New to Napoleonics question

[doowopapocalypse]

I'm interested in starting a smallish Nap collection, but the sheer variety to uniforms have been stumping my google-fu. One of the units I'm interested in is the Chasseurs a cheval du consul's garde. Were they ever issued tarletons?

[Arthur]

They were never issued with chasseur helmets.

Between 1799 and 1800, the Chasseurs à cheval de la garde consulaire wore the uniform originally issued to Bonaparte's guides - i.e a dark green long-tailed coat with a braided red waistcoat and a bicorne. The new hussar-style uniform was introduced in 1800 but the long-tailed coat was retained for undress. The fur busby became the corps' distinctive headdress, though the bicorne continued to be worn on certain occasions.  

[robh]

As Arthur says, The Garde Consulaire Chasseurs a Cheval went straight from Bicorne to Colpack.

In 15mm and maybe 28mm....if you are not too picky, you could get away with figures in Tarleton for the "Line" Chasseur a Cheval units of the early Consular period. They were formed from the existing Volunteer Regiments and, amongst other styles of headgear, are shown in various styles of "Casquette de Pouf" which is very similar to the Tarleton (less bushy crest and some variants only 3/4 length).

[Arthur]

The casquette à pouf was only used in Egypt, and never by the mounted guides - who wore bicornes - or the chasseurs à cheval who wore a peaked shako-mirliton or a locally-made black shako. The foot guides were the only ones to be issued the leather casquettes, which were discontinued when the armée d'orient returned to France.  

Line chasseurs à cheval of the Consulate period mostly wore the 1801 shako. Prior to its introduction, mirlitons and peaked shako-mirlitons appear to have been the dominant form of headgear among the chasseurs during the 1800 Marengo campaign. The  ancien régime Tarleton-style helmet does not seem to have been seen much after 1798, though some units no doubt continued to use their old casques due to supply shortages.

As far as 28mm figures are concerned, I'd suggest the Brigade Games mounted guides for Marengo campaign Chasseurs à cheval de la Garde Consulaire and the Eureka Wars of the French Revolution range for bog-standard line chasseurs à cheval. The good thing about the Eureka range is that it gives you plenty of uniform and headgear options, including the Tarleton-style helmet if you must absolutely have it.    

The H&C books on Chasseurs à Cheval are a useful guide to the uniforms of the period, though they don't cover the Garde Consulaire. The text is in French but they're very heavily illustrated in full colour, which makes them easy to understand.  

http://livres.histoireetcollections.com/publication/2751/chasseurs-a-cheval-1779-1815-tome-1.html
http://livres.histoireetcollections.com/publication/2883/chasseurs-a-cheval-tome-2-1779-1815.html