Rebasing 28mm ACW

 

Texians

This is something I've been thinking over for quite some time and I finally pulled the trigger. I've wanted to make my units smaller for intermediate to large battle games, but at the same time make the bases bigger so I could tell a story of a kind for each unit. I've gone with two 60mm frontage bases with depths varying from 40mm, 60mm and 70mm depending on the troop type.

Iron Brigade

For me 28mm is all about the figure and the posing and very little to do with representing an actual unit size and in fact large units on a table not suited for it just looks crowded. If you want to represent units in appearance it should really be done at the smaller scales imho. I have an 8ft by 5ft. table which works great with the size I've chosen and really puts everything into proportion in my eye. In fact all my games with my AWI collection were played with comparable frontages and it works great so it's been tested so to speak.

Alabamians

I've also raised the bases higher so I don't need to touch the figures when picking up the base which helps with wear and tear. Once on my table it's not very noticeable.

Fire Zouaves 

I'll probably post these in batches until the rebasing is finished which could take awhile because I have to paint up some new commands. After that settles down then it will go back to individual units as I complete them.

Skirmish

Thanks for viewing!

Miniature Companies- Redoubt, Sash and Saber, Perry

AB French in Greatcoats

 

This is my first try at a Napoleonic regiment and I thought I would start with the renowned AB miniatures in 18mm. I'm not sure if it's a project yet as I mostly did this so I would have a something to add when a friend that I have comes over with his Nap collection. It may become a project, but too early to say.

I've always had a strange relationship with figures smaller than 28mm in that I like how they present an army feel to them, but find them sort of a chore to paint as I feel somewhat constrained with all the small brush strokes. I'm quite happy with how they look and really like the solid compactness they present. I would really like to add more regiments to my collection, but the process of getting there dampens the enthusiasm some as they are quite time consuming.

I'm hoping to add more 15/18mm armies to my collections as I do really like the army feel they present and maybe doing more of them will become more comfortable in time, but 28mm will stay king as I really do like painting the scale and the dynamism in posing it offers. 

The figures are amazing and full of detail that would put some 28mm to shame, but I wonder do you really need so much detail in 18mm? After all nobody will see it unless they pick it up for inspection. I'm on the fence about it because for pictures with close ups and those that like to have close inspections of miniatures it's great, but if it's just for army building then maybe not as much. I would say before I paint the unit I wish there was less, but after I'm done I'm glad their was more...... so perhaps I'm not the best to ask because I can't give straight answer other then a muddled "depends".

I'm a novice in uniforms and organizations in the Napoleonic wars so mistakes may of been made that might make some Grognards gasp, but truth be told if I liked something that wasn't correct I'd still keep it as I take liberties to give impressions that I want, because for me that's the most important thing of any project or figure I paint.

 

I have some more French that are about half way or so finished in between other things I'm doing, but this time without greatcoats. I thought I would start with greatcoats first as they are easier to paint then uniforms when getting my feet wet for the first time.

Thanks for viewing!

Miniature Company- Eureka/AB miniatures

Indian War Party

 

Back with some more French and Indian Wars for my Sharp Practice collection. Some of these Indians I painted before and some of them are newly painted, but I couldn't remember which so I just decided to include them all.

For Sharp Practice Indians are classified as tribal which makes sense and are 12 man units however I'm not really sure they fought the way as written in the rules(poor shots, very aggressive). I decided to split them in two units of 6 with a leader and treat them more like light infantry which means they will be aggressive at the right moment and are decent shots basically.

Indians are a challenge to paint with the extra patterns, warpaint and flesh, but when finished are some of the coolest looking figures in the collection due to the exotic warrior look combined with colonial wear so pays off in the end imho.

The figures themselves are a mixture of Galloping Major and Redoubt which work very well together making it difficult to tell which is which unless you know the ranges well. Really fine figures to work with. Painting was the usual Foundry paints, Vallejo and MIG pigments.

Still looking to get my first French and Indian war game in.....maybe this is the year as I have enough now!

Thanks for viewing!

Miniature Company- Galloping Major, Redoubt Miniatures

Colonial Rangers

 

Adding some more backlog units to the blog, but this time French and Indians wars for some more Sharp Practice. This is the first of two colonial ranger units I painted up so far. These were some of the best troops the British/Americans could put in the field due to their skill in musketry and woodsman craft and often just really knowing the land well and how to use it.

Since I quite enjoy painting natural colors especially green these were more fun then usual to paint up. Plus I really got a chance to get some contrast in there with the blue without overpowering the other colors which can happen when introducing a stronger color contrasts.

The figures themselves are from Galloping Major and just a real pleasure to paint with just the right amount of detail to give them character, but not so much you feel bogged down.

The paints I used were Foundry as usual with some Vallejo here and there. The basing was a mix of sand, stones, MiniNatur bushes and flowers and some MIG pigments for weathering. These bases are from Warbases I believe.

I think I'll post some Indians and Rangers after this so I can get up to date on my F&IW progress. Who knows maybe one day I'll get to play the collection!

Thanks for viewing!

Miniature Company- Galloping Major

Mexican Cazadores

Hello it seems I dipped out for awhile. Blogging takes more of an effort then other mediums imho so usually suffers the effects first and the longest of any mojo reduction.

I thought I would start with the last thing I did for my Texas War of Independence project with some Mexican Cazadores which are light infantry and operate much like the French Voltigures. Compared to the regular Mexican infantry which had pretty poor muskets and ammunition the Cazadores had decent muskets with some of them actually having rifled muskets making them some of the most effective infantry the Mexicans fielded. 

Painting them is also a bit different to the other line Mexicans as their uniform is a tad darker with grey pants and green/blue jackets. The figures themselves like all the Boothill miniatures are very fun to paint and I highly recommend them.

I also painted up a building to add some more terrain to the table. It's a Hovel small Spanish Church and just really fits the part. I'm a big fan of Hovel buildings as they are packed with character and are priced very nice.

I think that catches me up on my Texas War of Independence project so far, but I have some units about half painted so more to follow, however some other stuff will get posted before that I'm sure.

Thanks for viewing!

Miniature Company! Boothill Miniatures