"Starting new project" Topic

I am currently thinking of starting a new army in acw. As I am interested in 19th and acw is wildly produced by my manufacturers and would love some tips on where to start books the best models and uniform guides please.

North-Blue
South-Gray

and as for figures Old Glory look good in big units and they are cheaper, then you can spend your money on really nice command pieces and vignettes.

and acw is wildly produced by my manufacturers

Can't say I've ever noticed how wild production might be.

on where to start books

Go to your local library or bookshop. You'll find them in the American History section.

the best models

the ones wildly produced by your manufacturers

and uniform guides

See above!
Or find the appropriate Ospreys.

What scale do you prefer? Do you have a favorite set of rules?

Guys, he's in the UK. The ACW wasn't fought in his back yard, there's no statue of Gen. Beau Rearguard in his town square, there's no ACW battlefield park within driving distance, he doesn't see uniformed Corn-fed re-enactors at local Ren Faires. Cut him some slack.

"Uniforms of the Civil War: An Illustrated Guide for Historians, Collectors, and Reenactors" by
Robin Smith and Ron Field is a good start, and not too expensive.

Go with a basic dark blue jacket and sky blue trousers for Union and shades of gray and brownish gray for Confederate and you will be well on your way building generic armies.

I also like Old Glory minitures. There is a huge selection to choose from for ACW, so getting figures should not be a problem.

Sash and Saber are really nice figures and match very well with Old Glory (same sculpter I believe)
Perry miniatures are a way to go, Plastics are cheaper than metal, and they have everything to get you started.
These figures are 25/28mm of course.
Blue Moon is making some really nice 18's too
Osprey books on the uniforms are very good, but there is a wealth of information on line as well.

One key issue is scale

What do you like? For skirmish, it is hard to beat 28mm – the Perry plastics are a good start there

I like grand tactical, so my ACW are mostly 15mm – there are lots of manufacturers, and I have bought from most of them, but Peter Pig and Stone Mountain are two that I like a lot

10mm is a great scale – which, if I was starting now, I would seriously consider

6mm is also a great scale if you like really, really big battles and are not keen on overly detailed figs (most of my Napoleonics are 6mm)

For books, Osprey has a good series of starter books

link

Guys, he's in the UK. The ACW wasn't fought in his back yard, there's no statue of Gen. Beau Rearguard in his town square, there's no ACW battlefield park within driving distance

True, but we have plenty of books about the ACW in libraries and bookshops, not to say all the relevant Ospreys.

he doesn't see uniformed Corn-fed re-enactors at local Ren Faires.

There are several ACW re-enactment groups in the UK.

Libraries?? you old fasioned blokes e-books from Ło.oo to £10.00 GBP
Old Glory
Sash& sabre
Rapier mins
Foundry
Redoubts
Essex
Perrys
Elite
Renegade..
Dixons loads out there
Hammerhead

Old Glory
Sash& sabre
Rapier mins
Foundry
Redoubts
Essex
Perrys
Elite
Renegade..
Dixons loads out there
Hammerhead

But the OP still hasn't said what size he is looking for.

Sorry guys your have to bear with me. I do 28mm miniatures as that is what my crimean war army is so lots of detail and look great on mass. I looked at Perry and I really got into the hobby on my own as I am young and my generation prefer xbox.

I would look at plastic 28mm then. I believe the Perry's do the ACW? I wouldn't look any further. Although you will need to fill in with metals. I happen to love Dixon but they may not match up well with other lines. If they are in separate units, who cares? I would guess that Old Glory 25mm are a good value for you in the UK?

You can get figures cheaper on your side of the pond (with the exception of Old Glory, I believe) I would probably post this somewhere on a UK board but I am sure your fellow countrymen will see your questions too.

Yes I was just on the Perry brothers website much cheaper and more options and had a look on old glory not to bad for price and plenty of books on amazon so lots to do :-) .

Wilsh8517

Find a local club my old mate…….and if you can't, then come up to Scarborough end June we are doing Day 2 Gettysburg 28mm on a 30 foot table your are welcome. There beer a BBQ a quiz a Pig roast what more can you want..?

Or come up to Allumwell W Mids a one dayer but its ok.

Martin

bgbboogie, wow would love to see the Gettysburg day 2 game in June but a commute from Oz is out of the question. Will there be photos on the internet somewhere?

Wilsh8517, go for it! It is a fun period with heaps of unusual scenario options that keep it a fresh period to play. A local club that will give you regular opponents and you may want to lock into the scale etc. that they are playing.

I know I have tryed to find a club but I am HM forces in germany so I am only every home for a short period which is never when I want it to be lol.But I am definitely going to try and get Salute this year never been before and I love the crimean war but I know is is limited and not highly popular.

……I nearly forgot steve barber models they can be fiddly to put together but they are good figures.
Xbox came out with a acw game in 2008 (secret missions acw) or something similar….don`t expect to be like COD or ha ha
Its great to ask on TMP great people but your own research is best!

For reference books the Osprey MAA etc are as good a place to start as anywhere. See the Osprey site or have a look on Amazon.

As far as figures are concerned I would definitely go for 10mm but this is a personal choice. With 10mm you can have units that look like regiments and battalions. They are also easier to paint than their bigger cousins. I can do 300 plus figures at a time.

The best 10mm manufacturers in the UK include Magister Militum and Pendraken (they've just bought out a new ACW range). The Baggage Train do the old 10 High ACW range which is serviceable. It has been around for 20 years at least and was the pioneer of 10mm in the UK but the figs are a bit crude by today's standards. I still use some of them though. Old Glory are also quite good.

Have a look here to see what is available.

madaxeman.com/index.php

I'm a big fan of 28mm cause of the detail I enjoy the painting abit more time consuming tho! But a joy and never heard of that game lol must just be in america.

A PS, if you choose 10mm you can also get a Bachmann N Scale Frontiersman Train Set and have it Chatanooga Choo Choo across your battlefield:-) Now, how cool is that?

Hmm train :-)

"he doesn't see uniformed Corn-fed re-enactors at local Ren Faires"

Yes, he sees lots. It's a popular reenactment period in the UK.

yeah he`s not in uk he`s in germany with British armed forces

Germany is not the dark side of the moon. There used to be a flourishing forces wargames scene.

I'm sure if I keep looking I will find something lol.

certainly in the 20th centry

If you are looking for painting ideas I'd suggest you start by looking for Don Troiani prints on the internet. There are some who hail him as one of the great civil war uniform experts. I wouldn't go that far, but he does do a fair amount of research and his prints are readily accessible on the internet.

I can't comment on figure availability outside of 1/72. However I would suggest you look for a couple of different things when deciding on scale. First, ACW uniforms as a rule were not that colorful, but there were a few units that did stand out, especially at the beginning of the war. If you are interested in color try to find a scale and line that contains at least some of the more interesting uniforms. Second, one of the interesting things about the ACW was that artillery units could be equipped with different types of guns which can quite often be told apart even at smaller scales. Look for a scale that has sufficient number of different gun types so that you can at least cover the basics. Do not be surprised though it you have to mix guns from one manufacturer with gunners from another.

Final thing: Flags matter, especially for the Confederates. You can usually which army you are looking at, and sometimes even the specific corps or division, by a quick glance at the flag. Fortunately there are several internet sources available, and there are sites with flags for specific units.

for wargaming standards, you could use the scene shots from the civil war movies (gettysburg, gods and generals, glory) and no they are not perfect (I was in 2 of them) but for painting little metal & plastic men remember, its still just a hobby and its your money and time. No one should fault you for that, if they do, they're not worth your time. Enjoy yourself, I started with airfix, I thought they were wonderful. I'd still use them if I still had them. If I was to start ACW fresh, I'd probably use renegade miniatures.

@ clay Russians what an interesting post which films were you in? I seccond your thoughts about enjoying yourself people can get caught up in details. I`m planning a trip to G`burg to re-enact next year

gettysburg and glory, also a cheesy made for TV gig for blue and the grey, Stacy Keach was a WILD MAN. thats ironic hammerhead, because my dream is to take part in a huge Edgehill event someday. I just sold 900 ECW to a guy I was in afghanistan with. Hes was very happy, I was very happy, so a good trade.