Inspired in recent blogposts by the photography website Forgotten Georgia and also the rebasing of my childhood vintage Airfix American Civil War figures, I redeemed a couple of book tokens on a trip into town to fund my summer reading.
The Osprey Combat book is especially relevant with the comments John Patriquin made about my confusion with Zouave uniforms being mirrored in the First Battle of Bull Run / Manassas:
“Your post partially explains the confusion at the first battle of Bull Run. Shortly before the start of the Civil War, after Ellsworth’s tour, many individual militia companies started to stylize themselves as Zouaves. These companies designed their own uniforms. As the better organized states would place these companies into regiments of 10 companies, it is easy to imagine a regiment of militia!”
Of course, at the start of the war the states would provide uniforms to the regiments so they would be more “uniform” in appearance. However, each state would decide on the uniforms. Many northern units were provided grey uniforms. Confused? So were the commanders on the field of battle at Bull Run.”
Comment by John Patriquin, 17/7/17 https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2017/07/16/confused-by-zouaves-some-airfix-acw-paint-conversions/#comments
On the same trip, I also found a recent red box of Airfix WW2 British Commandos reduced in price, another toy department sadly slimming their ranges. A chance to paint some more Zouaves to my vintage Airfix ACW troops.
http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=385
I wonder if this Zouave paint conversion would work with Airfix Commandos at 1/32 scale?
Posted by Mark, Man of TIN 22 July 2017.
Man of Tin blog 
I noticed in the Airfix product list on their website that there are no 1/72 figures and any figures that are listed in other ranges are all out of stock. Is this the real end for Airfix figures?
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Bob
I’m not sure what is happening with Airfix figures (and overall Hornby World of Hobbies) – in many of the shops I go in they are slimming down the stock of figures or focussing on a narrower range of kits. I’m sure a trawl through the various Airfix forums would explain. As they mention on what is left of their online shop, there is still stock out with other shop / postal / online suppliers but once this has gone?
I think this also suggests a lack of entrants into the hobby (cue discussion in the slow death of the hobby) or maybe the mass of other plastic figures available. I wish they would keep a heritage range of figures or outsource them back to HAT or someone to produce if they don’t want to produce them. It worked with the Dapol take over of the railway kits. So as with the Airfix collapse about ten years ago, I tend to buy stuff when I see it and stow it away before it vanishes as they go once again through their ever erratic supply chain … frustrating.
Mark, Man of TIN blog.
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