American Civil War

Started by Jesus, 29 December 2017, 10:06:31 AM

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Leman

I really like that washed out campaign look.
The artist formerly known as Dour Puritan!

Heedless Horseman

What fun forums, (forii?),  are!  ;) My first Pendraken Confederate Infantry got pale blue caps...just like the Britains/Herald toys and the pic in an old Uniforms of the World book. JUST BECAUSE I LIKED THEM! They are now...(or will be, if I ever get some more Union done to have a worthwhile scrap!), a privately raised regiment...and a rather 'wild card' in the line of battle  ;). Go with whatever YOU feel like. 10mm is MUCH more 'forgiving' than You are...just beat the recruiting drum and get the boys out!  :)
(40 Yrs ago. I should have been an Angry Young Man... but wasn't.
Now... I am an Old B******! )  ;)

Dr Dave


Leman

The artist formerly known as Dour Puritan!

fsn

Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 16 January 2018, 01:08:41 AM
My first Pendraken Confederate Infantry got pale blue caps...
What's wrong with that?

Lord Oik of Runcorn (You may refer to me as Milord Oik)

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Jesus

Confederate uniforms are characterized by being heterogeneous within the variety of grays, although there were units that also dressed with some more daring variation and many men with clothes brought from home in shades of gray to brown, that uniform I think is real, but not majority , if you want to paint some solddos that way is not wrong.
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Dr Dave

Quote from: fsn on 16 January 2018, 05:17:10 PM
What's wrong with that?



It's wrong!  ;)

Union / Federal kit was black, not white I'm afraid. the artist has made a mistake there. IIRC US Marines did have white straps - but wore frock coats, not the sack coat shown?

Leman

On the nail there doc. I doubt very much that particular Confederate uniform was in evidence after 1861.  Try this Jesus:

www.adolphusconfederateuniforms.com

Click on the free article downloads. There are some very in-depth articles by very knowledgable Americans on the uniforms of their forbears. Try the three ACW Gamer articles and the one on Confederate drab.
The artist formerly known as Dour Puritan!

Ace of Spades

The Confederate Infantry uniform in that plate was not in even in evidence  in 1861. The troops turmed out in their local militia uniforms in 1861 and though one or two might have looked somewhat like this it certainly wasn't the standard. These artists interpretations are based on the regulations as laid down for Confederate uniforms but these were never followed. Officers uniforms being the exception though they, off course, also changed/added to their fancy. The frock coats worn in 1861/1862 were virtually all single breasted for example and facing colours, when applied, were normally done in black braid. The blue cuffs and collars were mainly seen on the shell jackets in the Western theatre somewhat after 1861.
Even the 'official' facing colours (light blue for infantry, yellow for cavalry and red for the artillery) were not always followed. The State of Mississippi for example used red very often as the preferred facing colour for her infantry uniforms. If you want to do it 'right' then you would have to be very specific about the unit, year and theatre you want to portray. In general you can say that the colour of the Confederate uniform changed from mid grey (wool) at the beginning of the war, through 'butternut' (greyish/brown/sand coloured jean cloth) from 1862 on, to a mix of butternut (locally made fabrics) and almost blue gray (a colour comparable to RAF uniforms) at the end of the war when many uniforms (jackets mainly) were imported from England and Ireland. After 1861 it would be relatively rare to see a uniform with both trousers and jackets made out of the same material/colour since trouwers will wear out much faster than jackets. Kepis were normally made out of left over fabric and remnants from worn out uniforms and would therefore roughly follow the same guidelines.
Leather changed from all black to a growing percentage of natural brown (especially in the West) as the war progressed but black remained the standard as it was throughout the war in the Union army.
In the end everything goes really (except for white leather after 1861... having said that; off-white cotton haversacks with straps and ditto canteen straps are certainly acceptable); it's just what you want to portray or what makes you happy.
Since I am 'somewhat' of an authenticity nerd on the ACW I am really struggling deciding what army/year/theatre I want to go for with my planned F&F army...

Cheers,
Rob
2014 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!

Heedless Horseman

Whoops!  ;)  :)
Good input, chaps. I know that the illustration (Hamlyn Guide?) and figs that I liked were not accurate...just liked the look for 'A Unit' of early rebs. For the rest of my Confederacy, have gone for mix/match of greys with odd bits added. Union also have a little variation, though mainly in shade...and, of course, headgear. An important point is that the rolled item on top of pack 'should' be a rolled overcoat...similar to trouser colour, (though personally, I would use a slightly different shade...probably a little darker)...but blankets of various materials (I cannot bear to think of painting 'Ticking' or 'carpet' in 10mm!) would be fair. Straps and belts would, in the main be black, with brown leather...or rope...or whatever held things on...on occasion. MY Grandfather's farm coat (UK in the '60s) was an old wartime overcoat belted with twine. Canteen covers would also vary...depending on source...blueish, greys, olive or browns...for both sides! A bit of variety helps to pick out figures in 10mm units...or they tend to look a little 'blobby' at table distance.
Both sides had considerable variation in look between units at different periods in the war...just dig in to all the info out there if you want to go for specific campaigns.
One of the 'draws' to ACW is the 'relative' ease of painting lots of figures compared to the extremely fiddly Napoleonic uniforms. THEN, you find out!  ;) :)
(40 Yrs ago. I should have been an Angry Young Man... but wasn't.
Now... I am an Old B******! )  ;)

Leman

Come on old chap; if I can manage rolled carpet in 6mm with my shaky hands I'm sure 10mm must be a doddle.
The artist formerly known as Dour Puritan!

Jesus

Flags y finish
2017 Paint-Off - 3 x Winner!

Steve J


Techno

Really good !

Cheers - Phil

Westmarcher

Aww, what's the point [throws paints and brushes away] .....!   ;D

Superb!  :-bd
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.