Back in the early '80's I found myself out of the navy, married, with a temporary job and flat broke. Nova Scotia is an area that people often leave to find work while military personal transfer in and out so I also found myself in between wargaming circles. I decided that I needed a new wargames project, a budget one. MPC had just re-released some Airfix kits so I picked up a stack of ACW figures, painted 48 a side (4 x 12 Yankees vs 3 x 16 Rebs, shuffled them aimlessly about the kitchen table with Featherstone in hand once or twice, and then life returned to normal. Those 1/72nd plastics were relegated to this box, then that one then dumped unceremoniously in a big bin of mostly unpainted plastic figures but I couldn't quite let go of them. (My very first sets of Airfix were a box each of Rebs and WWII Russians given to me one Christmas, I played Hungarian revolt with them!) I doubted that I'd ever finish the 1/72nd project, not after building ACW armies in 15mm, and 54mm (I have 200 or more ACW 40mm figs from 4 manufacturers but I'm pleased to say that none have been painted as ACW). Then at Cold Wars 2 years ago I saw a marvelous 1/72nd/22mm game and it got me itching.
What do they say? "Look for patterns?"
Last week, after another enjoyable 1/72 AWI game with Jerry, we got to talking. Jerry is a 1/72 plastic fan and he had a bunch of unpainted rebs, I still had my 100 painted and another 200 or so unpainted, we both like ACW, so......... 2 days later I just flocked the bases on my 1st unit of Black hats in mid-war campaign dress (ok I painted a bunch of marching rebs in blue, I'm sort of backing into this, I'll figure out who is who as I go along), rebased and flocked the old guys, have been eying
PSR and
http://www.musketminiatures.com/ and "
tramp tramp tramp the boys are marching".
I dunno, they may have minor issues but they still hold up to my eye, esp the marching figures. These are the 28 year old (yikes) guys with with basic shading & highlighting completely hidden by a new coat of gloss varnish. Ready for Black Powder or Morschauser Meets MacDuff.
Those boys are really classic...some of my first minis were those exact figures.
ReplyDeleteMine too... real grognards!!
ReplyDeleteThese are the guys that got me started in wargaming - along with Charge.
ReplyDeleteI posted a pic of a few of my Airfix ACW figures on my blogsite a few months ago (comparing with ESCI), and a refight of Featherstone's Action in the Plattville Valley. I began my wargaming career with Airfix, and the vast majority of both my armies are Airfix, with a few Atlantic Cavalry in my Confederate army, and about a brigade's worth (3 regiments) of ESCI Union Infantry.
ReplyDeleteSome Airfix Foreign Legion also appear in my Union Army, one 21-figure regiment of Zouaves, and a 3-regiment brigade of Black troops (totalling 75 figures).
I did mix the infantry up, with a whole 'Black Hat' brigade (4 regiments) but I don't call them the Iron Brigade except in refights; and for some reason a whole Brigade of Confederates have light blue kepis. A few other kepi-wearing Confederates form another Brigade. All the figures advancing with rifles at the high port ended up in my Confederate Army...
All up, my Union army comprises over 1000 plastic figures; my Confederates a little over 700. I've never, ever, managed to get them all on the table at once. The biggest battle I fought with them involved 24 Union infantry and 17 Confederate infantry plus horse and guns - maybe 1200 or so figures altogether...
Cheers,
Ion
Something about "Great Minds Thinking Alike" going on here!!!!
ReplyDeleteExcellent!
Matt