"Blue Moon AWI French Artillery" Topic

I'm at work painting up a "Rochambeau's Army' 1781 project in 15mm and would like some input. I have supplemented the Blue Moon 15mm AWI 'French Artillery' crew with figures from the Blue Moon 15mm FIW 'French Artillery' set (see images from the website below). From an historical (uniform) accuracy standpoint, is this acceptable, or have I committed an error?

AWI French Artillery

FIW French Artillery

I have no special knowledge on this subject but based on Uniforms of the American Revolution/the Macmillan Color Series picture 203 you should be just fine.

There is a difference, but it's not a big deal and if it gives you more pose variants, go for it.

As in most European countries, the tricorne had become less voluminous by the 1770s, with (I think) the Prussians leading the way with a "flatter" front that eventually morphed into the bicorne. The French began copying Prussian clothing styles in the 1760s, and whilst the reforms were not popular, certain changes were retained. If you look at the chapeau of the French Revolution and early Napoleonic period, you'll see something much closer to the AWI headgear than what is being worn by these figures.

Authentically, the gaiters on the AWI figures should be much shorter and tighter, coming to just above the knee; and the waistcoats should also be a tad shorter, too, coming to just below the waist, not almost down to the crotch (those on the F&IW gunners seem about right).

As always, thanks for the input Supercilious Maximus. I will do some work with a file and see if I can get the FIW/SYW style to fit closer to the AWI period.

I've tried that – filing back the front of the tricorne to produce a chapeau – and it's ok, but because you inevitably file away part of the two front sides as well, you end up with a small gap that needs filling where the front corner used to be, to keep it the same height as the rest of the front of the hat. Personally, I'd snip the tricornes down and then file the front to a curve to make fatigue caps as they were "de rigeur" for everything except parades for the gunners, and parades/battle for the infantry.

Speaking of which, I don't know if you've ever seen it, but there's a painting by van Blaremberghe en titled "The Siege of Yorktown" (companion to "The Surrender of Yorktown" which is much better known) that has French infantry in fatigue dress digging trenches whilst under fire. He got his details from Berthier, who was a junior engineer officer under Rochambeau, so pretty much spot on. If you're looking for vignettes or gaming the mechanics of the siege, a simple all-white paint job and removing/converting the artillery tools will make a perfect infantry working party (done this myself in 28mm with the Perry AWI French gunners).

In the end, I'm not sure how many people will notice as they're only 15mm, but if you're like me, the fact that YOU know it's there is enough reason to do the work.

I have to say that there's a lot to like about the Blue Moon AWI range, if you can get past the poorer sculpting of the horses and riders (that and declining eyesight are what put me off them, to be honest). I'm pretty sure nobody else has ever made French gunners for AWI in 15mm, let alone in the more accurate fatigue dress.

I agree, the BM horses are pretty lame. No pun intended. :-)

To be fair, I've just seen the Lauzun's Legion figures and the riders are much better than the other AWI cavalry – very good, in fact.

I was unaware of the 'Seige of Yorktown' painting. Looks like a great resource. I found these partial views on-line. Does anyone know where a more detailed view of the entire painting can be found?

It's fantastic isn't it?

Not sure how much this can be expanded, but try here:-

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If you go to Versailles, one of the tours takes you to the room where these are all on display. They are beyond impressive. They were probably the highlight of my brief trip to France several years ago.

For those seeking more on this topic, here's a nice write-up from a fellow wargamer on one of the French regiments (d'Agénois) with exploration of uniform details and van Blaremberghe painting.

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