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My 1/72 Nappies

Posted by MikeRC97 on 25 Apr 2018, 01:03

Here is the first of my many planned 1/72 Napoleonic units for the period 1808 – 1812, Italeri 6015 French Dragoons. I painted them as the 23e Régiment de Dragons. This regiment was part of the Dragoon Division attached to III Corps at the battle of Wagram in 1809 and the 6th Heavy Cavalry Division of the III Cavalry Corps at the battle of Borodino in 1812.

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A work in progress thread can be found for this unit here

http://bennosfiguresforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=21427

The figures are organized on 4 bases for Lasalle. The Lasalle rules are very flexible when it comes to base size and the number of figures per base; I opted for 40mm square bases, two figures to a base.

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Each Dragoon regiment was organized as follows:

I Squadron: 1st and 5th company
II Squadron: 2nd and 6th company
III Squadron: 3rd and 7th company
IV Squadron: 4th and 8th company

The first company was considered elite and comprised of men selected from the other companies in the regiment. The first base includes a converted figure with a tall bearskin representing a member of the elite company; the head comes from a grenadier from the Zvezda Napoleonic HQ Staff.

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In the picture above you can see the guidon carried by Dragoons from 1804 to 1812. The Italeri guidon has an eagle in the center which is the version used by the Dragoons of the Guard. As I'm painting these as a line regiment I have just left it white (there should be an inscription in the center but I wasn't going to attempt to paint that in this scale).

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This set is one of Italeri’s best, the sculpting is excellent, the plastic is bendable but holds details very well, and the poses are very natural. Minor details have all been sculpted which make the figures a joy to paint. If you look closely at the picture above you can see that the trumpeter's checks are filled with air as he prepares to blow the trumpet.

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The figures were painted with Vallejo, Privateer Press, Wargames Foundry and Coat D’Arms paints. Details of the colors used can be found in the WIP thread.

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The helmets and swords were painted in non-metallic metal colors. I used this video of a NMM Games Workshop Stormcast Eternal as a tutorial for the helmets:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VepXVggrfiE

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As noted in the PSR review none of the figures are looking directly into the mold so that the horsehair mane on the Dragoon helmet could be sculpted accurately. I repositioned the head on the figure on the right in the picture above so that the head is looking forward as I thought it looked odd to have all of the figures in the unit looking to the side.

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I have a lot of 1/72 Napoleonic figures in my stash waiting to be painted so my plan is to keep adding to this thread as each unit is completed.

Any feedback or comments are appreciated
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Posted by MikeRC97 on 08 Jan 2019, 03:36

I’m back with a couple of updates to my 1/72 Napoleonic units for the period 1808 – 1812. First of all I rebased the French Dragoons from the original post to a mix of single and multi-based figures. The reason for this is that I want to be able to use these figures to play Sharp Practice 2. Most Napoleonic miniature wargames require over a hundred figures per side to play properly, but the Sharp Practice rules are skirmish level so a core force is around 40 to 60 figures, meaning I might actually complete some forces in my lifetime! The other reason I want to get into Sharp Practice is that there are some great light infantry figures in 1/72 scale. While the rules include profiles for line infantry, when I think of skirmishing in the Napoleonic Wars I think of French Infanterie Léger, British Light Infantry and Russian Jägers.

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I rebased the Dragoons because a unit in Sharp Practice only includes troopers, “leaders” (which represent NCOs and officers), musicians and color bearers are added separately (also casualties are removed individually). I’ll need to paint some additional troopers, a unit of Dragoons is 8 figures. Even better, Dragoons can dismount and fight as skirmishers so I’ll need to paint some dismounted figures. I just wish that the Waterloo 1815 foot Dragoons were not wearing infantry gaiters.

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The other update is that I completed a second unit, Italeri 6008 French Hussars. I painted them as the 7e Régiment de Hussards. This regiment was part of the Light Cavalry Division attached to III Corps at the battle of Wagram in 1809 and the 1st Light Cavalry Division of the I Cavalry Corps at the battle of Borodino in 1812.

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The Hussars were organized in four squadrons like the Dragoons, with the same company groupings and an elite first company. In battalion level wargame rules such as Lasalle, Black Powder or General d’Armee these figures would represent the first and second squadrons. I’ll need to paint a few more troopers for Sharp Practice - it was while I was painting these Hussars, with all the minute details of their uniforms, that I started thinking of skirmish wargaming with my 1/72 Napoleonic miniatures.

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Once again I converted a figure to represent the elite first company; in this case I swapped his shako with a colpack from Italeri 6080 French Light Cavalry. The blue plastic Italeri used in the Hussar set is a bit softer than the light tan plastic used in many Italeri sets such as the Dragoons and Light Cavalry. After removing the mould lines I was left with quite a few “fuzzies.” Despite this, most of the details are well defined and easy to paint.

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In the Hussars, squadron was indicated by the color of the pompon on the shako. Within each squadron the lower numbered company wore solid pompons while the higher numbered company wore a pompon with white on the top (as seen on the figure on the right) or in the center. My primary reference for this unit was Officers and Soldiers of the French Hussars, Vol. 2: From the 1st to the 8th Regiment, 1804-1812 by André Jouineau.

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The trumpeter’s solid blue pompon indicates that he belongs to the second squadron, second company. His shako is the older style with the tricolor cockade in the center. The officer’s mount is from Italeri 6080, the Hussar set does not include a horse with an officer’s saddle (while set 6080 includes too many as noted in the PSR review).

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The picture below gives a good view of the officer’s sabretache. The sabretaches on these figures is the early embroidered model with the Imperial eagle in the center. The embroidered sabretaches of the 7th regiment during this period featured a large number 7 in the center, so I just painted them all black to represent the leather protective cover.

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Third and fourth squadrons. Most of the figures in this set are wearing the 1810 model shako which was slightly taller than the 1806 model. The diamond shaped plate on the 1806 model was replaced by an Imperial eagle above a semi-circle.

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The trooper on the left is wearing riding trousers over his “Hungarian” breeches. There are several figures in the Italeri set wearing this item; the buttons on the sides of the trousers can be seen in the picture of the trumpeter above.

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I struggled painting the braids on the dolmans and pelisses – the real items had equally spaced rows of braids on the front but for some reason on the Italeri figures the rows of braids have been sculpted in pairs squeezed close together with wider spaces between the pairs. I could not get much paint into the tiny spaces between the paired rows (despite using a binocular headband magnifier); as a result the pairs look like thick single rows. There should be yellow lace lining the black fur edges of the pelisse however these are not sculpted and after the frustration I experienced painting the braids I lacked any enthusiasm for painting details freehand.

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As I was rebasing the Dragoon figures I noticed something, the horses are smaller than those of the Hussar figures. Here is a side-by-side comparison of the elite company figures on their black horses. In this case the difference isn’t so great, however keep in mind that in reality the French Light Cavalry rode smaller horses.

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This photo also gives a good comparison of the portmanteaus (the carrying cases behind the riders), which is cylindrical for the Hussar. The ends of the portmanteaus should have laced edges and the regiment number in the center. I painted the lace on the Dragoon’s square portmanteau but my efforts on that of the Hussars came out terrible so I just left the whole thing green (I did not even attempt the regiment numbers on either unit). I don’t stress about it – painting toy soldiers should be enjoyable.

Below is a comparison of the trumpeters on their white horses, the Dragoon’s horse looks like a pony in this picture. I think the Hussar’s horse is probably closer to 1/72 scale but does look a bit oversized. This picture also gives a good view of the Hungarian style harnessing on Hussar mounts.

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Side-by-side of the officers and their mounts, the horses in Italeri 6080 French Light Cavalry are huge, they are even larger that the horses in the Zvezda French Cuirassiers set, which were the largest mounts of all of the French cavalry.

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That’s all for now, I’m going to take a little break from Napoleonic figures to paint some nice easy fantasy miniatures (without any piping). Then it is time to get to work on some French light infantry, because even though it can be tedious to paint all the details on Napoleonic uniforms, it is also what makes them so fun to collect (and convert).

As always any feedback or comments are appreciated.
MikeRC97  
 
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Posted by Bluefalchion on 08 Jan 2019, 06:10

Very nice work. I love how you dove into the details, but knew your own limitations enough to back off when it all got a bit much. It is nice to see the figure and horse comparisons from the various sets. If you do manage to play a wargame with these new units, I hope you will take some pics, type up an after action report, and post it here.
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Posted by Kekso on 08 Jan 2019, 14:22

I had no time to read text but I had enough time to enjoy nicely painted figures.
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Posted by Mr. Andrea on 08 Jan 2019, 17:53

Beautifully painted and based: great work! What flock have you used on the bases?
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Posted by MikeRC97 on 09 Jan 2019, 03:52

Thanks all for the comments.

Mr. Andrea I use two layers of Woodland Scenics fine turf. The first layer is the “green grass," on top of which I apply a second layer of “burnt grass” mixed with “earth” leaving the darker green grass visible in some spots.
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Posted by MikeRC97 on 02 Jun 2019, 13:03

Here is the first of my Napoleonic forces for Sharp Practice in 1/72 scale, a French light force comprised of three groups of Voltigeurs and two groups of Voltigeur Skirmishers. Almost all of the figures are from the Zvezda French Elite Infantry Voltigeurs set.

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Close up of a group of Voltigeur regulars. The uniforms are loosely based on the 10e Régiment d’Infanterie Léger, but I don’t enjoy painting every tiny little detail (for example the tricolor cockade on the shako) so I don’t aim for complete historical accuracy.

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Close up of a group of Voltigeur Skirmishers. This was my first time individually basing Napoleonic infantry. Prior to this, I had only painted infantry for wargame rules where each unit represents a battalion (approximately 1:20 figure scale); with multiple figures based on a single stand.

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As this was my first time painting Napoleonic infantry in 1:1 scale, I decided to paint figures you wouldn’t usually see in a unit representing a battalion. In the picture below, the figure on the right is a Corporal (Caporal). The figure is a conversion; the body is from the Zvezda French Napoleonic HQ Staff set with a head from the Voltigeur set. The figure in the HQ Staff set is a carabineer from the Battalion of Neuchâtel that served as the guard of Napoleon’s Chief of Staff Louis Alexandre Berthier. I used the head with tall bearskin on the converted Dragoon figure in the original post.

French infantry Corporals were not NCOs, in battle Corporals were part of the line, they were stationed at the corners of each section (half-company). The rank distinction for a light infantry Corporal was two white stripes (galons) on both lower sleeves.

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Additional close ups.

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These are beautifully sculpted figures by Zvezda. The only negative is mould lines on the faces of some of the figures which were difficult to remove without loss of detail.

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Sharp Practice is all about Leaders, there are four levels of Leaders in Sharp Practice, which for modeling purposes I equate to Sergeant (level I), Sergeant-Major (level II), Lieutenant (level III) and Captain (level IV). Left to right below is a Sergent, Sergent-major, an optional musician (Cornet), and as force leader, an officer figure which could represent a Lieutenant or a Capitaine.

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Close up of the non-commissioned officers (sous-officiers). On the left is a Sergent Porte-Fanion whose role was to help maintain formation, and a Sergent-major, the senior NCO in a French company. The rank distinction for a light infantry Sergeant was one silver stripe on both lower sleeves, two silver stripes for a Sergeant-Major. The fact that both Corporals and Sergeant-Majors had two stripes on their sleeves is a bit confusing (the color being the difference). The PSR Voltiguers review identifies both figures as Corporals, but Corporals were not NCOs and therefore did not carry their musket on their right shoulder à la sous-officier.

These two figures have been sculpted with galons d'ancienneté (stripes indicating long service) on their upper left arms. The Sergent Porte-Fanion’s two chevrons indicate 15 years of service while the Sergent-major’s chevron indicates 10 years of service.

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That's all for now, still to come, more support options for the French force in the form of artillery and completing the cavalry seen above, as well as Russian and British forces.

As always any feedback or comments are appreciated.
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Posted by Kekso on 13 Jun 2019, 21:06

Pictures are a bit too small for my eyes but it seems nicely painted and based.
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Posted by Marvin on 13 Jun 2019, 22:34

Great to see all the progress made with these excellent figures. Italeri and Zvezda make some fantastic Napoleonics and Italeri's French dragoons and hussars are amongst the best Nap cavalry sets ever made. You clearly pay a great deal of attention to historical and other details which is very impressive.

You mentioned having difficulty painting the hussar braiding? The approach I take is to dry brush the paint on to the ridges with a small stubby brush. I find 'revealing' rather than painting the braid in this way for me is visually more effective and a lot less stress. The key is to keep the paint on the bristles in a way that it's almost completely dry - then rubbing over that braid makes it all slowly appear. Anyways - that's just the way I do it. Seems like you're getting on very well as it is! :-)

Cheers

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Marvin  United Kingdom
 
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Posted by Bluefalchion on 13 Jun 2019, 23:53

Ah, but Marvin, you are simply a wizard with a dry brush. Not everyone can re-create your technique.
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Posted by Kekso on 14 Jun 2019, 11:47

For braiding I've tried something like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUF_2t61UZM
Although this tutorial is for 28mm I'm quite happy with the results on 1/72 figures.
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Posted by MikeRC97 on 15 Jun 2019, 12:52

Kekso wrote:For braiding I've tried something like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUF_2t61UZM
Although this tutorial is for 28mm I'm quite happy with the results on 1/72 figures.


Kesko if I could paint freehand like her I doubt I would have any problems painting anything!

No, the problem I had painting the braids on the dolmans and pelisses of the Italeri Hussars had nothing to do with the scale, I use a 000 brush to paint really small details. The problem had to do with the way the braids were sculpted. On the real items, the braids are evenly spaced rows, that's how they are sculpted on the Zvezda Russian Hussars for example. On the Italeri Hussars the braids are sculpted two rows almost touching each other, then a gap, then another two rows almost touching each other, then another gap, etc. So instead of getting very thin lines of braid, you end up with what looks like fat rows because it is very difficult to get any paint in the tiny space between the rows. It only bothered me because I wanted the dolmans and pelisses to look like the real item.

Thanks to all for the feedback.
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Posted by MikeRC97 on 04 Apr 2020, 20:46

I’m back with a force of Russian Jägers. The force is made up of three groups of Line Grenadiers 1807 onwards and two groups of Line Jäger Skirmishers from the Russian Army of the Napoleonic Wars pdf on the TFL website. All of the figures are from the Zvezda set Russian Heavy Infantry Grenadiers.

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Here is a close up of a group of Jäger Grenadiers. After the Russian army reforms of 1811, Jäger field battalions consisted of one Grenadier company and three Jäger companies. Each company consisted of two half-companies called platoons. The Grenadier company was divided into one platoon of Grenadiers and one platoon of Strelki (translated as “marksmen”).

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One of the best things about painting Napoleonic Russians is that there is a 19th century document written by the Russian military historian Aleksandr Vasilevich Viskovatov called the “Historical Description of the Clothing and Arms of the Russian Army” that describes the changes (by year) of the Russian uniforms in this period. The document was translated into English by Mark Conrad and can be found on his website:

http://www.marksrussianmilitaryhistory.info

The most distinguishing feature of Russian Jägers is their black knapsack straps and crossbelts. Grenadiers wore shakos with a triple flame brass grenade, a red pompom and a tall black plume.

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In SP2, Russian Grenadiers have the “aggressive” and “stoic serfs” special rules and the figures reflect these rules well as some have been sculpted charging while others are calmly marching under fire.

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One of the great things about polyethylene (soft) plastic soldiers is that it is easy to alter the pose of the figure by dipping it in very hot water, bending a part of the body, and then dipping the figure in ice cold water to lock the pose in place. In the picture below the middle figure is the unmodified pose, while the left and right figures have had their poses altered. This picture is also a good shot of the Grenadier’s sword knots with red “acorn” at the bottom.

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Below is a group of Strelki, the second half of the Grenadier company. The Strelki wore the same uniform as the Grenadiers except that their shakos had a yellow pompom and no plume. All of the figures are sculpted with the kiver shako issued in 1812 and summer trouser-gaiters (Jägers wore green wool pants and tall black boots in winter).

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This force will be led by one officer and one non-commissioned officer. I found it difficult to find much information about Russian NCOs; from the sources I reviewed the two main ranks were Mladshie Unter-ofitser (literally junior NCO) and Feldfebel (Sergeant-Major). The Russians apparently borrowed the NCO rank titles from the Prussian Army. Each company had numerous officers; the most important seem to have been Poruchik (First Lieutenant) and Kapitan (Captain). For SP2 these are ranks that I will use for the four levels of leader.

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Beginning in 1809 Russian NCOs had gold galloons on the upper and side edges of their collars and on their cuffs. Their plumes had a white tip with orange stripe and a quartered pompom (which is hidden on this figure as he has his shako cords wrapped around the pompom, a common practice on campaign). I could not find any information about Russian NCO rank distinctions so if anyone has information please let me know. The officer figure has grey riding trousers and a gorget, in this case silver with a gold eagle making him a First Lieutenant (a Captain’s gorget was gold with a silver eagle).

That’s all for now. I still have support options for the French and Russians to paint so more to come.
As always any feedback or comments are appreciated.
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Posted by Bluefalchion on 04 Apr 2020, 20:59

Fantastic work on the conversions, pose modifications, painting, and historical research. Your Russians look great.
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Posted by Bessiere on 04 Apr 2020, 22:23

I've been painting all of these same units over the last year and my comment is how clean your painting style is. I don't know how you do it but it looks great. Kudos.
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Posted by Peter on 05 Apr 2020, 08:17

Fantastic painted figures! :thumbup:
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Posted by MikeRC97 on 05 Apr 2020, 12:43

Thanks to all for the kind words.

Bessiere wrote:I've been painting all of these same units over the last year and my comment is how clean your painting style is. I don't know how you do it but it looks great. Kudos.


I'm looking forward to seeing yours. I'm a really slow painter, it took me months to paint all of these figures.
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Posted by Santi Pérez on 05 Apr 2020, 23:04

I agree with everybody, MikeRC97, your figures are amazing. :love:

Well done. Congratulations. :yeah:

Santi.
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Posted by Bendy_Straw on 08 Feb 2021, 23:58

Hello. Your work is amazing on converting these figures, and I feel kinda bad for asking this here, but I feel like you could help me a lot. You might remember me from another post a while ago, where I was asking for the best way to create french line infantry with the pre-bardin uniforms. Basically, I bought some head replacements from franznap miniatures and put them on the Italeri set 6092. But the heads are just a bit smaller than they should, even though both products are at 1:72 scale, and so they look kinda weird. What comes to mind now is buying the Hat set of French chasseurs and putting those heads on my fusiliers. But do you have any better suggestions? I would be glad to hear.
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Posted by Bendy_Straw on 09 Feb 2021, 02:10

Bendy_Straw wrote:Hello. Your work is amazing on converting these figures, and I feel kinda bad for asking this here, but I feel like you could help me a lot. You might remember me from another post a while ago, where I was asking for the best way to create french line infantry with the pre-bardin uniforms. Basically, I bought some head replacements from franznap miniatures and put them on the Italeri set 6092. But the heads are just a bit smaller than they should, even though both products are at 1:72 scale, and so they look kinda weird. What comes to mind now is buying the Hat set of French chasseurs and putting those heads on my fusiliers. But do you have any better suggestions? I would be glad to hear.
or even better, use the Zvezda French voltigeurs set
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