The sapeurs marched at the very head of the regiment, and they looked the part: big men chosen for size and strength, set apart by the leather apron, the axe over the shoulder, and the full beard — a privilege granted to no other troops in an army that was otherwise clean-shaven or moustached. The beard and the crossed-axe badge marked an elite within the elite. Their work was not ceremonial. In the assault it was the sappers who went forward with axes to hack down gates, palisades, and the felled-tree abatis that blocked a column's path, doing it under fire so the infantry behind them could pour through the breach they cut.

The figure shows the sapeur in full dress — the white leather apron over the dark blue coat, red epaulettes, the crossed-axe badge on his sleeve, white gauntlets, and the full beard beneath a plumed bearskin — both hands resting on the haft of his grounded axe. He is built to lead a parade or open a column. Set him at the head of the march ahead of a French Imperial Guard Drummer, with the French Imperial Guard Eagle carried behind and an Imperial Guard at Present Arms rendering honors as the column passes.

W. Britain model 36185. 1/30 scale (approximately 60mm), matte-painted metal. Single foot figure on a sculpted groundwork base. Boxed.