VSF Confederacy ca. 1880 (Pictures added April 24, 2011)

[Froggy the Great]

Ok, so I caved and picked up a box of Perry plastic ACW infantry figures, the ones that can work for both Union and Confederate.  The weapons are plastic and fragile, so I'm going to have to convert them to look suitably VSF and all.  Anyway.

Assuming the Confederacy in 1880 is sort of like what you'd see in the Deadlands RPG and the Confederacy is interested in Atlantis ca. 1891:

What sorts of weird technology would they give their soldiers (What things say "VSF confederacy" for conversions to make these weapons less flimsy?)

What colors would their uniforms be?  I'm using the varied slouch caps that came in the box.

EDIT April 24, 2011 - They're done!

Soldiers:


Captain Jonathan High and his Rockets:


Flamethrowers:

[VSF Gamer]

As with alot of the uniforms in that time period I painted my Confederates in a kaki color figuring they maybe getting uniforms from the British or other european powers. Mine are around the mid to late 1890's.

[Chairface]

Butternut for regular troops perhaps, grey for marines and guards units?  Maybe a Zouave unit or two with the new Perry plastics, wildly colourful and very Southern.

As for troop types, I think that you want to remember the spirit and sometimes reckelessness of the rebels. Imagine Jeb Stuart and a unit of his boys with jet packs, and/or a unit of confederate calvary on lizards/ mechanical cats/ etc. etc. Maybe a unit of NA Indian scouts?  Are slaves free in your 1890's confederacy? A unit of New Orleans Freedmen with their Voodoo chaplain....

The possibilities are endless.

[Chairface]

If you haven't already, Froggy, you may want to check out this book for inspiration:



It's more alternate history than VSF but it will give you an idea of how a later day confederacy might have looked

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Few_Remain

[Cadet13]

Well, what springs to my mind is the "Confederate Rocket" of Mythbuster's fame. Here's and excerpt from the 'Net about it:

As an interesting sidelight, the author Burke Davis, in his book "Our Incredible Civil War," tells a tale of a Confederate attempt to fire a ballistic missile at Washington, D.C., from a point outside Richmond, Va.

According to the author, Confederate President Jefferson Davis witnessed the event at which a 3.7 meter (12 foot) solid-fueled rocket, carrying a 4.5 kilogram (10 pound) gunpowder warhead in a brass case engraved with the letters C.S.A., was ignited and seen to roar rapidly up and out of sight. No one ever saw the rocket land. It's interesting to speculate whether, almost 100 years before Sputnik, a satellite marked with the initials of the Confederate States of America might have been launched into orbit.

http://www.solarviews.com/eng/rocket.htm

There's also the double barreled cannon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-barreled_cannon

and the Winans Steam Gun

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winans_Steam_Gun

[ushistoryprof]

Don't forget the exciting and powerful dynamite guns. Available in field gun to 15 inch coastal battery sizes.  A little VSF modification could remake it into the new portable infantry man model.

http://www.heliograph.com/trmgs/trmgs1/dynamite.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamite_gun

One of my favorite stories about this unusual weapon occured in the Spanish American War where some very frustrated artilley gunners found that only by pounding on the breech with a heavy hammer or shovel could they get the blasted thing to fire (vs exploding if the artillery men were unlucky as they were hitting a metal tube filled with dynamite!).  Either way, it sounds like a good base for further developement into a true VSF weapon.
Prof
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http://worldhistoryprof.blogspot.com/

[Sterling Moose]

You'll of course need the Hinterland girlies as The Daughters of the Confederacy!

[Bullshott]

Also look at Brigade Games' GASLIGHT range of ACW figures; including troops with steam-powered jump packs (very nice  - I'm working on a set), troops with flamethrowers and lady zouaves.

[Froggy the Great]

Well as my Hinterland figures are my Martian army, they can't really step in...

However, the box came with 36 figures, including three leaders.  I figure I'll have two units of 9 "line troops" and then rig up a unit of 9 with jump packs (and don't roll a 1).  Three of the models are going to get flamethrowers, as the arms holding the standards were too tempting not to convert.

Weirdly enough, though the Perry figures look really delicate compared to the incredibly chunky Jeff Valent ACW stuff I have, the height difference isn't that acute.

I still have to figure out what to do with those guns and bayonets that keep threatening to snap, but that's part of the fun of it.

I like the idea of khakis for the uniform, or maybe the late-war uniform with the sky-blue trousers.  We shall see.

I also need to tank my Lead Hoarder's Vow by -36, which is gonna hurt, but in a good-natured sort of way.

[Froggy the Great]

Ok, here they are primed.  The shot is almost even good enough you can tell what I did, too.

All guns got a bit of thin plating on either side of the barrel - this was partly to make them look VSF, partly just to reinforce them before I broke any more. 

Front row, second from right is the fellow in charge of the jump troops - I added a small boiler to his back (yes it's insulated, but that upgrade was at the cost of seven lynched quartermasters) and put unused forage caps on either side which I plan to paint up as the steam spigots.  I advise the CSA's player (probably gonna be me) to never roll a 1 with these guys.

Front row, third from right is a flamethrower.  Same caveats apply - don't roll a 1.



Now to figure out how to paint them.  Here is where I shall gladly take informed suggestions, now that we've seen the figures.

[Plynkes]

Whatever colours you choose, I'd paint them to look smart and give them an homogeneous appearance. There's no reason why a Confederacy that survives the Civil War intact needs to have ragged-looking soldiers all with different coloured uniform bits here and there. They looked that way in the ACW for a reason, not because they wanted to.

[argsilverson]

What about the official uniform colours:
light gray  jackets and coats
sky blue pants
black/brown belts etc
pipings etc red for infantry / yellow for cavalry / sky blue for specialists,marines,aeroneff crew / black for artillery /green for sharpshooters / crimson for engineers, sappers, / mauve for medics  etc.
and yellow scarfs/shash.

Otherwise choose a basic colour and make variations. Another inspiration is those colourful uniforms used as "official uniforms" by the numerous militia and cadet units at the earliest stage of the ACW.

I agree also to the points Plynkes advised.
However one smart thing VSF has is that soldiers should look smart and colourful.

[Cadet13]

I second argsilverson's official uniform suggestion.



Just looks sharp, ya know? 

[Ray Rivers]

Remember that most countries during this time where highly influenced in the choice of uniform, by Europe.

I think if I did Confederates, they would be very French like, perhaps even allies.  So it would be a grey coat with red trousers and kepis.  This would also open up lots of Franco-Prussian war minis and weapons that could be added into the mix.

Otherwise, yep, the official Confederate uniform works well for me too.

[argsilverson]

Remember that most countries during this time where highly influenced in the choice of uniform, by Europe.

Yes, France and Prussia mostly. See the South American uniforms of the time.
A good excuse to use pickelhaubes in the Americas.

But if I remember well Cenfederate was closer to Britain at that time and so, they could have copied some british uniforms. But it is very far away from gray ...

Otherwise, yep, the official Confederate uniform works well for me too.

You gave the example with the Union army