Monday, December 28, 2015

10mm ACW Project on Review

With no activity seen coming from the 10mm ACW project in 2015, time to pull the figures from the boxes and assess the project's current status.  By no activity, I mean neither a game nor any newly painted and fielded units.  About 50 dismounted cavalry are presently on the painting desk but doubtful they can make it off the desk before year-end.  

Pulling the figures from boxes and arranging them as if on the parade ground, the photo below provides a high-level overview of the project.
The two armies appear to be in roughly equal proportion.  Checking the database shows counts as,
  • Federal Infantry                                  = 1,060
  • Confederate Infantry                           = 1,080
  • Federal Cavalry (w/mtd officers)         = 28
  • Confederate Cavalry (w/mtd officers)  = 33 
  • Federal Artillery                                  = 15 guns, 12 limbers/teams
  • Confederate Artillery                           = 15 guns, 12 limbers/teams

Yep, the sides are about equal.  Looking at the overview photo, three limbers and teams each need to be fielded to provide mobility for the guns without limbers.
When the collection was first fielded, each infantry brigade was based on one base holding 20 figures to fight larger "full battle" actions under Republic.  Later when Regimental Fire and Fury captured my attention, all figures were rebased to allow play under both rules' systems.  The rebasing essentially broke each 20 figure stand into two 10 figure stands.  In Republic, two infantry stands represent about 1,000 men in one Maneuver Unit.  In RFF, each infantry stand represents about 80 men with multiple stands comprising one Maneuver Unit.  Best of both worlds in that large and small scale battles can be refought using the same figures.
When wishing to fight large ACW battles, 10mm makes a great deal of sense.  Of course, the figure detailing is not as fine in the 10s as in the 25s but a lot of figures can be deployed onto the battlefield.
For this project, Old Glory began as the source for all of the figures and I have attempted to keep it solely an Old Glory force.  The 10mm Old Glory infantry come in blocks of five men each rather than individual figures.  Blocks of figures vs individual figures is a choice to consider when considering 10mm.  I have seen comments touting the pros and cons of both.  I like the way in which Old Glory presents infantry in blocks of five.  Of course, YMMV.
Once the dismounted cavalry are completed, these two forces will be ready for more table top action.  More mounted cavalry could be pressed into service but, perhaps, not many more.  Perhaps adding in a few more guns too?  Thoughts of an ACW campaign have been mulling over in my head.  Whatever the decision, I should make an effort to get these fine troops back into battle in 2016.

30 comments:

  1. Nice collection Jon! I may even be catching up.

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  2. Brilliant looking army Jonathan! No doubt 10mm makes sense for large battles and something I've thought about, but I already have a ton of 15's and 28's so I think a third scale would be a little too much.:-)

    Christopher

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    1. Thank you, Christopher, for your always encouraging support! One period; three scales? Not that crazy, is it?

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  3. Looking at these again, I really like how the overall appearance of the armies blends well at a distance. The union forces a very uniform while the CSA has a dappling of colors that sets it off well. It is what I like about doing massed formations with small scale figures.

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    1. Confederates are more varied and more challenging to paint than their adversaries. While the front units may be in gray, there is a lot of butternuts and various shades of gray in among the more uniform grays.

      Appreciate your comments!

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    2. I agree they are much more challenging. (Part of the allure of this scale is the ease in painting large numbers of figs) I have switched to painting in batches of gray, butternut and then tan. Once I get done with three batches, I can then mix and match to get a nice effect.

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    3. That mix and match technique works well for individually sculpted figures. For the Old Glory strips that I use, every strip gets its turn at a particular color. I guess my technique is "mix and match on the fly?"

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    4. I had forgotten about that part. I really intended to try out Old Glory early one, but I have been consumed by the GHQ monster.

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    5. I have extra Old Glory figures if you want to give them a try.

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  4. Superb, the mass effect is splendid! You must get these fine fellows into an AAR. Now I want to play Longstreet or Fire and Fury.

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    1. Monty, glad you like the massed effect of the little 10s! Quite right about getting these guys back in to battle. A combination of Jake's (Dartfrog above) foray into 10mm ACW and thoughts of conducting a campaign game brought this collection back to the light of the game room.

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  5. Wow that looks impressive. Well done!

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  6. They do look rather nice on mass, don't they???

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  7. Oh my, what an impressive turn out for parade!

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    1. An occasional parade is a good way to assess how much gets painted and then forgotten. Also a good way to rediscover a few gaps in a collection. A few gaps surfaced in this review.

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  8. OMG, that is a massive army! I am gobsmacked! I demand action photos at your first opportunity!

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    1. Michael, now that the collection is out on the table, I am motivated to get it into a game as well. Reading Guelzo's Gettysburg has me entertaining thoughts of doing Gettysburg again. Years ago (I'll have to check exactly when) we refought the second day of Gettysburg. I thought it was great fun and produced notes on what I would try if ever attempted again. Maybe this would be a good candidate for another remote commander exercise?

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  9. What a wonderful pair of armies! I love the history of the ACW, but I must confess it has never excited me as a wargames period. I have twice started ACW armies in 15mm and abandoned the project after doing a few units. I just do not like painting 15's. I think 10's are the way to go - enough detail to look like something, while shading them, etc is a waste of time.

    Battlefield tactics in the ACW are somewhat less thanexciting. IMHO as cavalry is a very trivial force com[pared to Infantry and Artillery. I think it is at the Campaign level that the ACW gets interesting - THAT is where cavalry is really useful in the ACW for scouting, raids, etc. Plus you can add in railroads, river gunboats, etc. Using a modified version of "Snappy Nappy" for a big Campaign in a Day could be a real blast. I have a great AAR of such a project for the 1870 Franco Prussian War by another group (they called their modified version "Sappy Nappy"!) that I have to repost to my blog some day.

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    1. Peter, perhaps the right rules have not been unearthed for you? We have long played and enjoyed the original brigade level Fire and Fury. The Regimental Fire & Fury produces an entertaining and challenging game as well. For large battles, Republic has worked well for me.

      For large scale actions, 10mm is my preferred figure size although the group has armies in 10, 15, and 25s. It is a popular period perhaps because reading material is so accessible.

      I have long wanted to try a campaign game set in the ACW. Perhaps, I am getting close to finally giving it a shot.

      As always, enjoy seeing your thoughts on any gaming matter!

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  10. impressive sight of lovely painted 10mm minis Jon!

    Happy and a safe New Year to you, your Family and friends!

    cheers,

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  11. Ah, there they are. We've had a lot of fun games with this collection!

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  12. Not sure how I missed this post! What a beautiful collection :)

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