Completed French Officer 1870 - Franco-Prussian War 1870

[maui]

Dear friends,
I present to you my latest work. is an upcoming 1/9 scale model produced by dear friend Paul Ondeck's Model Cellar.
A good figure modeled by "Offo".
A French line infantry officer during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870/71.
To be more precise, he is a captain and can be understood from the three chevron of golden thread on the képi.
He wears like many others a troop coat as indicated at the beginning of the war, a more practical and less recognizable garment.
In the following images you can see an original képi from the collection of the Armée Museum, some details of officers taken from paintings by Paul Grolleron and Édouard Detaille.
There is also a photo of an infantryman wearing the coat which was in heavy fabric in the color gris de fer bleuté.
On his chest he has the Médaille militaire in the next version without the Napoleonic eagle, after the fall of the empire in September 1870.

Cheers

 

[Airkid]

That's a nice piece. I will follow this with interest

Phil

 

[Viking Bob]

Very nice bust, not too many Franco Prussian war bust's. Following with interest.

 

[Nap]

That's a nice piece. I will follow this with interest

Phil

Right next to you ....nice piece as you say and a medal ...good references as well

Another good sculpt on this from Offo

Happy bench-time

Nap

 

[captnenglish]

Definitely has my attention

 

[Ronaldo]

That blue looks a difficult one to crack , I have a tone set for that one starting with Andrea NAC11 over a grey primer followed by Old Holland
Ancien Fonce IE Blue deep high lighted with W&N transparent white added to the mix .

Nice looking bust look forward to your paint up

 

[Zastrow.cuirassier]

Superb bust as usual with Offo, one small detail however: the medal!
This is the military medal, normally reserved for a non-commissioned officer!
It rewards both the men of the ranks, non-commissioned officers, petty officers and midshipmen and, exceptionally, the general officers, Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, having commanded in chief before the enemy or who surrendered exceptional services to national defense.
So it is not an impossibility (if this captain was previously a non-commissioned officer), but it is really a rarity, he could have more easily worn the Legion of Honor!
In addition, this medal was often worn with the medals either of the Baltic (English) of Crimea (English and Turkish), or of the countryside of Italy, or of China, or of Mexico (it is necessary to have participated in a fight for earn it!
Baltic, and Crimea medals (Turkish Crimea medal, English one and Baltic medal)

China Campaign medal

Italian campaign

And Mexican campaign

French second Empire "Légion d'Honneur"

 

[Airkid]

Medals and their award status and precedence are a minefield, especially British ones.

Phil

 

[bucsfan21]

Love the French Uniform with blue and red! Striking colors. And a very well sculpted bust! Thanks for sharing...

Terry Martin-Member of the Atlanta Military Figure Society of Atlanta,GA

 

[Zastrow.cuirassier]

Medals and their award status and precedence are a minefield, especially British ones.

Phil

The French not so much, as for the British it is enough to have Medal Yearbook (Token), the network of decorations is very well explained ... Where it is complicated, it is North Korea, there it is the big one mystery!

 

[Airkid]

. What do they look like

 

[Ronaldo]

. What do they look like

Dangerous Boy Scouts

 

[Mike - The Kiwi]

Dear friends,
I present to you my latest work. is an upcoming 1/9 scale model produced by dear friend Paul Ondeck's Model Cellar.
A good figure modeled by "Offo".
A French line infantry officer during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870/71.
To be more precise, he is a captain and can be understood from the three chevron of golden thread on the képi.
He wears like many others a troop coat as indicated at the beginning of the war, a more practical and less recognizable ...

Happy ‘21 Maurizio mate!
So glad to see you in action again & wait expectantly to see this little beaut with your painting approach bringing him to life.
Trust you, family & friends are safe.

By the way I’m working on Frenchmen project for Paul too ;-)
MikeTheKiwi

 

[Nap]

. What do they look like

A metal detectors dream !!!!!.....love the way they go down the legs !!!

Look forward to more on this bust , good info from ZC on the medals ...room to add a few more !!!!

Happy benchtime everyone

Nap

 

[offo]

 

[maui]

Superb bust as usual with Offo, one small detail however: the medal!
This is the military medal, normally reserved for a non-commissioned officer!
It rewards both the men of the ranks, non-commissioned officers, petty officers and midshipmen and, exceptionally, the general officers, Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, having commanded in chief before the enemy or who surrendered exceptional services to national defense.
So it is not an impossibility (if this captain was previously a non-commissioned officer), but it is really a rarity, he could have more easily worn the Legion of Honor!
In addition, this medal was often worn with the medals either of the Baltic (English) of Crimea (English and Turkish), or of the countryside of Italy, or of China, or of Mexico (it is necessary to have participated in a fight for earn it!
Baltic, and Crimea medals (Turkish Crimea medal, English one and Baltic medal)

China Campaign medal

Italian campaign

And Mexican campaign

French second Empire "Légion d'Honneur"

Thanks for the clarification Zastrow, I too had read something about it, but you were even more explanatory. Very interesting. With medals and decorations it is always advisable to do thorough research in order not to run into situations that are difficult to read.

 

[maui]

Here you can see the bust with the finished painting. I painted the details of this figure trying to simulate the different materials and their colors as convincingly as possible.
Clearly it is almost impossible especially for the colors to recreate the original, above all because we often take inspiration from tables and illustrations which were themselves interpretations.
In the end our aim is to try to bring to scale and in a credible way some men in uniform, perhaps with small artistic licenses but always keeping in mind not to exceed, so as not to distort the subject represented.
I hope you like it

 

[Airkid]

Beautifully done Maui. I think you have captured the colours extremely well. They have a nice, muted tone suggesting a "lived-in" look. The face too - excellent!

Phil

 

[Nap]

Beautifully done Maui. I think you have captured the colours extremely well. They have a nice, muted tone suggesting a "lived-in" look. The face too - excellent!

Phil

I can only agree with Phil here ..cracking result ...I was looking on the MC site only this morning particularly at this !

What's your mixes for that blue and the Fleshwork

Thanks for sharing

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[maui]

Happy ‘21 Maurizio mate!
So glad to see you in action again & wait expectantly to see this little beaut with your painting approach bringing him to life.
Trust you, family & friends are safe.

By the way I’m working on Frenchmen project for Paul too ;-)
MikeTheKiwi

Thanks Mike, Happy 2021 to you too. I hope you and your family are all well too.

I'm sure you will present great work as always. I wait to see him!