Who makes the best split rail fences in 15mm for ACW gaming? I posted this question awhile back and several of you offered your comments. Since then, I have done some further investigation and offer the following.
It seems that the two main competitors in this market (at least here in the USA) are Stone Mountain and Musket Miniatures. After obtaining examples from both and painting/mounting them, I offer this photo for comparison.
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As you can see, they are almost exactly the same height and also come in identical lengths (2 inches), but the 3 rails from the Stone Mountain fence are much heavier than the 5 rails from the Musket Miniatures fence.
In my opinion, from a visual standpoint, the quality of the sculpting is equal. However, when placed on the table amid other terrain items, the Stone Mountain fences stand out more prominently due to the greater thickness of the rails.
On the other hand, you can be far more creative with the Musket Miniature fencing. Those thinner rails can be snipped and shaped to give the fences a bit more variety than is possible with the thicker identically sculpted Stone Mountains. The Musket fences also come with gates to add a bit more variety.
As for scale, in my opinion, the hefty Stone Mountain fence is better suited for some of the larger-sized "15mm's" such as the AB and Blue Moon (18mm) figures. The thinner Musket Miniatures fence look better alongside the relatively smaller 15mm figures such as Old Glory15, Minifig, Essex, and Stone Mountain.
There is a big difference in price. Stone Mountain is less expensive. They offer a pack of 30 fences for $8.95 USD, which works out to 29.8 cents per casting. Musket Miniatures sells their fences in two quantities. You can buy 15 for $8.75 USD (58.3 cents apiece) or 48 for $24.95 USD (51.9 cents apiece).
Don
is a naval wargamer who likes the smaller scales, so who better to show us how to paint small-scale ironclads?
