Napoleon in Egypt - Expédition Baïonnette en Argent

The start of this project very much mirrors my other Silver Bayonet project. Back when the Silver Bayonet was first announced, I was very intrigued and started having a nose at possible models, looking for potential individual characters from the typically mass ranked figures that (understandably) comprise the majority of Napoleonic miniature ranges. Very quickly I got locked onto the Perrys’ Retreat from Moscow figures; very individual, dynamically posed characters, perfect for a small unit, and giving an interesting theme to set my game within (with the added benefit of 1812 Russia being very different to my Peninsula Napoleonic collection). The idea was to keep the ‘historic’ aspects fairly accurate, and then add in the more fantastical/horror elements with the monsters, giving me the option of also using the soldiers for other Napoleonic games.

Fast forward to now, and a similar thing has happened with the upcoming Silver Bayonet: Egypt book. Joseph McCullough spoke about the expansion in some interviews with OTT in September, which got me looking into what figures are available for this period of Napoleonic warfare. Although the Perrys do have a very nice range of French in Egypt models, and a lovely new range of Ottomans, the models that caught my eye were from Brigade Games in the US –figures sculpted by the very talented Paul Hicks. One of the draws is that some of Paul’s mounted figures have dismounted equivalents based on the same individual models, a pretty important thing for a skirmish game where a cavalry model needs both mounted/on foot versions. The other draw was simply the very characterful sculpts, which also represent a lot of the things I was looking for – officers, camelry, scientists, soldiers, some irregulars as possible bandits…

In terms of research for the period, I’m using a pair of books – Napoleons’ Campaigns in Egypt Vol. 1 & 2 by Charles Grant. The former covers the French, whilst the latter details the British, Egyptians and Ottomans. Each volume is filled with superb illustrations by Bob Marrion, which are going be used as guides and inspiration for painting.

As per my other Silver Bayonet project, the goal is to try for a relatively high level of historical accuracy on the figures, and then add in the beasties and other supernatural elements. As of yet, I’ve no idea what types of monsters might be necessary for the Egypt setting, other than Joe mentioning crocodiles. I’ll also need to make up some new clue markers.