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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS & DETAILS ABOUT THE FLAGS

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 1. What flags are included in this set?

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• The individual paper flags are designed to be cut-out and glued to metal or plastic miniatures.

• This set includes 200+ miniature flags featuring the armies that fought at the Battle of Waterloo.

• The flags are laid out in the battle order of the day, along with the named commanding officers of corps, division and brigade from all nations.

• Only regiments that were present on the battlefield on the 18th June are included. For example, the flag of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Foot Chasseurs of the Old Guard, who were guarding the Emperor's treasure at Le Caillou, is excluded, as well as Grouchy's forces at Wavre.

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 2. What size miniatures do the flags fit?

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• 15mm and 18 mm metal miniatures - these flags have been physically measured to fit the 15 mm range of "Minifigs" and the 18 mm of "AB figures".

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​3. How should I fix the flag to the miniature flag pole? 

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• The best glue to use is one that doesn't dry too quickly so that you can manipulate the flag into its final position before it dries. This will allow you to form twists and turns in the flag to depict it waving and bellowing in the wind, if desired. The flags already include artistic depictions of "folds and creases", but physically bending the flags will definitely increase the realistic effect, as veteran modellers will know!

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 4. How accurate are the flags historically?

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• The flags carried by the Prussian regiments at Waterloo, pose a particular problem, because according to historical records, only a handful of regiments were supposed to have carried any flags at all! These were the four regular line regiments present (2nd, 9th, 10th and 11th), although at least one of these is also known to have lost their standard at a previous battle (10th), and so almost certainly wasn't carrying it at Waterloo - and two dragoon regiments (2nd, 5th).

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• The remaining line regiments were in somewhat of a transitional state. Having previously been reserve regiments in the army, they were awarded regular line infantry status prior to the Waterloo campaign, but had not yet been issued their new standards (12th, 15th, 18th, 24th, 25th, 26th), so logically, they should not have been carrying any. The Prussian Landwehr too, had been officially instructed not to carry flags. This was, it seems, in response to the variety of unofficial flags being carried into campaigns by both the Landwehr and reserve regiments.

 

• So, to produce this set, some decisions had to be made. Quite clearly, if we follow what history states, then there's no real need to create a Waterloo Prussian flag set at all, because so very few flags were officially carried. But we are in the business of creating personal, miniature armies, and many people prefer to have flags for all of their regiments!

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• It is for this reason that I also offer a flag for all three battalions of Prussian infantry in this set, even though it was only the two Musketeer battalions that had colours. The third battalion of Fusiliers used for skirmishing, were not issued with flags until after Waterloo. I also decided, for consistency, to include a Leibfahne (white) for the 1st battalions of both the 10th and 11th Infantry, although these may not have been in historical use.

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• Most designers of flags for miniatures, naturally draw on the few sources that refer to flags from previous campaigns, in 1813 and 14, and I'm not going to stray too far from that logical path here.

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• What I have set out to do, therefore, is to present a flexible choice of flags for both the former Reserve and Landwehr regiments:

 

• For the Landwehr, one can choose from:

  • Generic Prussian flags - these feature historically known details of some Landwehr flags

  • Flags based on conjecture - these designs utilise coat of arms and the various Prussian state Eagles, to produce flags that give some identity.

 

• For the Line regiments (formerly 'Reserve'):

  • Flags issued in late 1815 - these are the flags they were eventually issued a few months after the Waterloo campaign.

  • Generic Prussian flags - these mainly Landwehr designs, may or may not have also been used by Reserve regiments.

 

• I have also created flags for all the Prussian light cavalry units, even though we know they were not carried into the field. The general designs for the Hussars and Uhlans should be fairly accurate, although the flag field colours are speculative, being based here on uniform facing colours.

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• So in the absence of fact, I have done my best to produce a set of realistic-looking flag designs for the Prussian Army at Waterloo. I hope you will find them inspirational.

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5. Why did you create these sets of flags?

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• I'm personally building the armies of Waterloo in metal miniatures, and I wanted a flexible set of flags available to choose from, so I started to create my own. I later wondered if other wargamers and collectors who had a similar goal, might also be interested in my designs, which prompted me to go ahead and create these sets. There is already a good choice of some very good flag products on the market. I just personally found them either too expensive, or not offering the flexibility of choice that I wanted, or in some cases, even the correct shade of French blue for the Empire!

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• With the experience of having collected and painted the Waterloo armies in both the popular 15 mm range of Minifigs, and also now in 18 mm with AB Figures, I decided to make the flags suitable to fit either range. Also, with the growing popularity of 10 mm scale figures, I decided to expand the set to include this scale as well.

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• My miniature armies will also be fighting both brigade and battalion-level battles, and I wanted flags for all occasions, so that I could interchange between using my units as either a battalion or brigade, as required. I knew that I would never use ALL of the flags I recreated for all the regiments and battalions, but I still wanted the luxury to decide from a wide selection nonetheless, allowing me the flexibility to adapt and change my mind as and when!

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• This flag range is primarily designed to give you flexibility and an abundance of choice, without breaking the bank!

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Whatever your own personal aims and ambitions are for building your own miniature Waterloo or Napoleonic armies, I truly hope these sets of flags will fulfil a practical need for you, and will help bring that special peace, enjoyment and sense of fulfilment we all enjoy from this eclectic and absorbing interest we share.

​​Michael,

TBW

 

P.S. My original intention was to focus only on the Battle of Waterloo, as it's my special interest. However, some good folk have asked me about creating other ranges. My feeling is that there are many good flag sets out there in the world already, so I will have to wait and see if my efforts are required. Feedback is therefore essential in order for me to decide, so please let me know what you think, and why!