Mystery Figure Stripped

I have managed to strip most of the paint from the figure, which revealed some interesting features:

 Looks like a tassel on the right side of the shako:

Closer view:

Is this a skull badge?

Rear view:

I still can't make up my mind - he could be a Brunswicker with some inaccuracies thrown in!

Russian Cossacks - Minifigs OPC

I painted a sample of these figures many moons ago and at last I have finished off the whole unit. In my view these are the best looking cossacks available, with their basic uniform, heavy greatcoat and slung musket. These are Minifigs S Range one piece castings (OPC).

One piece castings 

Although not included in the list below, it seems that Douglas Miniatures produced at least one mounted figure with the horse and rider as a single casting. This figure is available from John and it represents a British Heavy Dragoon trooper.

It is very similar to the two piece figure, B4 British Heavy Dragoon. When set side by side the one piece figure is slightly larger than the two piece, but it is not really noticable. Here you can see the two examples shown together, two piece on the right:

I would be really interested to know if there were ever any other Crimean figures produced like this by Douglas. I think the one piece is a finer looking figure and I will be painting a full unit of these.