This set of Union infantry, which was also released in the Revell range, contains 15 poses and covers all the basics. There are firing and advancing ones, a wounded man, an officer, sergeant and colour bearer. Most of the poses are worthwhile, although it is difficult to see what the man waving his musket over his head is trying to achieve. This may be an attempt to convey bayoneting or clubbing, but whichever it is, it doesn't work. The man kneeling firing a revolver is unusual, as he appears to be an enlisted man, and such men were not issued revolvers. However there are many instances of additional kit and weapons being purchased by privates, and in any case he could have picked this up from the battlefield, so the figure is accurate.
The men wear a variety of costumes, all of it regulation. Such a motley mix was quite normal during the war, so it is nice to see it accurately echoed here. Frock coats of several lengths are seen with sack coats, and standard equipment is present on each man to a greater or lesser extent. All except the officer wear the issue fatigue cap, which was the norm in armies of the East, but less so in armies in the West.
The officer wears what appears to be a dress hat, which was issued and worn by many troops early on in the war, but soon fell out of favour for many. Once again, though, this could also be a non-regulation item privately purchased by the officer. He also wears the standard frock coat, sash and sword.
Regulations stated infantry flags were to be six feet six inches fly, and six feet deep on the pike. The model here is rather smaller than that, but many flags were made by private contractors and varied in size. The flag is not engraved, which is a feature that finds our approval. There were a great variety of flags used during the War, including many variations on the national flag, so it is good that the customer is able to choose the required design without interference from the original sculptor.
The diversity of uniform and equipment in the American Civil War makes it an easy subject to depict, but Accurate have done their research and produced a good set.
One curiosity with this set is that there are two slightly different versions. The figures shown above are the set as issued by Revell and later on Accurate themselves, but the first runs of this set had a different figure arrangement. Instead of the two copies of the man running with his rifle (second row, last figure), the set had two copies of a man helping a wounded comrade. This pose, which is pictured below, also appeared in the Accurate Confederate Infantry set. Why this figure was replaced is not known, but examples of the first type of sprue are now very rare, and as a result are much in demand by collectors. Click here to see a photo of this rare first sprue.
