More Seven Years War / FIW British foot

Finished up some 28mm British foot soldiers from Conquest Miniatures last night, and took some pictures this evening before the light failed:

Fig. 1 British Grenadiers and 'hatmen' of the SYW/FIW

Fig. 2 The Conquest figures have a lot of detail and animation, and were fun to paint. Instead of the usual "march attack" pose typical of horse and musket figures, these fellows seem to be marching up a dusty road, sweating under the load of knapsacks, haversacks, muskets, cartridges, canteens, and all manner of baggage.

Fig. 3 The hatmen are more lightly-burdened... did they leave their haversacks in camp?

Fig. 4 On the fronts of the mitre caps are a green GR ("Georgis Rex") of the 40th regiment of foot and the white horse of Hanover. Monogrammed hats... sort of like having a big "Dolce and Gabbana" logo...

Fig.5 "Present!"

Fig. 6: 3mm plywood bases from Litko, flocking and all paint used from the Toy Soldier.

Fig. 7 Conquest makes two poses, the "road marchers" and the "firers." They can rank up together, but it would look better if the rear rank was standing still, or loading or something.

Fig. 8 Hatmen. The Conquest figures are sculpted in four variations per pose, which give a nice sense of individuality.

Fig. 9 The third from the left looks a bit nervous.

Fig. 10 Almost like Beaker. "What was I thinking taking those 40 shillings? I could get killed here."

Fig. 11

Seven Years War British and French

Below are some mostly-finished British and French stands from the Seven Years War and/or French and Indian War (28mm Crusader miniatures from Age of Glory):

Fig.1 Two partial battalions. Eventually I'd like to finish each unit out to five stands/20 figures.

Fig.2 Serrez les Rangs! 1750s-era French infantry. Meant to represent Compagnies franches de la Marine of New France, with greyish-white coats and natural leather load-bearing equipment. Uniform references from the invaluable Kronoscaf site.

Fig.3 "Shoulder your firelocks!" These muskets weigh about eleven pounds each...

Fig.4 Yellow was one of the most popular facing colors for British regiments, along with buff and green. These look like McDonald's corporate brand standards. These figures could stand in for Amherst's 15th regiment in North America, or several other units in Europe or America.

Fig.5 White was the default color for linen gaiters, but various dark shades - black, brown, grey - were used while on marching on campaign. Common soldiers did not actually wear boots, but rather low-cut black buckled shoes.

Fig.6 The person on the left is a sergeant wearing a sash and carrying a spontoon or "half-pike", a vestigial pole-arm weapon which could be used to level the barrels of his soldier's muskets, or, as below, to prevent them from scurrying to safety. The soldier closest carries a hair-covered knapsack, somewhat like a modern bike messenger bag.

Fig.6a Detail from a painting of the battle of Fontenoy in 1745, showing a sergeant using his spontoon to press against the backs of his anxious soldiers.

Fig.7 The Crusader miniature sculpts have a nice, chunky, "toy soldier" feel to them, an are relatively easy to paint.

Fig.8 "Portez vos armes!"

Fig.9 Units stationed in North America soon learned to discard their "hanger" swords for tomahawks. These guys still have theirs.

Fig.10 These bases still need to be flocked with vegetation.