"What is your ideal pose for line infantry ?" Topic

Hi Guys

If you could have any brand of figures in your ideal pose what would it be ? and why ?

Marching ?
Advancing with musket pointing forward ?
Advancing with musket across chest ?
Firing ?
Charging ?

Advancing, port arms.

Marching. I usually base my figures in two ranks, and the marching pose allows me to get them tight together. When I've used advancing or firing figures, I always lose bayonets and get bent muskets.

Marching.

Second would be ready or charge arms.

GH

For skirmish, firing, loading, etc.

Marching, followed by some type of advancing pose.

Marching.

Advancing, musket at 45 degrees.

Advancing with musket pointing forward or port arms

March attack (45) for most troops. Good general purpose pose with action. Firing or charging are out of place too often.

Regular march for guard troops whose primary job most of the day is to stand around looking impressive.

Marching

March attack

March attack, with the skirmishers firing/loading

Steve J

March Attack – won't buy "advancing" or charging figures, and use firing figures only if I need skirmishers.

March attack

March attack for me, too. No problems fitting troops in close order on bases; no protruding weapons to get broken off or bent, and a pose that doesn't look out of place whether advancing or waiting in reserve.

March attack

Skirmishers in enthusiastic poses

DM

March attack.

Marching.

Followed by Austrians dithering, Prussians cheating, French running away, and Upper Canadian Militia in Heroic Poses…

Eric

Great replies.

The most popular it seems is March attack.

Upper Canadian militia in Heroic poses came in second (when will the Osprey book be out?)

15mm Old Guard running away by Peter Pig, followed by Jocks being rude!!!

Otherwise march attack.

Tally Ho!

Yep, March Attack every time, with a light sprinkling of skirmish poses, but please, NOT loading a musket.

Just my personal foible I guess, they must have spent quite some time doing it…

Another vote for marching with shouldered arms. It would also be nice to see "light troops" in this pose variation, too, so that the skirmish poses can be reserved for …erm… when they are actually skirmishing.

Interesting how many of these favoured poses – "advancing" and "march attack" in particular – are pure inventions of the figure manufacturing industry and have little or no relation to actual drill poses or their descriptions.

I prefer advancing with musket pointing forward and firing poses for line infantry and grenadiers. For light infantry, plenty of skirmishing poses such as firing, advancing musket leveled, and charging.

I don't have much use for marching poses.

This might not be in accordance with drill manuals, but after 35+ years of wargaming, I know what I like.

@Supercilius Maximus

Interesting how many of these favoured poses – "advancing" and "march attack" in particular – are pure inventions of the figure manufacturing industry and have little or no relation to actual drill poses or their descriptions.

You make a very good point.
I am going to study a few Napoleonic movies, but from memory most of the good battle scenes show infantry advancing with muskets pointing forward.

Interesting that I normally see British Napoleonics arranged in firing line poses, whereas French are marching.

Advancing (ie the 45 degree musket) feels like an old Minifigs pose staple.

Marching looks nice and clean. But I like ragged firing lines as well. I know that troops on the base line can look daft "firing", but it is only a game with toys.

Marc,

Yes, the Perry plastic British and French infantry are in exactly that format – firing and marching respectively.

I think it was indeed Minifigs who devised the "advancing" pose – I have old catalogues in which that is the only rank-and-file pose available. I think it had something to do with the ease of casting, although as the moulds got older the "gap" between the musket, the left arm and the torso tended to "fill in" with solid metal and took some drilling out.

I'm also a fan of ragged firing lines – look particularly good for militia and light troops.

Yep – that arm joint did get rather ragged didn't it :-(

Marching must surely be easier from a mould perspective.

But all my Minifig 25s are advancing :-)

Personally I think that French look best advancing with their musket pointed forwards.

En avant Vivre la France.

Little surprised that March attack is a fabrication. I know it is only a movie but Picketts charge in the fillum 'Gettysburg' shows the whole line starting like this.

Lately in two brigade French divisions I've been doing one brigade in firing line, one march attack. Given, very often I have a brigade forward and the other brigade in reserve making up the second line.

Sure, occassionally you end up with some shooting each other up the backside but for the most part it looks very nice..