25/28mm Old Glory - 1812 French Voltigeur Company Command Elements

Big progress on this 1812 campaign game I'm building. It starts with an improbably full strength voltigeur company ~120 figures and begins in October after the first snowfall after Maloyaroslavets. What's left of the parent regiment is the 4th company as well as the regimental HQ which can be seen here and here. In the line, the 4th would be adjacent to them. The rest of the regiment is considered destroyed or was split off into another formation - perhaps the main one. With the voltigeurs and the 4th are a battery of guns - seen here.

By now Napoleon's Grand Armee is already under half strength and the campaign will center on the adventures of this company as it makes it way back to the Polish border. I've been collecting all the 1812 figures I can find and they will turn up as units intermingle and or replenish themselves. 

Contrast paints will make doing the 90ish privates much easier than I had planned but for now I wanted to paint up, in my usual fashion, the company command elements.

• 1 Captain
• 2 Lieutenants
• 1 Sgt Major
• 4 Sergeants
• 8 Corporals
  
• 1 Fourier (Quarter Master)
• 2 Drummers

These have been "in progress" for years - I'm very slow and flit about as regular readers understand. In the top pic they are divided evenly into the two sections with the Captain, the Sgt Major and the Fourier dividing them. Let's start with them: 

These would be "Big Men" in Sharpe Practice but obviously they could be whatever is needed for all of the various skirmish games out there. They may even turn up in Silver Bayonet.

Fourier in the pilfered red cap. I imagine he'd provide bonuses to securing food, ammo, and supplies while he's alive.

Here's the corporals for one of the sections. I made a point of painting on those designations on their coats - same with all of the NCOs.

The Sergeants for one of the sections - more Big Men

Sergeants joined by the section Lt. and drummer. I looked for cornetists for ages and finally got some from Calpe but then read even the voltigeurs used drums as the horns were less audible in combat.

Section two corporals - most of these NCOs are from the "Energetic Infantry" bag. Most didn't come with epaulets which I had to add myself. When I cooked up this project there were no themed Retreat figures (Perry, North Star) so I did the scarves myself in green stuff. Imperfect execution on the 'sculpting" but they came out alright.

Second section Sergeants

Second Section Sgts., Lt., and drummer

Just the company drums

The company Lieutenants - I'd like to have cards made up with their portraits for Sharp Practice.

I imagine he'll be called "Renard" because of the fox fur edging on his coat - also green stuffed.

Just the company Sergeants

The company Sergeants with the Sergeant Major

All the company Corporals - the themed scarves came from the same shop in a Moscow suburb

Insight into the green stuff process:

Finally, I was glad to find at Hobby Lobby a sub-range of textured paints from FolkArt called Terra Cotta. Above in the green stuff pics is modeling paste with dries hard and white. It all gets primed, then painted brown before I put on "the snow."

My first attempt at snow is retold in the dancing Cossacks post here. What a process that was. In any event it is a much shortened one with what FolkArt is calling "Snowbank/" It fits in with the rest of the pieces I've already done and strips several steps out of the process. One thick coat and it's opaque enough to cover a very dark brown earth color I had laid out on the bases. It was slightly blue on the miniatures but on the pallet it dried warmer. Looks great to me and saves a ton of time and money - only $2.99 for four times what GW sells their snow 'solution" for.

After this dried I added "Tundra" tufts from Army Painter to finish

So you get a sense of what the core of the force will look like - that's the command pieces seen above along with with two sections. From Old Glory its a single bag of one elite companies firing, one advancing, and one defending - all in greatcoats. No scarves on these.

More Cossacks coming up next!

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