I have gone for economy and speed in assembling a force of larger scale ACW Confederate figures opting for hard plastic. The price is low especially if you can find someone discarding sets. Painting is as fast as I can make it si is somewhat rough.
Some Union infantry figures hidden away in a small box purchased at a time when i was looking at different manufacturers’ products. The Scruby figures were simple and solid. These days they are surprisingly hard to find.
10mm Perrin Miniatures, the beginning of a rather massive body of figures representing armies of the American Civil War. The figures have a gray primed surface. White would brighten them up but I chose a dark grey to speed things along.
The Perrin figures are attractively sculpted and nicely detailed without any overkill. The poses are limited but sufficient. They offer a really nice range with a certain daintiness but seem to tower over GHQ while looking a bit like AIM figures on a diet. A nice choice though difficult to locate. The Last Square does offer the full range.
A playtest copy of a set of rules for skirmish level encounters in the American Civil War. The rules cover infantry only. There is no ground scale I can find though figure scale is 1 to 1. Rules are for 54mm figures but usable for 25mm.
Individual figures are provided action points which are used to determine the number of actions up to 4 available to a figure per turn with an asymmetrical sequence of play broken out according to actions. Number of action points is determined by morale level, which also determines actions available, and experience. Wounds impact action points and morale. There are additional rules for morale checks, fire combat, and melee.
The rules seem never to have been published. Though the author Greg Novak is listed in both Boardgamegeek and Wikipedia, these rules do not show up under his list of publications. An interesting old set.
GDW even more than SPI and Avalon Hill could be all things to all gamers, from RPGs to board games to miniatures rules. Volley and Bayonet presents a shift away from the more fiddly and detailed tactical rules of the time towards something which in some sense is closer to a board game than one with miniatures.
The rules cover land warfare in the 18th and 19th century between massive armies. As such, the ultimate unit is the figure base representing roughly a brigade. The number of figures mounted on the base is meaningless though for 25mm, the recommended number is 10 through 12 with an appropriate label naming the unit. A person could if they wished mount as few or as many figures as they wish. The base size and label are really the most critical pieces of information.
Scale is also along the same lines with an inch = 100 yards. Each turn equals an hour of time. The goal is to allow players to game very large battles in a space around the size of a ping pong table.
The rules do not present the kind of competitive format as in WRG games. They are intended to simulate engagements rather than promote a contest of equals.
The rules are still in print. The quality of the rules shows an understanding of miniatures play that the authors achieved through experience. Of course, supplements abound.
An interesting and unusual supplement for the American Civil War, this slender book provides scenarios for battles in the eastern and western theaters. It includes a few smaller battles requiring a few bases of figures. A scenario will include a map of the terrain as well as a breakdown of the units available and the strength points assigned to them.
Additionally, there is a section in the back of the book which utilizes the GDW game A House Divided as the basis for a campaign game. Instructions are provided for transferring a battle from the game board to the table top using generic units from both North and South. The actual game board is included in a rather dull black and white so owning A House Divided is not a requirement to playing a campaign though the actual board game will look a lot nicer.
Another of the charming, often vague little booklets from England presenting a variety of rules for popular historical periods. This particular set is written by John Tunstill and covers the American Civil War. They are old rules, first seeing light in 1970. The rules use a ground scale of 1mm to 1 yard, one bound (the popular English equivalent of a round) to 2 1/2 minutes, one figure to 33 men, and one gun to 6. There is no recommendation on figure scale so I assume that any of the larger figure sizes would be used keeping in mind the rules make no mention of mounting on bases nor provide a base size for a single figure.
As with so many English rules, orders must be written down at the start of a turn. Units are moved simultaneously followed first by artillery fire, then infantry fire. Following this, charging units check for morale and melees are resolved. The turn ends with any necessary morale checks.
The rules seem vague on the tactical units involved though the figure scale suggests regiment sized units. It would seem, too, that the rules assume figures are not mounted on bases. Formations include line, column, and road column. Units may be in open order or extended order. They may as a result of combat or movement through difficult terrain become disordered or unformed which will impact their ability to survive melee and morale checks.
Terrain used is hills, steep hills, woods, individual buildings, and towns. These impact line of sight and can effect movement. Curiously, I could not find a reference to fording a river though there are quite a few references to bridges. Casualties play a role with one casualty left on the field for every 3 figures removed to indicate broken ground which prevents a charge. There are also prepared positions and linear obstacles like walls and hedges.
I have not yet tried these rules. The organization of the rules is a bit challenging since information is scattered through the brief booklet.
Thoroughbred miniatures ACW vessels are just a bit on the large size for gaming but I doubt that will stop anyone from using these, especially if they have enough space. The range is extensive and the models well-detailed with many small pieces for some ships like the Hartford making these more of a project than most.
I first encountered these when with nothing to do on a weekend in Columbia, SC, I wandered into a toy soldier convention. It was a small but interesting gathering. The Thoroughbred display drew my attention more than any other. I have been slowly gathering them since then. ‘Then’ was likely about 12 years ago.
There are a reasonable number of rule sets available for ACW ironclads. One likely candidate is the Ironclads games originally offered by Yaquinto. The size of the larger ships, though, make these unlikely candidates for hexagons on all but the largest game mats.
Of course, the charm of these miniatures is the careful attention to detail. These miniatures straddle the line between display and gaming. Since the reality of gaming is that most gamers select a scale based on space available and cost of the miniatures, that most of these battles involved small numbers of ships and occurred in a limited area, the large size will not seem out of place.
From the Battleline game company also responsible for Ship o’ the Line, precursor to the popular boardgame Wooden Ships and Iron Men. Battleline rules tended to be slender and easy to follow. S. Craig Taylor who wrote these clearly played them as well so there is reasonable clarity in the presentation.
The rules use a 1 to 20 figure ratio with 4 infantry figures on a base 2″ x 1″ for 25mm figures. A standard infantry regiment is composed of 5 bases. There is provision for a commanding general but none for command at lower levels.
The rules use a standard Move-Fire-Melee sequence with an additional charge sequence at the very beginning of the turn. Everything is assumed to happen simultaneously though with movement, it is a matter of moving figures before a 5 minute timer sounds. Formations are column, road column, open order, skirmish order, and line.
These are the first metal figures I ever purchased. I bought them to supplement the absence of adequate Confederate cavalry for my set of Airfix American Civil War figures. These are by K & L Thomas who offered an extensive range of figures. They advertised in the hobby magazines I read and had I had more money, I would certainly have purchased more figures. The last entry for them on TMP is listed for 2008 so it is likely the figures are no longer available.
At that time, I had barely enough money for a few boxes of Airfix figures. I had coaxed a friend into purchasing and building his own army and even conceded the far more attractive Union side to him. But his interest soon waned and I found myself without a gaming opponent.
The painting on these figures is what I could muster at that early age. It is not the best but it was good enough. How I could get even this level of detail with the kinds of brushes I had back then I could not guess.
A mix of figures from Old Glory and Foundry all appearing to be 28mm. Old Glory sculptors seem to revel in off-balance poses and dramatic expressions while the Foundry figures seem more nicely detailed and better proportioned. Except for a handful of Zouaves in the back row, all the figures are painted with acrylics on a black primed surface. The Zouaves in the back row are part of a large set of figures I bought, some of which were already painted. I did not have the heart to repaint the figures and though they are different from my style, I think they fit it well enough. They appear to be primed gray and painted with enamels.