"ACW or Napoleonic skirmish (in 15mm)?" Topic

Lately I've been interesting in playing a skirmish game or two either in the Napoleonic Wars, or the American Civil War.

I have a very small table, 2x2' (60x60cm) so I'm thinking of going with 15mm. Not that it matters that much since I'm not gonna be putting huge armies on the table, only up to about 10 figures a side, but still, the terrain is cheaper and easier to make.

Also the figures are far cheaper (yes, plastic 28mm figures are a thing, but then I end up buying boxes of 40 to only use 8-10 dudes, which ends up more expensive). And finally, 15mm figures look cute :D

Having said that, there is also a good possibility that I only play once or twice, and then the figures will sit on my shelf/desk for me to lovingly stare at them. So, to me, what really matters is that the figures are nicely sculpted and look good when painted and sitting on a shelf (and most importantly are fun to paint!)

My experience with 15mm so far is, I have some Peter Pig Wars of the Roses figures and they are really nicely sculpted, fun to paint, and I like looking at them on my shelf (they've turned out a bit dull but I suspect that's also my own fault). Also, I have one AB Napoleonic French fella that I haven't painted yet, but the sculpt looks gorgeous (more 18mm, but still).

I would probably just go with AB based off everyone raving about them online, and my own Mk.1 Eyeball, however I live in the EU and ordering from the UK sucks. Eureka Miniatures, the UK retailer for AB Figures, is registered for IOSS so no import taxes, however last time I ordered from them Royal Mail screwed up and I ended up getting my figures after 3 months, which frankly sucked (Eureka were very helpful throughout this, props to them! nothing against them, only RM). And most other manufacturers of figures aren't registered so I'll have fun paying twice the value of my order in charges to the postal service/government.

The Peter Pig figures I ordered from Minairons in Spain who ordered them from PP for me (they only stock the Spanish Civil War range and some WW2), the guy who runs the store Lluis was very helpful, however I don't wanna inconvenience the guy for an order of two or three packs from PP.

Really, from what I've found the only 15mm ACW or Napoleonic figures I can easily order are Essex, from a store in France (philibert.net) or Campaign Game Miniatures in Spain, I think. Everyone else is either US (Old Glory 15s, Battle Honours for instance) or UK (AB*, PP*, Old Glory, Blue Moon, Minifigs, etc etc).

So, essentially what I'm asking is, are Essex figures good (or rather, are PP or AB so much better to justify the inconvenience, expensive shipping in the case of AB, and waiting time)? Honestly from pictures I can't tell, the paintjobs on the Essex website are a bit meh. But they seem decent and people seem to like them.

The thing is, I can much more easily order a pack of Essex, paint them, decide "oh I don't like the look of these/don't like painting Napoleonic uniforms/ACW look boring" than a "test" pack of PP figures, for example. I hope that makes sense :(

Rant about ordering from the UK and figures aside, what are some good skirmish rulesets in this scale (8-10 dudes) for the period? Bonus points if they're fun to play solo. I know of Fistful of Lead (even has a horse and musket supplement) but, as silly as it may be, I much prefer dice over playing cards.

As for the period. Of course, for someone who is more into the painting side than anything, Napoleonic uniforms are more interesting to paint. However, I really like the look of the armies in the ACW, and I just have a more clear image/vision in my head – the little white wooden houses, the snake rail fences, the fields, in my head it's more interesting and evocative? than the dry landscapes of the Peninsular War, for instance. Perhaps I should visit Waterloo first though, since I live half an hour away and all :P and we'll see.

Feel free to convince me in favour of either Napoleonics or the ACW, tell me 15mm are and that I should get 28mm figures instead, I should stop whining and just get AB Figures because they're worth their weight in gold, or maybe even tell me I should skirmish in 6 mm! etc :D

Thanks in advance! and sorry about the rambling and the wall of text.

My opinion is that the Essex ACW line is accurate, well-sculpted, and has a pleasing variety of positions. If it were me, I'd choose the ACW and furthermore I'd focus on cavalry skirmishing. You'll get faster movement and interesting choices of action – charge with sabre or revolver? Or fire with carbine, and if so mounted or dismounted? Cavalry skirmishers also tended to have a wider variety of missions than did infantry – capture the wagons! burn the bridge! rescue the prisoners! seize the locomotive! escort the general! etc., etc.

Good luck, and hope to see pictures of whatever path you choose to take.

I think I would go with Campaign Games Miniatures, from what I have seen they are nearly as good as AB. Another alternative would be to see if there is a local source of 3D printed figures . Would mean no problems with RM.
As for rules, these fit the spec of small number of figures, available as pdf, so no postage problems :

link

Both

Two reasons not to be worried about the size of your tables. In Napoleonic muskets had a very limited range. Compared to American long rifles, European rifles were also limited in range but more accurate than muskets.
In America ACW orWar of 1812, the Wilderness terrain will limit firing ranges.
One option that worked well for my group at Auburn University was to use the Standard games maps for their skirmish system. These worked well for several eras that we played. They controlled facing and movement well due to hexes.

In regards to castings for us, it is a matter of what is available. Skirmish gaming uses fewer castings than unit battles. One older guy in our group shifted last year from 15mm to 10-12 mm.

In regards to rules that is a matter of taste and availability. Back in the 1990s we used a skirmish set called GLORY.. today one group uses Shakos and tomahawks for skirmish. Other groups vary.

One thing that will make things more realistic is to research skirmish operations since many countries used different tactics. For example the Prussians would operate in two or three man teams. One guy to fire and one to reload. If a third was attached, he ean for ammo. This was recorded by both landwehr and regulars in 1813-14.

Who will you play with and have you spoken with them? Are there any wargame clubs near you – Antwerp, St, Niklaas, Ghent??

Thanks for all the advice so far!

Wargamorium, I'm gonna be playing solo, as none of my friends are interested and I don't know of any clubs nearby – and being a college student I'm a bit younger than average in said clubs, I assume.

Major Dundee, not even that, more like a dozen figures per side or so is what I'm thinking, to start at least.

Campaign Game miniatures do look really nice, if Napoleonics I think I'll be going with them. Unfortunately their ACW range is like, three packs, so I might go Essex on that.

I'll look into cavalry raids and skirmish tactics of the period for sure.

Go with smaller miniatures so you can maneuver or go with the larger nicer looking miniatures (and more of a pleasure to paint) and give up on maneuvering ability.

Considering you are playing on a 2'x2' table I would go with the larger miniatures for your skirmish battles.

To me nothing beats a skirmish game using 28's, 40's or even going as large as 54's.

As you can guess I am not a fan of the smaller miniatures.

Whatever you decide good luck and most importantly have fun.

I love 15mm, especially Peter Pig. I do it in WWII individually based skirmish, a supported platoon per side.

For the size of skirmish battles you like, seriously consider 1/72 Napoleonics. Should be easy to source in the EU. Dirt cheap. Plastic Soldier Review website will be your friend. Not as much available though for ACW, which has always baffled me.

I love the FFoL system. Cards are played for initiative only. Combat is dice, mostly d10s except for some advanced rules.

Essex, the gnome soldier line.

1/72 figures certainly are an option, although from my limited experience with some WWII figures I'm not a huge fan. I'll take a look, but generally I prefer hard plastic or metal figures, to be honest.

Well, Essex are a bit, uh, heroic scale it seems. I do like them though from what I've seen.

Worean (worean.de) stock bluemoon and glory old in the EU.

I play both. At some point my 15mm grew up into armies and my club recently did a 28mm skirmish campaign i "had" create a new force for.

Skirmish in 15 mm it is a great scale if you like a strong visual table set up. You get more buildings for the same footprint compared to 28mm. If you want a strong visual model set maybe go 28mm. Silver bayonets has some great skirmish type models

It does depend why you wish to try skirmish gaming. If its for the figure bling you may be better off moving to 28mm, but I personally feel 15/18mm works just as well and allows me to have a smaller playing area. Once again if figure bling is your thing then AB may be the best option, even though they are very expensive. I have miniature figurines and Lancashire figures. Lancashire are hit and miss, some are good, some less so, but they are cheap. Miniature figurines are more consistent, but are a bit plain, but I do like them. Shipping costs to asia are reasonable as well. But 18mm AB figures are the rolls Royce of figures. Madaxemen has a good site comparing 15mm suppliers: link
Finally, this video provides an overview of some of the Napoleonic skirmish rules available. youtu.be/IohU-7q-ock