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| Revision Log | |
| 18 December 1999 | converted to Miva |
| 7 October 1999 | page redesigned |
| 24 October 1997 | added illustration |
| 6 July 1997 | page first published |
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Editor in Chief Bill 
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©1994-2024 Bill Armintrout
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Lance Runolfsson of Blood Axe Miniatures is a very helpful kind of a guy. He asked me:
"Is there anything I can do for you?"
I replied:
"I'm thinking about doing a Workbench
Project involving 25mm ACW figures
- have you got samples you can spare?"
And next thing I knew, a large box arrived, marked
| Batter Wrapped Chicken Frankfurter on a Stick  |
Eagerly I opened the package, to find within not the tantalyzing corn dogs, but rather a weighty number of Blood Axe figures. Figures, I should add, which weren't marked in any way, nor did Lance keep any record of what he sent me, which should make this article unusually interesting to write...
When dealing with the Civil War, it often doesn't make a lot of sense to talk about Union vs. Confederate figures, as both sides dressed somewhat alike, the Confederates often wore captured Union clothing, and nearly everyone felt free to wear what they pleased rather than what was "regulation." Blood Axe feels the same way, and doesn't break down their ACW catalog listings by side of the war.
I'm going to organize this survey, however, by looking at infantry first, then cavalry. And within each group, I'll organize figures by headgear style.
These are wide-brimmed, banded, round-topped hats of a sort that you don't see much anymore. Similar in shape to the prototypical "Mexican sombrero," but smaller in size and of different material.
Those are the possible identities of the figures I'm about to describe:
One figure has flash all around, but which trimmed easily. Most of our sample figures had large nubs on the right elbow, which needed to be carved away.
The pose strikes me as an unnatural one - both legs leaning forward, standing on toes - but it looks good on the tabletop.
We had to trim some nobs off (usually, end of rifle and bayonet), and clean a few seams, but nothing major. The raised foot is connected to the base by a piece of ground, which would be difficult to trim away if you desired to do so.
It's an interesting touch that the clean-shaven fellow is gasping, but the "bearded old veteran" is having no problems. The pose again looks good on the tabletop, though you could argue about the naturalness of it. The knees are a bit indistinct.
Our samples were very clean, only one nob at the back of the hat.
The bearded fellow is very amusing, looking around with an air of "putting up with it" while loading his gun. I like the pose very much.
We cleaned nubs on bottom of drum, back of hat, right elbow - nothing a sharp knife couldn't handle. Our sample had a seam across the face, hard to remove, but hardly noticeable. Slight seam on back of right leg.
The pose captures the right impression, though purists will note that one hand is actually resting on the drum head. He also looks like he's about to speak, which seems odd for a drummer.
Kepis are those odd hats you usually associate with the American Civil War - a cap, sloping toward the front, with a round front panel.
Those are the possible identities of the figures I'm about to describe:
No major problems. One figure had a minor seam in the middle of his kepi, hard to reach.
Nice face, looks like a tough, grizzled veteran.
We had to trim some nobs off the gun and right elbow. Some samples had seams on the right leg.
This figure has a very nice pose, very erect, rather imposing when it strides onto the battlefield.
Minor seam across kepi, and on back of right leg. One of our figures has a miscast gun (incomplete center), and is unsalvageable.
Minor flash between legs, on back of right leg, at top of pouch, on all samples; one also had flash down the middle of the face. Nobs on left elbow, bottom of rifle. None of this was hard to clean up. Visible seams on kepi, right shoulder. Two of the bases were slightly warped.
Transition from jacket to pants is difficult to see. Cheeks are chiseled a bit harshly. Very nice face, with jaw open just a bit as people sometimes do when concentrating on something (such as combat). The pose is very dynamic.
Nob on end of sword and sword hilt. Minor seams on right arm and left leg.
This is a nice figure to have, though I'll admit to liking the concept a bit more than the actual figure. The sword is thicker than I'd like, but the good news is that it won't snap off any time soon. :-)
Sample had pits in head, just below the butt, and in back below the jacket belt. There's a bit of metal between the body and right arm which probably shouldn't be there, but it hard to see and hard to clean up. Seam on kepi.
The pose is a bit stiff.
Right arm has nobs on end and hilt, and has visible seam on arm. Arm attaches tightly to body; one of our samples fit snugly, but the other needed some work to sit properly against the body.
This is a nice figure to have, though I'll admit to liking the concept a bit more than the actual figure. The sword is thicker than I'd like, but the good news is that it won't snap off any time soon. :-)
Seam barely visible on back of right leg. Mouth of our sample had excess metal, and needed extensive clean-up.
I'm not expert, but that doesn't look like the right way to hold the standard. That's a nitpick, as the figure gives a fine impression overall.
Nubs on hat need trimming. Hat has no head hole.
There are four variations of this figure:
Most of the horses have serious flash problems, often thick flash which is difficult to cut away (usually between forelegs or rear legs).
The horses look oddly proportioned to me, but I'm no expert on horse anatomy. It may be that the posing is throwing off my eye. For instance, the "leaping horse" looks way off to me, yet it has the same general proportions as the "running horses," which look fine to me.
And the figures I have are:
The "arm with sword" is identical to that described above, for use with the
Some sample riders had visible seam on right side. Also, minor seams on hat. All arms needed minor clean-up of nubs. Some riders had shoulder pins which needed to be trimmed to length. One of our "arms with carbine" was miscast, resulting in a strange curved-barrel carbine (unsalvageable). Our sample "arm with bugle" was also miscast, with part of the bugle being missing. Two of our sample arms had connection holes which went all the way through the upper arm.
The poseable arms add a lot of reuse to the figures, for a minimal amount of extra effort spent attaching the arm.
The cavalry kepis have bills; the infantry kepi don't.
And the figures I have are:
These figures don't match anything in the catalog, as far as I can tell:
One figure had a warped base (wouldn't matter, if you glue the figure to a stand); another sample had a miscast base (hole - again, wouldn't matter if you attach figure to a stand).
Sample had seams on both sides, and flash between the legs.
Minor seam visible on right arm and hat.
This new pose is more dynamic and realistic - quite an improvement.
Jacket detail is a bit indistinct. Casting error in hat (small crevice). Flash on right side, easily trimmed. Minor seam visible on hat.
Dramatic pose, looks like he's indicating a deployment.
Minor flash under left arm. Visible seam on same arm.
Rather a curious pose.
Nice figure, excellent running pose, very clean.
Nice figure, excellent running pose, very clean.
Need to cut away connection between hat and bayonet.
The legs look a bit rubbery, or the pose seems a bit tentative.
Our sample had a miscast scabbard (middle section missing). Sword is a bit thick.
The figures average 30mm from feet to top of headgear. The detail level is relatively low, but the detail present has been sculpted in high relief, making it easy to paint. The sculpting style tends toward thick bodies with rounded features.
The bases are narrow, so you'll want to attach these figures to some kind of stand. You may also need to file the bottoms of many of the bases, so the figures will stand properly. Clean-up is required on these figures, often involving carving off small nubs of metal, or trimming slight flash, but this can usually be done quickly without harming the rest of the model.
Many of these figures successfully catch the essence of what they are supposed to be, chiefly by skillful design and pose. The faces, though simple, are expressive. These figures epitomize the "less is more" school of thought - that you don't necessarily have to have hyper-realistic, high-expensive figures in order to field an army and enjoy a game.
I was a little skeptical of these figures at first. They did require a fair bit of clean-up. However, having looked them over, I think the infantry figures will make a fine army, and I am looking forward to painting them up. I'm not sure if I like the cavalry as much (particularly the horses), but want to see how they look when painted up.
