Saxon Line Infantry (late)
• Swiss Line Infantry
• Valais Line infantry
• Westphalian Line Infantry