My 25mm Napoleonic Army - Unit Descriptions and History

For me the 25mm scale includes 20mm through to 28mm (perhaps even 30mm) as well as 1/72nd and 1/76th scale figures, metal and plastic.  25mm Napoleonics are something I've been working on since I was 12, but mostly in my teens and 20s and now a bit more in my golden years.

Infantry (Foot)

Serial Nr.
Historical Designation
NB Unit Size
Comment
F01
British 92nd Highlanders
24 BrLN
Painted around 1976 using Airfix Napoleonic Highlander Infantry figures bought in 1970
F02
French 8e Ligne
2x24 FrLN
Painted around 1976 using Airfix Napoleonic French Infantry figures bought in 1970.  It was originally set up for Bruce Quarrie’s Napoleonic Wargamming rules, which used a smaller figure ratio.
F03
British 28th North Gloucestshire
20 BrLN
A slight conversion on the Airfix Napoleonic British Infantry figures.  I actually visited their military museum in 1996.
F04
French 54e Ligne
24 FrLN
Airfix Napoleonic French Infantry figures
F05
French 100e Ligne
1x16 FrLN
1x24 FrLN
Airfix French Foreign Legion converted to be French conscripts.
F06
British 4th King’s Own
20 BrLN
Airfix Napoleonic British Infantry figures.  An extra stand, 4 figures, representing the light company, was added in January 2000.
F07
Prussian Reg Nr 21
1x16 PrLn
1x20 PrLN
Another conversion from the Airfix Napoleonic British Infantry figures, painted as one of the Prussian reserve regiments that were outfitted in Portuguese uniforms donated by the British.
F08
French 15e Ligne, 1807
24 FrLN
Conversion from the Airfix Old Guard figures.  I recall that this uniform was chosen as the colours, black and white, represented Pam’s soccer team!
F09
French 4e Polish Regiment
24 PdLN
Conversion from the Airfix Napoleonic French Infantry figures.
F10
French 10e Leger
24 FrLT
A different uniform painted on the Airfix Napoleonic French Infantry figures.
F11
Prussian3rd Elbe Landwher
1x16 PrLW
1x20 PrLW
A major conversion on the Airfix AWI British Grenadier figure using plasticene and nail polish!
F12
British 79th Highlanders
28 BrLN
Airfix Napoleonic Highlander Infantry figures of which I had quite a few.  Painted around 1979.
F13
Prussian 2nd Silesian Landwher
16 PrSLW
SoDaS
Hinchcliffe Prussian Landwher figures, PN14,PN15&PN16, unfortunately with some of the later “large” scale castings.  93.1 has an additional 3 figures (1 infantry, 1 drummer and 1 officer)
F14
British 42nd Highlanders
16 BrLN
This completes the set of kilted Highlander regiments at Waterloo and just about exhausts all those Airfix Highlander figures I had collected.
F15


A British unit that has yet to be painted.

F16
Prussian 2nd Elbe Landwher
1x16 PrLW
1x20 PrLW
A repeat of the major conversion on the Airfix AWI British Grenadier figure using plasticene and nail polish!
F17
Prussian Jagers
8 PrLT
7 Hinchcliffe castings plus one home cast Hansa figure.  These troops were normally distributed amongst other brigades.
F18
British 95th Rifles
8 BrLT
Slightly converted Airfix Napoleonic British Infantry figures, left over from F07
F19
Prussian
4 PrLN
Command standard from Minifigs figures painted late 1990s.  Project 93.3 (nee Project 22 or 23) (39 Prussian assorted infantry, Hinchcliffe, Minifigs and home castings – need 1 more, not a standard bearer)
Need to do a stock take.
And there is this chap:
Gifted to John Logue 3/5/2023
F20
French Young Guard Tirailleur-Grenadiers
16 FrYGD
Minifigs castings.
F21


Russian unit that has yet to be painted.  Project 93.11 (nee Project 32).  Possibly do as Russo-German Legion. (17 Russian Grenadiers plus 1 mounted officer from Hinchcliffe).
F22
British 1st Bat KGL
12 BrLN
Home cast Hansa figures plus two Minifig command figures.
F23


Austrian Jaeger unit that has yet to be painted.  Project 93.15 (nee Project 45).  (Hinchcliffe 14xAN10 – kneeling, need 2 more)
F24


Austrian Grenadier unit that has yet to be painted.  Project 93.17 (nee Project 43).  (Hinchcliffe 16xAN6, 4xAN8 – officer, 4xAN9 – drummer)
F25


Austrian Jaeger unit that has yet to be painted.  Project 93.16 (nee Project 44).  (16xMinifig)
F26


Austrian Line unit that has yet to be painted.  Project 93.18 (nee Project 42).  (Hinchcliffe 7xAN1 – 30mm, 11xAN1, 3xAN3 – drummer, 3xAN4 – officer)
F27
Prussian 1st Silesian Landwher
12 PrSLW
Airfix Napoleonic Prussian Landwher figures which of course came out after I had finished laboriously creating the troop type by converting Airfix AWI British Grenadiers!
F28
French 1st Grenadiers
16 FrOG
Airfix Napoleonic French Old Guard Infantry figures.  Parts of some of these were painted by Carol.
F29


Prussian Grenadier unit that is yet to be painted.
Combined with F19?
Gifted to John Logue 3/5/2023
F30


Prussian Guard unit that is yet to be painted, also intend converting to Line.  Project 93.2 (nee Project 28) (16 Hinchcliffe figures)
Gifted to John Logue 3/5/2023
F31


French Foot Dragoon unit that is yet to be painted.  Project 93.12 (nee project 26).  (16  Phoenix and Minifigs figures)
F32


French Grenadiers.  Project 93.9 (nee Project 47) (26 Phoenix figures).
F33


Spanish guerillas.  Project 93.7 (nee Project 40).  (8 figures bought in England 1986, also bought some and painted them for Myron).
F34


Prussian Landwher. Project 93.5.  (nee Project 27).  (12 Prussian Landwher from Minifigs).  Sold to David Gray in the early 1990s.
F35
Singles for Skirmish
SoDaS
French Line.  Project 93.4 (nee Project 46)  (24 assorted French figures from Hinchcliffe, Minifigs and home castings).
F36
French Legere
16FrLT
Airfix Napoleonic French Line Infantry pained by B Searle in the early 1980s.  Gifted, rebased, touched up and slightly detailed over Easter 2002.
F37
Prussian I.R. Nr. 10
24PrLN
Airfix Napoleonic French Line Infantry painted by B Searle in the early 1980s.  Gifted, rebased, touched up during October 2002 with an extra two figures added including a standard bearer.
F38
Dutch Belgian 27th Jagers
16DbJG
Hat Completed July 2014.
F39
Dutch Line Infantry
12DbLN
Hat
F40
Belgian Line Infantry
12 DbLN
Hat
F41
1st Nassau
4 NsLN
Minifig Nassau Grenadiers

Cavalry

Serial Nr.
Historical Designation
NB Unit Size
Comment
C01
French 17th Dragoons
8 FrLC
Converted Airfix Napoleonic Cuirassiers circa 1976.
C02


French 20th Dragoon unit that is yet to be painted.  Project 93.10 (nee Project 29).  (7 Phoenix Cuirassiers and 4 Phoenix Dragoons).  Probably better adding the Dragoons to C01 and having this Unit as Cuirassiers.
C03
British Scots Greys
8 BrHC
Minifigs.  Some of the first metal figures I ever bought. Painted in 1979, my first year in Canberra, based on article in Military Modeling.
C04
French 16th Chasseurs
12 FrLC
Converted from Airfix Napoleonic French Line Infantry mounted officers and the Airfix US Cavalry set.  The horses are painted after my dog Jason.
C05
French 5th Chasseurs
8 FrLC
The first unit I painted in Canberra in 1979.  Hinchcliffe FNC36/LH5 with one Minifigs FNC41/N14.  The horses are painted after my dog Campbell.
C06
French 7e Hussards

C07
French Hussards’ Jerome Napoleon
8 FrLC
Six figures converted from Airfix Napoleonic Hussars in the 1970s.  Combined with C06 to form two stands.
http://onesidedminiaturewargamingdiscourse.blogspot.com.au/2018/02/airfix-french-hussar-conversions.html
C08
British 10th Hussars
8 BrLC
Airfix Napoleonic Hussars as they were meant to be.  Painted in the 1970s or early 1980s with two figures added in January 2001.

C09
French 4e Hussards
4 FrLC
Minifigs.  Probably painted in 1979, my first year in Canberra, based on article in Military Modeling.  Project 93.8 (nee Project 25).  (6 Minifigs).
C10
British 1st Light Dragoons KGL
4BrLC
Four Phoenix figures, 2 painted as 1st Light Dragoons KGL and 2 painted as 10th Hussars.  Combined with C06.
C11
Russian Hussars

Project 93.6 (nee Project 30).  (7 Hinchcliffe Russian Hussars but only 4 horses).  Probably better painted as Prussian Russo-German legion.
C12
French Cuirassier

Project 31, either since combined with C02 or wishful thinking or maybe to be from Airfix Napoleonic Cuirassiers.  Possibly a few Hinchcliffe figures sold or traded with Myron in the late 1980s.
C13
French Lancers

Project 93.13 (nee Project 14) four home cast French Lancers, need to cast horses.
C14
French Lancers
12 FrLC
A companion to C13, completed in the late 1990s using HAT Napoleonic French Lancers.
C15
Austrian Uhlans

Four Minifigs Austrian Uhlans.  Project 93.14 (nee Project 48)
C16
Prussian Dragoons
12 PrLC
Completed in the late 1990s using HAT Napoleonic Prussian Dragoons
C17
Prussian Landwher Cavalry
12 PrLWC
Completed in the late 1990s using HAT Napoleonic Prussian Uhlans
C18
Dutch Belgian Light Cavalry
12DbLC
HAT

Artillery

Serial Nr.
Historical Designation
NB Unit Size
Comment
A01
French Foot
Fr12#
Airfix Napoleonic French Artillery 1970s.
A02
British Foot
Br12#
Minifigs
A03
Prussian Foot
Pr12#
Minifigs
Gifted to John Logue 3/5/2023
A04
French Foot
Fr12#
Airfix Napoleonic French Artillery 1980s
A05
French Horse

Fr6#
Hinchcliffe
Gifted to John Logue 15/3/2023
A06
British RHA
Br6#
Airfix Napoleonic British Royal Horse Artillery 1970s
A07
Prussian Horse
Pr6#
Hinchcliffe
Gifted to John Logue 3/5/2023
A08
Prussian Foot
Pr12#
Hinchcliffe
Gifted to John Logue 3/5/2023
A09
Dutch Belgian Horse
Db6#
A10
Dutch Belgian Horse
Db6#

Staff

Serial Nr.
Historical Designation
NB Unit Size
Comment
S01
French Corps General

Minifigs FNGx1/N33 and FNC26/N16
S02
British Corps General

Minifigs BNCX1/N6 and BNCX8/N4
S03
Prussian “Divisional” General

Minifigs
Gifted to John Logue 3/5/2023
S04
French Divisional General

Minifigs FNC74/N12(conversion)
S05
French Divisional General

Minifigs BNCX7(conversion)/N6
S06
British Divisional General

Minifigs BNCX5/N6
S07
British Divisional General

Airfix Napoleonic Highlander mounted figure
S08
Prussian “Divisional” General

Minifigs
Gifted to John Logue 3/5/2023
S09
French Divisional General

Converted Airfix French Foreign Legion mounted figure
S10
British Cavalry Divisional General

Phoenix Hussar officer figure
S11
French Cavalry Divisional General

Hinchcliffe one piece casting of a Chasseur a Cheval officer

Train

Serial Nr.
Historical Designation
NB Unit Size
Comment
T01
Supply Wagon

Airfix La Haye Saint boxed set.
T02
Supply Wagon

Airfix La Haye Saint boxed set
T03
British Sapper

Hinchcliffe BN52
T04
Prussian Sapper

Airfix Napoleonic French Infantry conversion
T05
Blacksmith

Hinchcliffe
T06
British Depot


T07
Prussian Depot


T08
French Depot


T09
French Limber

Airfix Napoleonic French Artillery
T10
British Limber

Hinchcliffe.  Present (unpainted) from Sonny Maurice in late 1979 after I helped him with his University computer studies (Pascal).

General Notes

Airfix produced a range of figures at the time the Dino Lautrentus movie Waterloo was released in 1970.  I saw the movie and was hooked.

From playing with cardboard cut outs with the names of the various exotically sounding units written on them I progressed to the using figures and for the first time started to paint them.  Most of these early figures have been repainted one or two times since then.

The first wargame rules used were the Bruce Quarrie set that appeared in one of the Airfix guides.  I played a good number of games with Norman Blunden using these rules while living in Adelaide.  Sometime during the 1980s I picked up the relevant WRG rules and while I rebased most of the figures I never actually played any games using them that I can recall.  Come the 1990s I started using Napoleon’s Battles using a purpose built army in 6mm (which I subsequently sold and switched into 15mm).   During this time I rebased the whole of my 25mm Napoleonic Army to this rule set. 

As of 1998 I still hadn’t played any games with them!  I did write a paper about using 20/25 mm figures for Napoleon’s Battles in December 1991 titled  NAPOLEONICS IN THE 1990s A personal history and review of Napoleonic Wargaming by Mark Haughey.  It was published in the local Canberra wargaming journal for the 1992 Cancon convention.  I have since published it on my blog in this post: http://onesidedminiaturewargamingdiscourse.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/napoleonics-in-1990s.html.

In April 1999 some of the units got a work out with Napoleon’s Battles in two games with my partner Karen (she won both playing British/Hanoverian versus French in 1815).  Only a few were damaged, nothing seriously, which is surprising given our daughter Zoe’s assistance.

This document was started in 1998 and completed in January 2001 and used documents from 1991 (the last hand drawn list of 25mm Napoleonic units) and 1993 (a list of projects, basically unpainted metal figures grouped into units).  I even have an Order of Battle for my 25mm Napoleonic Army.

I have been trying to post this information about my 25mm Napoleonic Army on my blog, but had problems with the table format.  That has now been overcome and this version represents a review of my lead mountain that started in late August 2016.


2 comments:

  1. Really cool effort to make such a list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. It is a reflection of my age when I started this collection in my teens. Also that back then I had so few figures I could "manage" them like this. Now a days it's a bit harder :-)

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