Not bad, four foot figures and a mounted one. Still disappointed about how small the Line Infantry set was though.

Sorry,
I just arrive on a Russian speaking website (i cannot speak Russian) and I see no pictures. And I am so much willing to see them !!! How could I do ?
Please let me know
Regards.
Patrice

Try this:

https://yadi.sk/d/--zCkG4ZCrr3e/%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F%20ZVEZDA/%D0%A1%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B5%20%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8/68%20%D1%81%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F%20%D0%9C%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8E%D1%80%D0%B0%20(72%20%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%88%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B1)/6816_%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%86%D1%83%D0%B7%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F%20%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F%20%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%85%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B0.%20%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F%20%D0%B3%D1%80%D1%83%D0%BF%D0%BF%D0%B0/%D1%84%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE%201.png

Nice figures though I share Pat Sheuck's doubts on the "musicians'" coats (see thread on set 6815 below), at least as far as the fifers are concerned.

As far as I know, in the line, fifers were still just tolerated for which reason it seems quite doubtful that they were ever issued the Imperial livery.

On the other hand, some original Imperial livery coats (and fragments thereof) have survived, which appears to justify the assumption that at least in some regiments drummers, cornets and trumpeters were actually issued such coats (though it seems highly unlikely that this had happened as early as 1812).

As far as I remember, according to Bardin, line infantry fifers were neither officially acknowledged nor officially forbidden during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic era but even before had been gradually transformed into bandsmen playing a wide range of instruments. So, a bandsman's and a fifer's status should be approximately equivalent, in a way. 8 musicians per regiment were officially allowed as part of the regimental staff in 1808. However, so far, I've not seen any contemporary evidence for bandsmen (not to speak of fifers) wearing Imperial livery. Bardin's 1812 project as illustrated by Carle Vernet shows drummers, cornets and trumpeters with Imperial livery coats, but not the musicians (i.e. bandsmen) - and no fifers whatsoever.

Hence, I assume that when showing both drummer and fifer in Imperial livery, Zvezda have applied a Russian "formula" (fifers were officially acknowledged in the Russian army) to the French army. They have occasionally done so before, e.g. when equipping their standard bearer of cuirassiers with a Russian style standard bandolier. Similar items were used during the Ancien Régime and Republic but I cannot remember to have seen contemporary evidence for the Imperial period. Still, some may have been around, of course. I can't tell.

Anyway, I think I like those figures.

To clarify what I mean:

When I say "approximately equivalent" I'm not talking about social standing or hierarchy but only about the probability that they were issued Imperial livery. Of course, fifers had a much lower status than bandsmen. As far as the 8 official bandsmen are concerned these were mostly contracted professionals who even enjoyed a quasi-officer status while the fifers usually were recruited among the "enfants de troupe", i.e. about the lowest category of acknowledged "soldiers" in a regiment.

Still, bandsmen apparently did not wear Imperial livery, and there is no conclusive evidence that the fifers did. Perhaps because they both executed functions within the regiment that were considered semi- or unofficial? That's what I mean when calling their statuses "approximately equivalent".

sets 6815,6817,6818 command sets are also illustrated
When on the French command page click on Cyrillic (blue letters)thus:

68 серия Миниатюра (72 масштаб) ( translates as series 68.. miniatures(1/72nd scale))

to go back one

and click on the relevant yellow folder

David

I may have to purchase a few boxes of these, due to the mysterious disappearance of Hat's 1815 French Line Infantry Command masters (8295), to replace the aforementioned Hat set! I hope that they are compatible with, the soon to be released, 1815 French Line Infantry Marching (8294) set.

Paul K.

Thank you Matelot for your link.
Thanks to you now I can see them, they look good !
Usual very good ZVEZDA standard.
A little remarq : they don't walk at the same coordinated pace as their infantry lad of the former French infantry set... The same goes regarding the Russian. Too bad...
Any way they look good !
Regards
Patrice

You're welcome.




I've noticed that too. Is it carelessness or do they want to annoy us...? I guess they just don't have a heart for diorama builders anymore. War gamers need just a few figures per base to represent specific units and it doesn't really matter to them whether the figures are in step or not. They don't represent the real formations, anyway. But diorama builders who want to build whole formations one-to-one will experience difficulties...

Regarding the Russians:

As far as the drummer and fifer are concerned, a head swap with the those of set 8020 Russian Grenadiers could help but what about the officer? Both sets have him stepping forward with the right leg, so no variation.

Regarding the French:

If I'm not completely mistaken, the fifer isn't marching at all but standing, with slightly spread legs, which pose is not quite to my taste. If standing, I would have preferred to see him standing at ease or attention..

Which "former French infantry set" do you mean? Set 6802 has no marching figure at all as far as I can see. And I can't remember any other original Zvezda French Line Infantry set...?

Italeri set French Infantry 6066 (Bardin regulation uniform) has a similar problem: Three marching figures plus one marching officer. But only two and two are marching in step. The drummer is standing at ease...So the Zvezda 6816 drummer could be used to go with two of the Italeri marching poses, but he would not be in step with the third one and the officer figure...

And then: No NCO figure, with the musket shouldered on the right,...

...but, well, instead we are about to get a whole army of marching NCOs as the oncoming Waterloo 1815 French infantry set appears to have all marching figures with their muskets on the right shoulder!

I can't believe it...How is it possible that a sculptor still makes such mistakes... He does not happen to be the same "artist" (with no sense of historical accuracy at all, it seems) who once made those awful Italeri French dragoons which still get so much praise from so many people despite the fact that out of 17 horses 11 are completely useless as they show the incredibly stupid arrangement of pistol holster covers on top of sheepskins...

But it does matter to us wargamers, at least ass much as it does to the diorama maker.

My Napoleonic units - representing battalions on a scale of one figure to 50 men. I know there are some who like a figure scale of 1:40 even 1:20 but 1:50 is fine by me.

Correspondingly that means for a French Line Infantry battalion 2 Greandiers, 2 Voltigeurs, and the rest as Fusileers. However each battalion also gets a command base so depending on what is available at least 1 officer, one musician, a standard bearer and possibly a sapper.

Napoleonic armies amrched in-step, that discipline was what enabled Napoleon and Wellington and Blucher to do what they had to, the rigid discipline imposed on the soldiers allowed them to endure enemy fire, to advance into the same and be at the schwerepunkt when they needed to be. Otherwise they are a rabble.

This is one of the reasons I am so disappointed with the new Waterloo 1815 set, they are all over the place in terms of moving together. As I have said before people have expressed all sorts of sentiments about Hat figures but at least they can march in step.

That should, of course, be "as much".

I thought so...

There are signs and wonders:

http://bennosfiguresforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=17679&p=194488#p194488