paints brigs for the British fleet.
Well, Eureka Miniatures cannot promise you Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, but we can announce the start of our 28mm range for the Wars of the French Revolution. This marks the beginning of a major project for us, which we hope will develop and expand to embrace all aspects and theatres of the wars that raged across Europe and elsewhere between 1792 and the Peace of Amiens in 1802, and on into the early Napoleonic Imperial period.
To get everyone in the mood, Alan Marsh has sculpted a wonderful vignette of Napoleon trying to inspire his men by example and leading them in a charge across the Bridge at Arcola - a famous incident that took place during the desperate sequence of battles fought around Mantua in 1796. The set comes complete with bridge, a flag-welding Napoleon, and four grenadiers - one of whom has already succumbed to the fire of the Austrian Grenzers defending the opposite bank. The figures are cast in white metal, and the bridge is made of plastic resin and designed for us by H.G. Walls (many thanks, Herb!). It is a 'wargames model', and as such is a deliberately under-scaled representation of the bridge - although the original bridge was not large, the Alpone River being just a few metres across, flowing between two high causeway embankments.
Contemporary painters and illustrators (and 19th Century Bonapartists) made much of this incident to the point that one might be forgiven for thinking Napoleon's personal assault carried the bridge. The inscription on the monument at the bridge today certainly implies as much, but the truth was somewhat less glamorous. The Austrians threw the French back, and in the confusion Napoleon fell off the bridge into the river, from where he had to be dragged before he was either captured or drowned! The Austrians held Arcola and its bridge for a further two days before being finally forced from the position.
Future Releases
This set is just a taster for what is to come. We will soon start to release the first of our standard French infantry in march-attack poses, to be steadily followed by an ever-growing number of figure variations that will eventually reflect all the many appearances common to the French soldiers of this period - from regulation uniforms to threadbare revolutionary rags. You will also soon be seeing our skirmishing Austrian Grenzers.
The project represents a great undertaking for us, and given the many possibilities open to us, it is difficult to know what we should prioritize for our early releases. So in keeping with the Eureka philosophy, we thought we should let you, our customers, guide us via the facility of our 100 Club system. You can visit the special Wars of the French Revolution section in the 100 Club on our website, where you will find a provisional list of possible releases for this range which you can 'vote' for by placing pre-orders. The most popular items will be produced first. The normal 100 Club rules will be waived for these orders - we simply want to gauge what the most popular releases will be, but if you confirm your purchase once the miniatures are ready, you will receive them at a 10% discount and an advanced delivery prior to their official release. Can't see what you want? No problem - you can add items to the list by placing a new 100 Club request with us for the type and quantity of figures you would like.
Cut-Price Napoleon
Just to make the launch of this range that little bit more special, we are offering the Napoleon on the Bridge at Arcola set at a special introductory price of just $20.00 AUD* (normally $29.50 AUD), and we will hold this price until 1st September 2008.
Here are the catalogue details for the new miniatures:
28mm Wars of the French Revolution
100WFR01 Napoleon on the Bridge at Arcola 1796 - bridge and 5-figure set
* Excludes shipping (and 'Goods and Services Tax' payable by Australian customers only)
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.