This set could be described as the companion to all the other sets of early Peninsular War Spanish infantry HaT have produced because it contains just those extra figures which everyone needs but not in large quantities. We have already reviewed all those sets, so see those pages for discussions of the finer points of uniform etc., but in brief all these sets represent the Spanish armies of the early Peninsular War, mostly the regulations of 1805.
The first figure in each row above is a flag-bearer, the upper being for the line infantry and the lower for the grenadiers. Both are correctly uniformed for the c.1808 time frame, and both carry a staff with finial and cords but no flag. Since Spanish infantry flags varied greatly both in design and size this is fine, although we would have liked the staff to be a bit longer. Also the quite soft plastic means the staff tends to be curved and difficult to use - a strong paper flag should remedy this however. Next we have drummers, again for the line infantry and grenadiers top and bottom. Here the drums are separate, and themselves made up of two halves each, so there are no compromises resulting in excess plastic. The grenadier is playing his while the other man is not, but both poses are good. To complete the musician picture we have a hornist in the middle of the top row. Spanish light infantry had drummers, but it seems that in line with other countries it also had hornists, at least by the time the French influence was at its strongest in 1808, which is what this figure is depicting.
The middle of the lower row shows us the pioneer, carrying a spade on his right shoulder. This is the only other separate piece in the set - his right arm and spade - which like the drums fits well and is a good idea. Details of pioneer uniforms varied a good deal between regiments, but this one is as typical as any. He has a large bearskin with a very large plate and a long bag at the back. He correctly wears fringe-less epaulettes and has tassel decoration from the pockets on his apron. In fact he is a pioneer of a grenadier company as the match case on his shoulder belt, the decorated pouch and the bag at the back of the bearskin show. A really nice figure and just about the pick of the bunch in our view.
The last two figures in the top row are of NCOs for the light infantry and the line infantry. Again the uniform is properly done and these are useful additions to their respective sets. The bottom two remaining figures are of general officers. One man has his sword belt around the waist and of course wears his gorget as he leads his men forward, while the other has his sword from a shoulder belt and has wrapped his blanket/cloak/coat round his body. Both are a necessary addition to the normal troops of course and the choice of poses means you can have one in the midst of the action and the other perhaps with his men waiting to move forward.
Clearly these figures were sculpted by the same hand that did all the other sets, so they match perfectly in style. The sculpting is good but occasionally gets a bit vague or goes astray, as with the right leg of the advancing officer. Nevertheless detail is good and these are nice figures with almost no flash that benefit from the little assembly that is required.
Like all command sets this offers greater flexibility, particularly for wargamers, and the 10 poses add important elements to all three infantry sets. The accuracy can’t be faulted and the figures are attractive and well produced, so it simply does the job and rounds off this particular series of figures very nicely.