Confederates in 54mm

 

The Liberty Rifles reenactment group at Chancellorsville this year.
The group portrays both Union and Confederate units.

Two 54mm Confederate regiments that I have painted within the past month.

Click on images to enlarge

This past week I have shifted my painting production from the Union forces to the Confederates. I currently have 8 Union regiments of 30 figures and 4 Confederate regiments of 30 figures, for a grand total of 360 figures. Two of the four Confederate regiments were painted over the last seven days.

The most recent addition is a regiment of figures that are in advancing poses and painted in a variety of "butternut" colors, whatever butternut is. The other three regiments are in firing poses and are largely clad in grey along with a mix of butternut colored uniforms. I like my Confederate regiments to look like they are on campaign, so I mix in a variety of poses from different manufacturers of figures that provide a certain individuality to the overall look. I also like to mix up the uniform colors.

The quality of the two pictures above is not up to my usual standards for they are a little bit blurry and out of focus. Since the Confederates are on one table edge and facing in the other direction, I had to climb up onto my game table and try not to knock over lots of plastic painted figures. Then I had to hold a high intensity lamp in my left hand and try to press the shutter button on the camera with my right hand.

Here is another picture of the  Liberty Rifles this year, demonstrating the look that I seek when I am painting a Confederate regiment. Note the different uniform colors, styles and hats. Click on the website link in this paragraph and visit the LR web page. This is a good source for Civil War uniform information.

This is the look that I am trying to achieve.

My painting is going along at a smooth and rapid pace. I expect to finish painting two more Confederate regiments by the end of this month (September 2023) and this would increase the CSA contingent to 6 regiments.

The Battle of Gettysburg Podcast

My nephew Alex turned me on to the Battle of Gettysburg Podcast this summer when we went on a battlefield tour conducted by licensed battlefield guide Eric Lindblade. Eric and Jim Hessler, also a licensed Gettysburg Battlefield Guide, do a monthly podcast about topics related to the (guess what) the Battle of Gettysburg. Eric showed Alex and I around the parts of the field related to the battle in The Wheatfield for the better part of two hours or more. It was the best battlefield tour that I have ever been on.

Both Eric and Jim are Daniel Sickles aficionados and I have to say that the tour gave me a new appreciation for why Sickles moved the III Corps up to the Emmitsburg Road and the Peach Orchard. When you are standing in the low ground where Sickles was told to deploy by General Meade and you are looking at all of that high ground in front of you, you begin to understand Sickles' thinking.

I now listen to the podcast while I am painting figures and it helps to pass the time away whilst painting 60 figures at a time.

Click on the link to the guys' website and from their you can find links to the podcast; or just enter battle of Gettysburg podcast in your Facebook search bar and it will take you to their Facebook page where you can find more information

Battle of Gettysburg Podcast

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