ACWSummaryBillMoreno

The American Civil War in 10mm

A Review of Existing Lines (c. 2004)
by Bill Moreno

Overview
Gentlemen, I have posted this before on TMP {The Miniatures Page}. It is my assessment of the various and sundry 10mm ACW manufacturers and how they compare. Here is my opinion for what it is worth. As a qualifier, I have a huge 10mm collection of over 7,000 figures painted and based. I painted 80% of them myself but have bought painted figures from a couple of friends when they got out. I won't mention how many unpainted figures I have as it may cause stock prices to rise unofficially ...

GHQ - Small and a bit vulnerable to damage. Artillery line is the best available in ANY scale. I do not buy guns from any other line. GHQ has not added anything to this line since around 1996. However, it is a full line. The only thing lacking is specialty troops lke Iron Brigade, greatcoats, early war and such. I have more GHQ than anything else.

Chariot / Perrin - Nice quality overall but the line has been static for 5 years. Bigger and more sturdy than GHQ but may be mixed with them.

AIM - Huge and will not mix with any other line well. If you buy them you are actually gaming in 13mm. Detail is good but they are very bulky.

Pendraken - OK in detail and mix well with Chariot, Perrin and such. Some of this line was marketed in the US under the name Falcon for some years. There is a second line of nicely done newer stuff. Again, they are not up to GHQ standards.

Starfort - A small but outstanding line of figs from Rod Langton. I love these figs and they mix very well with GHQ. This is available in the US from Campaign Headquarters in Va Beach, VA. I have alot of this line and will buy more. The buildings they make are fantastic. Also try the buildings from Timecast. These two lines of buildings are the best available.

ODGW / Old North State - Very little detail but they are priced well. They also mix well with Chariot, Perrin GHQ and Starfort in size, but not on the same base. An excellent line of buildings as well.

Ten High - (edited: the reviewer expressed his dislike of these figures in a succinct yet strong manner)

Thoroughbred Ships and figs - Heavy guns, Ironclads, sailors are very nice. The ships are outstanding and the line is growing. I used Toby's ships in my Vicksburg game at Historicon and Recon '04. Recommend you contact Toby Barrett if you are doing 10mm ship-to-shore actions. I intend to use them at Fall In 2005 for Island Number 10.

Old Glory - These are the sturdiest of the lot as the infantry come on strips of 5. Unlike the OG Nappy 10mm, there are numerous poses. The cav and skirmishers are individual figs. I like them and they stand up very well to handling. You cannot mix them with any of the other lines above in the case of infantry strips. Cav and skirmishers being based singley may be mixed with Perrin/Chariot, Old North State and Starfort. You can probably mix them with AIM as well. They have crisp detail and they paint VERY easily on strips. I have none of the arty but they are likely a bit big to mix with GHQ.