Bull Hussar (GH XXXIX entry)
First off, many thanks once more for the kind votes that won this fellow the Bronze Hat!
By now, most of you will know that I enjoy a mix of 19th century aesthetics and classic fantasy elements. I’ve always had a predilection for hussar uniforms in particular. The simple basic idea of swapping the regular pelisse for a scale jacket slung over one shoulder had been simmering in my head for some time, but so far I had never attempted to sculpt scale mail for fear of making a terrible mess of it - to say nothing of scale mail falling in folds! The GH announcement was the push I needed to try and make it happen at last. The impending deadline helped me not to obsess over imperfections but to aim at a satisfying general impression. The result is very far from perfect, but I’m happy with it. Shout out to @denelian5 for his tutorial, which was a great help!
On to some WIP pictures. It all started with a Mantic Halfbreed torso and an old Chaos Warrior head. That turned out to be a waste of a perfectly good bit, I’m afraid, as nothing of the face remained visible in the end. 
The original halfbreed’s back armour didn’t fit the aesthetics I was going for, so I decided to use the fur-trimmed scale mail of the pelisse on the bull back as well. Also, he naturally needed a sabretache. The arms and hands are from GW dwarf kits.
Some more work on the face and dolman…
…more work on the face, kalpak (the skull is a bit from a Khemri chariot, as is the sabre blade), saddlecloth, and finally, the pelisse! I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the folds looked.
And here’s the finished conversion:
The colour scheme was hard to choose, as there is no shortage of beautiful examples in the history of hussar uniforms. Eventually, I took my cues from the same source that had already provided the inspiration for the kalpak’s design, namely Sweden’s “Yellow Hussars”:
And this is the final result!
It was great fun to convert and paint this fellow, and I am very happy with how he turned out - I think he is my favourite conversion so far. 