ACW revisited part 2...

DC [click here for his blog] gets the kudos I mentioned was up from grabs in my last post, for accurately identifying that the little metal men at the bottom of the post were from Jaclex [click here] .... well done that man..... 😀

Lots of comments from you fine folks so rather than write a long response I thought I'd make it into a post as they raised some interesting points...

Metals or plastics???

Grimsby Mariner [click here] recommended the Perry plastics for the project and I'd be the first to agree there's some truth in what he suggested; they're cheap, a quality product, and indeed a lot of people (including Grimsby himself who I consider no mean slouch when it comes to selecting figures) like the Perry's, but (heads for the bunker...) I don't.... 😏

I've looked at them in the flesh (plastic?) and tried to like them but can't.... that's them just above, if you click on it you'll get the usual bigger view...

There's two entirely personal reasons that I can't like them:

1. I think the infantry all look like they have a case of piles - if you look in the picture check how many of them have bended knee's - all those straight legs make for a very static looking bunch of people, not at all what I imagine the ACW to have been like... (I think the cavalry however are very, very, nice...)
   
2. They're plastic...... I know, I know, I can mount them on washers to give them some heft, or I can mount them on metal bases to do the same, etc. etc. but at the end of it they’re still plastic…..

I think my antipathy to plastic comes from my defining wargame experiences…. When I was a spotty callow youth I wargamed with Airfix plastics and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.. if it’s not too grandiose a statement, the experience was life changing - I have now pursued the hobby for 30+ years as a result of the enjoyment I had at the time. Something as defining as that however, can have other side effects as well, I still scratch build scenery on occasion (who does that much any more!), I write my own rules occasionally (usually just before going out and buying a commercial set!) but that early hobby experience taught me that metal figures are something to *aspire* to…

Now that I am (reasonably) well employed I can buy what I always aspired to when I looked in the magazines and books of the day… and that was metal figures. So I have to say that if I was going to buy Perry I’d probably buy the metal one’s before I bought any plastic… I guess that psychologically, I’ve “done” plastics, got the t-shirt (considerably smaller than my current one's) and moved on....

Figure Choice - new style or old style:

...and then John [click here] opened a veritable can of worms by raising the horrible “o” word - opinion, this time over new or old style figures....

Over many many years, I've seen more wargamers in on-line news groups & Yahoo groups get "excited" about the design and make of our little metal men than possibly any other thing.... I've no idea why these people get so worked up about what is basically a perfect stranger expressing an opinion, but nonetheless it happens again and again...

I suspect that personal opinion is such a hideously ephemeral thing that no-one is ever going to be able to persuade someone else that their choice is the right one….. but I'll start by answering the general question John posed first - which would I prefer Perry Plastic or Spencer Smith plastic?? Well, I think it's a great question, and I've added it as one of a number of polls on the side, but if I’m to be brutally honest, it would be “neither, thanks”… 

If you said which do you prefer, Perry plastic or Spencer Smith’s in metal - then I’d have a harder time of it, as I’ll be entirely honest and say that I did look at the Spencer Smith’s and was *almost* convinced that they were the one’s for me until I saw the cavalry, which were just a step too far… (see following)
I suspect that in certain circles this would be considered heresy, but that same wargaming experience I talked about above didn't just stay in the 70's, I've seen and liked the likes of Foundry, Front Rank, Redoubt etc. and the SSM's are a little too plain.... i'm not a good painter and I need a few raised surfaces so that I know where the brush has to stop...

Slightly separately John also mentioned a range I'd never heard of before - Wodensfeld - this blog [click here] makes interesting reading on the range, and also some other slightly better known one's...

Bluebear Jeff [click here] raises an interesting thought, and Jeff - the figures are exquisite - look at these guys, not a straight leg among them..!

.. but the scale is too big - if I go 20 or 25mm I can re-use my American Revolution scenery, so I had a look at the 25mm Sash and Sabre instead, and I'll admit I'm slightly torn...

Piccie courtesy Volley Fire Painting Service

...over here I can get them through Old Glory UK, they're not expensive, but on the other hand they're not very old school either... decisions, decisions....

Then I also discovered Newline [click here] which up until now I'd only know because of their Fantasy stuff, but they have a pretty big 20mm and 25mm historical range - I like the 20mm ACW range over the 25mm - here's an example:

So... bottom line, the search goes on and thanks for all the comments chaps. Current research to date: