French 31st Line Grenadiers, Corruna, 1809

This is the 2nd French soldier that I did from the Napoleonic Wars. I hope you like him.


Grenadier
1st Battalion
31st Regiment, Line infantry
Gaulois Brigade,
Mermet Division
Corunna, 1809


Grenadiers were the élite of the line infantry and the veteran shock troops of the Napoleonic infantry. Newly formed battalions did not have a Grenadier company; rather, Napoleon ordered that after two campaigns, several of the strongest, bravest and tallest fusiliers were to be promoted to the Grenadier company, so each line battalion which had seen more than two campaigns had one company of Grenadiers.

Regulations required that Grenadiers recruits were to be the tallest, most fearsome men in the regiments, and all were to have moustaches. To add to this, Grenadiers were initially equipped the a bonnet à poil or bearskin, as well as red epaulettes on their coat. After 1807 regulations stipulated that line Grenadiers were to replace their bearskin with a shako lined red with a red plume; however, many chose to retain their bearskins. In addition to the standard Charleville model 1777 and bayonet, Grenadiers were also equipped with a short sabre. This was to be used for close combat, but most often ended up serving as a tool to cut wood for campfires.

The Grenadier company would usually be situated on the right side of a formation, traditionally the place of greatest honour. During a campaign, Grenadier companies could be detached to form a Grenadier battalion or occasionally a regiment or brigade. These formations would then be used as a shock force or the vanguard for a larger formation.


This is another figure that is based on the DML "Jean" NapoleonicFrench Guard figure. The headsculpt was stripped and repainted using pastels. The eyes and hair was painted using acrylics.

The musket was sanded and repainted, and a Tony Barton lock was installed.

The Shako was made from felt by me, but the chinscsales and roundel are from another figure. The shako should have been made a little taller, but I ran out of steam on this figure and just left it as is. Also, the shako should have had the red trimmings on it, but they were not always worn, so I decided to make mine that way, to be a little different.

The greatcoat is from Battlegear toys, but changed to a Napoleonic style using a tutorial by Tony Barton. The trousers were made by me. The knapsack was repainted and stuffed with a shirt, a pipe, and some food articles. The gourd was also made by me.




thanks for looking,
CC

WONDERFULL

wonderfull !!

good job !!

could you give us the tony barton's link "The greatcoat is from Battlegear toys, but changed to a Napoleonic style using a tutorial by Tony Barton"

thanks

thank you, guys.

Here you go jack :http://www.onesixscale.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19941

Pour les non inscrits, voici le post de Tony Barton.

Tony Barton a écrit:

French Napoleonic Greatcoat:

A fairly straightforward conversion from one of the BattlegearToys ACW greatcoats : these are really nice , and come in dark blue , mid blue , and various grey and butternut shades . They would be useful for all sorts of period coats .
I used the Grey mounted pattern : these come from BGT or Monkey Depot:



The BGT coat is made from brushed cotton , which makes a convincing woolen fabric in 1/6th . It has a nap on one side , which makes it look dense , yet the fabric is very thin and light . It is very easy to sew , lending itself readily to conversions

I removed the cape , which provided plenty of material to make a new standing collar ( just a simple rectangle , which replaces the existing one ) and a pair of shoulder straps. Notice the little bits of Plastikard in the buttonholes , which hold them open whilst the glue dries around the hole :



The coat comes with nice working buttons : they have CS on them for the observant, but I happened to have some I’d made earlier for this figure , so I used them instead .
Until 1806 , soldiers had to supply their own , which led to a very motley appearance . They were thereafter issued regimentally , and although the colour varied , it was uniform within each battalion : in theory ! They often looked extremely scruffy :



Original French soldiers greatcoats are extremely rare : I believe there may be one surviving in France at the Musee de L’Emperi , but we only really have contemporary pics to go on . They inevitably varied in pattern and quality , being single or double breasted , and made in a variety of shades , from various greys through brownish and and off-white .The vent at the back was sometimes long , extending above the half-belt , and sometimes rather short .





The Garde wore double breasted dark blue versions of superior make.
Some of the better ones may have had more cloth in the back , gathered into pleats , but others would be quite skimpy ( military suppliers always try to save fabric in order to make more profit ! ).
They were worn most of the time on campaign , often , in warmer weather , over the waistcoat instead of the coat , which would be carried in the knapsack .
They were also used to sleep in , sometimes by placing the legs in the arms and wrapping the skirts round the head .

This one is just thin enough to roll and carry on the knapsack:



Of course ,you won’t have to make one of these , since the expected new DiD French Infantryman comes with a greatcoat …..



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