Most Confederate troops were provided and organised by the individual states, and initially there had been great enthusiasm from the men of the South to take part in the War of Succession. Their clothing varied greatly, partly due to state distinctions and partly thanks to supply difficulties, particularly later on, while the range of weapons was at first legion. Nevertheless they gave a good account of themselves, and surprised the complacent North with their early victories, quickly making it apparent that the war would not be over in a few weeks as many had thought. In the long term the size and industrial might of the North meant the South could never have hoped to gain military supremacy, but the fighting abilities and spirit of the Confederate infantry impressed friend and foe alike, and their reputation, even in eventual defeat, remains good even to this day.

Many manufacturers have made Confederate infantrymen, but this set generally compares favourably with the competition. The 12 poses are a good selection which manage to include all the important ones but still finding some originality. The casual marching man is very believable, and one of our favourites despite not being in action. The soldier bayoneting is a fair attempt to portray a notoriously difficult act, although even then there is something about this pose which makes it look artificial. The usual firing, reloading and advancing poses are to be found here too, and we liked both the sergeant and officer poses, although the wounded man with musket raised in the air is much harder to find a use for. In a hobby where many companies make very poor drummers, this one is excellent, and likely to be a young man, which is reasonable. The man running with the standard would be pretty unlikely, given the weight and size of a flag, although as we shall see it is not the pose that is the main problem with this figure.

The range of clothing seems perfectly realistic with various jackets, headgear, equipment and weapons. Most wear some form of the popular slouch hat, and some have their blanket rolled around their torso. This lack of uniformity of appearance would not always have been the case, but it was common enough, especially in some units, to mean these figures look reasonable as a collection by themselves as well as placed next to those from other manufacturers.

The sculpting is good and there is no flash to speak of. Detail is perfectly good and there is no excess plastic. The bayoneting man is the only particularly flat pose, but otherwise all these men look natural and are quite lively. The drummer, though a good pose and nicely done, is slightly spoiled by having absolutely no belts or other means of supporting his drum, but it is the flag-bearer that is the major problem here. Though the man is perfectly well sculpted, he carries some sort of streamer, for certainly no battle flag ever looked anything like this. It appears that the flag was simply drastically cut down to fit the space on the sprue, but whatever the reason, the 'flag' just looks ridiculous and many will want to replace it with a scratch built alternative.

These figures are nicely animated and reasonably lively. They mix well with output from several other manufacturers, and apart from the flag, which needs completely replacing, everything here is very usable and looks good. They would be more than acceptable for any miniature Confederate force.