British Packs
I have just finished the 4th of Foot and I am starting on the 23rd. The Perry figures all have a pack and I was considering putting a large red circle with the Prince of Wales feathers on it. Was there a fixed convention for marking packs or if not is this a reasonable thing to do? I also noticed they had 2 other "badges" on their standard, would those have been used?

1) The three feathers was the principal badge of the 23rd Foot; if they used badges on their packs, it would definitely have been that one and not one of the other two on the colours. I would also suggest a blue circle, rather than a red one, given that they were a Royal regiment. 2) There was no convention for pack designs. Some units had the white goatskin "bag" type of pack, others the folding canvas "envelope" style. The former was left as was, the latter was usually waterproofed with paint (presumably oil based). No examples survive, but records from later periods suggest the following options:- a) outer flap painted in the facing colour with the number (Roman or Arabic numerals - I would guess whichever was easier) in white on a circle, usually red; b) outer flap painted red (oxide/rust colour, rather than coat colour), with the number in a dark colour on a white circle - Continental Army units often used red oxide, too; c) plain oiled/waxed canvas with the number in white on a circle of the regimental facing colour; or d) any of the above, with the hereditary regimental badge in place of the number where the unit was one of the "old corps" - beware though, as it seems some of these units still used numbers and only really got into the badge thing in the Napoleonic era (eg the 9th Foot, who may have used IX on their colours and drums rather than Britannia, prior to the 1800s).

Thanks for that Ronan. On Balance, do you think that they would have used the badge or the numerals? Or should I act like a CO of the period and please myself? After all I suppose I can claim to have purchased the regiment. :wink:

Given that they used the badge on the officers' belt plates and other bits of kit/uniform, I'd go with that. Unless you really want to paint XXIII on a dozen or so packs...... :shock: I thought Giles might have some examples to show, but I couldn't find a 23rd Foot on his site. I did find a 4th Foot, though, with gold lions on a blue patch:- http://gilesallison.blogspot.com/2007/07/4th-foot-kings-own-royal-regiment.html He also did Britannia on his 9th Foot (Saratoga) figures, which look nice.

Thanks Ronan.

Thanks for the links, chaps - you beat me to it! :D I'm a great believer in putting motifs on the back of packs, rather than just the numerals - it takes longer but makes the units a bit more individual, I think. That said, the only figures from the Perry/Foundry range that have back-packs on are the standing and marching ones (the latter only in the case of Foundry). Regrettably I didn't do any motifs on the back of the 71st Foot, which could have had nice purple thistles or something... :cry: Other fun ones to do would be a dragon for the Buffs (3rd Foot) and antelope for the 6th Foot, and you could do all manner of things for the Royal Irish (a pint of guinness, perhaps? :lol: )

Further to my previous answer, here is a close-up of a modern reproduction of the regimental colour:- http://www.dupagemilitaryflag.com/files/8835574.jpg You have two options for the badge on the pack, either Giles' route - the feathers in a dark blue circle on a brown/reddish flap, or a dark blue flap with the feathers in a red circle, as on the flag.

Or you could go with the motif in the upper right hand corner, what looks suspiciously like the creepy sun from the Teletubbies..... :shock: