Civil War Miniature Soldier Figure

I would go with 54mm - 1/32 - 1/35 scale.  I have not seen any 1/72 that are detailed enough to make a really nice model of them.  They are just way too small for me in 1/72 to see details.

There are a lot of 54mm - 1/32 - 1/35 Civil War figures out there.

Master Box has a couple sets in 1/35

Imex in 1/32, these may be rubber Civil War toy soldiers (think green army men), I'm not sure. 

There are also a bunch of Civil War figures in 54mm and 1/32 in resin that are really nice as well.  These include some from Nemrod/Historex, Hornet and Wolf,  Verlinden, and a few others. 

Also, be careful, there are a bunch of crappy, rubber Civil War toy soldiers (think green army men) in 1/32 as well.

That shoud get you started.

Sir - Thank you for the feedback, I really appreciate the help.  I will do some research on 54mm - 1/32 - 1/35 Civil War figures.

Try Google > Images > 1/72 ACW figures and see what you find.  Keep refining your search until you get hits.

Should you decide to stick with 1/72, there's a site called "Plastic Soldier Review" that has invaluable reviews (with photos) of various manufacturers' sets:

http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Index.aspx

You can sort by manufacturer and era. Their reviews give good info regarding molding quality, accessories, and how close to 1/72 the actual moldings are.

One of the best and most economical lines of ACW figures is Shenandoah. They have a large array of figures and accessories. Most of the figures have interchageable body parts so repositoning is not overly challenging. They are available (as well as many every other ACW line excluding the 1/72 toy soldiers) at www.milminwh.com (Military Miniatures Warehouse).

The biggest problem with 1/72 figures are they are made of a soft palstic that doesn't like paint or glue which you would need unless you want a whole lot of guys looking exactly alike.

I'd suggest studying the artwork of Don Troiani, Keith Rocco and Mort Kunsler for ideas.