Preparing your Army

~Preparing your Army.~

Like any great military commander, (cough cough) One must find the best recruits for their units.

I have decided to go with models from the GHQ's Micro Force  ACW line.





GHQ ACW-1 US Inf w/sackcoat & forage

I had looked online at many different manufacturers and had decided on a U.S. company.

GHQ has been making war game miniatures since 1967. Their range of models covers many of the popular time periods for war gaming.

The scale That I will be using will be 10mm, Basically the equivalent of N scale model rail road figures.

When I open the pack the first thing I notice is how the figures have very little flash on them. With a pair of tweezers you can gently straighten rifle barrels and swords. Only minor adjustments are needed due to the fact that the miniatures are in good condition. This pack includes one officer with sword, one Standard bearer, and a drummer. There are 24 soldiers in four different advancing poses.


Once I get the soldiers straightened out with their minor adjustments, I place them in groups according to poses.



IMPORTANT NOTE~ The rule set that you use will more than likely decide on how you will base the figures for the game. I decided on "Micro Force The Game American Civil War." This is also produced by GHQ.

The Figures will be arranged with eight miniatures to a base. This is two rows of four soldiers. I try to have one of each pose in the two rows.

Next up, I take a box of ordinary wood nails and a 4oz bottle of Elmer's Glue All. I squeeze a small portion of glue on the head of the nail and place a figure on the head.

 Next I place the nail with the soldier on it in a piece of Styrofoam. After I let them dry for a few hours They are ready for their first coat.

I take each figure, holding them by the nail, and use an acrylic Flat Black I give each figure an even coat. Make sure not to glop the paint into seams. Too much paint will take away from the detail of the miniature.

 These Confederate soldiers are further along in the painting process. After the base coat of black has dried I use skin tone color  for the heads and hands.
Working my way down from the top of the figure down I paint the hats, jackets, and pants.

~NOTE~ all Paints that I use are flat acrylic colors from  Model Master

~THE PAINT LIST~
                                                                UNION                                             
HAT                                                   INSIGNIA BLUE 4742
FACE                                                 SKIN TONE  TINT BASE LT 4601
JACKET                                            INSIGNIA BLUE 4742
BELT/CARTRIDGE BOX                FLAT BLACK4768
CANTEEN                                         NEUTRAL GRAY  4757
HAVERSACK                                   FLAT WHITE 4705
PANTS                                               COBALT BLUE 4612
BROGANS (SHOES)                         FLAT BLACK 4768

 Confederate Soldiers had many variations of dress and personal "style."  My Confederate soldiers reflect this by the different paint schemes of their clothing.

HAT                                        NEUTRAL GRAY, FLAT BLACK, FLAT WHITE, DARK TAN
FACE                                      SKIN TONE TINT BASE LT          
JACKET                               NEUTRAL GRAY, FLAT WHITE, DARK TAN, BURNT SIENNA
BELT/CARTRIDGE BOX          FLAT BLACK
CANTEEN                                   DARK TAN
HAVERSACK                             FLAT BLACK
PANTS                                         LIGHT GRAY,COBALT BLUE, DARK TAN, BURNT SIENNA
BROGANS (SHOES)                  FLAT BLACK, LEATHER

~MODEL MASTER COLORS W/ ID NUMBER

 INSIGNIA BLUE                         4742
 SKIN TONE  TINT BASE LT     4601
 FLAT BLACK                              4768
 FLAT WHITE                               4705
 COBALT BLUE                            4612
 NEUTRAL GRAY                        4757
 DARK TAN                                   4709

 BURNT SIENNA                          4607
 LIGHT GRAY                               4765
 LEATHER                                     4674

 Getting Closer to being complete. Two of the GHQ ACW-1 US Inf blister packs in various stages of completion

You may or may not have had an opportunity to notice that U.S. Infantry Regiments from this time period carried two flags. One flag being the U.S. Flag, or National Colors, and the other flag being the Regimental Colors. The blister packs come with only one Flag Bearer

This is not an issue. GHQ offers a "Federal Command" GHQ ACW-5    Blister Pack

This blister pack contains Six Standard Bearers, Six Infantry Officers with swords, Two Mounted Officers, One each with slouch hat and kepi. Also included are six drummers.

This is a sample of the figures almost completed.





Preparing for a new project

Before taking paintbrush in hand and adding color to everything in sight, one must begin with the first steps.

Research.

Most of us start out in miniature war gaming because of our love of history. Sometimes it is a particular battle or a famous general who catches our imagination. Once we are  intrigued, we absorb every bit of information we can.



There are a wealth of information and resources available on the American Civil War. It's a good idea to start out simple and basic. This way you do not feel overwhelmed.
Research a particular battle and go from there. Most times you will find a smaller engagement That is part of the larger battle that you can focus on.

Once you have picked your battle It is time to figure out the "Who, What, Where, Why, and How" of the battle.

Who fought this particular action? The commanders involved, the units and the troop strengths.

What did they fight with? What equipment was involved?  This basically asks what did the armies present at this battle use as far as equipment. This question also helps with your representation of the models on the game table. The uniforms they wore and such.

Where did they fight? This is self explanatory. This involves looking at maps and reading first hand accounts of the battle and battlefield. This part goes into modeling the battlefield.

Why? Basically, Why did the parties involved fight this particular battle? Did they just happen to run into each other accidentally? This question will usually go along with the rules that will be played for the battle.

How? Some examples of How are. How did the battle end? How many soldiers/ units  where involved? How long did the battle take? How the heck am I going to do this?!? ;)

All you have to do is start small. Pick a small part of the overall battle and do the research to answer the questions. Once you have the information you can begin to collect the models necessary to represent your army.

~Back in the Saddle~
After some time away from the war gaming scene, I have decided to get back into the action.  Many of us can relate to the economy as a factor in the pursuit of our hobbies.
This time around I have ventured into a new time period and scale.
The American Civil War (ACW) will be the focus of this blog. In the next few days I will start posting pictures of my progress and "How To" Guides. When we start gaming there will be after action reports.