1:72 Austrian Grenadiers in Winter Dress on the March 1 Napoleonic

Austrian grenadiers on the march, 1:72 scale, Strelets-R

This set belongs to the marching collections of the manufacturer Strelets-R: the figures are modeled walking, with a leg stepping forward and the weapon carried on the shoulder or under the arm. It is soft plastic, 1:72 scale and unpainted castings without the need for assembly. The ordinal number by the name refers to the fact that the manufacturer has issued several separate sets on the same subject, which can be set one behind another into a longer column.

The real subject and the equipment

The winter dress of Austrian infantry consisted of a long outer greatcoat, which covered the coat and most of the equipment. The grenadiers were set apart by a tall cap with a fur band. In a marching pose the knapsack, the rolled blanket and the crossbelts come to the fore above all, and those are the details on which the legibility of a figure rests once painted.

Tips for composition and painting

With marching sets the layout decides the result. Do not line the figures up in a perfectly regular row, but slightly loosely, with a small shift of axis and with spacings that differ within the column. If you use several pieces of the same pose, vary the turn of the head by gently twisting the figure at the waist after heating it in hot water. Before painting, trim the flash, wash the figures in lukewarm water with detergent and apply a base primer, as without it paint does not hold on flexible plastic. Paint the greatcoats in slightly different shades of the same color, and the column then looks natural and not like a cloned row. At the end add light dust to the lower parts of the greatcoat and the boots with pigment or a dry brush in the color of the ground the column is walking over.

Who the set is for

• modelers building marching columns and winter scenes in 1:72 scale
• collectors of Napoleonic figures adding Austrian units
• players of tabletop war games in a small scale
• builders of dioramas who need movement and direction in a scene

The figures are supplied unassembled and unpainted. Paints, primer and glue are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.