"14th light dragoons(perry plastic)" Topic

I'm very happy with how they turned out.

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And so you should be, these are very nice.

I likes them 🖒

Great looking unit

Even I must admit now that it is so nice to see something British that is not 1815. As long as they do not now Gallop at Everything, you can be proud of them!

Very nice!

Deadhead, they're British cavalry. By definition they will gallop at the first thing they see and be blown for the rest of the battle, not to be seen back at the army camp for a couple days.

Le me second the comment about non-British 1815! Lovely looking unit and esp so with that headgear!

True Lion, but man they did some damage when they were let loose, like wardogs in the Roman era :)

Great unit Gunfreak, huge fan of Tarletons!

The 14th took part in the destruction of two French divisions at Salamanca, so yeah they did cause quite a bit of damage.

Very dashing!

Yup, tarleton helmet looks _so_ much better than the unremarkable shako. I wonder what was the reasoning for the change?

I recall hearing complaints that with the shake it was hard to distinguish them from the french.

The only reasoning was fashion. even the jacket post 1812 was to a "French" design. OK the lapels obviously, but if you look at the turnbacks on the coattails they are Polish Kurtka style, as for lancers. In other words the widest bit of the turnback is at the top, not the bottom.

The new look cavalry caused much upset. The dragoon's helmet was a straight copy of the French heavy cavalry style in silhouette. The crested helmet was likened to something from the dressing room of a down market West End theatre. Fashion is the answer, not practicality or economy.

Wellington. To Lieut. Colonel Torrens, Military Secretary to the Commander in Chief.

'Freneda, 6th November, 1811.

'My dear Torrens, I hear that measures are in contemplation to alter the clothing, caps, &c. of the army.

'There is no subject of which I understand so little; and, abstractedly speaking, I think it indifferent how a soldier is clothed, provided it is in a uniform manner; and that he is forced to keep himself clean and smart, as a soldier ought to be. But there is one thing I deprecate, and that is any imitation of the French, in any manner.

'It is impossible to form an idea of the inconveniences and injury which result from having anything like them, either on horseback or on foot. [Officer's name omitted*] and his piquet were taken in June, because the 3d hussars had the same caps as the French Chasseurs a Cheval and some of their hussars; and I was near being taken on the 25th September from the same cause.

'At a distance, or in an action, colors are nothing: the profile, and shape of the man's cap, and his general appear- ance, are what guide us; and why should we make our people look like the French? A cocked-tailed horse is a good mark for a dragoon, if you can get a side view of him; but there is no such mark as the English helmet, and, as far as I can judge, it is the best cover a dragoon can have for his head.

'I mention this, because in all probability you may have something to say to these alterations; and I only beg that we may be as different as possible from the French in every- thing. 'The narrow top caps of our infantry, as opposed to their broad top caps, are a great advantage to those who are to look at long lines of posts opposed to each other.

'Believe me, &c

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{*Possibly Captain Benjamin Lutyens, 11th Light Dragoons, captured with a subaltern and 75 enlisted men on the Rio Caya, Estremadura, in June 1811. The '3rd Hussars' would have been the 2nd Hussars KGL}

and the end result of this very sensible plea?

The cavalry, anyway, ended up dressed according to the latest French style and fashion……..

I got a command set in plastic to see if they could become mounted RHA….the officer maybe, but the rest are very much like mounted light infantry in their rig. Great to see them in the Tarleton and laced jacket.

One of my big investments, decades ago, was a large scale metal kit of a kneeling Light Dragoon, going through his knapsack. Never even finished assembling him, let alone painting.

Too hard worked in those early days Never forget the sleep deprivation, night after night……eeh kids these days. Rest periods? we dreamt of…etc etc

I always like Perry figures (apart from the Napoleonic French infantry with half greatcoat and half summer gear!)
You have done a sterling job on these, well done!