Napoleonic Dragoons from Perry Miniatures

 Editor in Chief Bill  asked me to paint a box of Perry Napoleonic Dragoons 1812-1815. When I opened it, I was faced by what I think are the best plastic sculpts I have seen so far, so I decided to try my best to do them justice.

The box contains 13 mounted dragoons and eight dismounted ones, and has parts to make an officer, a trumpeter, and an eagle-bearer, plus the heads and epaulettes to make the appropriate number of elite company troopers in proportion to the number of figures given.

The figures are crisply cast, with very little flash, and are easy to assemble without any problem. Each figure is equipped with the sabre (sheathed for the dismounted troopers) and their typical musketoons (hoisted on the side on the riders).

So, after having properly cleaned the models and primed them, I set myself to work. First of all - some research (though the leaflet enclosed in the box is fairly complete).

List of Materials

Painting the Horses

My research revealed that French regulations prescribed for dragoon regiments to be mounted on bay horses, while trumpeters generally rode white or dappled greys.

For the bays, I started with a coat of German Camo Black Brown, which was gradually highlighted with Bestial Brown: I find it the perfect reddish-brown for chestnut bays. The black points, tails and manes, were rendered using multiple, extremely thin washes of Black Grey layered one over the other, to create depth and transition. The white shabraques were made by basecoating them with Light Grey, shading with Badab Black, and then highlighting with Skull White: since I had decided to paint the second regiment, the shabraque was lined in Scarlet, while the green saddle-cloth was based in German Field Grey, highlighted first with Deep Green and then with German Camo Bright Green; then the border was basecoated in Light Grey and highlighted in white. The regiment number was also painted in white, while the bridles and all the fittings were painted Black and highlighted with Black Grey.

Sand was glued to the bases, which were painted with brown ink and highlighted with Bleached Bone, and then static grass was added.

For the trumpeter's white horse, I started with a Light Grey basecoat with a Badab Black wash. Then I highlighted it once again in Light Grey first, followed by Skull White.

Painting the Dragoons

The models are represented wearing field overalls rather than the white parade trousers (appropriately), so I based them in Light Grey, shaded them with a Badab Black wash, and then re-highlighted them in Light Grey. The buttons running on the side were painted Black, and then picked out with Natural Steel. The boots were based in Black, and highlighted with Black Grey, with extreme highlights in Light Grey applied very sparingly. The tunic was basecoated in German Field Grey, highlighted first with Deep Green and then with German Camo Bright Green, while the lapels and the facings were basecoated in Mechrite Red and highlighted with Scarlet. The gloves, belts and sabre fittings were based with Space Wolves Grey and highlighted with Skull White. The helmets (and sabre handguards and fittings) were basecoated in Glorious Gold and washed with Gryphonne Sepia, while the manes were basecoated in Black and highlighted in Black Grey. The sabre blades were (obviously) painted Natural Steel, with a minimal Badab Black wash. The trumpeter's coat had its details painted in Light Yellow, with lines of Scarlet crossing them, while the eagle staff was painted Prussian Blue.

So here we are, the completed models ready for  Editor in Chief Bill  : I am fairly happy with the way they turned out, and I think they will look quite nice on any gaming table, so it's time to take them to the field. A la charge, vive l' Empereur!