The Germans called them the black devils, which was both a nickname and an accurate description of the cloth. The Carabiniers were Belgium's light infantry, and light infantry across Europe wore green — but the Belgian green was so dark that at any distance, in any weather, it read as black. The greatcoats especially. Officially the trousers were Marengo-grey piped yellow; in practice they ran from dark mouse-grey almost to black and were frequently not piped at all. The regiment kept a Corsican hat of black felt for service dress, and a field cap with a yellow band and a bugle-horn badge — which is what these six are wearing.

Six men, all kneeling, all firing. Tradition has done one pose six times, which is what a firing line actually looked like. In a diorama they are the rank the rest of the cluster forms around: put the standing firing line behind them, the machine gun set out on the flank, and the dog cart bringing another gun up the road.

Tradition of London model 833. 54mm, white metal, hand-painted in gloss enamel. Six-figure set — Belgian Carabiniers of the 1st Regiment, kneeling firing, 1914. Supplied in the Tradition Classic Red Box. Allow 2–3 weeks delivery.