Continental Riflemen, 1775–1783

Conversioni in Scala 1:72

The milizia americana set designed by Accurate Figures has a nice figure of a firing rifleman wearing a hunting shirt. Unfortunately, he seems to be firing into the trees, perhaps shooting at squirrel! This simple conversion returns the rifle to a level firing position normally required on the battlefield.

The mythology della rivoluzione americana has a nation of sharpshooting riflemen, hiding in cover, defeating the staid e formal inglese. This is far from the truth. Riflemen played little part in most battles, e the truppe britanniche were more adept at combat than we are led to believe.

One problem was the rifle itself which, although having a longer range than the musket, took longer to load e could not be fitted con a bayonet. Riflemen in the open could easily be driven off by determined bayonet charges. Riflemen usually came from the frontier regions, they were few in number, e they proved difficult to discipline. Nevertheless, American Riflemen served con distinction at Saratoga, Cowpens, Kings Mountain ed a number of other engagments.

The Pennsylvania Rifle della guerra di indipendenza americana was developed by skilled German e Swiss gunsmiths in Pennsylvania e Maryland. It was an intermediary step on the way to the famous Kentucky rifle del secolo XIX. Marksmen fired this weapon accurately to ranges of 300 yards, although 150 yards was its effective range.

The hunting shirt, as represented on the figure, was a common form of dress among all American soldiers. At one stage of the war, George Washington even proposed that it become the national uniform. The shirt was made from linen, linsey-wool o "tow cloth". It could be left its natural colour o dyed.

Parts Required

• Milizia Americana (2), 1:32 Accurate 3209
• Milizia Americana, 1:72 Accurate Figures 7201, also distributed as Revell 02604

Boiling the Figure

I do this conversion in the kitchen, con a saucepan of boiling water bubbling on the stove, ed a bowl of cold water nearby. Warning: Boiling water is dangerous, you must take extreme care not to come in contact con it. The figure itself does not conduct much heat, but any water drops adhering to the figure will burn you when the figure is handled carelessly.

The figure is placed into the boiling water for a few seconds. This should be done by holding the figure con tongs. The figure quickly becomes pliable from the heat. Remove the figure from the saucepan, e shake off any excess water. Pull down on the figure’s arm to straighten the rifle. Immediately plunge the figure into the cold water where it will set into its new shape.

If you make a mistake, simply put the figure back into the boiling water e repeat the process. The technique is versatile. It can be used to change the position of limbs e heads on polyethylene soldatini, either to introduce a variety of positions to the same figure o to reposition limbs for further conversion work.

Figure Variants

Additional conversion work can now be done. A simple head-swap con another figure in the milizia americana set will give each rifleman a choice of headgear such as a tricorn, round hat o Liberty cap.

Bibliografia

• Katcher, Philip: Il Soldato Americano, p. 16
• Allevi, Piersergio: Soldatini, p. 204

Anthony De Lyall

Domande più frequenti

Per ulteriori informazioni, per favore contatta la redazione di Rivista Military Miniatures nel Miniatures Forum.

Soldatini della Guerra di Indipendenza Americana

– Pubblicato: 1997 – Aggiornato: 26.07.1997
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