The Hessian soldier's appearance was as distinctive to American eyes as his musket drill. Frederick the Great's influence ran deep in the German states' armies, and the Landgrave's troops arrived in 1776 with their hair dressed in the Prussian style — long queues (Zopf) braided tight, sealed with tar or grease and wrapped in black ribbon; side curls (Lockenröllchen) formed at the temples and powdered with flour and tallow; mustaches mandatory and, when the genuine article was scarce, painted on with boot-black. The Regiment von Donop carried this look through the New York landings, the winter quarters at Trenton, the Philadelphia campaign, and the siege lines at Yorktown.

This W. Britain figure shows a musketeer of the regiment standing alert with the musket held vertically against his right side, scanning toward the enemy line. The uniform is full musketeer order: black tricorne edged white with cockade and yellow tuft, dark blue coat with yellow collar, lapels and cuffs, yellow waistcoat and breeches, white cross-belts, and black gaiters fastened to mid-thigh. The Hessian queue and side curls are visible at the nape and temples. The cartridge box rides on the right hip, mirror to the reaching-for-cartridge pose, and the figure stands with the Brunswick grenadier of Riedesel's regiment as the two German faces of George III's American war — opposed across the Hudson and the Delaware by Continentals like the 1st American Regiment soldier ramming home.

Model: 16192 / W. Britain 1/30 (60mm) / matte finish / 1 piece set