DOUBLE PRUSSIAN 1866 DRAGOONS

Northstar 1866 Prussian Dragoons

Although this is the first post of the new year, the subject matter reaches back to the last. These figures were among those shown in the October  "To Arms! To Arms" work in progress post and were the last of that batch to be completed (in the last weeks of 2019).  Being able to field a dragoon brigade of two regiments was among my plans for my Prussian cavalry (similar to the impetus for adding the second Northstar  Hussar).  The same slippery slope applied in this project: I already had a single regiment of Foundry Prussian dragoons, but I didn't want a brigade with mixed figure lines. So I decided to just go ahead and add two new regiments of the Northstar figs. I can still put the third (Foundry) regiment on the table as needs be; given that its lines are distinct from the Northstar figs, it would actually serve very well as a dragoon of one of the other German states (many had similar if not the same uniform).  But I digress.  Here is my study of these figures (as usual, you may clix pix for BIG PIX):

1st (Lithuanian) Dragoon Regiment.

2nd (Brandenburg) Dragoon Regiment

I decided that I'd have one regiment with trumpeter and one with standard bearer. 

Although not as challenging as the Prussian hussar shabraque edging, the double line edges on the dragoon saddle furniture took quite a bit of tending to. It's not much of an issue to get a nice parallel set of lines on a single figure, but getting a consistent pattern across multiple figures is another matter. It winds up being one of those inverse painting effects, something you expend extra effort on so that it doesn't get noticed.

For me, each set of figures tends to call for a different emphasis.  On these figures, it was bringing out the details of the strapping and equipment against the palette of the utilitarian dragoon uniform.

Although the 1st Dragoons have a standard bearer instead of a musician, I couldn't resist doing their trumpeter, too--so I added him as a specialty/command figure. 

The newly fielded Northstar Prussian dragoon brigade on parade.

Excelsior!