The Royal Marines - four red coats forward, Lieutenant and Sergeant commanding from the rear with personal riflemen.

Gory Red across the armour coat. Dark Grey on the lower half trousers and legs - the Napoleonic-era infantry trouser colour. Heavy Nuln Oil applied over the whole model except the gold when painting is complete, to convey hard campaign service.

Napoleonic officers were known to come from wealth and dressed accordingly. Kyle blinged the Lieutenant up accordingly - Retributor Gold (brighter and warmer than the Liberator Gold used on the enlisted ranks) washed with Seraphim Sepia. White quads with Dark Grey lower shins and feet to distinguish his rank on the table.

The Lieutenant and his personal riflemen - note the extra shiny Retributor Gold versus the rank-and-file Liberator Gold.

The Sergeant carries Liberator Gold trim (slightly darker than the Lieutenant's Retributor) and Seraphim Sepia wash. His banner features the squad's Napoleonic colours - Gory Red, Corax White, Medium Olive and Khaki, freehanded by Kyle. His weapon is a bolter-chainsword conversion that has achieved legend status: the chainsword hilt was cut away, the bolter foregrip ground down, and the two pieces joined together in a way that actually makes visual sense.

The Sergeant - Liberator Gold, Scorpy Green eyes, bolter-chainsword conversion.

The Shakos - the iconic tall cylindrical helmets of Napoleonic infantry - are scratch built from Evergreen tubing cut at an angle, with sheet styrene punched for the brim. The circular brass regimental icons on the front of each hat are cut from styrene sheet stock. Vallejo Black for the shako body, Liberator Gold for the regimental icons.

Bayonets scratch built from Evergreen angle L-section cut to length with a wedge removed to form a sharp point, mounted to the bolters using K&S brass wire or rod. The bayonet-on-musket is one of the defining silhouettes of War of 1812 infantry and it translates directly onto a bolter barrel with convincing results.

Leadbelcher and Nuln Oil on the metal parts. Weapon casings in AK Dark Brown - a dark wooden musket-stock tone rather than the standard black casing, keeping the historical reference running through every element of the model.

Super bright Scorpy Green on all eye lenses - a vivid, almost fluorescent green that pops against the dark armour and picks up the colour of the riflemen's coats at the same time.

The 95th Rifles wore distinctive dark green rather than red - designed to blend into terrain where the line infantry's red coat would be conspicuous. Kyle's riflemen use Game Color Dark Green as the base, Vallejo Black trim. Weapon scopes painted black with Liberator Gold accents, inspired by the aged brass and black of early telescopic sights. Same dark grey trousers as the red coats. Same heavy Nuln Oil overall finish.

Vallejo Black for the main backpack body, referencing the dark leather packs of the Napoleonic era. The top section is painted Dark Grey to represent the rolled blanket or wool bedroll that infantry carried lashed to the top of their pack. Liberator Gold trim, Leadbelcher on the exhausts.

A mix of fine and medium buff ballast from Woodland Scenics, secured with Army Painter PVA. The two particle sizes together give more natural ground texture than a single grade alone.

The Royal Marines - full deployment.

All paints and modelling supplies used in this guide are in stock at Wheels and Wings Hobbies in Toronto, available online with Canada-wide shipping. Happy Canada Day.