"Want to start ACW" Topic

First important question… what scale? I'll probably use Black Powder. Have a ton of 40mm x 40mm squares.

I went with 10mm because there are tons of suppliers and there are some really great looking figs. I am in Europe so I went with Pendraken, but if I were in the US I think Cracker Line would be the way. Both make great figures.
10mm is also good for the mass effect, and the quickness in painting them up.

I use Black Powder as well these days, and they work fine. On the Yahoo group there are some ACW house rules you can download.

What scale do you like? Will anyone else be compiling forces as well?

I vote for 10mm as well. I painted 1,000 figures in a month in 10mm. A can of Blue and a can of Grey and then what I call the SOS method a bunch of dots and dashes – dots for the faces, canteens and dashes, belts, guns blanket rolls, then a quick dip. I put 10 to 20 on a Popsicle stick and painted a unit at a time using all the same colors for Rebs then mixed them up in different formations for a random look. I think 10mm is the best scale for ACW due to the great mass look of a 30 man unit that doesn't take up much room.

Good luck.

the bigger the battle you intend to fight the smaller the scale
I use 28mm but I mostly skirmish

Years ago I did it in 15mm. If you are starting out now I'd highly recommend 10mm. The sculpts are great and there is a lot of variety.

One man project.

@Gray Ghost: It depends on the rules.

Easy. Just fire on Fort Sumter.

Well Black Powder can be used for any scale so really it depends a lot on what are you trying to achieve.

10mm or less- If you want to re-fight the entire battle of say Gettsyburg or some similar large battle this works great. Paints pretty quick albeit you will need to paint a lot of them, but is easy on the storage. Really does give you that grand battle effect, however you do lose the individual detail as it gets lost in all the mass.

28mm- Ideal for small battles or focused sections of bigger battles like say the cornfields at Antietam for example. If you like painting detail and really like seeing the individual soldier on the table then this it. It's very hard to beat a well painted figure and terrain battlefield at this scale. That said it comes with a big price tag in time, money and space both in storage and tabletop.

15mm- The ultimate compromise scale in that it gives you enough detail to see and still can give you the large battle effect. Handles large or small battles nicely and storage and cost is quite reasonable.

So there really is not a scale that is better then another rather just a preference. All you need to do now is ask yourself what is your preference.

Oh btw 40mm x 40mm is a typical base size for 28mm with 4 figures to each base if that's of any use to you.

Christopher

10mm by Pendraken was my choice. 30x30mm bases, 3 bases to a standard Black Powder unit and 8 figures on each base…..great visual appeal

I use 28mm for 'part-battle focus' types of games (such
as the Wheatfield, the Cornfields at Antietam) etc.,
and 15 mm for larger scenarios or battles.

I toyed with 6mm a long time ago, but gave away the
figures.

I have 10mm but those are for another project.

I use 28mm, mostly Dixon. I currently use Regimental Fire and Fury, but also have played Guns at Gettysburg and Johnny Reb II. All three work well.

I have 6mm, 15mm, 28mm and 54mm

Most of my ACW are 15mm which I like for Grand Tactical – there are lots of figs out there

That being said, I would agree with the above that if I were doing this again (I started 30 years ago) it would be in 10mm

28mm for skirmish up to 'part-battle focus' games. 15mm for corps/army level

I have 10mm from Cracker Line and Old North State. Both mix pretty well with GHQ which I have a few of. Pendraken has an extensive range as well. You can also look at Magister Militum which I believe is the old AIM miniatures.

Great! Does anybody have a collection they want to sell me?

I use 10mm for small actions. Basically, I can get a couple regiments on the table at near 1 figure equals 1 man size.

10mm is too small. 25mm is too large. 15mm is just right. More accessories and terrain are available for 15mm than 10mm. More scenarios and rules are written with 15mm in mind. Battles are too big for any larger size figs. Just my two cents.

I started my 15mm ACW fairly early 1976. I have very nice collection now, which meets my needs very nicely. However, as others have said, now I'd be buying the 10mm for the same reason I started with 15mm – it's inexpensive.

What manufacturer would you recommend for 15mm?

If you want basic figures that paint fast but look good, I'd go with Stone Mountain and/or Musket Miniatures.

If you want detail, I'd recommend Old Glory and Battle Honors/AB Miniatures. However, there has been talk that the molds are deteriorating, and the quality has suffered lately. I can't confirm. The Battle Honors packs I bought last year looked OK.

If you dont mind 18mm, I've heard great things about Blue Moon, but don't own any myself.

For any 15mm artillery, I strongly suggest getting Stone Mountain guns, and then substituting Old Glory/Battle Honors/manufacturer of your choice for the artillerymen. For all the lines out there, in my opinion the Stone Mountain barrels and carriages are the best in shape and look.

I started a long time ago with 15mm, but I switched to 10mm (mostly Old Glory's line). I LOVE 10mm minis now.

For me, 15mm takes about as much time as 28mm – big enough with enough detail that I need to paint every bit, but it's time consuming.

6mm works great for microarmor, but I don't like how infantry look at that size.

10mm is just the right size of massed infantry looking like massed infantry, with recognizable detail on the tabletop but still painting up quickly.

I've narrowed it down to three choices. 28mm Sash and Saber, 15mm Blue Moon, or 10mm Cracker Line. I like the variety in S&S, affordable, and everything you need is included. BM… ex$pensive with separate command packs, etc… Cracker Line, hard website to follow and I'm thinking limited poses especially foot command.

It really depends on what rule set you have chosen and will be constructing your armies. As mentioned earlier 40x40 is good for black powder. RF&F has a different basing scheme. While you could use 40x40 at 28mm, your opponents might not have their bases set up that way.

I am in a similar situation but it has dragged on many years and gotten more complicated. I like the detail of 28mm and have a few regiments worth of Perry plastics already, I started with 15mm blue moon and Peter pig based for RF&F but only completed four regiments so far as my main focus has been on WW2 and 28mm AWI. Recently I just bought a large number of 6mm for altar of Freedom because I want to replay the battle of Shiloh!

Problem is now I have all three scales I need to complete along with many other armies sitting on my paint table

I hear you. I have some OG's 25mm lying around. Painted a few, but the detail and symmetry is so off and random. That's why I like sash and saber, especially on 40mm X 40mm. But than I can see 10's proudly based up in groups of 12 on 60mm X 40mm bases. I might place the order today.

Mikeygees, I have many,many poses for command and uniform choices as well. I have one mould devoted entirely to command, mounted and foot. In fact, I have so many that they are too numerous to count.

crackerlineminis.com

Thanks,

Bill Moreno

Bill, good to know. You'll be hearing from me.

Placed order tonight Bill…. Can't wait!

Mikeyg

Packed and ready to ship. I threw in a few extra command so you can see what I mean. Enjoy!

Speedy.

Always my objective.