Review: Napoleon at War - French Infantry Brigade

So I picked the Napoleon at War French Infantry Brigade a while ago and have finally gotten around to working on them and I thought you might like some feedback. I will update this post as I work on the models. However, some first impressions: the sculpting is nice, a tad stocky but I like the look of them; the detail is likewise pretty good; the variation in poses is limited but acceptable, for instance there are two officer sculpts, plus the mounted officers, there are four voltigeur sculpts and I think three grenadier sculpts. There is minimal flash, I just clipped some off the bayonets. The metal is fairly soft and pliable, so it bends easily but does not break. Always a compromise I guess.

In my opinion I give them an A-/B+, I really like them actually so far. I will see how they paint up. In comparison I would say they are up there with the AB and CGM, but not quite as good. Still, they look a nice fit if you want to mix and match.

What do you actually get? The box says 4 infantry battalions, 2 mounted officers, unit bases for a total of 114 foot figures, 2 mounted figures. which is incorrect. You actually get 4 battalions of 29 foot each (116) plus the 2 mounted officers. They mix of figures was good and it was obvious they had packed to give the maximum number of variations. The box is really set up as a brigade with two regiments. That is there are only two eagles with the alternate battalions having a standard bearer. Each battalion is made up of 18 line infantry, 4 grenadiers, 4 voltigeurs, officer, drummer, standard bearer (29x4) and one mounted officer for each regiment (1x2) and accompanying horses (1x2).

Some photos out of the box before cleaning them up:

New Napoleonic Books

I have gotten a great stack of new books that I thought some might like to learn more about. However, I am not sure where to start. So I thought I would throw it open to readers: what book would you like reviewed first? Below are the books I have gotten. The first lot are from the Military History Press and the second are from the Nafziger collection, the Nafziger collection can also be bought through Amazon. I bought both direct and the experience was great with both.

Poles and Saxons of the Napoleonic Wars by George Nafziger, Mariusz T. Wesolowski and Tom Devoe

'This is the most complete and thorough study of the Poles and Saxon during the wars of Napoleon, including their organization, uniforms, and accounts of their performance on the battlefield. From the desperate action of a handful of Poles defending a Spanish fortress to vast armies facing off to determine the fate of Europe, this lavishly illustrated work is researched from sources previously unavailable to any but the most ardent historian. It has no equal in any language.' Buy it here

Napoleon's Last Grande Armée by Alfred Umhey

'These rare, exceptional paintings provide invaluable eyewitness evidence of the uniforms of the period, quite set apart from the sometimes fanciful, second-hand works of modern artists. Unlike many uniform plates, the illustrations in these two artists' portfolios show what Napoleon's men actually wore on campaign.' Crazy expensive but I got it for half price for a black friday sale (I live in Australia, not really sure what this is, but I was happy). Buy it here. 

Napoleon's Apogee by Scott Bowden

'A century after the appearance of the original work, Bressonnet's study now makes its English-language debut to an ever-growing audience interested in learning more about the fascinating details of Napoleonic warfare. To supplement Bressonnet's original as completely as possible, I have the honor to work with the visionary professionals at Military History Press, who agreed to include, among many other things, the French after-action reports from which Bressonnet drew many of his details, plus newly-created maps and exciting tactical diagrams and much more. Hopefully, this lavish volume will be both a worthy salute to the legacy of the brave soldiers who fought this epic campaign, and also to Bressonnet himself, who we have kept in mind each day as we strove to equal his passion and high standards.' Again, quite expensive but I grabbed it on sale. Buy it here.

The Glory Years: Napoleon and Austerlitz 

'This is an unprecedented detailed combat study of the vastly different armies and leaders that fought the fast moving battles of the 1805 Ulm-Austerlitz campaigns. Sweeping battle narrative, coupled with new, detailed maps and precise orders of battle make Scott Bowden’s latest history of Napoleonic warfare an instant classic. Napoleon and Austerlitz is a must for any Napoleonic or military history analyst.' Buy it here.

Nafziger Collection books

There was a focus here on getting material on the Ottoman army and war with the Russians, it also links in with my Russian army I am working on.

IMPERIAL BAYONETS
By George F. Nafziger
Illustrations: Hundreds of diagrams, charts and tables
Pages: 263pages
$60, pefect bound soft cover
This is the third edition and the 5th or 6th printing of this work. It examines the maneuvering systems of the French, Prussians, Russians, Austrians and British from 1792 to 1815. It studies infantry maneuvers and firepower, cavalry maneuvers, and artillery. It is THE definitive work on Napoleonic tactics.

THE RUSSO-TURKISH WAR OF 1806-18121
By Baron von Valentini
Translated by G.F.Nafziger
Illustrations: 4 maps
Pages: 82 pages
$19.95 soft cover
This differs from the Michailovsky-Danilevsky work in that it contains a chapter on the tactics of both sides, plus a theoretical discussion of campaign strategy. It also contains detailed discussions of the battles. It provides a German perspective on the war, incomparison to the Russian perspective of Michailovsky-Danilevsky.

RUSSO-TURKISH WAR OF 1806-1812
By Lt Gen. Michailovsky-Danilevsky
Translated by Alexander Mikaberidze
Size: 11" x 8.5"
Illustrations: numerous B&W maps
Pages: Volume I - 149 pages
Pages: Volume II - 156 pages
$25.00 per volume, soft cover
To my knowledge this is the only work in English on this obscure Napoleonic campaign. It is a very detailed account of six years of warfare between the Ottomans and the Russians, supported with 15-20 maps per volume of the theater and detailed maps of the battles. It contains orders of battle for the Russians, but not for the Turks (sorry!) The both volumes are now available.


TACTICS OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY IN THE NAPOLEONIC WARS
By Alexander & Yurii Zhmodikov
Size: 8.5" x 11"
Vol I - Russian Army in the 18th Century & Tactical Response to the French Revolution, 1801-1809 - 117 pages
Vol 2 - Tactical Changes in Response to Napoleon - 1810-1814 - 125 pages
Illustrations: 12 diagrams of maneuvers
$19.95 per volume, soft cover
An exhaustive study, drawn from period Russian regulations, eyewitness accounts, and official reports, as well as later documentation, this two volume work covers absolutely every aspect of the Russian system of war from 1792-1815. It explodes all the myths and misconceptions that have haunted the literature on the Russians and sets the record straight.

THE IMPERIAL RUSSIAN ARMY
1763-1815
By George F. Nafziger
Size: 8.5" x 11"
Illustrations: no illustrations
$19.95 soft cover
Complete organizational history of the Imperial Russian army from 1763-1815. Provides history of internal structure, plus formation and disbandments of various units.
Vol 1 - Infantry, Mixed Units, Legions, Marines, Engineers, Pioneers, Sappers & Opolochenie
Vol 2 - Cavalry, Cossacks, Guard, and Artillery

THE CRESCENT AMONG THE EAGLES: OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND THE NAPOLEONIC WARS
By William Johnson
Size: 8.5" x 11"
Pages: 110 pages
$19.95 soft cover

I'll likely go back and update the page on the Ottoman Army I put together after I get through the Nafziger collection material. Otherwise I will just start reviewing them one at a time. Oh, I also have Hourtoulle books and Eltings Napoleonic Uniforms books if you are interested in those.

Painting Tutorials: Deep Fried Happy Mice

I love this website. It is fantastic. Finding everything can be a bit of click and miss. So here are links from Deep Fried Happy Mice for some useful pages!


A general overview page with links links links! Link.


Notes on the scale of the models and what is best. I am all for the tall 15mm's (18mm or so).  Link.

Getting started in military modelling? Link. I live in the middle of no where and paint for the love of it. I haven't had a wargame in years. But I might just try and find a club!

Little research might save a ton of heartache (and wasted money!) Link.

Starting out with painting? Here is a ton of advice! Link. Love the painting space, especially the paint box.

And a link from DFHM to a basic guide to painting. Link.

Another from DFHM to AB. Link.

Now, some websites DFHM links to are now sadly gone. However, through the stalker magic of the web there area ways to find some of them! Here is a very cool site called Ellsweb that has a very thorough guide. Link.

DFHM guide to a speed painting attempt of a British Regt. Link.

600 minutes to paint 100 Flames of War Soviets? See the painting here. Link.