Rallying call for the Volontaires Etrangers

Hello again.

A new job and the demands of that and other factors have left little actual hobby time of late, but I have managed to scratch together and complete a couple of projects recently, the first of which I present for you here. Now the clocks have gone back, however, there will be even less time to paint with it getting dark earlier, so I had better get cracking with what time there is!

As you may know, I started my Seven Years' War In America (i.e. French & Indian War) units recently and decided to do them as 20 figures each for the French (historically smaller in practice than we Anglo's and less likely to receive help from the homeland due to the Royal Navy's control of the seas), which left me a few spares from the 24 figure packs of Eagle Figures I chose to build the regiments with. I will actually build them up to 24 anyway for aesthetic reasons, but the packs come as 24 figures and two of those figures are Ensigns. I only need one ensign per regiment for the FIW, so I was always going to have at least one figure spare.

"Not to worry", I thought to myself. "I can use the spare ensigns for command vignettes, give them spades and whatever and make them into engineers/ sappers and I can use one of them for my Volontaires Etrangers unit, which is all singly based for games of "Muskets & Tomahawks"/ "Sharp Practice 2".

It went something like that, at any rate...

So here is that rallying cry to those Germans (and probably a few other nationalities too) in French service in the Volontaires Etrangers, in the form of an Eagle Figures ensign with home-made flag from calico hung on a brass wire pole.

With most French metropolitan (i.e. grey-coated) units having either red or blue facings, the green is a nice change! The flag is also simple enough to be easy to paint but distinct enough to be both recognisable and something slightly different.

If I ever get around to expanding my Seven Years' War French to the European theatre, then I will not be rushing to provide Swiss units, as their flags were anything but simple (!), but Auvergne will be an early addition with the lovely purple facings and simple purple and black flag!

G

One Volontaires Etrangers Ensign, showing the obverse side of the standard

And the reverse, of both flag and figure