Despite successful experiments with light infantry in the American War, by the early years of the Napoleonic Wars, most of Britain’s light troops were foreigners in British service, and few in number, so early in the new century, work had to begin almost from scratch to create new units to counter the successful French tactics. While there was disagreement over how they should be used, these units performed well in the Peninsular War, and became an important part of the infantry from then on.

While some units like the famous 95th Rifles adopted a different uniform, much of the light infantry wore a similar uniform to the normal regiments, with the same red coat and grey campaign trousers. As elite troops they had wings on the shoulders, and the traditional bugle horn badge on shako and equipment, and when the rest of the infantry adopted the new model shako from 1812, the lights kept their stovepipe one, which became their most distinctive feature by the end of the period. The figures in this set are appropriately clothed, although a few wear a cover over their shako, which largely disguises its shape. Equipment too was standard throughout the infantry, and each man here has cartridge pouch, haversack, water bottle, bayonet scabbard and Trotter knapsack. The sergeant (fourth man in the second row) has all of this except for the cartridge pouch and bayonet, and the bugler next to him is the same, but has a sword. The two senior officers have just their swords, and a sash round the waist along with their officer’s coat, while one wears a cocked hat. This man has twin fringed epaulettes rather than wings, indicating that he is probably a major or higher, though this was not an absolute rule.

The name of the set tells you all you need to know about the poses, or rather the pose. All the troops are at order arms, and the differences between the poses are down to small details like arrangement of kit. As always, this makes for a more natural scene of men all trying to do the same thing, so looks much better than ranks of identical figures. The junior officers are also at attention, but the senior one is more relaxed, perhaps addressing the troops. For troops on parade, this is all very good.

As with the other sets of British light infantry from Strelets, this one is nicely sculpted, but a close inspection reveals some relatively small issues. The detail is good but a bit hit and miss, and sometimes elements are not complete, such as the cord on which the bugle hangs, which is partly missing. We would say there is an average amount of flash here, but the simple poses mean there is no extra plastic in need of removal.

The one problem with accuracy in this set is with a single figure – the sergeant. Light infantry sergeants carried a fusil rather than the spontoon shown here, and also a bayonet and ammunition for it, all of which are missing. This figure could still be used for a pre-1812 regular infantry sergeant (possibly after removing the stripes from one arm), so it is not a waste, but does not belong in this set. Otherwise there is not much else to say about these figures, which are reasonably sculpted, accurately done, and in a simple but very useful pose. The senior officer with hands on hips brings a little life to a set that by design is stiff and formal, but anyone wanting ranks of such men will find all they could need here.