ACW Union(15mm)

Perhaps some of you remember when I mentioned overhauling my 15mm ACW collection awhile back which was in desperate need of this(follow the Link). Errr.... it only took me a few years to finally start! Anyhow, I finally have some results to show in a few union regiments. Well.... actually I have more already completed, but I'll break it all down by posting a few regiments at a time to keep things neat and tidy so to speak.

The figures are all Old Glory 15mm and are still good sculpts after all these years with some having odd positions, but I can live with that. At one point a thought about selling it all and switching to either 10mm or starting the excellent Blue Moon 18mm, but realized that would be a fools errand for me when I already have so many Old Glory figures at least with a basic paint job to work from and many more in bags which made doing it in another range/scale both time and cost prohibitive. 

These were the first figures I collected for historical wargaming way back in the day and so one can imagine they needed a painting update and complete new basing! However the figures were at least neatly block painted, but that was about it folks. Needless to say nowadays I need a more depth to my figures then that so I decided to simply give them a wash and add a highlight and I must say I'm pleased with the results. The basing was awful which consisted of green flock and reddish brown paint. Of course that too had to change and I decided to go for a light summer day basing and again I'm pleased with how that came out as well. I then replaced the tattered flags I had with some lovely GMB  designs flags which really helps the collection to shine. I decided that my goal with 15mm ACW was to achieve tabletop effect rather then glass case painting so I skipped a middle tone and used a base darker tone followed by a wash and then a bright/brighter highlight. Viewed up close it doesn't look grade A+, however when viewed from the tabletop looks quite good as the stronger contrasts help them stand out from the terrain. I feel at smaller scales you have to paint in higher contrasts or the figures fade into the table. I also believe lighter coloured bases and tabletops are needed at smaller scales then 28mm, but even there lighter is generally better as well. So far, I'm quite pleased with how things are turning out and to tell the truth better then I expected. The reason is simple in that when I was painting them I was always looking up close seeing the flaws and it wasn't until I was finished and looking at them from a gaming distance before I could see the effect they really gave. This of course has given me motivation to plough on with the overhaul which is always a good thing.:-)

Does this mean the end of 28mmACW?.....No not a chance! I'm simply a ACW nutter and feel compelled to do it in two scales. I plan on using 15mm ACW for F&F and RF&F to fight historical battles and with the high base count it makes sense to do this in 15mm and the fact that I've been playing it using this system and at this scale for more years then I care to count! For 28mm ACW I'll be using Longstreet, Black Powder etc. Stay tuned for more to follow!

Thanks for viewing!:-)
Miniature Company-Old Glory