Sunday, 25 September 2016

I blame the telly!

Last night my copy of "Ride with the Devil" on dvd would not load so I popped on an  old favourite "Gettysburg" and that was me for the evening! My mind went back to my acw games in my teens with Wise's "Introduction to Battle Gaming" and Airfix figures- good times.
How available are the Airfix acw figures these days? Have they been re-released at any point?
I found this image on the web- it sure brought back memories-
I look forward to your ideas and help with this piece of nostalgia
Posted by at

19 comments:

  1. The Good Soldier Svjek25 September 2016 at 09:06

    Think they are still available, check out Plastic Soldier Review - lots of plastic ACW goodness!, Tony

    ReplyDelete
  2. Springinsfeld25 September 2016 at 09:58

    Hi Alan...great film (Little Round Top et al.) As far as I am aware the Airfix bods are not available and have never been re-released, as they were the early primitive sculpts (better in my opinion). Available on ebay, they are collectable and often quite brittle. I would consider getting the Spencer Smith figures which are available in metal now. http://www.spencersmithminiatures.co.uk/html/acw.html

    http://ilkleyoldschool.blogspot.co.uk/2013_10_01_archive.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tradgardmastare26 September 2016 at 20:12

      I had a look at those suggested but the nostalgia of Airfix won the day...

      Delete
  3. Steve-the-Wargamer25 September 2016 at 11:40

    Ebay is your friend I would have thought... ??

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=american+civil+war&_osacat=2631&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xairfix+american+civil+war.TRS0&_nkw=airfix+american+civil+war&_sacat=2631

    ReplyDelete
  4. Grenzer John25 September 2016 at 14:01

    I remember that box-cover well and how small the price was when I first bought them back in the 1960's.
    As to "Gettysburg", I always enjoy the movie, although my wife and some friends call it a display of the worst beards in movie history. A friend of mine was in one of the scenes, as part of the Signal Corps semaphore flag unit on Little Round Top. He has some stories about the filming, including the "Rebel Yell" that followed the reenactors yell at Pickett's Charge. According to him, a second yell came out of the woods behind the actors/reenactors... but three was no one in those woods.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tradgardmastare26 September 2016 at 20:14

      Quite a story John!
      I agree re the beards.In many ways I am even more moved by "Gods and Generals" and the central character.

      Delete
  5. Conrad Kinch25 September 2016 at 17:39

    I would suggest putting "ACW AIRFIX JOBLOT" into Ebay and see what happens. Often quite substantial collections end up there. If you're willing to spend a little cash there's plenty of painted stuff to be had.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tradgardmastare26 September 2016 at 20:15

      I have spent a tad more than a little and look forward to wallowing in nostalgia...

      Delete
  6. Archduke Piccolo26 September 2016 at 00:13

    One thing I liked about the Airfix figures: very easy to paint up. My record was 81 figures from mint state to finished but for the bases in one evening. I bought my first ones at 99c (NZ) the box in 1974: 4 CSA infantry, 2 cavalry (7th Cavalry painted as CSA), 2 artillery, and 2 Wagon Train (source of generals and logistics element. Ten bucks for a whole army! Great days.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mad Padre26 September 2016 at 03:38

    I am sure I had those in my youth. The box art is very familiar.
    The Gettysburg film and the Ken Burns ACW series had a huge influence on me, got me into reenacting (like Grenzer J, many of my friends were extras in that film) and into ACW gaming. I do agree with GJ on the beards.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tradgardmastare26 September 2016 at 20:18

      I will look out for the Ken Burns,it is new to me.I would have loved to have been in the film...

      Delete
  8. KEV. Robertson.26 September 2016 at 13:03

    Alan-
    The AIRFIX Union packet was my First Ever toy soldiers back in the 1960s - have a very keen fondness for them...alas- pretty scarce nowdays...good luck locating them in good numbers. Regards. KEV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tradgardmastare26 September 2016 at 20:19

      Airfix,the company that launched a thousand wargamers...

      Delete
  9. Bob The Old Painter26 September 2016 at 18:41

    I have been buying up some ACW figures over the last few months and slowly painting them. They are available at reasonable prices, although most of the painted ones have suffered paint loss and nee touching up. As stated above many figures are now quite brittle and it is worth giving them a coat of PVA glue or varnish before painting. The artillery figures tend to be the hardest to find, but they are out there.
    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  10. tradgardmastare26 September 2016 at 20:19

    What rules are you intending to use Bob?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Bob The Old Painter27 September 2016 at 14:06

    At the moment my thoughts are to use the figures in conjunction with the board game 'Battle Cry', but played on the wargames table. That said, I have the old Airfix book of ACW war gaming by Terry Wise, which might be fun to use, plus Featherstone's rules in his book War Games - maybe all three!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)