Wednesday 11 January 2017

AWI: Lee's Legion Infantry


Something a bit different and more obscure. Had this unit coming on in the background and finished it in a sprint of impatience. I like the idea of the legions of this era so just couldn't resist including the other principal organisational unit of the period - typically made up of horse and foot.


The trick was finding the right clothing and helmet for these guys as they adopted the 'Tarleton' helmet, as many other 'light' units did as the war progressed. But this is where Plastic Soldier Review really excels with its period based listing of 1/72 plastics. A quick look at the French Revolution and Revolutionary Wars section provided both foot and horse for the AWI.


So the Strelets Set M071 British Light Infantry in Egypt has been used for these guys and will be used for: 16th British Dragoons, Lee's legion dragoons, British legion, Continental light infantry, and other American dragoons. Only minor 'adjustments' to the uniform for the cavalry figures in the form of shaving off some buttons and shaving off the shoulder 'wings' for the foot during prep is necessary at this scale to produce fairly accurate uniforms.


Fortunately the sculpts are good in this set, as Stretlets sets have varying quality in this area generally. The moulding however produced a lot of flash, some 5mm high, and I'm not sure I got all of it when prepping these figures. Apart from that these guys have come out OK, if a little darker than I expected and their purple/lavender uniform is set to provide another wash of colour on the table.


The colour scheme is taken from various pictures of the Legion's infantry on the net, apparently based on a painting mentioned here on the Tarleton's Quarters blog - the rest of the legion was issued green and buff cloth.


Although notable for being light troops, I have based them as a line regiment for BP as Lee's legion troops are intended as line fill and mounted/skirmish elements for a Continental brigade.

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