New Alan Ball Figure from Bonapartes

[Ratty]

Please see the latest release from Bonapartes, Alan Ball Range. A Dismounted Empress Dragoon 1815. Now available from www.bonapartes.uk.com

 

[Tommi]

Hello Paul

Any indication of scale and price, white metal or resin

Regards
Tommi

 

[Ratty]

Hi Tommi

Yeah forgot to mention it's 90mm and made from resin with metal parts. The cost is £43.

Thanks
Paul

 

[Don Johnson]

Paul, I love the figure, and have many of Alan's kits in my collection, both painted and "grey army". I'm just looking for a clarification here, if I may. I've been studying French Napoleonic cavalry recently - hussars and dragoons, mostly - as my knowledge is woefully inadequate. Based on the books and internet sites I've accessed, and assuming I'm understanding things correctly, it seems that the Guard's Dragoons wore leopard-skin bands around their helmets, while the line regiments had a (brown) fur band on their helmets. Based only on what I can see from the photos, it looks to me like the helmet has the fur band, not the leopard band.
Please understand - none of this detracts from my appreciation of the figure. From a painter's perspective, however, having it be a Line Dragoon would increase the options for facing colors and such.
Any clarification would be appreciated. Many thanks, in advance. Don

 

[Colin_Fraser]

Paul, I love the figure, and have many of Alan's kits in my collection, both painted and "grey army". I'm just looking for a clarification here, if I may. I've been studying French Napoleonic cavalry recently - hussars and dragoons, mostly - as my knowledge is woefully inadequate. Based on the books and internet sites I've accessed, and assuming I'm understanding things correctly, it seems that the Guard's Dragoons wore leopard-skin bands around their helmets, while the line regiments had a (brown) fur band on their helmets. Based only on what I can see from the photos, it looks to me like the helmet has the fur band, not the leopard band.
Please understand - none of this detracts from my appreciation of the figure. From a painter's perspective, however, having it be a Line Dragoon would increase the options for facing colors and such.
Any clarification would be appreciated. Many thanks, in advance. Don

I too think it looks like a nice line dragoon in campaign dress. I thought Empress Dragoons had Minerva helmets (tilted back), like line dragoon officers. They also wore aiguilettes, but maybe not in campaign mode. In any case I agree that this could be painted as any of the line regiments or as many of the major city Garde d'Honneur units.

Nice kit.

Colin

 

[Ron Tamburrini]

Hello Paul

Is that not a line dragoon helmet he is wearing.

Ronnie.T

 

[Ratty]

Thanks for the comments. The band can be painted in either bear skin or leopard skin. Also the figure comes with metal spurs and a metal plume which are not on the photos.

 

[Johan]

Nice figure by Alan Ball.

About the helmet :

some sources suggest that during the 100-days campaign in 1815 the Empress Dragoons troopers never had any Minerva helmets, but only the helmets they had been issued in 1814 when they converted to "Royal Dragoons" for a while; in Royal service they had a helmet that looked exactly like the first model of helmet issued to French line dragoons (like in this figure): somewhere on the crest of this helmet you would see the royal shield with three fleur de lys (can't spot it on this figure). Same source suggest that most of them were dressed in the dark green "surtout" instead of the "habit" with lapels, but there were exceptions.
So, if you follow that source (Courcelles, "Les Vertes Bornes", supposed to be the most up to date research on the subject - see here http://www.historic-one.com/carnets/cc5.htm ) the this figure could represent an empress dragoon in 1815 ... so even if the sculptor did a little "blooper" here, there is no reason to bin this figure

 

[Luis R.]

IMHO, he lacks most of the Dragons de la Garde details:
-aiguillettes (shoulder cords)
-stitched belts
-minerva helmet
-embroidered epaulettes

He looks a line dragon to me. The name the manufacturer has chosen does not detract it from being an excellent figure.

 

[Don Johnson]

Thanks for the clarifications, gents!
So, to summarize: interesting and somewhat unique figure from an established sculptor, with plenty of color options for collar, cuffs and facings, in a older-eyes-friendly size, from the most popular period and army, and produced by a company well known for quality. Sounds like a winner to me!! I expect we will see a bunch of these on the display tables over the next couple years!

 

[Jim Patrick]

I too agree this figure "looks" to be more of a line dragoon. All of the details we can see appear that way. But, as Johan has already pointed out, during the 100 days campaign, the French army simply did not have the time and materials to revert the entire army to back to their typical Grand Armee style. None of this makes me pause when admiring the figure though. Empress or Line Dragoon, it's still a beautiful figure.

Jim Patrick

 

[polyphemus]

The cut of the jacket suggests this is a Guard Dragoon. Line Dragoons post Bardin regs wore a coat with lapels to the waist, similar in some respects to the changes effected on the line infantry regts. The absence of some uniform "extras" suggest this is intended to depict a guard dragoon on campaign.

Geoff

 

[Ron Tamburrini]

I agree ,it is the helmet which suggests line Reg , Empress dragoon helmets formed a peak of leopard skin where as the line just had a fur band.

 

[pipetrepid]

nice figure and subject! bill