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All figures are supplied unpainted (Numbers of each pose in brackets)
| Date Released |
1971 |
| Contents |
25 figures, 6 horses and 3 guns |
| Poses |
7 poses, 2 horse poses |
| Material |
Plastic (Medium Consistency) |
| Colours |
Cream, Dark Blue, Sky Blue, White |
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Average Height
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22 mm (= 1.58 m)
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By the time Napoleon started training as an artillery officer, France had already adopted the best artillery system in Europe, that of Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval. Napoleon added little to this, but made big changes to the way artillery was deployed, with the effect that his artillery was the finest in Europe, if never as large as he would have liked.
This set comes with three guns which Airfix announced as 4-pounders. In fact they are a little small even for that diminutive calibre, but there are many more serious faults than that. Though the barrel itself is fair the carriage has had little attention paid to how the original looked, and apart from having the classic two 'cheeks' it really has nothing in common with the real thing. It is greatly simplified and has cross-pieces missing and in the wrong place. The wheels have nine spokes when they should have 12, and both the wheels and the whole carriage are much too small. The top of the wheels stand 108 cms tall, about waist height, when they should be 135 cms tall for this calibre.
The limber is worse still, being nothing more than a peg on wheels onto which the gun can be lifted. In reality this was a far more sophisticated device, but this model is the absolute basic and completely inaccurate. Most glaring of all is that it has a two horse team when four were used for 4-pounders. As is usual with Airfix the horses are 'pegged' onto the limber, with no attempt at harness etc. The wheels of the limber are 72 cms high, when they should be 102 - about the height of the supplied cannon wheels. Also they have nine spokes like the cannon when they should have 10.
So, nothing good to say about the cannon and limber, but how about the men? Well, they wear the uniform with the double-breasted jacket with closed lapels that was introduced in 1812 (and appeared in 1813) for both artillery and infantry. They have the shorter gaiters and the shako with the correct features, so they are certainly appropriate for Waterloo. Curiously all are wearing a full pack, which while entirely right for the marching figure, would be very unlikely for the men actually serving the guns, and they also have swords which are much too long. The detail is not very good, so for example none of the men have straps to keep the packs on. The style of sculpting seems similar to the later French Infantry set, though these are not as bad as those. Poses are unusual in that as well as the standard crew ones there is a sergeant figure and another on the march. Both are very useful, though there are three teams of horses but only two sergeants to lead them.
The amount of flash on these figures is variable, but the detail is not good and they do show their age. At the time they were made there was no real competition, but several other companies have since made much better sets, though none have done line foot artillery. Replacing the guns and limbers entirely and some deft work with a paintbrush will resolve or hide many of the problems, but as it stands this must be one of the poorest Napoleonic artillery sets ever made.
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Historical Accuracy
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 4
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Pose Quality
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 8
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Pose Number
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 6
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Sculpting
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 5
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Mould
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 7
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