"Newbie seeking help with1808 French Command figures" Topic

To plume or not to plume?

Hello chaps! First time posting here. I decided to finally take the plunge and sign up when it became clear that some of the questions I come up with need a real grognard's input!

I'm a British emigre who moved over to Siberia a few years ago. About a year back I met some guys who were into wargaming and, given that I was already collecting 28mm AWI stuff for Black Powder, I decided to twist their arms to get them to sign up for some Napoleonics. We settled on 1/72 as our scale of choice, since it's abundant in Russia and much more affordable (both in terms of £/model and shipping – getting anything to here from the UK is a real hassle).

Anyway, I've been working on my French army about nine months now, slaving over it painting all the figures in large batches. It's only been this week that I've started working on the more "individual" poses. In this case, these command figures:
1/72 WIP 1808 French Command imgur.com/gallery/P2pFYCF

The figures are from a variety of HaT and Zvezda boxes, supplemented with some headswaps, to try make models suitable for 1808 French Line Infantry Command stands. However, looking at them on my desk, I realised that I really went rather heavy in the plumes. The standard bearers especially worry me; you'll note that only one flagstaff actually had an eagle on it, the other is intended for a plain line infantry fanion (we wargame Russia in 1812/1813). I'm totally new to Napoleonics so I have no idea how accurate that particular man's headgear is?

As far as I know, the bearer of an *eagle* had a special officer's rank, Porte d'aigle, but I can't find any information on what rank the bearer of a fanion in one of a regiment's other battalions would be.
I'm wondering if I should pop off the fanion bearer's head and replace it with a plain shako or bicorne?

Anyway, the TL;DR of all this is:
- Are these plumes suitable for 1808 command figures?
- Are plumes appropriate on the bearer of a large fanion, carried by junior battalions in lieu of an eagle?
- What rank would the bearer of a fanion be? Was he also an officer?

Merci in advance and I hope to contribute to this community further down the line!

I cannot access your link but generally speaking plumes were for parade though the odd significant officer might retain his. An eagle bearer would be a good candidate as would a battalion commander.

The eagle was carried by a junior officer after 1808. In the battalions that only carried a fanion, this would usually be carried by a sergeant major.

Hope that helps.