"Realistic ACW units or all-stars?" Topic

When you are painting ACW figures or doing flags, do you tend to put together groups of units that served together, or do you put together units you like to look at, without regard to whether they were ever together. For example, would you throw together the black hats of the Iron Brigade, an Irish unit with green flags, and a unit of red and blue zouaves just because you like the way they all look, or would you try to put together a bunch of similar-looking units that were at the same place and time?

I go by an historical order of battle. My ACW 15mm forces are the US XIV Corps (Thomas) of the Army of the Cumberland versus the CS Hardee's Corps (slightly modified) of the Army of Tennessee as they were both organized during the Tullahoma Campaign in central Tennessee in 1863.

Jim

I go the other way. I like the look of my toy soldiers, so I do the black hats, zouaves and Tigers all on the same table. If it happened historically, that's a happy accident for me!

Other than special units, such as the Iron brigade or US Regulars, all of my units are generic and get whatever flags I have laying around. As far as organization goes, I will follow an OOB or come up with something reasonable. The example you gave is not reasonable. You, of course, may do as you please.

I paint the units I like the look of. I also have a lot of generic units. I put everything that a scenario calls for. If I don't have enough units, I will add the other units.

Pulled an OB from Gettysburg and put together some of the brigades. Then added some of the odd units for variance
(54th Regiment Massachusetts for example).

I'm woth 79th here….my troops are generic.

Famous units I try to do historically accurate. Other units are generic. Note that I normally don't do historical scenarios. I just set up an acw-looking table, put down some forces, and have at it. That being said, I try to anchor my forces to history by giving them actual regiment names and a proper brigade commander for each brigade. They probably are wearing the wrong style of uniforms (I have an excessive amount of Union forces dressed in frock coats, for example) but there you go….

Most of my troops are pretty generic – and in 15mm I have a lot of them – but I do have the Iron Brigade, Berdan's Rifles and the 14th Brooklyn – but I don't put them together

When they are on the table, they are in the middle of a lot of generic Union blue

Well, since I now have enough figure to do every battle in the Civil War, both.

I would be very pleased that my opponent has painted figures and is enjoying the game. Questioning any such person's adherence to historical orders of battle would be pedantic/rude/arrogant to the extreme.

martin

I'll use an OB for the brigade but then mix and match brigades that didn't historically serve together.

Historical. Army of the Cumberland. No Iron Brigade, Berdan's, zouaves, marines, or chasseurs.

Saw a game not too long ago where there wasn't a single "common" regiment in the entire Union army. To each his own.

Like others most of mine are generic Union. I also have extra units of zouaves, Iron Bde (or US Regulars), U.S.C.T., and Irish.

Its nice to add some color sometimes to your battle.

I started with historical units from Gettysburg. My Yanks are IInd Corps and my Rebs are Longstreet's Corps. When I encountered F & F gamers I started to due generics as historical regiments didn't seem appropriate. So, both.

Order of battle, always!

Usually a mix of the Good, the Bad, and the indifferent!

OB only.

A bit of both. I have mostly generic, but a few faves tossed in – Irish, 54th Mass, Tigers, Bredan's, etc. We do a mix of historical re-fights and made up scenarios but we are not strict as to using the exact units. It's a game, after all.

I have all the specialty/famous units but they only see the table when they are in the OOB for that particular battle.

Historical order of battle.

I've done a division each side- 1/VI for the US and Early's for the CS- from Gettysburg (for JR2, I've been fascinated by Gettysburg since I first played SPI's Terrible Swift Sword in the mid-70's). WHF Lee's and Farnsworth's brigades provide the cavalry. Using the Nafziger OoB got around my lack of knowledge on the subject. I think.

Only one zouave unit (95Pa and I did paint it in the early zouave uniform) in the lot. My Reb's probably have too much butternut, but I was painting them before the internet showed me the error of my ways.

I have "never-never" plans to add another division for each side, but as the forces I've got provide a good all-day game, who knows?

Dal.

Historical OBs for me. Most of my units (15mm) are generic, except for command stands. If I have correct flags for a specific unit, I just plug in the appropriate command stand.

My ACW interest is overwhelmingly the Western Theater. I do have a small number of specific units, e.g., U.S. Regulars, some Zouave regiments, some of the Secesh sharpshooter battalions and (permanently) dismounted cavalry regiments, etc.

If anyone knows of good 15mm Union infantry (roughly compatible with OG15s) with Colt revolving rifles, I've been waiting for 20 years to build the 21st Ohio.

My 15mm infantry are mostly "generic", painted for Fire and Fury (except some zouaves, and enough infantry with black hats to make several Iron Brigade units, and maybe some of the V Corps I bought as a complete unit many years ago). Lately I've started to add specific units – USCT, Berdan's, more zouaves, etc. just for fun, but I really have too many figures already and don't need more. Except where units weren't in generic uniforms, I prefer generic, as I like to put together scenarios from any theater, stage of the war, etc. as needed.

I've never cared too much about the infantry weapons, because I can barely see them anyway. However, now that I'm playing more at the regimental level, I care a lot more about artillery. I like the big guns, and I want to have some of each. :-)

- Ix

I find units I like then find what brigades they were in and paint that brigade.

I try to get the regimental flags right, but almost all my stuff is generic. And I OOB unit sizes every single time.

The first rule is "Do whatever makes you happy". You are going to buy the figures and you are going to paint them. Chances are you will do both more readily if you are getting what you want rather than what you believe others think you should have. Besides no matter which way you go, chances are good that the units you produce will end up as stand ins for some other units.

Most of my ACW troops are generic. I have an overabundance of command stands that allow those troops to be used as different units. Some of those flags are unit specific while others are generic.

Like to add to my first comment, (historical order of battle). While doing historical OOBs I always find the ones with the Brigades I like the best. In 1862 Richardson's Division at Antietam has the Irish Brigade, Hood's Division at 2nd Manassas has the Texas Brigade, etc. I am not blessed with a great deal of self control it appears. John Miller

For the most part, all my figures (both 15's and 28's)
are painted as generic US/CS. I also use generic
colors w/o regimental/state designation (US) and only
the generic color for CS units.

It's a game, after all.

We have masses of generic units and lots of specific units – and two of some of them – which is the price of buying big rafts of second-hand figures I suppose. Smartly-clad units don't derive any benefit in our rules, but we do mostly (almost invariably) use historic OOBs for our big games, so if an 'elite' unit is called for in this or that Division the player is perfectly welcome to rate the more elegant units accordingly.

I favor generic units and change unit designation with labels depending on the battle. I am more interested in the game than super detailed regiments. Uniforms are after all a snapshot in time.

I usually base my forces around historical orders of battle, just as a way to impose some kind of discipline on myself as I collect the miniatures.

For my ACW Union force, I went with the XIIth Corps, as they fought both with the Army of the Potomac and later in the West as the XXth Corps. As much as anything else it was the excellent regimental flags from GMB that drove my choice, especially that of the 27th Indiana.

But on occasion I'll add the odd extra unit, such as the 54th Massachusetts, 'coz I want to.

I will be doing units that appeared on the same battlefield but not necessarily as brigaded together.