"Anything still missing in Napoleonic miniatures?" Topic

There are a lot of miniatures in many different scales available to the Napoleonic wargamer today. Is there anything still missing, however? If so, what would you be interested in seeing?

(a) Yes. Please specify what is missing: ___________.
(b) No. I'm satisfied with what is available on the market now.

15/18mm:

Hesse-Darmstadt Infantry and Cavalry. (no, Old Glory do NOT make the Infantry, sell something as them but they are not)

Late war Wurttembergers in Shako (but not with gaiters!)

just mine for starters…..

1805-7 Russians are thin on the ground

For 28mm

Steve Barber is supposed to be releasing Westphalian light infantry RSN. When that is out, I'd also like to see late war Baden. I think late war Hesse-Darmstadt is out now, but if not I'd like to see those.

British Greek Light Infantry!

While there is an awful lot of cheap, beautifully proportioned, highly detailed, excellently cast 20mm (1/72) plastic, there are still some major gaps and a ton of minor holes to fill.

- Ix

15/18mm – Early Swedes/Finns (1808 war). There are some figures that can be proxied, but a true dedicated range would be grand.

link

Yes there are things I'd like to see in the AB range – some of which I like to think might get done sometime. These are:

Portuguese:
• artillery
• dragoons
• infantry in skirmishing poses
• mounted officers

Spanish:
• irregular lancers especially for Sanchez's brigade in mix of traditional and captured clothing
• Cuesta in his landau
• guerrillas

French:
• infantry in ragged campaign clothing
• cavalry in cloaks

Americans:
All arms for 1812

Although I don't and won't collect them I'd still enjoy seeing what the Perrys would do for a range of Spanish.

A wish list? Where do we start? Let me just do cavalry

Go for the ones that are not too easily converted and obviously in TOTS (The One True Scale)……even if 15mm figures are possible even better cast than 28mm these days;

• Hussar figures at rest with Pelisse just hanging. Nearly all cavalry are currently cast in mad charge.
• Garde d'Honneur from La Garde
• Russian Chevaliers of the Guard from 1805 era
• 2e Eclaireurs
• Mounted horse artillery gunners of any nation
That'll do for now

Not economically feasible, but support troops for all nations…For the SYW period, the new Black Hussar bakers, coopers, and carpenters are amazing.

Second the mounted artillery gunners…..

Also gun crews fighting……with small arms, ramrods etc…..

In the one true scale of course…..
Chris

15/18mm
Sappers or pioneers with beards and aprons, and carrying axes or other tools, for all applicable nations

28mm – anything and everything to augment small scale skirmish games like Sharpe Practice, Songs of Drums & Shakos, etc. Big holes in company level games. Think Noble Knight's Uncivil Wars but for the majot Napoleonic theaters.

The most overlooked is a simple Voltigeur Cornetist in greatcoat. Not carrying it to the side, not blowing Taps at dusk, but using the cornet in the heat of action, advancing.

Perry should do the Russian Jaegers Skirmishing in greatcoats with kiwers – not just the caps.

French, Russian cavalry in cloaks/capes. Perry has some now but still incomplete.

Dismounted light cavalry – Hussars in pelisse, Chasseurs a' Cheval, firing carbines, pistols, swinging/pointing with swords, Napoleonic swashbuckling types.

Dismounted light cavalry in cloaks/capes – Hussars in pelisse, Chasseurs a' Cheval, firing carbines, pistols, swords. (Again, Perry's done some but I want NCO command too)

NCO's of all nations: Prussians, Austrians, Russians, more French – especially for light infantry formations.

Campaign Dress (greatcoats too) NCO's of all nations: Prussians, Austrians, Russians, more French.

From among those should be character figures for skirmish leaders – gruff British sgts, French sgts with wine bottles or sausages, etc. Looting French? Looting British?

More cantinieres/vivandiers with weapons, civilian camp followers and German or Eastern European civilians -farmers, shepherds, peasants, Jews – not just Regency high street people. Yes, West Wind and Blue Moon makes some for Gothic Horror but they're not quite right.

Maybe surrendering figures? Formations surrendered all the time – it'd be nice to have some basic tokens for that.

Russian 1812-1815 Guards; Russian cavalry in capes.

28mm Sappers and Color Sgts in fighting poses for skirmish games all nations.
28mm Proper Sized Drummer boys… not just adults in drummer kit.
28mm Dismounted Cavalry besides dragoons again for skirmish games.

Napoleon I on the Borodino Heights, by Vasily Vereshchagin. See:

The Emperor sitting, one foot on a drum, his staff behind him. If at all possible both in 15/18mm and 25/28mm !

The Emperor sitting, one foot on a drum, his staff behind him. If at all possible both in 15/18mm and 25/28mm !

Foundry have that figure in 25 mm, sculpted back in the day by the Perry's I believe

link

BattleModels (aka Fantassin aka Warmodelling) do Napoleon in 15mm:

10mm Insurrection Troops

Italian Gardes du corps 28mm

Russian Perry or Front Rank 1805-1807

Music bands of any major nation 28mm

GBoue

90mm figures of balding, overweight middle-aged men (worse than that in my case) wearing very stretched teeshirts, over baggy jeans.

Combine them in a diorama with masses of 3/6mm figures, in rows, on a small table, with tiny dice and rulers, and that may be how we now look (or will one day)….

but also, as above, better civilians, dismounted cavalry and cleverest of all the artillery figures in hand to hand combat!

Bands!! YES. Bands!! Mounted as well……other than Gringo's Mameluke kettledrummer and the musicians with him……that is it…..great one

Weep

Drum majors lobbing grenades or firing pistols in both hands (preferably while holding a bayonet between their teeth) as they turn the tide of battle and save the day. One can never have too many properly trained, drum major commandos.

Kevin

25/28mm figures specifically for the Irish '98 rebellion.
Trent makes figures, but they are extremely well fed.
I'm not daft enough, like some I could mention, who DEMAND hard plastic figures for their own little obscure periods.
An Old Glory pack would have 10 different poses. Leprechauns with pike would be awesome. (Not joking. This is the time when the Irish dressed like our image of leprechauns.)

Saxon generals in 15mm

What scale?

28mm Baden cavalry and Artillery… although hopefully forthcoming from Murawski

28mm Italian Honor Gards (I paint converted mine from 1815 Belgian Carabiniers)

Civilians,clergy,cooks,labourers,surgeons,doxies,farriers,mongrel dogs,farm workers and anything else that would bring a camp or village to life. For instance Peter Pig's ECW drunk has taken up resident against the wall of my village inn and is currently part of a battle being played out on my table. All of the above in 15/18 for me please, but I' m sure that gamers in other scales would also be interested.

A complete range of 1813 Swedes in 18mm. Warmodeling is incomplete , Old Glory infantry are early uniforms with just a few passable for 1813 in each bag, and Blue Moon chose to go with early uniforms for the infsantry. I don't consider Minifigs compatible with more modern offerings but they look to at least have a complete range.

Danes in 18mm, notwithstanding the few figures by Blue Moon. as mentioned, some more variations of Swedish troops..cav & infantry. And Turks in 18mm. The one true scale.

Ah yes, add a complete range of 18mm Ottoman Turks specifically for "not Egypt" opponents.

Once again: Calpe Prussian Cuirassiers.
Calpe French cavalry.

In 5-10mm, anything for any country in the 1790's, with the exception of Adler's French and a few other French infantry in bicorne, really meant for 1800-1807.

In 28mm plastics I'm still amazed neither Perry nor Victrix have done pre-1812 French Light Infantry and French horse chasseurs.

-- George Krashos

28mm
1) plastic British heavy cavalry
2) British ADCs
3) British Foot and Horse artillery casualties
4) Royal Waggon Train (I know Front Rank do a couple)
5) 71st Foot (weird shako with pompom on the centre of the top) – serjeants with highland style sash.
6) Some British characters still missing – Somerset wearing a Lifeguardsman's helmet, Vivian with his arm in a sling, Lord Arthur Hill (one of Wellington's ADCs, famed for being enormously fat!)

I could go on, but that's enough of my selfish and rather narrow demands!

in 15mm anything Blue Moon promised but not delivered yet? Or Dutch Kingdom in otehr poses then Fantassin has, good skirmish light French troops in 1809 uniform,
in 28mm French revolutionary British, Dutch, German minor states, Prussians

In 28mm plastics I'm still amazed neither Perry nor Victrix have done pre-1812 French Light Infantry and French horse chasseurs.

While I would rather have these in metal, I heartily second the need for Legere and Chasseur a Cheval for 1807-1812.

any scale

Saxon infantry of 1806 as they fought the campaign in Kittel (kind of smock worn over the uniform coat)

complete range of Prussian army of 1792 – 1795

complete range of Russian Army of 1799

Free painted figures :-)

Ligniere and Extra Crispy, I am flabbergasted ! Thank you both – I already right now have ordered the Foundry ones and in the very near future surely will also order the BattleModels ones !

In 15 and 28mm: French infantry in waistcoats only. Common dress in the Peninsula. Also French infantry in tailless jackets – good for naval infantry types. And why not actual naval crew figures (with distinct navy hat/uniform) for use as infantry?

In 15mm Russian infantry in 1809-1811 transition uniform.

In 15mm (at least for AB) Wurtemburg Grenadiers with the transverse crest.

Finally in 15 or 28mm: Figures for the Tirailleurs de Corse with the waistbelt ammo pouches. Sure there weren't many of them but they looked pretty great!

I am very disappointed with the current offerings in 8 mm.

15/18mm:

1)French infantry and Cavalry for Russian retreat (Cavalry in cloaks, infantry ragged),

2)French Infantry for Peninsula.

3)French Eclaireurs of the Guard.

4)French Guard Marines in full dress.

..for starters…;)

In 28 mm:
Conversion kits in plastic – horses w pointed rear end saddle cloth and changeable round/rectangle portemonteaus.

Swedish – complete range of inf (line/light, guard), cavalry (dragoons, cuirassiers), artillery.

My apologies to Boki who does, in fact, have 15/18mm Russians in the 1809/11 transition uniform.

@ deadhead

Bands!! YES. Bands!! Mounted as well……other than Gringo's Mameluke kettledrummer and the musicians with him……that is it…..great one

But you do know this mounted band made by Mirliton, don't you?

link

The problem is they will need some conversion as the uniforms are those of trumpeters rather than musicians.

To my knowledge, according to both contemporary sources and secondary works musicians of dragoons were usually wearing lapeled coats (or plain surtouts when on campaign…).

I'm not aware of any contemporary illustration showing musicians of cuirassiers, and while some secondary works (Rousselot, Bucquoy) show them wearing uniforms similar to those of trumpeters, they are still not exactly the same.

Also, the serpents are held the wrong way (they should not be held perpendicular to the body like saxophones, but parallel ). The bass drum looks too small, in my opinion, and should be replaced, while the buccins (trombones) look too big (though I could live with them).

Let me first say that I have never seen a Napoleonic band so well done. I have tried Internet searching for images and found many, but not these. Folk were very helpful when I was trying to find out about details of the Mameluke band and produced many contemporary images of the strange instruments played (indeed von Winterfeldt reminded me that every horse had to be repainted as greys….it doubled my band numbers too!)

You are right about the serpent and I have never heard of a cuirassier band…trumpeters yes….

At a glance at that wonderful picture (you must look at it everyone) I immediately thought this quality is only seen in 1/72 metal figures from Germany…….maybe in 15/18mm, but their range is more limited.

I have saved this image. Thanks

and I have never heard of a cuirassier band…trumpeters yes….

Well, cuirassiers actually had bands, too.

In the cavalry, bands were usually made up of part of the trumpeters (contrary to infantry drummers, trumpeters had enjoyed musical education and normally would be able to play at least one more instrument…) and talented troopers. Sometimes, contracted musicians were employed, but not as often as with the infantry. Moreover, bands would have been dissolved during wartime (as trumpeters and troopers would have to join the ranks, while the contracted musicians often left when a campaign was imminent).

The problem is that, apparently, the uniform worn by the bands (including trumpeters) was not usually the same as that worn by the trumpeters when they functioned as trumpeters.

One striking testimony is from the memoirs of the trumpeter Chevillet (8th chasseurs à cheval). He expressly mentions that the colonel had equipped the band with an extra uniform (apparently a canary yellow coat faced with green velvet; not exactly the reversed colours of the regiment, it seems, as the facing colour of the 8th chasseurs was pink).

We also have the testimony of a German observer describing the uniform of the band of the 5th cuirassiers in 1808. He says that all the trumpeters had received light blue uniforms, but those functioning as bandsmen, in addition, had received white uniforms and white grenadier (presumably, "bearskin") caps.

Full range of 1806 Prussians and 1807 Russians in 28mm.

Full range of russians and Austrians in late French revolution.

Artillery crew in greatcoats and cavalry in greatcoats/capes to go with the infantry in greatcoats.

I second Gunfreak!