French Imperial Guard
Infantry
No other body of troops was so closely
identified with the glory of Napoleon's Grand Armee as the Grenadiers of
the Imperial Guard. Unmovable in defense, irresistable in attack,
the Guard was defeated only once, at Waterloo, and their defeat spelled
Napoleon's political doom. As might be expected of such a famous
force, figure sets are easy to come by. Three companies have produced
these troops, and all the sets can be found for reasonable prices.
You can easily find the Esci Imperial Guard Grenadiers at your local hobby
store. The Airfix set is out of production, but most internet dealers
can get you a box. The Revell set breaks the trend of the other two
by providing the Guard in campaign dress complete with greatcoats.
Wargamers will need only one or two boxes of these soldiers under most
rules sets - the Guard maintained their reputation despite their low strength.
The Airfix set is tremendous.
Produced at the height of Airfix's popularity, it contains fourteen poses
(not seen here - swinging musket, casualty, and loading musket).
All of the poses are suitable for wargaming purposes. The quality
of this set is hardly to be believed. Proportions are perfect, raised
detail makes the soldiers easy to paint, detail is superb (check out the
faces on the drummer and standard-bearer above - you might almost think
they are real!), and the uniforms are meticulously correct. These
soldiers look fantastic when deployed in massed formations.
The Esci set is also very good, but
the poses leave a little to be desired, in my opinion. The uniforms
are incorrectly modeled, with short turnbacks. These can be found
in a box of 50 for about $4.00, making the figures ideal for conversion
to grenadiers and voltiguers of the line (replace the bearskin with a line
shako). As a side note, the standing firing soldier was the first
Napoleonic figure I ever painted. The soldier with his rifle held
waist high across his body (fourth from the right) was the second.
The Revell set depicts the guard in
greatcoats, and anyone modeling or gaming the guard's repulse at Waterloo
will want to use these figures. The officer and eagle bearer are
great figures, and the rank and file are sculpted in good firing and advancing
poses with a few skirmishers thrown in. I would recommend that other
manufacturers study the figure mix of this set very carefully. Good
wargaming and diorama units of the French Guard can be built straight from
the box with little wastage.
Last updated 30 May, 2002
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