End of Year Modelling

 The last few weeks at home and at Uni have been quite hectic so I've not had time to update the blog, but I have been busy on the modelling front. Here's a summary of some of the things I've been working on.....

An old edition of Airfix Magazine featured the various converted "erzatz M10" Panthers and StugIIIs used in the Battle of the Bulge. I'd always fancied a few if these, and so when suitable 3d models appeared on Thingiverse I was naturally going to print off a set for my 15mm Winter Skirmish collection.

The prolific Mike Bergmann upissued his 1/100 WW2 collection and added a Valentine bridgelayer. This one will join my 15mm Burma/Pacific collection. I printed a second which is in Russian markings and now sits in the Winter Skirmish collection.

Another new model from Mike is the venerable Austin K2 ambulance. This one is heading for Burma as well. I should probably have made the red crosses and circles a bit bigger.

Finally in 15mm, Mike also added a lovely model of an "X Craft" mini submarine. I printed out a few examples in waterline configuration in 1/300 and 1/600.

For my own paert I've been working on a load of ACW ironclads in my various 3D modelling packages. This is the twin turreted river monitor USS Winnebago. I have a coiple of these printed that are in the final stages of painting just now.

A diversion from my regular modelling - Rob Heath (Twylite Games on Wargame Vault) posted a nice set of alarge ancient galley models - Greek, Phoenecian, Roman and Carthaginian. I've printed some squadrons for each of these with the Greeks and Phoenecians the first to be finished. These models are around 3" long and I'm planning to use them with a fast and fun set of rules that I'm working on. 

Some terrain for my 1/1200 (or if I'm feeling epic, my 1/2400) ancient galleys, this is the lighthouse at Alexandria. 

Finally for now, I've caught up on "The Mandalorian" (I discovered that we have a Disney+ subscription - surprise!)  so I printed off a 1/270 model of the Razor Crest (or is it the Laser Quest? :) to use with X Wing. I need to work on the paint scheme for this, its a bit "flat" so I'll be painting in panels in various shades and other details as I work out what needs doing.

This isn't everything that I've been working on over the last couple of months - watch out for another update soon, maybe combined with my assessment against "The Plan" for 2021 (which I don't think will make pleasant reading!)  

ACW Side Wheelers

 Having worked up a set of 3D models for stern wheel ACW transports I then decided to do the same for side wheelers. This part of the plan was initiated by a chat I had online with a friend in the US who is working on a Mississippi paddle steamer racing game, hence the first ships I made were inspired by steamers such as the Robert E Lee and Natchez, although greatly simplified - all being well they will be making an appearance in his game in due course. The last one I created was a side wheel tinclad gunboat, using the superstructure and casemate of the stern wheeler as a basis. 

Having sorted those I was asked whether they'd work in 1/600. An obvious question and one I should have asked myself since I'm as short of transports in that scale as I am in 1/1200. Step one of finding out was to simply print the 1/1200 stern wheel gunboat in the larger scale - looked good, but the lack of planking detail in the deck was beginning to show. A few hours later I'd figured out how to create a decent planked deck surface and so I applied it to one of the stern wheel transports and the sidewheel gunboat and printed them out last night. They've been in the paint shop and I'm very pleased with the results. 

So now, at very little expense other than a number of hours working 3D packages, printing time and a bottle of resin I have - to be honest - more ACW transports than I know what to do with :) Not that it will stop me tinkering with the models and creating more variants :D

If anyone wants models for themselves I've put them up in a couple of sets on Wargame Vault.

ACW Stern Wheelers

 A few weeks ago I was looking through my 1/1200 ACW naval collection and lamenting on the lack of stern wheel transports that I had. That and a chance conversation with friends on Facebook sent me scurrying to Meshmixer and Microsoft 3D Builder to experiment. A few weeks later and I had seven new models ready to print covering a variety of types including a timberclad gunboat. I just finished painting them up this afternoon.

I also had a go at some unusual types of single wheel ferries. I recall seeing models and pictures of examples in some of the museums we visited during the NWS Memphis-New Orleans holiday of the late 1990s. I'd always fancied having a  few in my collection but up until now I'd not had the chance to do anything about it

I posted these on Facebook earlier and after a few requests I decided to put the stern wheelers up on Wargame Vault if anyone could do with some "targets" for their ACW naval games. The set on VW has the seven different models. 

American Civil War Stern Wheelers 1/1200 - Long Face Games | Wargame Vault

Now to find out if they scale up to 1/600 (I think they'll need additional detailing to work well though). Oh, and some sidewheel passenger ships just entered the paint shop :)

All At Sea, Victorian Style

 For some strange reason I had a sudden desire to knock up some Victorian ironclads last week (nothing to do with "the Plan", one of those spur of he moment decisions. After a few days playing on Meshmixer I had knocked up three new models. Last year I created fleets for the Russo Turkish war in 1/1200 using some 3d models I bought on Wargame Vault. The models needed a lot of work to turn them into reasonable representation of the actual ships, and in so doing I created a library of funnels, turrets, masts and other fittings as well as hulls from which I could create new ships. At that time I used those pieces to build the auxiliary fleets of both sides (so plenty of steamers and paddle gunboats). This time I was looking for something bigger.

There are four new classes, three turret ships and a monitor. The turret ships are based on HMVS Cerberus, HMS Inflexible and a lengthened Inflexible type (mainly because I got the length wrong the first time). The fourth is a Royal Navy monitor. Whilst reading the new Helion book on HMS Captain I came across a section that briefly discussed RN plans for armoured ships for coastal defence (and a possible war in North America). The passage hinted at the preparation of designs for turret monitors similar to the US Passaic and Canonicus classes, so I thought I'd have a go at knocking one up. The design takes a "traditional" US monitor arrangement but with a Coles turret and with a deckhouse (I wanted something that looked distinct from a US type). The idea being that the deckhouse provided some cabins and other spaces in a lightly built open structure that was sacrificial in action, the engines, magazines, crew accommodation etc. below the armoured deck. I was quite pleased with the result.

None of these are true representations of their subjects (and in the case of the monitor of course, entirely conjectural), But they will see sterling service in the naval "imagi-nations" campaign setting that I am slowly working up, alongside the other hypothetical 1870s ironclads that I created when printing out the Turkish fleet. 

More on that project another day....

More Confederate Gunboats

I returned from my break on Vis to find an email from "Wargamer 6" at Spithead Minatures with some pictures of what is hoped to be their latest set of releases. This time the subject is the Confederate defence fleets at New Orleans and Commodore Hollins' flotilla at Island No. 10.

As with the recent Memphis release the models are beautifully constructed and full of character. My Memphis collection painted up very well (expect to see them in a forthcoming blog entry) and I'm sure these will be no different.

The eventual release of these models depends on enough potential buyers "signing up" at Spithead's website. If you are tempted by these then head on over and send them a message via their "contact" page:

http://www.pitheadminiatures.com/contact.php

Coastal Defences

Some Brigade Models sea forts have been sitting on the shelf in their packing looking at me for a while, so over the last week or so I've been slowly painting them up and they are just about done now. The models are resin with some details in white metal. The surface finish of the resin seems a bit rough on initial inspection but they paint up very well, giving very respectable results. I'm extremely pleased with them and I think I'll be adding to my collection when I see them hopefully) at Colours in September.

The forts of Portsmouth, two incarnations of Southsea Castle in the foreground, two versions of No Mans land Fort at the back (one as built, the second with the five turrets as originally designed), St Helen's Fort in the middle and Spitbank Fort to the right

Southsea Castle, 1544 to the left, 1850 to the right

A closeup of St Helens and Spitbank, the former modelled at an intermediate tide (the rocks surrounding the fort are completely covered at high tide)

No Mans Land in its two versions - I may get a second "as built" to give me all of the models for the seaward defences as in the 1850s

Moving to the American Civil War, this is Fort McRee with an added scenic base

The landward side of Fort McRee

Fort Moultrie, a lovely casting that has obvious utility outside the Civil War era

Confederate River Defence Fleet

Keen naval gamers will recall that Phil Ireson (Wargamer6 on TMP) produced a lovely set of ships in 1/1200 covering the fleets that fought at the battle of Riachuelo. Well he has turned his attention to the American Civil War and come up with a set of eight models also in 1/1200 covering the Confederate River Defence Fleet at the battles of Plum Point and Memphis.

The complete set

Phil has sent me photos of this new selection of models and in the next few weeks I'm hoping to get a set. As with his earlier models they look rather lovely, nicely detailed and full of character. I shall report more fully when they arrive, but for now here are the pictures that Phil sent.

General  Sterling Price 

General Bragg

The models are cast in resin with white metal fittings. The complete set will be available for £36 plus £2 &P in the UK (I don't know about postage overseas)