From a building viewpoint, there is little different in this figure from previous Fusilier figures. The pom-pom is the head of a dressing pin (although I did go a little nuts and paint an "N" for "Napoleon" in the center of it) and the shako is 1/2 of a spool. I have taken to using printouts for the shako plates, as I can draw far better than I can paint, although this is a bit taken from a picture and modified. I decided to paint the shako's leather band white, to give the figure more pizazz, as my source showed it the same gray band as the Fusiliers. Call it either artistic license, or the prerogative of the regiment's commander.
The body is a pawn, only modified by flattening the top of the head to make the shako fit better. I put some detail in the face, but not as much as previous Fusilier figures. I wanted the drummer boyish, so I painted no facial fair and gave him a cleft chin.
The arms use a new method for attaching to the body. I drill a hold through the arm part and the pawn body, then connect them using a toothpick-sized round dowel. Once the arm is in place and properly positioned I can add a little glue in the cracks using a toothpick to fix it in place.
I drilled holes in the hands to push the drumsticks through and positioned them so the drumsticks crossed, making it look like he is performing a roll on the drum. To get these positions I had to drill through the hands at an angle. Again, I went a little crazy playing with my new sanding bits for my Dremel and started shaping the tip of the drumstick. Usually you cannot see such details, but I think the picture above, because of the lighting, actually shows it pretty well. (Another reason to paint 42mm figures!)
The feet are the same as my newer figures: a 3/4" heart shape sanded down a bit.
The last piece is the drum itself, which is a simple spool, much smaller than the one used for the shako or the horse bodies. Again, I attached it to the body by drilling a hole into both the drum and the pawn, using a mini-dowel to attach. This gives more surface area for the glue, plus those pieces are not painted, so the bond is stronger.
Well, next up is a French Ligne Officer (1812) in Bicorne and Greatcoat. The final specialty figure will be the Eagle Bearer of the unit.
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