I'm working on this Prussian Hussar bust from Young Miniatures and I was hoping to get some information on the subject from the community here


I'm not as familiar with the Prussian Hussars as I am with the French ones. I've been trying to find information online but what I'm finding hasn't been clearing anything up for me. Here are a couple questions...

What era is this figure supposed to be? Or what eras could it be? Is this mid 1700's or possibly during the Napoleonic wars too?

The uniform in the box art looks like more of a dark green or a black green. I see other examples where the uniform is pure black. Is the dark green meant to be a faded black dye or was that the intended color?

I've seen images where the uniform is black with white details, others the same but with red colors and cuffs. Then there are some Pegaso figures that are similar but are black with blue details, but these are troops under the Duke of Brunswick.

Also, in my online searches I came across this image where the hussar has something written on the cloth wrapped around his mirleton. It looks like 'Vaincre ou mou...", I'm guessing it's supposed to be 'Vaincre ou mourir" - conquer or die. Would these hussars have something like this written on their headgear? If so, would it be in French like the image or in German? It'd be a neat detail to add if there is any evidence behind it.


Any help you all could provide would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Hi Bailey,
the bust depicts a Prussian Hussar of Regt No 5 " von Ruesch" during the Seven Years War. Uniform was black.
For further details see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totenkopf
You will notice that the drawing you provided in your post depicts a French Hussar.
While the Prussian Hussar Regt No 5 wore a skull and bones insignia on their Mirliton caps another Hussar Regt No 8 "von Belling" had a skeleton on their Mirliton caps with the motto "Vincere aut Mori" which was Latin and meant "Victory or Death".Therefore they earned the nickname "the whole death"
Cheers, Martin

You will find this useful,
http://www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php?title=Ruesch_Hussars

Thank you so much, Martin and Billy. That helps clear a lot of stuff up.

I'm still curious about the green though. Based on the link Martin shared, it mentions the colors black or green during the Napoleonic period. But during the 7 years war would the dark green be an option or should it be a pure black?

By the way, here's a look at my early progress on the bust. One of the perks of starting with the face is I have more time to figure out what I'm doing with the uniform.

Hi Bailey,
green uniforms were worn during the napoleonic period by attachments of volunteers from the reserve units of this regiment.

Cheers, Martin

I'll just quickly post two more plates for now as I'm supposed to be working.

I'll post some more pics later when I have some more time.

Hi Bailey,

One more thing. The box art wrongly depicts the skull and crossbones on the Flügelmütze (mirliton) as white metal, whereas in reality they were stitched onto the headgear in white thread!

Your painting skills, by the way, are fan-effing-tastic!

Cheers
Karl