Mounted Band of The Empress's Dragoons

Meet the Band

I've always wanted a Mounted Band and no one to my knowledge has ever made such a thing in 20mm.  I am also a bit overwhelmed by work at the moment, so no more squares for a while.  To fill in the gap I've had a go at converting some Les Higgins figures and Minifigs to make a mounted band. 

Whether there really were mounted bands at Waterloo must be questionable - by the Late Empire such extravagances would have been undesirable given the shortage of manpower and horses.  

This picture of the band of the 4th Dragoons is listed as 1813 - if true, this would mean that mounted bands were reconstituted after the Russian campaign.  But the pre-Bardin uniforms suggest this might be an earlier picture misattributed to 1813.  On the other hand, many Dragoon regiments were in Spain and escaped the 1812 holocaust.

We also know that the Allied Army at Waterloo was treated to the spectacle of a parade and the sound of bands as the French Army got into position before 1100hrs.  And if any regiments were likely to have such a thing, the Cavalry of the Imperial Guard seem the best candidates.

This Trumpeter has a red trumpet banner which I haven't seen elsewhere

A nice sketch showing campaign dress

Trumpeters and Kettle drummer

Kettle drummer, presumably painted from the same source

Trumpeter in campaign order

Full and campaign dress

On campaign

A nice image of a Trumpeter in full dress

I'm guessing the whole band would have been on greys

A wonderful evocation of the Empire at its height.

The Jingling Johnnie is a Les Higgins figure with a Strelets arm attached

Cymbalist - I made the cymbals from two bits of paper from a hole puncher

I like the snake heads on the trombones

The serpent player

The kettle drummer was fun to do.  He is the Art Miniaturen Roustam with feathers on top and drums fitted.

This British Light Dragoon band is parading through Dublin in the 1820s.  It shows the instruments that were typically used, including a 'Serpent'

Here is another Serpent