Although Britain’s light infantry were given the normal infantry training, they were also trained to fight individually and use initiative, particularly in their choice of targets. They tried to select high-value targets, particularly officers, and the higher the rank (perhaps mounted), the better. To achieve this, they were sometimes issued with better muskets than the ordinary line infantry, since improved accuracy could make a difference to their performance, as opposed to ordinary volley fire, which infrequently hit anything at more than short range. Not that such weapons were a great improvement – rifled muskets were better but mainly issued to rifle regiments like the 95th – but lights might have a slightly shorter weapon, and a second sight, which helped with aiming. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of a light infantryman lay more in his ability to get close to a target unseen, then in the precision of his weapon.

Whatever the musket issued, the means of loading and firing it were the same, and so the poses in this set are a mix of men doing just that, either standing or kneeling. As such, all are appropriate, and nicely realised, although the men standing with legs tight together would not have the most stable of bases from which to give fire – a more relaxed stance would be better. The command figures include a sergeant also reloading, a bugler who is both using his bugle and holding a standard, an officer lying on the ground and another holding a pistol. The bugler with the flag is a very unusual combination, and clearly an emergency measure suggesting the ensign has fallen, but the downed officer is a timely reminder that officers were just as much at risk as their men when in the front line. The last man is relatively unusual, as pistols were not regular issue, but officers pleased themselves in many respects, and some did provide themselves with pistols. So here there is a range of standard and very useful poses, plus a couple of more unusual ones which are nonetheless possible.

Like the companion sets on this subject, the sculpting is very nice, with decent detail everywhere and good proportions, making for some nicely elegant figurines. The muskets are lacking any definition along the barrel, but at anything other than very close range, these are perfectly well done. The level of flash is about average, so most seams have some, but nothing particularly onerous.

The uniform is correctly represented for light infantry troops for much of the Napoleonic Wars. The same laced coat and trousers as worn by most other infantry are here, along with the shako which the lights retained later than other branches, and which became something of a mark of their role. The wings on the shoulders were a more obvious indication of their elite status, but otherwise their appearance was conventional. The same applied to their kit, and here all the men have the full knapsack along with the water bottle, cartridge pouch, haversack and bayonet scabbard. A rolled blanket on the pack completes the picture. The two officers have the officer’s jacket and the sash round the waist. One wears his sword from a belt round the waist, while the other has his from a belt over the shoulder – both are acceptable. The standing man wears topped boots, but is more noteworthy for being bareheaded, like his downed colleague, which might be considered being improperly dressed, but must have happened in the heat of battle. The flagstaff is 39 mm in length to the top of the finial, which is 2.8 metres, and a little short, but offers the customer an easy opportunity to affix a paper flag of their own, for which there is plenty of room.

With good sculpting, useful poses, and no apparent accuracy issues, this is a fine set. In general, such men did not fix bayonets when firing as this altered the weight of the musket and adversely affected accuracy, but the set title makes it clear that they are in a firing line rather than skirmishing, and anyway bayonets are easy to trim off (we much prefer to have them provided, giving the option to cut them off, than to have them missing). The command figures are not particularly standard, but as Strelets have made many sets for this subject, they can afford to provide some more interesting and unusual poses in some of their sets. Viewed in conjunction with the rest of the range then, this collection provides many suitable figures for a light infantry firing line, as well as some for other situations too.