Redoubt Enterprises

25mm American Civil War

by David Barnes

Redoubt Enterprises new Napoleonic 25mm American Civil War Range 49 Channel View Road, Eastbourne, E. Sussex, BN22 7LN, and Miniature Service Center, 1525 Bridge St. #163, Yuba City, CA, 95993, USA

American Civil War Range

Now, the new American Civil War range. These are a great leap forward in modeling and general "presence" for Redoubt I think. It's a moot point as to where "Art holds up a mirror to life," as representations of the figure can be disconcerting if too life-like and in this scale slight modulations of pose can be lost on the observer. However, I think the designer has achieved a fine balance here. There are over 200 figures in this offering - with their separate packs of heads one can produce a bewildering variety of figures for either the Union of the Confederate States. Just straight off with my basing system, 4 figures per base, 16 figures per battalion one can have 9 regiments, all looking different.

These figures come in packs of six representing a different pose and different attitudes of that pose within the pack (and arms and weapons in the case of "Right shoulder shift" poses). There are different orders of dress: shirt, sack coat, frock coat, shell jacket, and you can choose the head type you want to suit these orders from kepis, slouch hats, hardee hats, Tennessee hats, "puffball" (Mexican American war vets) or bareheaded. For officers there are packs of officer's kepis and officers slouch hats. All can use any of the head/hats listed. Packs are £ 3.60, at the time of writing, with packs of heads available for 50p. With several packs and the slouch hats option you could recreate Picket's charge at Gettysburg!

I will list the packs, comment and draw some of the figures, not to scale.

Standing Command Officer, Drummer, two standard bearers, two sergeants.

ACW1 Shirt Order Officer has the sword behind his back, sheathed, crossways. Drummer has drum under his arm. One Sgt has his left hand raised - could be a salute or calling out (depending on where you pose the head). The standard bearers look relaxed holding the standard in their right hands. One can easily see them as Confederates.

ACW2 Shell Jacket I have mixed some of these with ACW8 frock coat and ACW12 frock coat to produce the 20th Maine volunteers. They really look the part. I used kepi heads for all of them. 20th Maine wore dark blue entire at the start.

ACW3 Sack Coat

ACW4 Frock Coat

Command March Advance

Two sergeants, two standard bearers, a drummer and an officer.

ACW25 (printed 26 on the sheet, but the next is 26 too, so 25 seems obvious) Shirt order. First comment - my ACW25 had only 5 figures - one standard bearer missing - evidently shot down and he couldn't crawl to the bag - yes they look that lifelike. They are not all in step so could be route marching from A to B like all but the most recent PBI. The officer has a drawn sword "at ease" on his shoulder and a pistol on his right hip. His left hand supports his scabbard. He has a natty "bootlace tie and a sash over his waistcoat. The drummer is playing and has a pistol holstered on his right hip. The standard bearer also has a pistol similarly positioned. He holds the staff (supply both staff and fly yourself - I prefer this) in his right hand, his left rests on his water bottle over knapsack. If you want the whole regiment in shirt order then use ACW29 March Advance and ACW33 Right Shoulder Shift, then you will have 18 stout lads in all shirt order, including command marching bravely forward, some at march advance and some at right shoulder shift - flags, drummer and officer.

ACW26 Gives you six command in shell jacket which you can team up with ACW30 March Advance Shoulder Arms and ACW4 March Advance Right Shoulder Shift. Obviously if you decide on more motley Rebs you can mix them up, such as ACW26 shell jacket command, ACW31 sack coat shoulder arms and ACW36 frock coat right shoulder shift. With the range of headgear, you can have all the shirt order in Tennessee hats, all the frock coats in puff ball (Mexican American War cap) or jumble them all up with a pack of bareheaded lads mixed in. The Rebs often looked more neat than some films would have us believe and bare feet were often the norm in the South: witness the old song:

    Took his uncles and his aunts
    To get him into pants
    And we gotta git the shoes on nowSomehow!
    We gotta git the shoes on now!!

You could put Hardee hats or kepis with ACW26 shell jacket command, ACW30 shell jacket shoulder arms, ACW34 shell jacket right shoulder shift - or mix. Frock coats ACW28,

ACW32 & ACW36 could all be "Black hats" or Iron Brigade. ACW27 command sack coat, ACW31 sack coat, shoulder arms, ACW35 sack coat right shoulder shift could have kepis, slouches or whatever you choose. A grand way to have your own individual army.

Standing Color Guard.

ACW5 to ACW8. Standard bearer, five sergeants and corporals that can act as color guard or be mixed into the line. To create a Tennessee regiment, I mixed ACW3 sack coat command with ACW5 color guard and ACW13 infantry standing, grounded weapons in shirt order. They got officers slouch hats, mixed the rest with Tennessee hats and puff balls. With the majority in shirt order and mixed hats they looked great as a Southern regiment.

Infantry at ease takes in packs ACW9 to ACW12.

Infantry standing, grounded weapons ACW13 to ACW16.

Infantry at attention ACW17 to ACW20

Infantry standing, right shoulder shift ACW21 to ACW24. These packs have separate right arms and musket rifles for you to stick on. So for each pose you get a pack of shirt order, shell jacket, sack coat or frock coat. Redoubt say that there are lots more to follow and that this will be the most complete range ever for the period. Some of the officers cradle their swords in their left arm; some have their hands resting on their pistol holsters. Some enlisted men are holding pipes or have them in breast pockets. This whole group emanates humanity and, more than that the humanity of the time portrayed.

ACW Artillery crews. at attention.

ACWART1 Artillery crew in shirts. There's a ventman with a thumb with sall placed on the vent. A lanyard man with it coiled by his side. A shot carrier with a satchel at his side. A charge man taking it out of his satchel, worn frontally. A sponge/rammer man with his braces/suspenders hanging down and an officer in a waistcoat in a bootlace tie and binoculars in his right hand.

ACWART2 Artillery crew in shell jackets. Rammer man with ram/sponge upright. Ventman with thumb in vent. Shot man and charge man with their big satchels. Lanyard man pulls the edge of his jacket. The officer has a short cape and wears a sword and pistol.

ACWART3 Artillery crew in sack coats. 2 satchel men, vent man, lanyard man, rammer and gun captain.

ACWART4 Artillery crew in frock coats. Gun captain with sheathed sword - left arm behind his back, vent man, lanyard man, rammer, 2 satchel men, one with it on his right hip, the other opened at his left front.

Now the ordnance. The 3 most commonly used artillery pieces. They come in a pack of pieces plus bucket, raminer and trail spike.

ACX1 12lb Napoleon smoothbore.

ACX2 10lb/3" Parrot rifle.

ACX3 3" Rodman Ordnance rifle.

These pieces are really "the article." All the bits are cleanly cast and fit together well.

"Elegant" might be the term to use for them. I look forward to fielding them on either side of the conflict (being a solo gamer, I have to field both sides when I can). With this equipment you can be confident of some admiring glances from opponents.

More Barnes' Reviews

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© Copyright 1998 Hal Thinglum
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