FIW French 5

This is the second unit for my French FIW force to be finished — the Canadian militia. The milicien were tough fighters who saw a lot of action due to the shortage of regular troops in New France. The red caps would have them originating from Quebec, although this coordinated system wasn't in place until 1759, when the war was all but over. But mainly, I just picked a colour that looked good and would make them easier to recognize on the gaming table! Four of them are dressed for cold weather in capotes — hooded coats made of thick wool, typical of this area and era.

I said in my last post I found the miniatures from Galloping Major a bit lacking, and as you can see they are not as finely detailed as the ones from North Star, but with some paint on them they turned out all right.

Here are some close-ups:

I experimented a bit more on the bases of these miniatures, adding some extra details, which I think looks quite good but I'm not "there" just yet. The movement tray in the top photo is a work in progress; I will add a bit more details to it. I also did some more detailing on the bases of the Compagnie franches de la marine unit, to bring them up to the same standard (sorry for the slightly blurry photo):

Now it's just the indians to do! I'm really looking forward to painting them, and to try my hand at some war paintings.