Nearly all plastic Civil War soldier sets on the market are bags of generic blue-&-gray but there are some sets which make an attempt to tie-in to a particular Union or Confederate unit. Such is the case with is Armies in Plastic (AIP) set of Berdan's Sharpshooters. The unit was formed when Hiram Berdan, a renowned marksman himself prior to the Civil war, presented his idea to President Lincoln of a unit comprised of other top-notch marksmen. To make a long story short the plan was approved, Hiram Berdan was given the rank of Colonel and placed in charge of the 1st and 2nd U.S. Sharp Shooters (U.S.S.S.). You'll notice our little band of toy soldiers is molded in a dark forest green as homage to the forest green uniforms worn by the the 1st & 2nd U.S.S.S. While it is said that they were equipped with special rifles having attached barrel-length telescopes, in fact many soldiers were issued other rifles instead.
There are twenty figures in ten poses and there's at least one pose I found to be quite novel and a welcome change from the norm. While the figures in this set are nicely done they lack the fidelity of detail and sometimes lack the graceful anatomical lines of the better sculpts on the market. They are little toy soldiers and for that they do the job nicely. Enjoy!
Officer Standing Pointing
Standing Firing rifle 1st Pose
Standing Firing Rifle 2nd Pose
Advancing Rifle at Side
Advancing Rifle Across Chest
Running Rifle Across Chest
Running Rifle at Side
Kneeling Firing Rifle 1st Pose
Kneeling Firing Rifle 2nd Pose
This is the figure I talked about earlier. A lot of these little guys have passed through my figures but I've never seen a kneeli pose like this - I like! :-)
Prone Firing Rifle
