1:72 Napoleonic Russian Dragoons (1812-1815)

A horseman who could also fight on foot

The dragoon regiment arose originally as infantry on horseback, and the Russian units kept this dual nature to the end of the Napoleonic wars. The men wore a helmet with a crest of black horsehair, a long broadsword and a carbine, so they could dismount and fire from the ground. In the years 1812 to 1815 they served most often as a mounted reserve filling the gaps between the cuirassiers and the light regiments.

What a group of riders does for a scene

While a single figure gives a scene scale, a closed line of horses creates mass. The viewer then senses weight and momentum, that is the qualities for which the dragoons decided fights. On groundwork this can be expressed by a simple means: line the horses up side by side with small intervals and turn the head of one of them aside. Irregularity within an otherwise firm shape is what gives a scene life.

Working with the castings

• The broadsword standing out from the hip is easily broken off; separate it from the sprue with the last cut.
• Bring out the crest on the helmet with a dark shade, otherwise it merges with the outline of the head.
• It is enough to suggest the horse harness with two thin lines; more detail is lost in a small shape.
• Rinse the castings before varnishing, because a residue of mold release agent tends to be on the surface.

The set holds the figures only; paints and terrain are obtained separately.

Setting them in a battle scene

They look best in the second plane behind the infantry, where they suggest a reserve standing ready. Anyone who wants to capture the moment of commitment can lead the riders diagonally across the groundwork and leave a gap in front of them into which the viewer's eye turns naturally.