Armies spent lavishly to dress their musicians, and the Imperial Guard outdid them all. A drummer of the Guard wore the livrée impériale — the imperial livery lace, a distinctive braid sewn down every seam and across the chest, set with eagles and crowned Ns, topped by ornamental "wings" at the shoulders. It cost far more than a private's plain coat, and that was the point: musicians were the regiment on display, the figures the public saw first on parade and the enemy saw at the head of the column. A richly turned-out band advertised the wealth, pride, and discipline of the unit behind it, and no unit had more to advertise than Napoleon's own Guard.

The figure stands mid-beat in the full splendor of a Guard drummer — bearskin with red plume and brass plate, the blue coat ablaze with imperial livery lace and ornamental wings at the shoulders, the brass-shelled drum slung before him. He is the companion to the Guard's other drummer and the showpiece at the head of a parade diorama. Lead the column with a French Imperial Guard Sapper, fall the second French Imperial Guard Drummer in beside him to double the beat, and carry the French Imperial Guard Eagle behind them.

W. Britain model 36184. 1/30 scale (approximately 60mm), matte-painted metal. Single foot figure on a sculpted groundwork base. Boxed.