28mm Napoleonic 1st Foot Guards Ensign

As those following my posts will know, my wargame figures, in all eras, are 1:72 plastic (apart from nearly three hundred home cast 1:72 metal Zulus). However, I did have six 28mm metal figures which came as “freebies” with various Warlord Games Black Powder supplements. A few years ago I painted up one such figure, a 1745 Black Watch highlander, as a present for my grandson and that can be seen here.

I asked my daughter what my 13 Year old grandson would like for Christmas this year and was told “Amazon Vouchers”. That did not sound very exciting but we bought him those. I decided to give him something extra which he was not expecting, another 28mm figure.

The figure which I selected was the one which came with this Black Powder “Albion Triumphant” supplement.

The figure is the same as the main image on the cover of the book, a Napoleonic (Peninsular War) 1st Foot Guards Ensign carrying a Battalion Colour.

Line Infantry Regiments carried Union Flags as King’s Colours, but Foot Guards reversed this so that Union Flags, with various central motifs, were actually Company Colours, which were carried in rotation as Battalion Colours.

The figure came with separate arms, one with a sword and one with the colour. I glued both of these on then glued the figure to a thick card base. I would normally have made the base 20mm square for a 28mm figure, but that would have made him unstable with his flag, so I gave him a 25mm square base.

I used my normal technique of melting plastic sprue over the base to blend the figure base in with the ground.

I don’t bother to undercoat my 1:72 plastic figures, but gave this 28mm metal figure a matt white undercoat.

Here is the figure, fully painted. I temporarily mounted it into a small transparent plastic box and gave it to my grandson on Christmas Day, along with his Amazon vouchers.

He was delighted and it is now in pride of place in his bedroom, not far from his hordes of Warhammer 40K figures.