Jack
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That's a good question - Bob, how many figures are there?
The American Civil War Diaries (6 Viewers)
- Thread starter UKReb
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That's a good question - Bob, how many figures are there?
aujj65
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Jack
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Impressive!
UKReb
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Jeff you win the kewpie doll ^&grin And it took two days to set up and one day to shoot. Working on Part II as we speak.
Bob
aujj65
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UKReb
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Many thanks guys for all of your very kind comments on my last chapter and as always very much appreciated.
Continuing with the same theme for this next set of shots I have used Troiani's painting Toward the Angle as inspiration for a different perspective of Pickett's Charge.
As they approached the Union line Pickett's Division obliqued left as ordered by General Longstreet prior to their advance. The idea was that the concentrated force of Garnett, Kemper and Armistead's Brigades would be focused on a front only five hundred yards wide. But this manoeuvre created a fatal flaw in the order for instead of pressing closer to the heat of the Union fire they were now moving parallel to it which exposed their right flanks to a withering barrage of canister from the Union guns
Despite the almost superhuman courage of the men who bore that relentless Union fire they pressed forward with barely a backward glance at their fallen comrades. The advancing formation began to change shape from a series of lines into a crescent as both left and right flanks lagged behind the centre.
The Brigades now fell into some disorder with Kemper's men rushing in from the right and Armistead's pushing from the rear. Theoretically, the Confederates should now have been six ranks deep. Instead it was as one Reb officer described "a great mingled mass of men". Consequently, only the men in the front ranks of the mass could do any firing and they had to face canister as well as musketry.
The full bearded James Kemper-who had been speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates-had his horse shot from beneath him, as he tumbled to the ground he suffered a flesh wound to his neck and a bullet imbedded in his groin.
Armistead seeing Kemper fall removed his hat and placed it on his sword point as a guide to his and Kemper's command. He called out "Come on boys!. Give them the cold steel. Who will follow me?"
The 9th, 14th, 38th, 53rd, and 57th Virginia regiments now began their march toward destiny. Lo Armistead would be the only Confederate general in the assaulting force who survived just long enough to reach the low stone wall in front of Well's Pennsylvanians.
As the grand Confederate charge swiftly dissolved into a cacophony of discord, curses and screams Garnett's men had now lost all military order. The brigades had intermingled after that fateful oblique execution and the shock of the deadly flanking fire. It can never be known but Garnett was most probably shocked more by what he didn't see; One of A.P.Hill's Divisions was supposed to advance beside Garnett's Brigade but all he would see just before he was shot dead from his horse was his left flank slowly disintegrating.
"Pickett's Charge" as it will always be remembered was only one of the many such acts of supreme gallantry during the ACW; yet more than most, this heroic but catastrophic charge was to achieve a kind of immortality, ranking beside the repulse of the Old Guard at Waterloo; the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava; or the equally doomed onslaught of the Prussian Guard at First Ypres in 1914.
Here were close to 15,000 men, the pick of Lee's army, sweeping forward in close formation under a murderous fire, yet never wavering. Only a few hundred managed to break through the Union line. And then suddenly it was all over, the repulsed survivors, what remained of them, began falling back to their lines. The task undertaken by Pickett's Virginians had been beyond courage but with it died Lee's last hope of victory at Gettysburg and eventually the war.
Reb
Continuing with the same theme for this next set of shots I have used Troiani's painting Toward the Angle as inspiration for a different perspective of Pickett's Charge.
As they approached the Union line Pickett's Division obliqued left as ordered by General Longstreet prior to their advance. The idea was that the concentrated force of Garnett, Kemper and Armistead's Brigades would be focused on a front only five hundred yards wide. But this manoeuvre created a fatal flaw in the order for instead of pressing closer to the heat of the Union fire they were now moving parallel to it which exposed their right flanks to a withering barrage of canister from the Union guns
Despite the almost superhuman courage of the men who bore that relentless Union fire they pressed forward with barely a backward glance at their fallen comrades. The advancing formation began to change shape from a series of lines into a crescent as both left and right flanks lagged behind the centre.
The Brigades now fell into some disorder with Kemper's men rushing in from the right and Armistead's pushing from the rear. Theoretically, the Confederates should now have been six ranks deep. Instead it was as one Reb officer described "a great mingled mass of men". Consequently, only the men in the front ranks of the mass could do any firing and they had to face canister as well as musketry.
The full bearded James Kemper-who had been speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates-had his horse shot from beneath him, as he tumbled to the ground he suffered a flesh wound to his neck and a bullet imbedded in his groin.
Armistead seeing Kemper fall removed his hat and placed it on his sword point as a guide to his and Kemper's command. He called out "Come on boys!. Give them the cold steel. Who will follow me?"
The 9th, 14th, 38th, 53rd, and 57th Virginia regiments now began their march toward destiny. Lo Armistead would be the only Confederate general in the assaulting force who survived just long enough to reach the low stone wall in front of Well's Pennsylvanians.
As the grand Confederate charge swiftly dissolved into a cacophony of discord, curses and screams Garnett's men had now lost all military order. The brigades had intermingled after that fateful oblique execution and the shock of the deadly flanking fire. It can never be known but Garnett was most probably shocked more by what he didn't see; One of A.P.Hill's Divisions was supposed to advance beside Garnett's Brigade but all he would see just before he was shot dead from his horse was his left flank slowly disintegrating.
"Pickett's Charge" as it will always be remembered was only one of the many such acts of supreme gallantry during the ACW; yet more than most, this heroic but catastrophic charge was to achieve a kind of immortality, ranking beside the repulse of the Old Guard at Waterloo; the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava; or the equally doomed onslaught of the Prussian Guard at First Ypres in 1914.
Here were close to 15,000 men, the pick of Lee's army, sweeping forward in close formation under a murderous fire, yet never wavering. Only a few hundred managed to break through the Union line. And then suddenly it was all over, the repulsed survivors, what remained of them, began falling back to their lines. The task undertaken by Pickett's Virginians had been beyond courage but with it died Lee's last hope of victory at Gettysburg and eventually the war.
Reb
Rob
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Bob after all these years I have run out of things to say mate (my wife won't believe that!^&grin) but this is just superb, stunning , best thread on the forum by a country mile. The drama, action and intensity you get into these scenes is incredible. I doff my Kepi to you my friend.:salute::
Rob
Rob
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You nailed the Troiani painting! That is truly a "great mingled mass of men." Extraordinary!
Bob, hard to convey just how good this dio is. I haven't seen anything that illustrates the carnage and confusion of the attack as well as these pictures do. I especially like the shot with Kemper down and Armistead with hat on sword. The whole sequence is shot from an angle that the viewer rarely gets, from within the ranks of the attackers. Really superb.:salute:: -- Al
6th Wisconsin
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Bob, I believe I just witnessed brilliance in the midst of brilliance. In other words, these are among your very best work, in my opinion. The attention to detail, the smoke, the up-close and personal angles, the carnage, the groundwork and backdrop (the light in the sky even seems right for the time of day) - just very special and a great inspiration. I especially like the use and placement of the wounded officer on horseback, which serves as a great focal point and brings together the two lines of troops. Another good thing about the angles and compressed shots is that you can easily imagine the lines extend way off into the distance beyond what is visible in the frame.
Terp152
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Bob, I didn't think you could surpass the Antietam chapters but what a display! Again, these scenes have a 3D effect. The blending of the figs with the terrain base is seamless. Certainly a perfect rendition of the Troiani work. The mass of troops vividly captures the feel of the brigade's advance. Huzzah! Chris
Warrior
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Bob,
I'm with Chris on this one; your Antietam work, specifically Bloody Lane is my favorite chapter, but this one is right there, I'd call it #1A instead of #1.
The one thing that sticks out to me is the massive amount of time that is involved with not only setting up the figures, but more amazing than that is the time you put in to find poses that mirror the ones in the paintings, then staging them, then taking the photo at just the right angle to replicate the painting, it really is amazing.
I'm very good friends with Keith and have all of his books, love his work, also am a huge fan of Troiani, they are both brilliant artists.
What I'd love to see is Troiani's or Rocco's book publishers approach you about doing a book called "Artwork comes to life" and do a series of dioramas replicating their paintings; one page would be their painting, the one opposite it would be your diorama.
They'd both sell like hotcakes to art collectors and toy soldier collectors alike.
If it happens, I want credit for suggesting it.................^&grin
I'm with Chris on this one; your Antietam work, specifically Bloody Lane is my favorite chapter, but this one is right there, I'd call it #1A instead of #1.
The one thing that sticks out to me is the massive amount of time that is involved with not only setting up the figures, but more amazing than that is the time you put in to find poses that mirror the ones in the paintings, then staging them, then taking the photo at just the right angle to replicate the painting, it really is amazing.
I'm very good friends with Keith and have all of his books, love his work, also am a huge fan of Troiani, they are both brilliant artists.
What I'd love to see is Troiani's or Rocco's book publishers approach you about doing a book called "Artwork comes to life" and do a series of dioramas replicating their paintings; one page would be their painting, the one opposite it would be your diorama.
They'd both sell like hotcakes to art collectors and toy soldier collectors alike.
If it happens, I want credit for suggesting it.................^&grin
Louis Badolato
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I'd buy a copy . . . as long as you and George promised to autograph it for me . . . {sm4}