Del Prado · Figure study
This corporal carries his rifle over the shoulder and wears practical khaki rather than the green dress associated with the Rifle Brigade’s earlier history. The figure makes continuity and change visible within one regimental tradition.
A name that survives translation badly
The reference listing’s English wording renders the French description as “Brigade Fusiliers.” The accompanying subject is the British Rifle Brigade corporal of 1914. Keep that regimental name in the collection record rather than treating “fusilier” as a precise English unit identification. Del Prado’s international editions make these translation details especially important when matching loose figures to old booklets.
Equipment carries much of the visual story
The peaked cap, puttees and prominent ammunition equipment give the figure its early-war outline. The rifle lies across the shoulder rather than pointing toward an opponent, so the viewer can examine the body without a weapon masking the chest. The sculpt reads as a man between actions or on the move. It does not need a trench wall to establish that he is a soldier of the war.
Make the comparison specific
Beside a green-coated Napoleonic rifleman, discuss the change in clothing and equipment rather than assuming the same weapon or tactics continued unchanged. Beside a later steel-helmeted figure, the cap becomes the clearest chronological contrast. Check the rifle’s length and attachment at the shoulder, the cap brim and the base. Those details matter more for identification than a seller’s broad label of “British Tommy,” which can cover many different Del Prado releases.