Chasseur à Cheval

Parker Brothers 1:144 Scale Figure Review

The Napoleonic version of the popular strategy game RISK by Parker Brother includes 360 miniatures in three poses and six different colours. The horseman shown here may represent an officer of the French chasseurs à cheval, he wears a jacket with cuffs, lapels, and epaulettes, overalls with seam-stripe, as well as the shako with plume and a round plate below that. He is armed with a light cavalry sabre. The horse furniture consists of a sheepskin shabraque over an officer's pointed cloth shabraque, a valise, as well as the bridle with snaffle bit, snaffle and curb reins. The crownpiece, noseband, and cheekpieces of the headgear need to be painted on.

Although it's not strictly an historical miniature, this cavalryman should be very popular with »Old School« wargamers who enjoy raising armies of fictional realms. The soldiers pictured above have been painted in colours similar to those of the French 2nd Hussar Regiment of the Napoleonic Wars. The figure with the red plume represents a trumpeter, and the man next to him is a non-commissioned officer with rank markings on the forearm and a two-coloured plume which differentiates him from the troopers in the unit. Some of the broken plumes have been painted to represent pompoms.

Three of these cavalrymen fit on a 25 x 25 mm cavalry stand compatible with The Age of Eagles wargame rules. The 72 cavalry figures in a RISK strategy game provide enough recruits for a cavalry division of over 4000 men in three brigades.

Contents

360 miniatures in 3 poses – 12 mm equal 173 cm height in 1:144 scale

• Infantryman (240)
• Light cavalryman (72)
• Artilleryman with gun (48)

Evaluation

Good value for money: used RISK strategy games are available for 25,- Euros or less, whereas a similar army of 10 mm metal miniatures may cost anywhere between 80,- and 100,- Euros.

The rider and his attractive horse are fun and easy to paint. Any colour combination is feasible, since this is not an historical miniature representing any particular regiment. Collectors who appreciate this kind of creative freedom will have lots of fun with these troops. The cavalrymen may be painted as officers, NCOs, trumpeters, or troopers, simply by giving them differently coloured plumes.

The miniatures are free of flash and mould lines. Diagonal pliers should be used to remove these hard plastic figures from the sprue and minimize the risk of damaging the horses' delicate legs. The only sprue attached to the riders is on his right cuff, and it can easily be cut off with a skalpel. That done, the figures are ready to be primed and painted.

The polystyrene (PS) miniatures may be glued with Revell Contacta and Faller Expert plastic adhesives.

Possible Conversions

• Add a pianowire flagstaff to convert the rider to a cornet. Experienced modellers might want to remove the figure's right arm and fix it in a more suitable position to hold the flagstaff, but wargamers may find it perfectly acceptable to just superglue the flagstaff to the figure's shoulder and boot. This process may be repeated to convert several figures to lancers.
• The rider may serve as a general officer simply by converting the shako into a bicorne. There is an American Revolutionary War version of the RISK strategy game which provides cavalry and infantry figures with tricorne hats, and their heads may be used for conversion projects.

Frequently Asked Questions

For further information and updates, please join us on facebook or in the Miniatures Forum.

French Napoleonic Miniatures

– Published: 17.05.2011 – Updated:
© 2011-2012 by IDL Software GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany. All rights reserved.