French shako: eagle or diamond?

[Bendy_Straw]

Hey guys, another quick question. So I am planning on buying the Zvezda set #8042 and painting them as voltigeurs and others as grenadiers. My question is, did some french regiments have the eagle on their shakos and some others the diamond shaped one? Or did the eagle replace the diamond after the bardin reformation? I am trying to create a french army for the Russian 1812 campaign, so is this set my best option since it has the eagle? Or should I go with Hat's sets of French chasseurs who have the diamond one? Or does it not matter at all? Thanks in advance.

[Bendy_Straw]

Also should I cut off the long plumes? In the PSR page it says they got removed after 1811 so I assume I should do that for the 1812 campaign

[Zed1]

The answer is: it depends. The diamond shaped plates were issued after the Bardin regulations went into place. But: the distribution and production system was not ment to replace uniforms of an entire nation's army with new clothing and equipment within a few months. The Bardin decree went into force late January 1812, but it lacked the tariffs, which followed in August 1812 - but that did not include the new specifics for all regimental uniforms, especially not the handout of the needed documentations for the regiments. So for the bulk of the French army, the new uniforms were not in use before late 1813. You would find loads of Pre-Bardin uniforms in the French army until Napoleon's abdication, even some at Waterloo.

[Bendy_Straw]

Thanks. So I guess for the 1812 there would be units with eagles and others with diamond. I asked because I've seen so many illustrations and there are some pre-bardin uniforms with the diamond plate, and others with the eagle so it gets confusing