A French Revolutionary balloon

First, an apology is due as I haven't posted for some time about our beloved period.

but I wasn't idle this period as a long time wish came true: adding a balloon to the French Revolutionary army.

The ready product is here; hovering about the great defenders of the revolutionary ideas! The pictures are taken at home and are not the best!

As always I tried to use things at hand to make the balloon; so some pictures how I made it:

First I took an styreen ball of 15cm diamter and a net from mandarins. A small basket was made by a friend (in fact it is crochet - is that the correct word?) and connect the basket with some strings to the netting.

 
Of course the balloon needs to hang in the air so I had to make a hook which in fact is a plastic rod for closing and  openings curtains which with a candleflame was bent.

And of course it need a stand which was made of leftover plastic sheet, a piece of wood in which I drilled a hole as wide as the rod was, plaster etc

And at last making the terrain of the stand:

Et voila, a balloon is ready

On the terrain and in the balloon basket, Victrix 1804-1812 artillerymen in various poses; maybe not totally correct for this period but the possibility to change armpositions was very usefull.

Completed Armee du Nord infantry brigade

At last a completed (well, one battalion gun is still missing) infantry brigade of the Armee du Nord 1793-1795 consisting of two demi brigades each of one line and two volunteer battalions, a small combined grenadier battalion and an artillery battery (8 pdr).

Most of the figures are Eureka, with a sprinkling of some other firms. 

Each battalion will be of 6 bases of which one is a battalion gun (the regulars are missing one base of infantry and the battalion guns should imho be manned by white coated artillerymen from the battalion itself). Also one volunteer battalion misses its battalion gun. All missing parts are being in the painting que. 

The artillery battery consists of two guns, a dismounted artillery officer, a limber and ammunition caisson. It needs some room when deployed.