"Compagnies franches de la marine" Topic

Hi.
I have started painting these guys in 28mm – Northstar minis
I have pained them blue as per
link
I figured wandering round Canada in white was not a good move
However using three shades of blue I have not come to a satisfactory finish
The contrast is not strong enough att his scale and I am considering paitning them all in an off white
Any tips or experiences welcome
TIA
John

Blue is the long sleeved waistcoat, white the full coat. They are different in their fullness and the size of the cuffs. I don't know the figures so can't say which is correct, however the waistcoat was more commonly worn as it was more functional and cooler in the summer time when most of the campaigning was. In winter they would have worn everything they could get.
See here for a re-enactors' view:
link

Thanks Vaughan, the figured I have have a short jacket with no cuffs, single vent at back, single breasted , no collar – they have the soft campaign cap- stocking type and are depicted for service in Canada so have leggings. Some also have winter coats with hoods
Here is how soem others have painted them

Nice painting job.

Those figures look like Canadian militia; they would be irregulars. Of course uniform wearing was relaxed in North America so it's possible marines wore that style.

I agree with Vaughan – they look like militia (very well painted militia), especially with the red capote

That being said, given the supply situation in New France (crappy) you could certainly mix and match

I have units of both – my colonial infantry are mostly in the waistcoat and fatigue cap, although I do have a few officer and NCO types in coats with tricornes

As to the blue colour, it was standard issue for colonial troops – and in the bush, I suspect it would blend in fairly well (at least better than red or white!)

I notice the officer in that militia group is wearing a gold-braided Compangnies Franches waistcoat, and a couple of the men are also wearing blue waistcoats. That's perfectly reasonable. Officers and enlisted men from the CFdlM were often assigned to militia units as cadre. Also, time-expired veterans from the CFdlM were encouraged to settle in New France, and some of them might have worn their old uniforms when called up for militia duty (if they still fit). So a sprinkling of uniforms among the militia is likely.

Thanks for the great input guys
I wish I could take credit for the painting but it is not mine – although I have the same figures
I will post a piccie of my much more humble efforts if the weather holds today
So, it looks like a mixture of uniform and ad hoc clothing would be appropriate for a unit that has been stationed in Canada for awhile?
In the rules I am using (M&T) they can choose to be deployed as Irregulars or Regular troops so if I paint a nonuniform look I could use them for either?

Hello All,
Can't but help add some info here. The French marine uniform on campaign on the frontier was anything but uniform. You would have had anything from some regulation uniform items to native attire mixed in. There is some debate about the so called bonnet wore by the marines, but that is a highly contested issue, so if you like the bonnets go with them or the wool cap. The problem is that when these men went on campaign, they were dressing for war not looks. So most of the time anything was acceptable. In the summer it was not uncommon for even the French marines to go native. Standing guard, or back in the metropolitan areas the uniform may have been more the norm. So yes, some of your marines could look like milice, and would not think twice about mixing some in with the unit.
take care,
Keith

I also have some of the excellent Northstar figures. I painted them in off-white (pale grey/white) with blue turnbacks, and blue and white hats.
Some of the North Star figures have coats, some (including the officer) have waistcoats. They wear mostly capotes, with some other headgear too, including a wooly hat, and one guy has Indian-style breachclout and leggings.
I did try painting the guys wearing only waistcoats in blue, but I didn't like the end result; they are 'semi-regular' troops and look better with similar uniforms, so in the end I went for off-white with blue facings as it looked better.
So, may not be perfectly accurate, but in the end aesthetics matter.

Good points Dexter and Loyalhanna
I guess I will do blue for thos in capotes =- but I am not happy with the look of the 'French Blue' I have chosen – these is not enough undecutting on some figures to enable me to get enpough 'pop' with trhe 3 tone method. Maybe I will try a lighter blue like those pictured above.
I guess I just wondered if those doing them in off white were using artistic licence and my research says yes, but, they do look rather spiffy!
On a related note it appears reasonable that the coats were in white/grey?

Hello Trotter,
The photo's that you posted are spot on for frontier style uniforms. The person who painted and put together this unit gets and A+ for research. In the summer the marines could even be in just shirts. So running around in white is not that far from the norm.
take care,
Keith

Thanks Keith – get your gear off Marine I say!

For the white/grey coats I painted them in off-white(I used Liquitex Parchment) and then washed with Payne's Grey ink (which is a very dark blue/black). The ink shades the white coats (and runs into recesses) giving a very nice shaded white/grey look.

Payne's Grey ink?
Will have to have a look for that
At present I have undercoated grey then painted an off – white ivory over it leaving the grey in the recesses – it is less than ideal

Wandering round in white…good for at least half of the year here!

Thats true spontoon – saw the figures in coats painted in white and went "Oh yeah", then thought about winter camo – makes perfect sense – tho would they have snowy white wool in 18th C?

The Payne's Grey ink is from Rowney-Daler. Very good over 'cool' colours like blues and greens, or on chainmail.
They also do Antelope Brown, which is a yellowish brown. This is perfect for North American Indian flesh (and indeed Chinese, Japanese and other orientals). Paint the flesh with normal pinkish flesh tone and then wash with antelope brown; it gives a wonderful rich golden skin tone.
The other ink I use a lot is the Windsor & Newton Peat Brown, which is a fantastic general-purpose shading ink over any warm colour (reds, yellows, flesh)

Yes I go through a jar of Windsor & Newton Peat Brown every 2 mths!
I use their Nutbrown for a wash on the flesh of my Indians.
it adds a subtle red tone over the VJ Flesh base.
Will look to see if I can get some Rowney-Daler Payne's Grey ink locally.

Hello All,
Just remember gents that most of the shirts of the 18th century were of a white to off white color, and most accounts indicate the French coats in white. The vests would have been blue. This is not to say that shirts could not have been dyed or stained to a different color( I myself would have done that). Check out my Canadian militia on my website at:
loyalhannaoutpost.com
take care,
Keith

Ordered the Paynes Grey from UK as it was nearly half the price as against here in Australia – just got to wait 2 weeks now!

…most of the shirts of the 18th century were of a white to off white color

Yes, but. The French had a reputation for liking colorful clothes, especially when compared with the relatively drab British colonists, many of whom were Plain Folk by religious conviction, and avoided ostentatious dress.

Shirts were usually bleached linen, and a good housewife took pride in washing her family's linen snowy white. But shirts were also made up out of printed cotton fabric from India, 'calico' cloth from Calcutta, and these were very popular with Indians and whites too.

The French government, following a mercantilist economic policy, discouraged production in the colonies even of simple products like clothing. They preferred the colonists to buy clothes imported from France, and many of those were used garments that had originally been colorful and expensive. Estate inventories show that it wasn't unusual for a simple habitant farmer to own a gold-laced hat, perhaps a bit ratty, or a red silk suit with just a few small burn holes.

Don't forget, they're French. Paint them with style. Onh-honh-honh-honh! Mais oui?

Hello Zippy,
Yes you are right that hand me down fancy clothes would have made their way into New France, but this was not the majority of clothing. I am sure that the well to do and others in the metropolitan areas had first dibs before our militia boys did. Patterned shirts and colored shirts were not unheard of either when they could be obtained. The French military issue would have been some sort of white shirt issued to the marines. Now here is where this gets a little clouded. When talking with Bruce Egli of the French marines,(who has done plenty of research and some documentaries), when the Marines would go on campaign, it was not out of the question that they would go to their storehouses, (if not already equipped), for some sort of issue of frontier type equipment. This would have been anything that the storehouse had available,(headgear ,blankets ,shirts ,coats ,mocassins , and etc…). Now with that being said these guys could have looked like a cross between a malice and a native with a spattering of marine equipment thrown in. The French that fought on the frontier did not look like the ones in Europe. The French had quickly adapted to woodland warfare, and had become very good at this fighting. As a matter of fact many accounts talk about how some of the Canadian militia were as violent and merciless as their native allies. So in conclusion, most French clothing of the period could have been worn, but keep in mind the question you have to ask is, "Is it practical for the woods and forest warfare"?
take care,
Keith