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MEN AT ARMS 107 
BRITISH INFANTRY EQUIPMENTS (1) 
1808 - 1908 

by Mike Chappel

 

S u m m a r y
Publishers Details: Osprey Publishing, Elms Court, Chapel Way, Botley, Oxford OX2 9LP, UK, 
ISBN: 1 85532 838 0
Contents: 48 pages with photographs, sketches and colour plates by the author
Price: £7.99/US$12.95
Review Type: Book Review
Advantages: Superb reference for figure modellers showing the packs, belts and accessories used by the British Army in the period. Easily available through the book trade.
Disadvantages: Only the wait to see whether the other two volumes of the British Equipment set will also be revised.
Recommendation: Highly Recommended to all figure modellers interested in the British Army from the mid-Napoleonic period to just before WWI.

 

Reviewed by John Prigent

 

FullRead

 

The original version of this book was good, but this revised reprint is superb. 

Mike Chappell has spent the time since its first publication in 1980 on additional research and the result is this complete update. The colour plates are new, and the text is heavily revised and corrected so even those who have the long out-of-print original should find this new edition a worthwhile investment. 

All the service equipments are comprehensively described and illustrated, from the Trotter knapsack to the 1903 Bandolier pattern, and only a few of the experimental rigs are covered in less detail. A whole section compares the load of the common soldier over the period with the modern standard and assesses the effect of the desired "military appearance" on marching and fighting efficiency, and officers' equipment is not neglected.

Anyone either scratchbuilding British Army figures, modifying commercial castings, or just wanting to check belt and pack colours before painting, will find this book invaluable.

Review Copyright © 1999 by John Prigent
Page Created 24 November, 1999
Last updated 22 July, 2003

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