More French 1870 Generals

Hello again, back with a series of French 1870 converted command groups. I'm sorry it's been a while again since the previous post; I have been fairly busy painting, but not got around to photography. A session with the camera yesterday, however, has produced these images and there are some more of Prussian units I've painted, ready to be posted shortly.

I previously showed two corps command groups, of three mounted figures each. One of them was Frossard of the 2nd Corps, so these generals start with his three divisional commanders, on two-figure bases. All are fairly heavyweight conversions.

First of all here is the splendidly-bearded General Laveaucoupet of the 3rd infantry division. I think the figure started off as an American Civil War general. As you can hopefully see I have tried to get some likeness to the real generals, which included researching and modelling the medals each one wore at the time of the FPW. Laveaucoupet is accompanied by Lieut.-Col Billot, who evaded capture at the surrender of Metz and was massively promoted to command a corps of his own in the Army of the Loire. Sadly he proved a bit rubbish in this role, and was largely responsible for the Frennch defeat at the Battle of Beaune-la-Rolande. This figure began as a Napoleonic Russian staff officer.

Next we have General Bataille of the 2nd Division. This figure started as a one-armed ACW general. I used elements from the plastic infantry set to get his arm and kepi. In his portrait Bataille has rather floppy hair, which I've sculpted with green stuff. The aide de camp is no-one in particular -I just wanted to get an officer of Spahis onto the wargames table, because of the replendent uniform: scarlet, sky blue, black and gold: what's not to like? The figure's position is more of a conversion than it may at first seem. I did him standing in the stirrups of his dappled horse, craning his neck to see whatever the general is waving his hat at.

And this one's the 1st Division commander, General Verge. He looks a little bit caricatured, but most wargames figures are more or less that way. Again a former ACW general figure. I'm quite pleased with how the map he's holding came out. The assistant here is  from a lancer regiment in the 1868 uniform. Curiously, junior officers wore bigger epaulettes than more senior ones.  The figure started as a Prussian officer from North Star and is mounted on an Empress horse. 

On to a couple of cavalry generals now. I couldn't find a portrait of this corps' actual cavalry commander, but here we have General Bonnemains, who commanded the sacrifical cuirassier division at the Battle of Worth. He looks pretty standard in his photo, other than wearing rather baggy trousers, which the figure I've used reflects. It is a one-piece casting of a general from the Paraguyuan War a few years earlier. Bonnemains is accompanied by a cuirassier trumpeter, converted from a plastic Napoleonic trumpeter. 

Last but very much not least is General Legrand who commanded the cavalry division of 4th Corps. He is wearing a dolman in the portrait drawing, but wore the standard plain black frock coat at the Battle of Rezonville, where he led the largest cavalry charge of the war. We know what he was wearing because it's been preserved in the battlefield museum, ever since he fell in action, killed by a Prussian sword-stroke. Mort au champ d'honneur! The figure started as a general of the Carlist war. His assistant is an officer of the staff corps, for which I used a figure from the chasseurs d'afrique command pack. The staff corps had cuffs and kepis of amaranthe, a pinkish red in practice.

To wrap up, here's some of the generals grouped together against the background of a Lorraine village.