Many thanks,I will definitley be doing the French as well. With this set there is a choice of heads for the Tommies,service cap (as in the picture) or Tam o Shanters.
Afraid Rectalgia is right, beautiful figures as always but you slope Arms with the rifle on the left hand/shoulder. Only time I'm aware of it going on the right hand/shoulder is on the march when an office can give the arm to put it on the other side (can't remember the order) to make it more comfortable for the men
Only time I'm aware of it going on the right hand/shoulder is on the march when an office can give the arm to put it on the other side (can't remember the order) to make it more comfortable for the men
I think it was "change - arms", pretty rare from the "slope", I think, once high-speed mechanised transport became available and the incidence of relatively long-distance marches in close-order was correspondingly reduced. "Change arms" also applied (and in later times) when carrying at the "trail arms". Not even sure if it (from the "slope") was in the drill manuals by WW2 though it certainly was used on occasion and it must have been included in earlier times. And later times - those fiddly little bull-pup designs of current arms are apparently quite fatiguing to carry at the "shoulder". Surely those things are never carried at the "slope"? - that would be even more fatiguing due to their short OAL.
One consideration I'm sure for the military mind concerning "on parade" with the SMLE etc. or taken for granted (it all fits in together) is that salutes were given with the right arm and hand. Not that the rank and file would generally be called upon to do that on parade but the platoon leader could well be a Sergeant (usually with rifle) and would "pay compliments" when presenting his formation to a superior (commissioned) officer.
Not sure what the Naval Division would have done in their early days (before Gen. Shute had his way with 'em). Not sure, I now realize, what current drill has to say about saluting from the "shoulder", whether a "change arms" is involved - but I digress and I'm sure it's jolly smart in any event - I don't share the Punch's jaundiced (1890) view of the modern military and relatively relaxed standards of discipline:
Beside the point, but for the sake of correcting my previous comment, I see the Brits DO slope those little SA80/L85A2 (current) rifles of theirs - and apparently "change arms" frequently when they do. But, again, the .303 SMLE was carried on the left shoulder at the slope, would seldom be seen on the right and never so on parade, IMO.
