All the General's Men - my American Civil War Soldiers thus far

[Brickadier General]

Hey guys, I haven't really been posting too much because college has been nutso lately, but off and on I've been fiddling around with my Civil War soldiers. It might be hard to see, but I've switched over to using Confederate decals by Legofreak. They work quite well. So far, I have 170 soldiers: 95 Union Soldiers/Officers/Generals and 75 Confederate (CSA) Soldiers/Officers/Generals.

10 of the CSA soldiers are cavalry. 4 of those consist of Native American Brigadier General Stand Watie and 3 of his men, making up the famous Cherokee Braves unit. I have 13 Louisiana Tigers this time around, as well as 3 Coppens Zouaves and 3 artillery soldiers. There are 43 "regular" infantrymen. The only identifiable Confederate generals I have made are Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, Lewis Armistead, George C. Pickett and Stand Watie.

On the union side 9 soldiers are from the 95th Pennsylvania Zouave regiment, 6 are Zouaves in general, 8 are from the African American 54th Mass. regiment, and there are 5 artillerymen. The only really recognizable generals I have are Ulysses S. Grant and Joshua Chamberlain, but there are a couple other random officers and generals.

In this pic, Stand Watie and his men are in the back. Watie is the second figure from the left (with the Iny hat on his head). Robert E. Lee is up front on his white horse, Traveler.

Here is the CSA artillery with a cannon based on this one. However, I modified it slightly to my taste.

Edited March 13, 2008 by Brickadier General

[zouave]

That's a very nice army. I *wub* it. It must've taken a long time to get it together.

I like how the you've got the artillery wearing red kepis.

[Bonaparte]

You might already have notice that I love minfig armies.

And besides Napoleonic armies, the civil war armies are my favorites.

Yours has lots of potential! I would love to see some more close up shots.

The King Leo head works very well for Lee. Also the General Longstreet fig is very recognizable.

I suggest you add some American/Confederate/Regimental flags.

It will make the army even more colourful than it is today.

And maybe a few drummer boys could be another future addition.

This is a wonderful army with the potential to become even more wonderful in the future.

I hope you continue to post pictures in this thread as the army evolves.

*y*

[Brickadier General]

That's a very nice army. I *wub* it. It must've taken a long time to get it together.

I like how the you've got the artillery wearing red kepis.

A few years. About 2 weeks ago, I bought about 30 cavalry figures from one guy on Bricklink. I don't think I ever want to spend as much as I did on minifigures like that ever again. lol

I like the red kepis for artillery, but it's too bad Lego didn't issue these in sets because they would probably be cheaper then. The tan and brown kepis are also quite useful.

[Brickadier General]

You might already have notice that I love minfig armies.

And besides Napoleonic armies, the civil war armies are my favorites.

Yours has lots of potential! I would love to see some more close up shots.

The King Leo head works very well for Lee. Also the General Longstreet fig is very recognizable.

I suggest you add some American/Confederate/Regimental flags.

It will make the army even more colourful than it is today.

And maybe a few drummer boys could be another future addition.

This is a wonderful army with the potential to become even more wonderful in the future.

I hope you continue to post pictures in this thread as the army evolves.

*y*

Thanks, I want to work on more details when I have more time. I only have 2 flags at the moment, but will eventually get around to doing more, especially as I make more specific regiments. I could do drummer boys because I do have the little "stubby" legs in medium blue. The Confederate army, uniform-wise, was often more colorful than the Union. As I'm sure you know, the Confederacy eventually chose grey as its official color, and the Union chose blue. But unlike the Union, the Confederacy was unable to dress its soldiers uniformly in grey. Butternut (a tan color) was probably the second most common color in Confederate uniforms.

Someday, I would eventually like to take all these guys and place them in a detailed battlefield scene. So for me, making the army is only half the battle. ;-) Buying stuff to make terrain, buildings, and especially trees is a nightmare that I don't want to think about right now.

And I have seen your Napoleonic troops, and am always impressed by the size and scope of your army. Like in real life, they certainly aren't very cheap to make.

[kaboom4]

Wow! Very good army! I'm starting to feel jealous... *wub*

[oo7]

These are two very impressive opposing regimental groups indeed! Your collection is quite admirable as is your knowledge of American military companies of the period. I like the fact that you've made this especially realistic by including an independent African American fireteam and integrating various custom facial hair elements produced by Brickforge. However, I do agree with Emperor Bonaparte on the account that an extended infantry color guard and perhaps something more of an army band would improve your forces a good bit. *y*

And now it looks like somebody's going to have to update the western index....

Edited March 14, 2008 by oo7

[LegoLyons]

Nice army. Would like to see some more detailed shots. Impressive stuff!

[MagPiesRUs]

*wub* You have an army that could rival even Bonaparte's! I like that the figs all have different faces, and some have different torsos, it makes it much more realistic. That mortar you made looks great too, as does that brickbuilt horse *y*

Very impressive armies. Can we expect to see a large battle scene in the future? *wub* X-D

[Sir Norman Ray]

Very nice army mate! Personally, I have a soft spot for the Confeds, but that may be to my reading of the Starbuck Chronicals. (Written by the same guy who did Sharpe)

Keep on building and keep on whisling Dixie! (Isnt that what you Yank's say?)

[Dragonator]

Amazing, the details in each individual man is really awesome! *wub*

I love the cannon and the artillery gun (mortar), they are both really cool!

[Cardinal Brick]

That's a great little ACW army, shame you can't get a yellow kepi for cavalry, can't wait to see them in action.

[SlyOwl]

Do you have a close-up of that beautiful mortar? *sweet*

[Deinonychus]

Oh hell, I just love that mortar and caisson. The Zouaves are pretty sweet too, I'd have never thought of hacking those out of Minifigs.

Which head did you use for General Lee? I'd like to make one for self. Too bad there really isn't a light gray horse to use for Traveller.

What you have there is proof positive that LEGO could do a great Civil War theme if they wanted to. (Monitor Vs. Virginia 2-pack anyone? ) Too bad that's just a pipe dream.

[Mr. Builder]

:'-) Wow, you sure do have a collection. I was never really interested in these until I learned about it in school. And about those red hats, I did see them on BL but are they custom injected or painted?

[Brickadier General]

Nice army. Would like to see some more detailed shots. Impressive stuff!

Thanks, when I have some more time I'll work on some better shots.

*wub* You have an army that could rival even Bonaparte's! I like that the figs all have different faces, and some have different torsos, it makes it much more realistic. That mortar you made looks great too, as does that brickbuilt horse *y*

Very impressive armies. Can we expect to see a large battle scene in the future? *wub* X-D

Actually, I think Bonaparte's cavalry would whip mine. lol And you can count on me making a large battle scene in the future, just not in the near future. Time and costs will not permit it right now. :'-( But I'm making plans for what I want to do, especially with brickscaping. I want to make a battlefield with a creek and a covered bridge, maybe some farmland too. I was thinking about doing the creek in a way so that it would have some trans red in it for blood. A little morbid I guess, but I think it would bring the scene further to life.

Very nice army mate! Personally, I have a soft spot for the Confeds, but that may be to my reading of the Starbuck Chronicals. (Written by the same guy who did Sharpe)

Keep on building and keep on whisling Dixie! (Isnt that what you Yank's say?)

Well, I've heard Bugs Bunny say "You ain't just whistling Dixie!" But other than that, I don't really hear it to much. And during the war, Dixie was a Confederate song, so Dixie had become a nickname for the southern U.S.

Do you have a close-up of that beautiful mortar? *sweet*

There's some more pictures of it in my Brickshelf folder.

Oh hell, I just love that mortar and caisson. The Zouaves are pretty sweet too, I'd have never thought of hacking those out of Minifigs.

Which head did you use for General Lee? I'd like to make one for self. Too bad there really isn't a light gray horse to use for Traveller.

What you have there is proof positive that LEGO could do a great Civil War theme if they wanted to. (Monitor Vs. Virginia 2-pack anyone? ) Too bad that's just a pipe dream.

For General Lee, I used a King Leo head from the original Knights Kingdom. It's the perfect head to use for Lee, aside from the one viking head with the white beard. But that one has an angry expression.

:'-) Wow, you sure do have a collection. I was never really interested in these until I learned about it in school. And about those red hats, I did see them on BL but are they custom injected or painted?

They aren't painted, and as far as I know, they are the real thing.

[iamded]

That is one heck of an army! My, you'd be able to stand up to those evil clone brick forces! :-D

~Peace

[WarnIcarus]

I looked at this thread before but I never noticed the mortar. Will you post a picture of it?

That mortar is great!

EDIT: Someone already asked, anyway I included the pictures in this post.

Edited March 18, 2008 by WarnIcarus

[Lawdawg]

Hello all, I am currently looking for ways to build my confederate army and I have come across your army. Could you please tell me how and where I can find items like that. Currently I’m having lack luster results with what I have been coming up with. Because I love the confederates with the blue pants is there any tips you could give me thanks! 

[Horation]

On 11/26/2023 at 6:52 PM, Lawdawg said:

Hello all, I am currently looking for ways to build my confederate army and I have come across your army. Could you please tell me how and where I can find items like that. Currently I’m having lack luster results with what I have been coming up with. Because I love the confederates with the blue pants is there any tips you could give me thanks! 

What confederates with blue pants? I only see union troops with blue pants, did I miss something? 

Brickset.com is a great resource for finding parts, and they always link to bricklink where you can buy said parts.

[MAB]

On 11/26/2023 at 11:52 PM, Lawdawg said:

Hello all, I am currently looking for ways to build my confederate army and I have come across your army. Could you please tell me how and where I can find items like that. Currently I’m having lack luster results with what I have been coming up with. Because I love the confederates with the blue pants is there any tips you could give me thanks! 

The thread hadn't been commented on for over 15 years and the original poster hasn't logged in in over six years.

[Jeff of Clubs]

A fine collection! The railway mortar is inspired!