Last week, Steve Barber sent me a few samples from his new range of 28mm American Civil War figures. With twenty packs already available, this is a major new release for the company, just in time for Salute.
The first thing to note about this range is that most of the figures are multi-part constructions. Standard riflemen come in either three or four parts: legs, torso, head, with a separate right arm for figures with shouldered arms. This allows for a huge variety of posses with only a few castings, and the different head choices can provide variety from unit to unit. Personally, I have always been of two minds about multi-part models. The variety is great, but sometimes they are difficult to assemble. However, Steve Barber has quite wisely sculpted the heads and torsos with tabs that make the whole figure a breeze to fit together.
Whenever a new range of figures is announced, one of the first questions that most gamers ask is – how does it scale-up to other ranges? Well, here is a picture of a Steve Barber Union officer, flanked by American Civil War Miniatures from other companies. From left to right they are: Wargames Foundry, 1st Corps, Steve Barber, Sash and Saber, and a plastic Perry Miniature. As you can see, the figure is perhaps just slightly larger than Sash and Sabre and Perry’s, but the difference is minimal.
After assembling the Union officer for the comparison pick, I was so impressed with the detail that I just had to try my hand at painting it. All of the detailing on the figure is incredibly crisp. See how easily I picked out the shoulder bars, the buttons and the belt buckle. In my opinion the detail is as good as any figures on the market, and probably better than most.