Sideshow Toys, Civil War US Zouave figure

Part of Sideshow Toys Brotherhood of Arms line, the 146^th NY Regiment Zouave is one of the most colorful and unusual Civil War figures produced.  The figure itself is typical Sideshow quality, nothing new or unusual there.  Sideshow figures are of the lightweight plastic of a Dragon or BBI, with good knee joints for barelegged kitbashes.  Limbs do not “lock” as Dragon figures do, the motion is smoother, more like a BBI G1 body.  The one downside to Sideshow figures is the wrists and hands.  The detail and color on the hands are amazing, very lifelike.  However, the wrist joint is ugly.  The hand is made to be covered by a uniform cuff, any other option is untenable.  The edge of the hand is much larger than the end of the arm itself, leading to a rather abrupt and ugly joint, where the hand itself sticks out on both sides of the arm, like a bad surgery job.  Covered up with Uniforms, Sideshow hands are awesome in their detail. Uncovered, they are ugly.

The head sculpt is the now famous “Shouting Zouave”, an open mouthed, teeth-showing soldier with a Snidely Whiplash mustache.  A small goatee gives the head sculpt a nice flavor, but unfortunately, unless you need a shouting/screaming soldier, or a dental patient, you won’t do much with the head. He would make a nice riverboat gambler, or New Orleans card shark, if you were into western kitbashes.  It is possible to use the head as a surprised solider, and with the French inspired mustache, thousands of French Army jokes come to mind.  However, we will leave them out of this review.

The uniform he wears is typical of the Zouave units on both sides of the war, that is, colorful.  The Zouave uniform was originally an Algerian military fashion adapted by the French Army. It was very much in vogue during the American Civil War and was copied in a number of variations. The 146th NY regiment came into existence later in the war and was comprised of a number of veteran Zouave troops from the famous 5th New York regiment.  Both sides had Zouave units, and like their French army counterparts, the units fought savagely and bravely in their many battles.

The figure comes with a nice set of accessories, including

Soft fez cap with tassel, a Zouave shell jacket, plaid undershirt, chasseur trousers, bold red belt-Sash, Canvas leggings and leather jambieres with brogans (actually, one piece molded plastic), 1861 Springfield rifle with sling, leather waist belt with Federal buckle, Us cartridge box with belt hooks, Cap pouch, Haversack, Canteen, Booze flask, tin cup, plate and dinnerware,

The uniform is nicely done, with excellent tailoring and cut.  The trousers blouse nicely and fit well into the boots.  The Zouave fleur-de-leis design and cuff borders are silk-screened onto the fabric, rather than embroidered, my only complaint. Embroidery would cost more, but the look would have been worth it.  As it is, that is the only weakness of the set.  The material is nice, heavy cotton.  The belt sash is very well done, being a nice double wrap with an embroidered yellow trim.  Very nice for other kitbashes, take note!

The Fez is molded plastic, barely flexible (just enough to fit the head).  The tassel is nicely done, in scale, and nicely glued to the fez.  Definitely worth getting, just for coolness factor alone. 

The boots are a bit of a letdown, being one piece molded from the leggings down.  They are a fairly stiff plastic, but slide on the figure’s feet easily.  Heated in hot water, they should slide on other feet well too.  Despite the one-piece molding, the detail is very nice (down to buttons and button holes nicely detailed on the canvas leggings).  Because these are unusual boots (brogans, with canvas leggings, with leather over wrap), the kitbash potential here is high.  These would look awesome on many other figures as well from this era, or later into the British Expansion. 

The other equipment with the set is standard High quality sideshow.  The 1861 Springfield rifle is nice, with a working striker/cap lock and leather sling.  The barrel could be drilled out for more detail, but that is all that would need done.  The canteen is “felted” nicely, with a weathered canvas sling.  The haversack is weathered as well, and the ammo pouch and cap pouch are nicely detailed.  The whiskey flask is nicely done, worth getting for ANY kitbash.  The plate, cup and silverware are nicely detailed, bent and dinged appropriately, and weathered perfectly.  These items are worth getting by themselves as well, for any era kitbashes. 

Overall, the entire boxed figure is a must have for any Civil War Collector, and could be well used by collectors of other eras, with minimal “unusable” items.  As a parted figure, you should pick up many of the items for your kitbashes.  The detail and weathering is top notch, and the coolness and uniqueness factor is high. If you buy this figure, you will not be disappointed.