Thursday, 25 June 2026

A few more ACW bits

 With my recent re-visit to the ACW I reviewed some possible scenarios and the stuff I've currently got. I've basically got enough for most of the things I'm likely to want to do, but looking at the Volley and Bayonet 'Brandywine Creek' scenario it requires rather more cavalry than I currently have. Generally you don't need masses of cavalry for ACW battles, but this one is primarily a cavalry engagement, with a few infantry tagging along.


A couple of quick painting sessions produced these. This is still stuff left over from the Baccus ACW army set I picked up second hand some years ago. There are a few bits left in the bags now, but not much, so if I want to add anything else, I may have to actually buy something new!


First up we have some dismounted Confederate cavalry. I find these stands useful for both dismounted cavalry and also to add to infantry units to make up the numbers for larger sized units. I do have some more horse holder figures and horses too, but I didn't paint those up as I have enough.

These guys are in a mixture of kepis and broad hats, predominantly grey although I mixed in some browns too as I'm envisaging this unit being a bit raggedy.


And then another Confederate cavalry unit with four bases. Like the dismounted troops, also a mix of kepis and bigger hats, and I also did these in grey with some brown variations. I also added some yellow tops to some of the caps, which adds a spot of colour.

When I was putting them away, I  noticed that the grey on all these unis was a darker shade than on the existing ones, so I must have used a different shade before, but I'm not sure what. Sadly I'm not disciplined enough to write down the colours I use for everything. For Confederate ACW troops I don't think it matters too much.  


A couple of stands of Union dismounted cavalry. These are all in kepis and are more uniform than the CSA, with the usual dark blue jackets and sky blue trousers.


And another unit of Union cavalry, again all in kepis.

I've got enough stuff left for a few more bases of dismounts and another regiment of mounted, but tbh I think that is plenty of cavalry to be going on with. While I was in the box of ACW stuff, I also brightened up the Zouave stands as some of the them don't stand out that well on the tabletop. The miracle of Posca Paint Pens let me easily add some extra waist sashes, highlights on their caps and even some stripey trousers! If only I could make the Iron Brigade stand out more. The best I could manage was big brass badges on their hats, but they are largely invisible at normal gaming ranges. 



No comments:

Post a Comment