ACW Lone Wolf | 24 Nov 2016 9:40 a.m. PST |
I haven't done any miniature wargaming since the late 80's. I've recently purchased the Altar of Freedom rules set and am looking at ordering enough Baccus 6mm ACW to field about 30 Brigades of infantry per side. No other gamers (that I am currently aware of) in the area so will have to wait until my boys come home for a visit to play against another player. Looking for any suggestions or advice from those of you that are current in the hobby. Thanks in advance. |
JimDuncanUK | 24 Nov 2016 10:23 a.m. PST |
I did my Baccus ACW like this. It gives me greater flexibility in basing for different rulesets. link
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Last Hussar | 24 Nov 2016 10:46 a.m. PST |
You might want to pop over to the solo wargame board, and have a look for programmed scenarios as well. Also, not to be evangelical about my favourite size, but have you considered 10mm? |
robert piepenbrink | 24 Nov 2016 10:57 a.m. PST |
I'm with Jim. Baccus are great figures, but a stand in the 20mm-40mm range(or 1"-2" English measure) looks good and gives you a fair choice of rules. A larger stand restricts choices. Be sure the stands are at least 3mm or 1/8" thick so you can pick up the stand without handling the castings. Not familiar with "Altar of Freedom." Usually you need two ACW sets or at least two levels of representation. Good rules for Second Manassas resolve Kernstown in about two die rolls. If you can find a copy, you might want a look at "On to Richmond." I find the card-draw unit activation system congenial for solo play, and stand removal keeps the game going with a minimum of book-keeping. |
Extra Crispy | 24 Nov 2016 12:18 p.m. PST |
If you base your troops on 20x20 metal stands you can make sheet magnet movement trays for all the different rule sets to try out. In case you don't like AoF or want to try a tactical rul set |
Saber6 | 24 Nov 2016 4:41 p.m. PST |
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AussieAndy | 25 Nov 2016 2:45 a.m. PST |
Bear in mind that one of the advantages of 6mm is that you can game on a smaller table (if that is helpful to you). We play Fire and Fury with troops on 20mm x 20mm bases. So four fifths scale. We then just read the F and F distances in inches as centimetres x2. It really helps if you have limited space. When painting Rebs, paint to a system that will lead to a seemingly random look. I paint 40 Bachus strips at a time. 10 on each stick. On the first stick, the guy on the left of each strip has Union blue paints. On the second stick, the second guy from the left has Union blue pants and so on. You can do this for hats, coats, etc. It works. |
JimDuncanUK | 25 Nov 2016 4:55 a.m. PST |
For Confederates I usually paint them all dark grey, go back and paint a light grey jacket on the first figure, light grey trousers on the second figure, light grey hat on the third and so on. Go back to the start and use brown in a similar but different pattern then select the odd figure and give him union blue pants and other odd figures a dark blue coat. |
ACW Lone Wolf | 25 Nov 2016 5:01 a.m. PST |
Thank You all for responses. Jim your figures look amazing. To answer your questions: Last Hussar – I have considered 10mm, but for the money I plan to spend I will not get enough figures for the battles I would like to play. I would like to play the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 64 where we fight the entire battle. After looking at a lot of rules reviews from various websites and recommendation on this site I settled on the Altar of Freedom rules set. I want to be able to fight a full battle in an evening and keep a campaign for the next time they visit. Robert and Crispy – Thanks for the basing advice. I will look at doing that once I get the figures. I like the flexibility idea in case the rules don't work for us. Saber – North Dakota Aussie – Thank you for the advice |
TKindred | 25 Nov 2016 6:10 a.m. PST |
Just for the record, if money is an issue, take a look at Billy Bones Workshop and their ACW paper range. I have purchased the entire series and find them to be a really neat idea. It's a complete system with both troops and matching scenery. link |
ACW Lone Wolf | 25 Nov 2016 8:57 a.m. PST |
TKindred, Money is not the issue, I just don't want to collect thousands of figures for something I will only get to play a few times a year. From the pictures I've seen here and elsewhere and from reading the Altar of Freedom rules I think (at this point) they are going to give me the game feel I am looking for. Of course that may change once we begin to play. I'm thinking of cutting bases to play the game prior to basing any figures just to get a feel for the rules in case my mind changes. I appreciate the link and that's why I am asking for advice/input before I get too deep into the woods. |
ACW Lone Wolf | 25 Nov 2016 11:12 a.m. PST |
I am now seriously considering 10mm. Could someone tell me how many 10mm would go on a 60x30mm base? Both Infantry and Cav. Thank You |
Ed von HesseFedora | 25 Nov 2016 5:32 p.m. PST |
Lone Wolf, You may want to start a new thread so people see your question. I don't have any 10mm, but take a look at these: link link link And others on his blog. Good luck! Ed |