Converting Prussian hussars

Hello fellow wargamers,

It has been a busy week for me at the university. I'm currently writing a thesis in history, but do not fear, I've painted some new stuff recently and done some converting.

When building my prussian force I talked to Anders the Elder and we decided that his french force should contain more line and heavy cavalry while I would use mainly light cavalry. Our experience so far with R2E has taught us that there is a great difference between the two sorts of cavalry. The light cavalry works excellent as a harassing force, to counter enemy movements, ambush isolated battalions and destroy artillery. The heavy and line cavalry on the other hand works much better as a stand off force, to control large areas of the table just by its presence. This difference in the choice of cavalry for our forces will create an interesting dynamic on the battlefield.

At first I wanted to make the 1st Silesian hussars in their brown and yellow jackets but I soon realised that in my all blue-and-gray brigade I wanted a dash of colour. I then decided to make the 2nd Silesian hussars, with their beautiful green, gold and red. It is funny how two regiments from the same region can look so different!

When it comes to prussian cavalry you can get it in metal from Perry or Calpe, all high quality models. As I'm planning to have a large amount of hussars in my force I need an easier way of quickly modeling the squadrons. After having discussed the issue with Anders the elder we came to the conclusion that we could use the Perry plastic french hussars with minor alterations to get the desired look. The durability and feel of plastic is something I also take into consideration (not saying that I won't use metal cavalry, don't worry).

The main difference is the horse furniture, elongated and square, easily converted with green stuff. The head with oilskin covered shako is from the Perry plastic prussian line infantry.

This is the result. A dashing hussar of the 2nd Silesian on campaign. A very fun model to paint, especially colour-wise. I really look forward to paint the whole regiment!

Most hussars won't have the pelisse (due to historical accuracy) but I will have some because that is what make them look like hussars!

Regards,

Anders the younger