"French pompoms in basing" Topic

How do you handle French pompoms in a rule set where a battalion is made up of 4 bases?
I'm working in 10mm with OG strips… my first unit of French line had 6 bases… this allowed for each base to represent a company with the correct colored pompom/ correct figures for flank companies….
Now that I've settled on rules… I want to stick to the 4 base format…(I don't want to have to base everything in 6's for right now… slows down the process)
how would/have you approached the different colors on the head gear and the flank companies…?

Thanks for your help
Ben

I…don't worry about it.

JJ, life is too short to worry about the details

Partial pom poms 2/3 green, 1/3 orange?

You could leave off the elite companies?
Adding colonels and eagles creates a similar problem: what company do you model them with?

First, don't paint the pompons until after basing, saves ALL kinds of headaches! Secondly, I try to split them as evenly as possible, robbing the center companies when necessary since the eagle and drummer will divert the eye anyway.

There are a couple of solutions you could consider:

1. Leave off the flank companies and just do four bases of fusiliers. That way, if you want to go to six bases at any point in the future all you have to do is add the flank companies.

2. Do a base each of grenadiers and voltiguers and just do two bases of fusiliers. I don't know whether your figures are mounted two-deep but if they are you could still represent all four fusilier companies by painting the pom poms of each rank a different colour. This will of course mean that your flank companies are a bit over-strength but you will at least get all the different coloured plumes and pom poms

Companies were an administrative unit one of which formed a tactical platoon (peleton) on service. Platoons were equalized by taking men from other companies, so a peleton might well have men from different companies in it, and different coloured pompoms.

But four stands isn't an accurate representation of a French battalion so why worry about uniforms?

Four stands represent the battalion as a whole. You can allocate pom poms in sixths of the figures you are using. It will make no difference in play but should give you the look you seek.

Leaving out the flank companies is a good plan, expecially since you can assume the voltigeurs are skirmishing. However, depending on the game it might help to go abstract and give each battalion a different colour to help distinguish regiments. Multiple colours of pompoms may make the unit look less uniform , and this solution addresses that issue too.

If you go with the 'correct proportion' solution, A Twiningham's point of painting after basing is a top tip.

Or you could paint each fusilier with a gree, orange, purple and light blue coloured striped pompom.

For my 28mm models (4 to a base) I use Gren, 1st, 2nd, 3rd company and ignore the 4th company. 1st and 2nd usually also get the colonel, flagbearer and drummer. The voltigeurs get one base with 2 models, but are usually with other voltigeur bases combined to their own unit (skirmisher screen of brigae or division).

I am going to do my 4 base/stand French battalions with plumes for the grens and volts, then all the fusileers will have the same colour pompom.

This is not historically accurate, but at least it will avoid a gaudy mish mash of pompoms.

thanks for all the suggestions

Interesting point about the mixing and matching of men within the batt… not really a uniform issue unless you have destincitve headgear like the french…

Le General's solution sounds good – must try it for my French forces (16-figure units, though not including command) The overall visual effect for each brigade should be suitably multi-coloured, and the bases can always be recombined in future.

Or you could try a set of rules that uses "big battalions" and can therefore preserve the company for basing. Problem solved…

eg Quarrie rules….6 Coys of 4 figs! Perfect :-)

For four bases, given you are using 5 figure strips, I would paint the left most (as the unit faces away from you) 2 or 3 figures as voltigeurs, then the same number as grenadiers on the right. For those two strips, paint the remaining figures as two companies e.g. one sky blue and the other salmon.

You now have four companies painted and two companies remaining. Paint the strip with command green and the other one violet.

Prior to 1812 reforms many regiments were using the pom-pom at a single color for the entire BTN for Identification…so any scheme will not be wrong IMHO. With much research to understand what was going on I have found :
1) regulations: – each co with color green, blue, orange, purple.
2) some regiments: single color Pom-pom each BTN with colored tuft for entire regiment ( red, Blue, purple and even White!) yellow w/red tuft for the 57th!
3) some regiments: co colored Pom-Pom with single regimental tuft color ( IE 3rd regt 1809 with red tuft)
4) some regiments: with single btn or regimental pom-pom ( with co colored tufts ( grn, blue, orange, purple).

I think BTN colored pom-poms is what will be my plan to help in game play and ID of the units.
If I was using 4 stands it not french w/o the red of the grenidiers so with 32 ( 4x8) I would have 5 to 6 grenidiers w/ 3 to center co and three reamining stds 24 center co/command troops- i gree to leave off tyhe voultigiers

oh gawd, I am having some trouble deciding exactly on basing the Light and Grenadier for my first British battalion.

so heaven help me whenever I round get to the French (about 2020 probably)

*sigh* all part of the fun I guess :)

Is it something like a pompon?

Dont worry Gustav, by 2020 old school 80 man Bns will be in vogue and you will have based the Brits 3 times and the French will be 6X12 plus mtd off and standard.