Prussians finished

I've mentioned here previously that Richard Phillips and I are planning on playing some Sharp Practice based on the march to Riga by Macdonald's X Corps during Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812.

The plan all along has been to make this a low impact, low cost project. We should be able to put together base forces with a single box of plastic infantry and then use our existing generic stuff like scenery, wagons etc.

I've now managed to complete my base force:

It consists of five groups of musketeers from 7th Infantry Regiment (2nd West Prussian). Four of the groups are in line formation and one is organised as skirmishers.

The line troops are all built straight out of the box (of Perry Miniatures Prussian Infantry) as is the officer in command:

The NCO seen in the background above is converted from the standard bearer in the Perry box. You don't need standard bearers in Sharp Practice but I did need an additional Leader. His left arm was moulded in place and was holding the base of the flagpole. With a bit of plastic rod and green stuff I was able to make it look like he's holding a wine bottle instead. The right arm was repositioned and gained an open hand from the spares box into which I glued a white metal musket from the same source.

The skirmishers involved more conversion work.

The box comes with volunteer jaegers but my understanding is that these units were added to the Prussian order of battle from the 1813 campaign. The most realistic source of skirmish troops in the games I envisage would be from the third rank of the same infantry battalion as the musketeers.

I've therefore given my skirmishers covered shakos rather than forage caps. I've also converted some of the jaeger figures into musketeers by sculpting rolled greatcoats from green stuff. 

All of the Perry jaegers are in exactly the same, rather distinctive pose. I've tried to disguise that by swapping in new left hands (including one with a hatchet) in a couple of cases and varying the position of the right arm. A couple of the figures are converted from spare marching musketeers.  The NCO is straight out of the box.