The Mustering of the South (ACW) First unit: Conversions finished 18/05

[Mason]

Having finally decided to take a long awaited (by me, anyway  ) plunge into some ACW army building, I have decided to begin with Hood's Brigade.
There are several reasons for this this choice.

Firstly, I have managed to waffle on enough at Legionnaire Bert that he has decided to join me and he will be putting together a Union army.
It turns out that he has also long fancied a dabble in the period so we are both pretty happy with this.
Bonus!
 

Secondly, I fancied starting with a Confederate unit from Texas as I have the lovely New Orleans Grey's from Boot Hill Miniatures for some time and have been itching to paint them as they are great sculpts.
They were originally going to be used as a Republic of Texas unit for a VSF force but that boat has long sailed....

(I know that they are not an ACW unit but figured that at the start of the war there were enough units with rather more varied uniforms that I could get away with this, especially as there are two regiments that I have found in Osprey illustrations wearing a very similar fatigue cap that utilising them as Texan troops should not be too far fetched.
This may not go down well with the purists but I wanted to use them and am going to do so.
 ).

Thirdly, I have chosen Hood's Brigade as it is easy to get hold of the banners that I will need for them.
Being a predominantly Texan Brigade helps me fit the Grey's in too.




Here are the Grey's, that are going to outfitted as Company K of the 1st Texas Infantry, the 'Texas Invincibles'...(2nd edition, the first were the Daniel Boone Rifles).



They are mostly made up of the Boot Hill NOG's, with a couple of Renegade sculpts with similar caps (these fellas are not wearing the oilskin covers so will be painted plain grey whilst those with covers will be black).

The figures at the back that have been chopped up are Artizan Design NOG's that I picked up on the Bazaar some time ago.
They needed a little modification as they are from the command pack and were mostly waving their arms around in different directions. I did not want the regiment to look like they were attempting a rendition of the 'YMCA' dance, so they had to be altered. One of the BH figures was waving too, so he got the same treatment.

One of the AD figures was an officer drawing a sword, but as I had plans for a different officer figure from the BH range he would not have been used.
His arms, once the sword, scabbard and hands were removed, just happened to be in a convenient position to be banging a drum, so that became his role.
I just need to tidy up a few things on them, the most difficult of which will be finishing the drum and adding hands and drumsticks, and they will be ready for painting.



So, a little more work to do and the addition of one more pack from BH with a more 'Texas' flavour, and they shall be ready for colouring in.

[rumacara]

Nice idea Paul.
And if you get the flags digitised do please send me the images (Hoods texas brigade flags) for i´m making it in 20mm.

There where a lot of militia units that fought the first battles with that kind of equipment.
See the film "Gods and Generals" for some ideas.

And some painting ideas:
 

[Ray Earle]

Nice start. 

Have a half bothered project for the ACW in 15mm somewhere, I'm wondering if SP2 will restart it..

What rules are you going to be using?

[Jeff965]

Ooh that's a bit out of the blue, looking forward to seeing how this develops Paul. Nice thinking "outside the box" with the Boothill miniatures, makes me look at the range in a different way.

[Mason]

Rui: I am looking at the set that is available from Battleflag.
They do a set specifically designed for Dixon's Miniatures, which is slightly smaller, which may well work out well for 20mm.
http://www.battle-flag.com/dixon-miniatures-acw-flags.html

Thanks for the tip-off with the film, I will have to check that out.
 

Nice start.  

Have a half bothered project for the ACW in 15mm somewhere, I'm wondering if SP2 will restart it..

What rules are you going to be using?

Cheers, Ray.
Not 100% sure on which rules we will be using yet.
We are considering the quick rules that come with the Perry Battle in a Box set that Bertie picked up during the week, but may well check out Black Powder later on.

At the moment this is mainly a modelling project, hence my tinkering, until we have enough units to actually get some games in.
There is so much scope with this period with all the different uniforms that existed at the time.
It really is a falsehood, the assumption by many that it is just 'blues and greys'....

Ooh that's a bit out of the blue, looking forward to seeing how this develops Paul. Nice thinking "outside the box" with the Boothill miniatures, makes me look at the range in a different way.

Cheers, Jeff.
It is a little off of my beaten track, being the first 'proper' historical project that I have taken on.
I cannot resist a little 'artistic license', though.
There are a few more BH figures to convert and add to the unit when they arrive.
You know well enough yourself what nice figures they are, having painted enough over the last couple of years.
 




I made a little more progress with the conversions earlier, with all of them ready for painting bar the drummer, who still needs a little more putty work done to him as he will be needing hands and sticks to get some noise out of it.
The drum itself is done and I have to admit that I am pretty chuffed with the result.
 

[Elk101]

Shit, I'm supposed to be sending you some figures!  I'll dig them out over the weekend.

Sharp Practice 2 does indeed look good for ACW.

[Malamute]

Shit, I'm supposed to be sending you some figures!  I'll dig them out over the weekend.

Don't worry so am I.

I like the drummer, nice conversion.
Had you mentioned it I have the perfect drummer figure. The Mexican summeruniform is basically just a shell jacket, so the  command pack can be easily changed into Texians/Americans.
You may also find the US army deserters pack will give you some alternate poses.

[Mason]

Shit, I'm supposed to be sending you some figures!  I'll dig them out over the weekend.

Don't worry so am I.

Dont worry, chaps.
There is still time for a few more manufacturer samples.
There are still a few more regiments to be put together and I am still looking at options.
 

I like the drummer, nice conversion.
Had you mentioned it I have the perfect drummer figure. The Mexican summeruniform is basically just a shell jacket, so the  command pack can be easily changed into Texians/Americans.
You may also find the US army deserters pack will give you some alternate poses.

Thanks.
I am enjoying working on the drummer and he is almost done now (although that Mexican fella would certainly have saved some time) and it has been good to push my boundaries with the putty pushing.

I may have to look at that Mexican uniform more closely, though....bearing in mind that I am considering adding a third rank to give the option of a larger regiment later.


I am happy with the additional figures already discussed for this regiment.
They will require a small amount of conversion but that will be the fun part of this particular unit, coming up with something a little different.
 

[Captain Blood]

ACW??! 

Ah but wait... I can already see them marching into Upsheet Creek... 

[Mason]

ACW??! 

Ah but wait... I can already see them marching into Upsheet Creek... 

 
Not your cup of tea, then, sir?

Not enough bright colours, or just a lack of 'Blood Pink'?

As I mentioned earlier, it is an old itch to scratch, and I am looking forward to scratching it.
 

As for them going to the Creek: It will be more a case of the Creek moving to them as I can use some of the scenery, so that IS an added bonus.
 

[Captain Blood]

Not your cup of tea, then, sir?

No - never got ACW. First wargame I ever played, aged about 5, with my older brother on his model railway layout - Airfix ACW.
My father in law is an ACW history nut. God knows why - he's English as they come. Books, videos, DVDs - he's obsessed with it. I just don't get it. 
I can see why it's endlessly fascinating to American wargamers, of course, as a traumatic and defining chapter in the history of the USA.
But it's one of the few conflicts in human history that holds no interest or appeal for me at all... The first 'early modern' war? Maybe. Just not my cup of tea...

Still, I daresay many people feel the same about the periods and genres I happen to like... 

[OSHIROmodels]

Question is, are you going to paint them yourself 

cheers

James

[flags_of_war]

Rui i do all the flags for Hoods brigade

[flags_of_war]

Mason i have these figures too and they are great. texas Rev is on ive wanted to do for a long time and ill be doing them for SP2 for sure.

[Elk101]

Right, I've dug out my ACW stuff. Any particular poses you're after; marching, firing, etc?