HISTORICAL MINIATURES BY GEORGE GRASSE

HISTOREX NCO

54mm SCALE PLASTIC KITS

NAPOLEONIC WARS - FRANCE - GARDE IMPRIALE ARTILLERIE

Select from the table below or scroll down to view

Artillerie Troupes Train d'Artillerie Go to Artillery, Gun Teams,  and Equipment (separate page)

 

HXH070 (HISTOREX 30H070 )

ARTILLERIE A CHEVAL DE LA GARDE  - Consists of two mounted officers and two on foot in various uniforms.

KIT $72.00 / PAINTED PRICE ON REQUEST

 

GARDE IMPERIALE ARTILLERIE TROUPES

Image credit is Historex NCO Color Card 653 - 654 - 655

Note:  Artillerie a pied (foot) are shown above , left foreground.  Each kit comes with parts to make either an Old Guard (bearskin) or Young Guard (shako) figure.  Artillerie a cheval are  shown above, right foreground, wearing the pelisse.  Train d'Artillerie are shown above in the background and their kits are listed in the next section.

CONVERSION KITS - each includes extra arms 

ITEM

DESCRIPTION - ARTILLERIE A PIED KIT PAINTED

655001

Artillerie a pied, Full Dress, on Foot - Officer $24.50 $121.00

655002

Artillerie a pied, Full Dress, on Foot - Standard Bearer $24.50 $161.00

655003

Artillerie a pied, Full Dress, on Foot - NCO Gunner $24.50 $136.00

655004

Artillerie a pied, Full Dress, on Foot - Soldier Gunner $24.50 $136.00

655005

Artillerie a pied, Full Dress, on Foot - Drummer $24.50 $141.00

655022

Artillerie a pied, Full Dress, Mounted - Officer $34.25 $248.00

ITEM

DESCRIPTION - ARTILLERIE A CHEVAL KIT PAINTED

654001

Artillerie a cheval, Full Dress, Mounted - Officer $34.25 $263.00

654002

Artillerie a cheval, Full Dress, Mounted - Standard Bearer $34.25 $303.00

654004

Artillerie a cheval, Full Dress, Mounted - Gunner $34.25 $263.00

654005

Artillerie a cheval, Full Dress, Mounted - Trumpeter $34.25 $263.00

 

GARDE IMPERIALE TRAIN D'ARTILLERIE

Image credit is Historex NCO Color Card 653 - 654 - 655

Note:  Train d'Artillerie is shown above in the left background.  These were the troops assigned to haul a battery's equipment including guns, caissons, forges, and wagons.  There are two periods of uniforms represented below: 1804-08 (wearing high boots) and 1809-12 (wearing Hussar-style boots). 

CONVERSION KITS - each includes extra arms.   All figures are mounted except as noted. 

ITEM

DESCRIPTION TRAIN D'ARTILLERIE : 1804-1808 KIT PAINTED

653101

Train d'Artillerie Officer 1804-08, Mounted $34.25 $248.00

653104

Train d'Artillerie Driver (Conducteur)  1804-08 Mounted* $34.25 $248.00

653104a

Train d'Artillerie Outrider NCO 1804-08, Mounted** $0.00 $0.00

653105

Train d'Artillerie Trumpeter 1804-08, Mounted $34.25 $248.00

ITEM

DESCRIPTION TRAIN D'ARTILLERIE : 1809-1812 KIT PAINTED

65302b

Train d'Artillerie Driver (Conducteur) 1809-12 on Foot $24.50 $136.00

653201

Train d'Artillerie Officer 1809-12, Mounted $34.25 $248.00

653204

Train d'Artillerie Driver (Conducteur) 1809-12, Mounted* $34.25 $248.00

653204a

Train d'Artillerie Outrider NCO 1809-12 Mounted** $0.00 $0.00

653205

Train d'Artillerie Trumpeter 1809-12, Mounted $34.25 $248.00
A NOTE ABOUT THE 1813-1815 UNIFORM CHANGES

The uniform regulation of 1812 was largely implemented in late 1812 and completed in 1813.  Its principal distinction was the adoption of the habit-long, the coat that had the lapels extended all the way to the waist and had shortened coat tails.  A second distinction of this regulation was shortened gaiters which were topped off just below the knee.  The third  distinction was the universal adoption of the shako for all arms but many grenadier and voltigeur companies in the line retained their bearskins and colpacks.

 

* The "Soldier" kits (653104 and 653204) are intended to be either a driver (conducteur) who rides the left-hand horse in a team or an NCO outrider.  The kit is not properly furnished for either. 

Horse teams included in complete kits for the cannon, ammunition caisson, regimental wagon, and ambulances include drivers (conducteurs) and horses with proper saddles and harnessing equipment.

Horse team kits 652001 (two-horse team) and 652002 (four-horse team) DO NOT include drivers (conducteurs).  The "Soldier" kits (653104 and 653204 above) are intended to be either a driver (conducteur) who rides the left-hand horse in a team or an NCO outrider.  These kits are not properly furnished for either.  Supplemental Historex spare parts are required, for example, to complete a sous-officier (NCO - corporal or sergeant) "outrider".

**  I use the term "outrider" meaning a Train d'Artillerie sous-officier riding an individual horse  who was in charge of a group of "vehicles" commensurate with his rank.  Although not detailed in any historical reference that I have found, corporals probably commanded the drivers who hauled one cannon gun team and one or more ammunition caissons for that cannon.  Sergeants commanded two of these corporals making this grouping a two-gun Train d'Artillerie section of two cannons and their assigned ammunition caissons.  Senior sergeants commanded larger groupings and the whole of the Train d'Artillerie company assigned to a battery was commanded by a senior lieutenant and company sergeant.   
If you purchase one of these kits, at best, you can provide a driver (conducteur) for a two-horse team which does not have one.  On the other hand, if you wish to portray one of the NCO sous-officiers, you need the supplemental Historex spare parts for 653104 or 653204 and these are marked above with item numbers 653104a or 653204a.

However, uniforms for Train d'Artillerie sous-officiers differed greatly from the soldat drivers (conducteurs) and there were variations for the two uniform regulation periods of 1804-1808 and 1809-1812.

   On examination of it 653104, for example, three parts are needed to complete the kit:

HXS010 Cloth Shabraque
HXS193 Round Portmanteau with Folded Cloak
HXS234 NCO Rank Insignia

 

MORE ABOUT OUTRIDERS

The artillery of all countries was pulled by a train company, separate from the artillerists who manned the cannons and howitzers.  An example is the French Train d'Artillerie of the Guard and Line.  Cannons and ammunition wagons were pulled by a minimum of four horses, six horses over difficult terrain.  In general, a company of the Train d'Artillerie was assigned to each infantry division's artillery, usually two batteries, sometimes more. 

Each team of four or six horses was led by the first "conducteur" or driver who rode the lead team horse.  A group of two or more teams, usually a cannon team and an ammunition team, was commanded by the equivalent of a Train d'Artillerie corporal who rode a separate horse and was known, in English, as an "outrider" because he rode outside or beside the teams.  Two cannons comprising a minimum of two gun teams and two ammunition teams, in addition to the two corporal outriders, was commanded by a sergeant outrider.  The two guns formed a section of the artillery battery commanded by a lieutenant of the artillery who generally rode so as to direct the section into position.

The only Train d'Artillerie "outriders" were, therefore, the officers, trumpeters, and NCO's of the Train d'Artillerie company assigned to transport the batteries.  The "soldier" kit above should have been kitted with the correct saddle and rank insignia of an NCO.  Again, individual soldiers were the conduteurs and rode the team horses.

 

 



French Gribeauval 8-Pounder Cannon pulled by a six-horse team of the Train d'Artillerie DE Ligne assembled and painted by George Grasse

 

NEED EXTRA HORSES? 

HOW TO ORDER HORSE COMPONENTS

All mounted kits contain a horse head set (center column above) and two horse halves (left and right columns above).  The kits are pre-packaged generally with random horse parts but usually the most popular.  Note that the left horse half is an odd number and the right horse half is an even number.  All components are completely interchangeable.

YOU CAN SPECIFY HORSE COMPONENTS IN KITS OR ORDER AS SPARES

***  Horse Head Sets are numbers 1 thru 9 (part numbers are HXHD01 thru HXHD09)

PRICE PER HEAD SET IS $3.25

*** Horse Left Halves are odd numbers 1 thru 19 (HXLH01 thru HXLH19)

*** Horse Right Halves are even numbers 2 thru 20 (HXLH02 thru HXLH20)

PRICE PER HORSE HALF IS $4.45

A single horse would be ordered as, for example, HXHD05 (head set), HXLH03 (left horse half), and HXRH08 (right horse half)

PRICE PER COMPLETE HORSE (2 HALVES & HEAD SET) IS $11.75

 

 

 

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Copyright by George Grasse