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!)  

More Galleys

 I had a rush of blood to the head last week and knocked up some Phoenician galleys in 1/2400 for use with my "Mare Nostrum" fleet action rules. The models were based on the extensive series I created for Salamis. I made three variants of bases so as to give myself some variation. 

Apologies for the shonky photo quality :)

I've also managed to get the settings on my Elegoo printer just about right for these. Printing on my old Photon flat on the build plate used to result in vertically compressed models, but these have come out just right. I've also added a few tricks to make the models more resilient which I hope will sand them in good stead.

I also made up some files for pentekonters, but alas ran out of printing time so they'll have to wait

Minorcan Fortifications from Brigade

Brigade Models in the UK have increased their range of really useful historical fortifications with the release of a star fort and three fortified towers based on surviving historical examples on the island of Minorca (or Menorca). The large star fort is based on Castell de San Antonio, the three towers the Torre de Fornells, Castillo de Sant Nicolau iand the Torre Son Ganxo, They are part of Brigade's 1/1000 "Small Scale Scenery" range but they are ideal for use with 1/1200 models as well, so these will be doing service mainly with my Renaissance galleys and my AoS collection.

Detail on all the models is very crisp, and they paint up beautifully and very quickly. The fort is modelled in resin, the towers in white metal. They are also very reasonably priced, £5.50 plus postage will get you all four items. In short, a very useful set of additions to the range which have uses not just in the Mediteranean but would also be ideal in a Caribbean or South American setting to name but two.

Ad Mare Bellum

Another new release from LFG, "Ad Mare Bellum" (AMB) uses the system developed for "Lord of the Sea" and "Cannon, Cross and Crescent" to give quick playing set of Ancient naval rules covering the period 2000BC to 900AD, They are aimed at small and medium sized games with up to 30 or so ships a side to be completed in a couple of hours or less. They have been written with 1/1200 models such as those from Navwar and Langton in mind, but could be used with larger or smaller models with appropriate changes in ranges and movement. Bookkeeping is minimal, using simple markers to indicate ship damage and crew casualties. Data for over 30 different broad ship types and nine different fleet lists are included, from the Egyptians and Sea Peoples, through classical Greek and Roman to Norse and Byzantine fleets and ships.

Available from Wargame Vault for a mere fiver :)

http://www.wargamevault.com/product/211446/Ad-Mari-Bellum

Cannon, Cross and Crescent

I’m pleased to announce the release on Wargame Vault of my latest naval fast play set of rules, “Cannon, Cross and Crescent”, which covers Renaissance galley warfare. They are based on my previous “Lanterna” set from many years ago, updated and expanded with new ship types, additional rules and improved detail. I'm currently working on a campaign system, and I'll be supporting the rules with some freebie scenarios as I did with "Lord of the Sea".

The main rulebook can be yours for the princely sum of five British pounds :)

http://www.wargamevault.com/product/210543/Cannon-Cross-and-Crescent–LFG004

The rules have been written very much with 1/1200 models in mind, so ideal if you have fleets from Navwar or some of Rod Langton's lovely models. However, they can be used with larger models by doubling movement and ranges, or with smaller models such as the Tumbling Dice 1/2400 range by using centimetres in place of inches. The rule book comprises 22 pages and includes movement and gunnery templates, and a Quick Play / Fleet Data sheet which holds a precis of the most commonly used rules and an area in which a fleet commander can record the ststs of the ships in their fleet, rather than having to refer out to the rulebook in the heat of battle.

Mediterranean Encounter (2)

Somewhat later than planned due to various equine shenanigans, here's the brief conclusion to the Renaissance galley action that I played out recently. As the previous post ended the Turks had given the Holy League light forces a real beasting and many ships had been sunk or captured. In the centre the Holy League heavies were enjoying more success, but their commander had a tough choice to make - fight on and risk total loss, or try to extricate what was left of his force.

Of course he chose the former, and it proved to be the right thing to do. The Turks managed to finish off the lighter galleys on the flanks, but in  the centre the heavy artillery of the galleasses scored some critical successes against the Turkish great galleys which left them vulnerable to their Christian opponents. In short order the Turkish centre collapsed. The Turkish admiral, realising his light forces were now at a disadvantage, decided to withdraw with his prizes and captives, and so the wings of his fleet headed for safety, easily outrunning the surviving Holy League fleet which now clustered around the lumbering galleasses. After another 12 phases (2 complete game turns) I judged that the Turks had successfully disengaged, their heavy ships mauled but their lighter forces still posing a significant threat, especially once their prizes could be refitted and turned against their former owners. But a tactical victory for the Holy League who held the field of battle al the close.

I was very pleased at how the rules played out, with the various mods and tweaks of the last few months resolving the last few inconsistencies and niggles that I had. Now to spruce up the formatting and put together a short QPS and they are done :)

Turkish light forces on their left flank decide to make a run for it as their centre falls apart.

The scene at games's end, Holy League heavies in the centre, Turkish light forces heading for the hills....

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Mediterranean Encounter

For the last three days I've been trying to get a game in using my forthcoming fast play Renaissance galley rules. This decent sized battle was set up on Wednesday night but I only got a chance to play the first few turns today. It was worth the wait, as the game has proven to be quiet interesting, and as I write has reached a tricky phase for the Holy League.

The setup on Wednesday night - kick-off was three days later!

The island on the Holy League left flank

Batteries and buildings purely decorative for this action

Holy League light forces poised to the left of the island

The scenario features two roughly equally matched forces in a littoral environment. The Holy League had the advantage of four galleasses. Both sides deployed in fairly standard lines, with heavier ships taking the central positions, lighter galleys on the flanks. On the Holy League left (Turkish right) a large island annoyingly splits the battlefield and led to a smaller virtually independent action on that flank. Both sides have a number of bergantines in support, clustered around the middle of their fleets.

And we are off! Game finally started on Saturday afternoon

Both sides maintained a steady advance, the Holy League slowed by the presence of their galleasses. In the opening salvoes of heavy gunfire the Turks scores better than their opponents, causing a smattering of damage across the Christian fleet and shattering one light galley outright. Return fire caused some damage, then the fleets crashed into a widespread melee. The Holy league hed an advantage in short range gunnery and this quickly tore into the crews of the Turkish ships, but with bigger crews they were able to absorb the losses; the larger Turkish crews proved decisive on the flanks, where over half the Holy League light galleys succumbed to boarding and were captured or sunk. In the centre things were more evenly matched, with the galleasses in particular proving their worth in beating off a number of attacks, and a couple of Turkish heavy ships were sunk or captured.

The situation at the end of Phase 2 (end game turn 2) - the Holy League holds the centre, but the flanks are crushed

For info - red counters represent hull damage (two reds = KO), black indicate crew casualties, green signifies a ship that has been captured

The confused position in the centre - Holy League holding on and scoring some decent victories

But carnage amongst the Holy League light forces behind the island

And on the other flank, with a number of Holy League light galleys captured

As play draws to an end today the battle is poised in the Turk's favour: the Holy League light forces have been effectively destroyed leaving the flanks of the heavier ships exposed. The Holy League commander has a difficult choice to make - continue in the hope of breaking through the centre using his heavy galleasses as gunnery "battering rams", or to try to extricate his force before his heavy units are enveloped in a tide of Turkish light galleys.

Hopefully more tomorrow!

Galleons and Galleasses

My current area of interest and rule development from a naval wargaming perspective is the Renaissance, where I've been building up some nice generic squadrons of galleys and other oared fighting ships. However, a rummage through the "lead pile" the other day uncovered a box of old Valiant Miniatures 1/1200 Armada period ships, some new in their packaging (from when "The Keep" sold off all their stock), some bought painted from Ebay but very heavily damaged. So my Renaissance project has expanded slightly to bring these in and over the last week or so I've started to renovate the battered ships I got from Ebay.

So the first ships I've had a go at doing up are a couple of galleasses, a small galleon and a couple of carracks. Due to their origins they retain a rather war-worn look but I'm pleased at how these have scrubbed up and I'll be adding to their numbers slowly over the coming weeks.

Unfortunately they seem to have been stuck onto their rather thick bases with some incredibly resilient glue and I'm fearful of damaging the models if I try to hack them off, so they are likely to stay on these rather than the thin card that the rest of my ships are based upon, but I can live with that.

Get To Da Choppa!!!!!

No. I haven't been watching "Predator" again, nor playing out its more entertaining bits on the wargames table. Instead the title refers to my recently arriving birthday present from my mother in law. MiL is great because she just asks me to buy myself something I'd like so satisfaction guaranteed :)

Anyway, my present was a "Chopper II" modelling tool from Northwest Short Line, sold by EMA Model Supplies in the UK. Basically it is a razor blade in a chopping handle mounted on an aluminium base that has an inlaid rubber cutting board. Also included are  30, 45, and 60 degree removable cutting guides that are secured in place using clamps. This means you can set it up to cut items consistently to the same length and/or angle very, very quickly and consistently. I decided to test this on its first run out today, cutting bases for 51 1/1200 renaissance galleys and 21 bergantines. This would normally be a job for an hour or two and getting consistent corner cuts  on them all would have been quite annoying (not to mention prone to error). Once I'd cut the 30mm wide strips from which the bases were to be formed it took about 20 minutes using the Chopper, and every cut pretty much perfect (apart from a few where I realised I'd not screwed the clamps down tightly enough, but that just meant the strips were a bit too long and thus easily cut down).

So, an excellent piece of kit, guaranteed to improve productivity. The only downside I can see is that the measurements are all imperial, so I will need to produce a metric overlay. Oh and the blade is quite sharp so don't accidentally get your finger in the way ("ain't got time to bleed")

Oh, by the way, did I mention the galleys? More on these later.....