Russian uhlan 1808

Heres a first attempt at a Russian uhlan, of the Polish uhlan regiment to be exact. To get all uniform details right I had too ask around a bit, because the Osprey book I had and various other sources had conflicting information. As always, the 1808 campaign lies between two better covered periods (1805 and 1812). Much of the early uniform was still in use at this point, with some new details added. The miniature is by Perry, but I added fringes to the epaulettes (with green stuff) and a different (older style) plume, taken from a set of Hussars by Casting Room miniatures. I am pleased with this figure; it did not take too long to convert and paint, even though it is probably the fanciest Russian uniform I will be doing for this setting. Doing a few more shouldnt be too difficult.

I also had some difficulties with Army painter’s Strong Tone wash (again). This time it was pretty bad. You can see some of the results on the base. I managed to cover it up on the horse itself, which was hit really hard – that is why I “chose” to paint it over, black.

Anyway, the really serious problem seems to be with some older bottles which I have now discarded. With them the cracking was so strong that it went all the way down to the metal! The newer batch (I had several at home) seem to work better, but they too give some cracking. I have experimented with drying times and shaking of the bottles, but I cant seem to be able to eliminate this irritating problem. Maybe its the humidity (or lack thereof?) in our apartement? It does seem to affect some colors a lot more than others: there seems to be more cracking over lighter colors, and perhaps there is more of a problem with the Vallejo colors than with Coat d’arms. It is too bad – apart from the cracking issue, the AP wash is perfect for my painting and I use it on all my miniatures.