Greetings from Nottingham

A section devoted to questions and answers for this period.
Rob Herrick
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Re: Greetings from Nottingham

Post by Rob Herrick » Tue Jan 24, 2012 2:31 am

Hey thanks Nick! Email is on the way.
With Gen'l Custer Down in Mexico: Yes, one of the goals is to see how many times one can get him killed.
Rob Herrick
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Re: Greetings from Nottingham

Post by Rob Herrick » Sat Feb 04, 2012 9:52 pm

Thanks, Nick. Your 1672 Frenchman arrived today, and a nice cast he is indeed!

Though he does raise a question - how much before 1672 and after 1672 did that uniform style last for the French army? Are they just for the Dutch War, or can they go as far back as the Dunes or as far forward as the LOA?
With Gen'l Custer Down in Mexico: Yes, one of the goals is to see how many times one can get him killed.
Nicknorthstar
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Re: Greetings from Nottingham

Post by Nicknorthstar » Sun Feb 05, 2012 9:08 pm

Trouble with buying a range 'off the shelf' like I did with this line, I didn't do all the ground work in the research department, we've concentrated on the packs we need to make to finish the range.

Mr Copplestone did confess the French are more 1660's than 1670's, but that fashion wasn't that rigid and so the styles were still being worn into the 1670s. Copplestone ended his range at 1680 because then fashion does take a change, I think waist belts come in around 1683 for swords and equipment which give a distinct change in the style.

Whether they'll do for as far back as 1658, others here would have to comment. Looking at paintings of the battle, my range could certainly do if you want to fudge it!

On a different note, we've a couple of packs of Firelock armed musketeers ready to go in the next week or so. I'll be painting up some as Dutch Guards and some as the Maritime regiment.
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Arthur
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Re: Greetings from Nottingham

Post by Arthur » Mon Feb 06, 2012 11:32 pm

The 1672/Glory of the Sun French figures roughly cover the 1665-1675 period. From the early 1670's onward, the sleeves became a little longer, ending below the elbow instead of above it and reaching the mid-forearm by the end of the decade. But as Nick says, it was a gradual process and with a little artistic/wargamer's licence, the figures will pass muster for most of the Dutch war.

If you want to be finicky about it, they won't fit the bill for the battle of the Dunes. The late 1650's were a transitional period between the classic TYW/ECW doublet/short jacket and the longer coats which appeared in the 1660's. Here's what French infantry would have looked like in 1660, though some men may well have sported older fashions in 1658:
Image
Though they look like skirts on the pic, the baggy trousers were a trademark of the French infantry until the early 1660's when they were replaced with the more conventional breeches worn all over Europe.

Re the accoutrements, the crossbelts and the apostles were indeed replaced in 1683 with a waistbelt for the sword and a very narrow shoulder strap for the powder horn - though it probably was a few years before the crossbelts disappeared completely. In the period engraving below, Figure A shows a typical mid to late 1670's French musketeer with crossbelts : note how much longer the sleeves have become. The various B figures show the new 1683 pattern equipment, with the powder horn strap being so narrow as to look like a piece of string :

Image
One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I'll never know.
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