Le régiment des Gardes Suisses

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Perry plastic revolutionary French

 

from Gatinois UK

 Twice this year we have been privileged to deploy as part of a combined force of more than 70 reenactors of #AncienRegimeFrance. Historical reenactment is so much about people, and it has been our pleasure to build professional and personal relationships with so many wonderful people across the channel!

Photo credit to Sortiraparis.com, featuring La compagnie la Courbière, Régiment de Navarre, and 7eme Régiment de Champagne

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Plastic Revolutionary French Infantry update

 The final frame (the command frame) has been finished and the 28mm plastic Revolutionary French Infantry can now go into production. They will go up for pre-order in the first week in August, when we’ll show more pictures of them in units etc, and will be released about a week later.

As you can see the command frame has seven torsos and ten pairs of legs including more gaitered legs, ‘gaitered trousers’ and short-gaitered legs. It also has NCO arms, various officer arms, two officers (one full figure, one torso). The NCO standard bearer can also be changed into an officer if needed.

Perry plastic update

 Plastic French Revolutionary infantry update.

We have examples of the first two frames of the next plastic set in. The command frame is in tooling at the moment.

The main frame has the torso/heads, legs packs and headgear. The second frame is the arm frame. As you can see the heads are attached to the torsos as this allows queues and long hair to fall over the collars naturally without compromising the tooling.

One of the main things Alan wanted to achieve was a good variation in headgear and leg and footwear as shown in so many pictures of the 1790’s, which also corresponds with the regimental records. To do this the figures are split at the waist. Breeches, with and without gaiters, civilian overalls (ragged and semi-ragged), clogs, shoes in good and bad states of repair as well as bare feet are all covered. There will be additional gaitered legs on the command frame too, if you want a bit more formality to your unit.

On the main frame two torsos have the short tailless civilian carmagnole jacket, which can be painted in the national colours or as civilian clothing. Two other torsos have civilian long tailed coats.

No release date yet.

Association "Le Chant du Départ"

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Exciting news from the Perrys

 A new period in plastic coming up!

The next plastic set will be French Revolutionary Infantry!

All the frames for these are in tooling at Renedra at the moment, so this is just a sneak peek to show what is coming up this year. The three examples shown here are marching, but in the box as usual, there’ll be other arms for a more aggressive unit. The way Alan has made the torsos in this set is a little different from before. The torsos and legs are separate to include the large number of options of legwear from neat to ragged, civilian and military. The separate torsos also have the heads attached as this was necessary to allow the queues and longer hair styles to lay right over the collars. So, you’ll end up with a large amount of head/torso as well as leg variants. With the heads attached to the bodies, this also allowed a large variety of separate headgear to be included.

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Marie Antoinette à Ville de Saint-Cloud avec L'Histoire Retrouvée 📷 ALS Photo - Jean-Christophe Peyrard - Septembre 2025

 

photo MINS photo - Mireille Ampilhac

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Perry Miniatures news

 

New! Cavalry for the French Revolutionary Wars

The first cavalry to be released are Chasseurs a Cheval. These are represented in three different uniforms; the waistless dolman called a Caraco, the long-tailed coat and the normal dolman, the later appearing more commonly amongst Chasseurs in the late 1790’s.

This first batch are designed to use the Plastic French Light Cavalry horse frame B66 to allow you to build decent sized regiments at a reasonable cost. No horses, except the officers’ horses are included in the packs. The next batch of six Chasseurs a Cheval codes will come with metal horses.

Revolutionary French

28mm metal figures designed by Alan Perry

REVF 22 Chasseur a Cheval command in 1791 helmets and Caracos. 6 figures (use plastic French Light cavalry horses B66)

REVF 23 Chasseur a Cheval in 1791 helmets and Caracos. 6 figures (use plastic French Light cavalry horses B66)

REVF 24 Chasseur a Cheval command in mirlitons and long tailed coats. 6 figures (use plastic French Light cavalry horses B66)

REVF 25 Chasseur a Cheval in mirlitons and long tailed coats. 6 figures (use plastic French Light cavalry horses B66)

REVF 26 Chasseur a Cheval command in mirlitons and dolmans, attacking. 6 figures (use plastic French Light cavalry horses B66)

REVF 27 Chasseur a Cheval in mirlitons and dolmans, attacking. 6 figures. (use plastic French Light cavalry horses B66)

From Confection Drouot

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''I've been asked about what soldiers wore in the revolutionary period. So, without giving away too much of the contents of my book, here goes.

Firstly both grenadiers and fusiliers for headdress had a chapeau and bonnet de police.

For nethergarments, they had a shirt, which acted also as a loin cloth, the tails of the shirt wrapped between the legs. Underpants were not used by working class men, or women, and it was only from 1812 that soldiers in theory, other than the Garde Imperiale, had underpants, Around the neck they wore a black or a white linen stock.

On the upper body, they had a sleeved veste, with blue collar and cuffs. Scarlet collar and cuffs were allowed for the Grenadiers of the Garde du Directoire, and may have been also used by the Ligne, but, reasonably not as the 1799 and 1802 describe blue collar and cuffs. The habit was worn over the sleeved veste.

Legwear was a pair of tricot breeches, worn with linen stockings. A soldier had three pairs of gaiters: one pair from black tricot, and a pair in bleached white linen. The white gaiters were replaced every year, the old pair being blackened by the men, and worn on the march. Soldiers had two pairs of shoes plus cross belts.

In winter, or if garrisoned in cold areas, a capote was issued. A sleeveless tricot gilet was allowed to be worn under the sleeved veste in winter. This could be worn in the summer. Linen trousers (pantalons) for use on the march were an innovation of 1802. Due to shortages, legwear was often what ever a soldier could find, or more correctly the regiment could obtain. By and large these shortages had been overcome by 1795.

Our image of three grenadiers from c.1796, when we look at inspection returns of the period, correlates exactly with the regulations and what soldiers actually had issued to them at the time. The idea that "anything goes" in terms of uniform is largely a myth after the first chaotic years of the revolution, and you look in detail at records generated at battalion level at the time.''

Napoleon Bonaparte 1793 by Anthony le Hussard of France

 . He says

Bonaparte Project 1793.

..

August 15, 1769 – August 15, 2025, 256th anniversary of the birth of Napoleon Bonaparte in Ajaccio.

A few days before the 256th anniversary and after almost two years of research and work, I have the pleasure of presenting to you my reconstruction of Bonaparte of Toulon in 1793...

Indeed, in historical reenactment, Napoleon is only depicted as a General or Emperor, but the Bonaparte of Toulon is always forgotten, so I decided to remedy this at my humble level and bring the Bonaparte of 1793 out of oblivion.

However, it was in Toulon that the eagle took flight, history was on the move with a young man with an extraordinary destiny who would shape France and the world, let's not forget that!

For the reconstruction of this uniform, I therefore based myself on the regulation of October 1, 1786, modified by the provisional instruction of April 1, 1791.

The coat is adorned on the back of the tails with grenades in gold cannetille. The buttons adorning the coat and vest are revolutionary artillery buttons with the fasces topped with the Phrygian cap.

Regarding the weaponry, I went with the model of the officers' sword from the 1767 regulations, still widely used during the revolutionary wars.

The hat, on the other hand, is made of so-called "taupé" felt, which means it is made from hare fur or some other animal and not from wool felt as is most often seen. It is one of the characteristics of officers' hats, which were made from more noble materials.

Also, I would like to thank the artisans who worked on this project and without whom it would never have seen the light of day:

- The Florence Couture Workshop for the creation of the coat, vest, and breeches.

Florence did a remarkable job, following the specifications I gave her to the letter.

All the visible seams, topstitching, and buttonholes were done by hand!

- Labortemporis for the creation of the buttons, based on an original model that I provided him with in a photo.

The buttons were also all gilded!

- Mr. Brenckle, Hatter. for the making of the taupe felt hat!

A big thank you to all of you for contributing each and every one of you on your own scale, now all that's left is to bring the History of the Bonaparte of 1793 back to life.

Onward to adventure...

Happy birthday Napoleon

 15th August 1769

By Paul L. Dawson

 

Released at the end of the month and on pre-order is my next book concerning the dress and equipment of the French Army 1789-1815. Our volume looks at the period 1786-1802.

A lot of mythos has developed about what or what was not actually worn: sadly archive documents do not help us that much until the later 1790's. We are exceptionally well informed of what was worn upto 1792 and from 1797. The first amalgam is not recorded in any meaningful way. Once Bernadotte is made the very effective and efficient Minister of War, insisting on on six monthly inspections of regiments, rather than every 18 months, and a formal review of the purchase system of uniform and equipment, we can start talking with a degree of certainty about what was worn.

At the end of 1796 (yes I know I should be using the Revolutionary calendar!) a huge stock taking was undertaken so the War Ministry had an idea of the needs of the armed forces. So we know from a synthesis of this data not one grenadier in the Ligne or Carabinier in the legere had a bearskin. Gaiters were black tricot or white linen gaiters were blackened at the end of each year, to be used on the march, giving the soldier three pairs. Pantalons de route did not exist, nor would they till 1802! Some men had capotes, but they were issued to units garrisoned in areas known to be cold in the winter. They were not yet standard issue. 90% of Ligne units had blackened cow hide leather work. Some whitened buff leather was in use. Drums were a mix of brass bodied and wooden.

A synthesis of the reviews undertaken in 1799 shows, a mix of blackened cow hide equipment for the Ligne and Legere, bearskins are few and far between, less than 3% of units have them. We find virtually no sapeurs in any inspections (just like the 1e Empire!). Again a mix of drums, wood and brass were in use. It was under Bernadotte that buff leather was formally re-adopted for equipment. The "famous" 1801 regulation is nothing more than earlier decree repeated by Napoleon as Consul. As readers of my books will be aware, regiments at Austerlitz still had blackened cow hide banderole de giberne, bretelle de fusil, porte caisse etc.

No hint at all exists of grenadiers having anything other than a standard white broadcloth veste manche with blue collar and cuffs. A note from the War Ministry allows red collar and cuffs in 1796, but we find no grenadiers vestes in any inspection, and by the time the 1802 regulation is issued, the grenadiers and fusiliers have the same garment.

From summer 1802 (and the course of the Empire) the veste manche is made from tricot. Officially the basques (skirts) are removed in 1802, the bottom edge to be 2.5pouces below the bottom button i.e a lot shorter than 1791, and the buttons on the pockets are removed. This regulation (1802) allows for sapeurs, bearskins for grenadiers (throughout the 1e Empire most grenadiers NEVER had a bearskin in the Ligne or Legere), grenadiers epaulettes, linen pantalon de route, a linen veste sans manche for use in the summer. The pantalons and veste were to be paid for by using the regimental funds previously allocated for white gaiters, which were to be discontinued. Half gaiters made from natural linen with bone buttons were to be worn under the pantalons de route.

What to know more? Our book may have the answers you seek.

Grenadiers et fusiliers d'infanterie, vers 1790

 Louis-Joseph Watteau (1731-1798), Confédération des départements du Nord, de la Somme et du Pas de Calais (détail).

Lille, musée de l'Hospice Comtesse, en dépôt du Palais des Beaux-Arts, inv. P 894

Perrys French by Simon Chick

 Great painting here. 

New Revolutionary French Light Infantry! Perrys

 

The Armies of the French Revolution

 I think I will get this.

The Revolutionary period was marked by upheaval for France and its army. The early Republic's military comprised former Royal Army members and revolutionary volunteers, reflecting diversity in their uniforms. Despite the chaos, records were meticulously maintained, and Paul L. Dawson examined thousands of documents from the Service Historique Armée du Terre in Paris to detail the uniforms worn before Napoleon's rise. Soldiers' clothing followed strict regulations, with each item assigned a specific lifespan. Regular inspections assessed uniform conditions, and unserviceable items were returned and replaced. Repairs were logged, and soldiers bore the costs of replacements. A regiment's clothing officer managed equipment purchases for enlisted men, while officers supplied their own uniforms. The regimental council ensured purchases met quality standards, recorded in a Register of Uniforms. Inspection returns and registers provide unprecedented insights into Revolutionary army uniforms, much of which was previously unpublished. Though not all regiments' data were found, Dawson's research offers the most accurate depiction to date. His book combines detailed records with illustrations and photographs of rare surviving items, giving readers a unique visual and historical perspective on soldiers' appearances during this transformative era.

Perry Miniatures 28mm French Revolution

 New! French Revolution range!

Alan has been busy on many ranges recently but this the first release for a new period (if you don't count the the French in Egypt!). The first batch is of course Line Infantry, march attack. These will be followed by Light Infantry. This is first small start of what will probably be a fairly hefty range! It will probably spill over into the Consulate Period in time.

Revolutionary French 1789-1799

28mm metal figures designed by Alan Perry

REVF 1 Early Infantry command advancing.

REVF 2 Infantry command advancing.

REVF 3 Infantry command advancing, 1791 helmets.

REVF 4 Fusiliers march attack, bicornes.

REVF 5 Fusiliers march attack, 1791 helmets.

REVF 6 Grenadiers march attack, bicornes.

REVF 7 Grenadiers, march attack, bearskins.

REVF 8 Infantry, march attack, various headgear.