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1815 French Line Infantryman - Waterloo: *FINISHED*


Natter

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Ici Soldat Deuxieme Classe le Plaisantin. In late comes my attempt to get a model built for the French Fancy II GB. The Airfix 54mm (1/32nd scale) French Line Infantryman in 1815 uniform; as worn at the Battle of Waterloo.

 

The kit was purchased from a well known auction site, along with eight others; all for just over three quid each. Bargain. All were blister packs as with this one:

 

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The instructions are printed on the back of the card pack:

 

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The sprues are in white plastic with very little flash but some fairly noticeable mould lines to clean up:

 

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Plan A is to complete the figure reloading his musket. I think that it will be easier to position his arms for that pose rather than trying to align everything to pose him in the firing position. We shall see...

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Nice tips Black Knight. The hole in the muzzle of the musket is done, and I was thinking of replacing the ramrod with fine wire; but your tips about positioning his arms are worth a try. Thank you.

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Yep, that worked. I replaced the kit ramrod, which was moulded to Soldat le Plaisantain's hand and slightly mis-shaped, with a piece of wire. Next I attached the figure's feet to the base with PVA so that I had a ground datum to work to. Following Black Knight's tips, I then positioned the musket and le Soldat's right arm and then glued his arm in place using liquid cement to give a little time for adjustment. The musket is not fixed in position at this point.

 

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Once the right arm was suitably set I manoeuvred the left arm and musket into the required position and affixed the arm to the shoulder with liquid cement. The musket is still not affixed so it can be removed to assist with painting.

 

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More soon...

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I'm not a figure builder but I do have a big soft spot for these Airfix Napoleonic figures having built the Scots Grey and Highlander as a kid.

I may just have to look for some online....

 

Ian

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Looking good so far. The only figures I ever did were the 4mm/OO scale plastic ones and I was never entirely sure about the uniform colours. French Napoleonic infantry ones always seem to be shown in full "parade" dress with with pants and waistcoats/overalls or whatever in pristine white, whereas some sources suggest that in action they would be in duller colours. I am not sure if that would be true for say Waterloo for example?

 

Pete

Edited by PeterB
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French uniforms at Waterloo were rather the worse for wear for Line Regiments. Gaiters were usually grey on campaign, and overalls were usually worn too. The uniforms were brought back from previous service and may have faded and shown signs of wear.

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Merci mes amis. I have been wielding my paint brushes over the past few evenings. I have a lovely set of Windsor and Newton Series 7 brushes, and you can still get really fine lines with a No.3; amazing.

 

Airfix suggest Oxford Blue for the overcoat, but that seemed too dark, until I went on-line and saw how dark the French uniforms actually were. Oxford Blue it is. The gaiters are a mix of German rey and Black, and there is still the detailing to come. His face was painted with a mix of Vallejo Flat Flesh and Vallejo Light Rust, high and low-lighted and some details added. Please bear in mind that in the photos he is much larger than the actual model piece, so it is much easier to see all the errors. And there are lots...

 

His uniform so far (I know there are touch-ups to do eg. the red on his sleeve among others):

 

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His face and hat - the peak and front cockade of his hat are a separate part. Don't forget, these images are over five times the size of the actual part:

 

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Lookin good

Something I need to adjust as I do my figures; I - we - tend to do the flesh too light

Contemporary writings describe the soldiers faces and hands as dark 'as nut', sometimes described as 'dark as a chestnut'

 

A true but silly story;

On a patrol in the Peninsula the British officer in charge told his men not to strip completely when they went to bathe in the nearby river. Because their bright white bodies would show up in the moon light and might attract a French patrol. Obviously, their bodies covered by uniform did not get as burnt tanned as their faces and hands

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I had a really good chat with a figure painter at the Yeovil show on Sunday. His skills are light years ahead of mine, but he did give me some really good ideas to work with and explained in simple and logical terms how to use the colour wheel when painting figures. Brilliant. Am I able to turn those hints into a better figure? I am not sure, but this is where I am up to so far. The white has been toned right down and I have tried to add shadows to his trousers, but that hasn't been overly successful. I have started to dirty him up too.

 

His front:

 

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His back:

 

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And his ancils:

 

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The Infantry packs were made of 'cow skin', so I have tried to replicate this; which explains the two-tone colouring. I used an on-line photo as a reference and worked from there.  The musket was painted with an acrylic sand colour and then a top coat of oil paint used to give the wood effect. The musket's metal work is Vallejo oily steel.

 

More soon...

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If you are making him as of 18th June 1815; It rained on the 16th, 17th and early on the 18th. The field of battle was full of well grown crops but it was churned up into one big muddy mess. After the battle it was found that some wounded Frenchies had drowned in the sea of mud, unable to get themselves out of it.

The metal work on the musket was actually a parkerized brown colour

This is the lock end of a Bess

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The British used walnut wood for the musket stock and the Frenchies mostly used apple wood, which gave them problems

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1 hour ago, Old Man said:

perhaps a bit of a white wash on the trousers would be useful?

There is still some work to do on the uniform, so there will be some changes to how he looks now.

 

45 minutes ago, Black Knight said:

The metal work on the musket was actually a parkerized brown colour

I wasn't sure whether or not to go darker, but the oily steel should provide a good base for subsequent coats.

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A busy day of painting today. I am learning all the time, but I don't think I will ever be a 'proper' figure painter. After the discussion at the Yeovil show I do realise the eyes are way too stark being done with white, and I will do things differently when I come to do my next figures. For now I am not going to try and undo what I have done here as experience has taught me that it will all go horribly wrong if I do. The camera is a harsh mistress, but with the Mk.1 Eyeball he looks OK.

 

Though described by Airfix as a 'French Line Infantryman 1815' I believe that his uniform is that of a Fusilier rather than a Light Infantry Chasseur. The green pompon atop the shako (tall hat) and the number 1 identify him as a soldier of the 1st Fusilier Company. The musket metal work has been darkened (thank you Black Knight) and his uniform is quite the worse for wear, as befitting a Soldier who has already spent several days marching, sleeping outside or engaged with the enemy in poor weather conditions, and now finds himself in battle with the Anglo-allied army at Waterloo.

 

The photos are not very good as I just couldn't get the lighting right, but this is where I am up to so far:

 

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I'll get cracking with the base tomorrow.

 

More soon...

 

 

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On 27/10/2021 at 23:05, Natter said:

I do realise the eyes are way too stark being done with white

At Art School we were advised to add a little flesh tone to the white.  

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On 10/28/2021 at 12:02 AM, Black Knight said:

When I do eyes I add some light flesh colour to white or pale ivory

 

8 hours ago, Ratch said:

At Art School we were advised to add a little flesh tone to the white.

Definitely the way to go in the future, thank you.

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He's done. I have been waiting a couple of days for the base to dry. It was airbrushed with an acrylic pale brown, Xtracrylix Buff if I remember correctly, and then the wood effect added with oil paint dragged over with a flat brush. I added some Perfect Plastic Putty to make the mud and soil base, which was then painted with various earth colours to represent the ground and mud. I added vegetation from my much better half's scenery stash, trying to give the effect of the Fusilier trampling the plants as he loaded, aimed and fired, then reloaded.

 

A little five o'clock shadow was added to Soldat le Plaisantain's face as I feel it is unlikely he will have been too worried about getting a close shave as he got up from a disturbed night, trying to get some sleep in the pouring rain the night before the battle of Waterloo. I have made an attempt to reduce the stark white of his eyes as well.

 

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Un grand merci a Wez for hosting another great GB.

 

There will be more photos in the Galley.

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  • Natter changed the title to 1815 French Line Infantryman - Waterloo: *FINISHED*

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