paints his first three ships from the starter set.
Having got the ball rolling last year with the release of the core French Line Infantry figures in march-attack poses, we are now set to steadily expand this major project with a series of new releases across the coming weeks and months. We are staying with the French for the moment, but their opponents are mobilizing as we speak!
Here, then, are our new French grenadiers wearing bicornes, sculpted by Alan Marsh (with further conversions by Kosta Heristanidis), and designed to supplement the grenadiers in bearskins made available in the initial release. As before, the march-attack figures can be purchased in a choice of a neat, regulation uniform, or a ragged campaign appearance (sixteen variants of the latter!). These can be mixed into your units according to personal preference. Grenadiers in bicornes can be painted to represent National Guard grenadiers of the early years of the Revolutionary Wars, or as grenadiers of the regular army as the casque ('Tarleton' style) helmet gradually fell out of favor during the mid to late 1790's. The bicorne then remains applicable into the Napoleonic period and the momentous campaigns of 1805 and 1806. The figures can even be painted in the white uniforms of the French army at the beginning of the Revolutionary Wars, as it would appear some regiments retained their old bicornes and did not adopt the casque helmet on its introduction in 1791. We have retained a conservative appearance for the grenadiers in regulation uniform, but the more ragged campaign versions sport a variety of non-regulation items, including neckerchiefs, civilian waistcoats and trousers, a variety of footwear (or complete lack of it), and some of the more extravagant bicorne plumes that were popular at the time.
And your choices do not stop there, because our Wars of the French Revolution figures will not just be restricted to march-attack poses. We have taken this opportunity to release the bicorne wearing grenadiers in the first of our advancing, and firing and loading poses. These are only available in the neat, regulation uniform at the moment (campaign uniform and bearskin wearing versions will follow soon), but collectors can now add new dimensions to their armies with the first selection of thirteen different figures in 'action' poses. (Fusilier versions of the advancing and firing and loading figures, in both bicorne and casque helmet, are all in the pipeline as well.) The obvious application is to mix the firing and loading figures with the advancing figures to form skirmish lines, but the firers and loaders can also be added as volley firers to your close-order battalion lines. We would also suggest that the undisciplined look of the early National Guard units might be captured by adding a generous number of the advancers to your march-attack figures - and basing them all in a suitably disorganized fashion. Perhaps add the odd firer and loader for real chaos!
Elsewhere in the range, we have added another French standard bearer variant under the 100WFR46 code, and a new French officer figure - urging on his skirmishers (100WFR48).
What's next? Well, it will of course be a comparatively simple matter to change the cartridge box badges on all our grenadiers to turn them into voltigeurs suitable for the Napoleonic Wars after the Peace of Amiens (1802). For those of you firmly focused on the Wars of the Revolution, we will soon be introducing the fusilier advancing, and firing and loading figures mentioned above, and a full selection of French Line Infantry wearing the casque helmet. Work is well underway on the first of the Austrians. Don't forget, you can have your say in what Eureka release in this range by visiting the special Wars of the French Revolution section of the 100 Club on our website.
Here are the catalogue details for the new miniatures, plus details of our New Release Special Offers:
New 28mm Wars of the French Revolution
Sculpted by Alan Marsh; further conversions by Kosta Heristanidis
Number in parenthesis denotes the number of variants. Variants are supplied randomly
French Grenadiers in bicorne
100WFR24 - Grenadier, bicorne, regulation uniform, march-attack - c.1792-1807 (8)
100WFR25 - Grenadier, bicorne, ragged campaign uniform, march-attack - c.1792-1807 (16)
100WFR26 - Grenadier, bicorne, regulation uniform, advancing - c.1792-1807 (6)
100WFR28 - Grenadier, bicorne, regulation uniform, firing & loading - c.1792-1807 (7)
100WFR46 - French standard bearer, bicorne, ragged campaign uniform, marching - c.1792-1807 (2)
100WFR48 - French officer, bicorne, encouraging skirmishers - c.1792-1807 (1)
NEW RELEASE SPECIAL OFFERS
THE FRENCH GRENADIERS IN BICORNE DEAL
Buy all the grenadier figures in this release - a complete set of 37 figures/variants - for the special price of $90.00 AUD* (normally $109.15 AUD).
AND A FREE FIGURE/VIGNETTE
All orders of $50.00 AUD or more for the new French Grenadiers in bicorne (or the above Grenadier Deal) will receive a free figure/vignette of a French infantryman helping himself to the cartridges of a comrade who regrettably no longer needs them. (This vignette will eventually form part of our casualty set, but is not for sale yet.)
These are both strictly limited offers until our next new release.
* Excluding postage and 'Goods and Services Tax' payable by Australian customers only.
All these miniatures can also be ordered in the U.K. from Fighting 15s, and in the U.S.A. from Eureka Miniatures U.S.A.