2022 In Review

As has become customary in blogland I hereby present my review of the year. First off I'd like to apologise to my "regular readers" for the lack of content over the year, particularly in the second half. Whilst I've been busy with wargaming and other fun stuff my blogging mojo has been notable by its absence, hence not much here. I'll try to do better next year. 

So, first off - how did I do against "the plan" - 

Narrow Seas - I will get the campaign system finished along with modules for the North Sea and the Channel. I will also aim to get at least one update of the Data Annex issued

Nope, didn't get very far with this. I have an update for the data annex just about ready to go. It will probably appear early in 2023 as there's a few other things I'd like to add. Getting on with the campaign system is a "must" though.

Dahlgren and Columbiad – I will finish the Triple Alliance scenario pack, as well as an update to the ship data tables for the ACW (I’ve already added about 20 new ships but have others to stat up). I’ll also work up some more ACW ironclad and gunboat 3D models now that I have a decent system to do that.

This was my "big push" of the year. The "Triple Alliance" turned into my first all-in-one project with the rules (D&C and Iron & Fire for more detailed actions, and my ACW variant of "Man o War" for parti games), the campaign pack and five packs of 3D models for printing(of which I have sold the princely sum of two sets :) I'm extremely pleased with since its pretty unique - I've not come across anything similar in 1/600 and there was only really the OOP "Spithead Miniatures" line in 1/1200 (the 3D model sets I've created of course will print at 1/1200 if I'm careful with the masts so they will also fill out my 1/1200 collection). I premiered the models with MOW at the Naval Wargames Weekend in Yeovilton in October and they seemed quite popular. Getting the complete collection painted will be a big job - perhaps I'll have them all ready to do Riachuelo at the NWW next October :). 

On the ACW front I caught the 3D modelling bug big time, with nearly 40 new models created. This is definitely an area that I will continue with into 2023, with a small series of European monitors on the drawing board at the moment. But also some other fun stuff for the ACW (watch this space).

“Bumper Boats” – a fun set of rules for ancient galley games to use with my 1/300(ish) galley models. This will just be a private project I think and not entirely serious.

The rules are written but at the present time I haven't progressed the fleets much past the Greek and Persian ships I had done this time last year. I have Roman and Carthaginian ships printed, just need time (ha!) to paint them up and then gibe the rules a run out.

In other wargaming news I knocked up a few 1/100 models for my AK47 armies, and a Matilda Hedgehog for my 15mm "Burma Skirmish" collection, and I printed & painted up the 1/700 models i needed to run my hex-and-miniatures version of "Swarming Boats", Nick Bradbeer's UCK game that we use to teach students about close quarter naval combat. On the more serious side I attended the Connections wargaming conference in Washington DC, umpired and then ran the Falklands 82 game for the Royal Marines amphibious warfare course, visited Damen Naval Shipyards in Vlissingen for some teambuilding/educational wargaming and of course got engaged in wargaming with my students at UCL.

Other fun stuff this year:

• A couple of weeks working in Australia in November where I also managed to catch up with a great many wargaming and work friends

• Taking part in a SINKEX off the Outer Hebrides in September (where I won the sweepstake on which stage of the exercise would see the target being sunk)

• Creating and a lovely 1930s air racing game based on "Wings of Glory" with some cute 3d printed aircraft and then running the game at the Wings of Glory Weekend in Doncaster (abd being asked to bring it again in 2023)

 

• Heading out to Red Sands Fort on the paddle steamer "Waverley" for a day

• The arrival of Magnus, our new kitten

and may more things besides. There's been other, less happy stuff, but I'm not dwelling on that and just remembering the good things.

So, as 2022 draws to an end I'd like to wish everyone a very happy New Year and I'll see you all, either here or in person (hopefully) in 2023. Look out for details of "The Plan, 2023" in a day or three :)

Flatiron Gunboats

 Having had a go at some Victorian gunboats a few weeks ago I thought I'd try my hand at some similar but different types. I decided to knock up some "flatiron" gunboats - so called because they resembled the old style irons used in the period. I've created a couple of types, one short and stumpy, the other a longer type, but both characterised by a single large forward firing gun.

The models were put together in Meshmixer and Microsoft 3D builder (I really must start to learn a more swept up package) and scaled to 1/1200. I'm pretty happy with them and they should be seeing action later this year in my Victorian imagi-nations campaign.

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....

Gunboats

 Having worked on my Russian, Turkish and "imagi-nation" fleets in 1/1200 from the 1870s and 1880s last year I thought I could do with some "flatiron" gunboats. Looking through Thingiverse I found a file for HMAS Protector which, although oversized for what I wanted, formed an ideal basis. I needed up the gun barrels, replaced the funnel with something better looking and revealed to give a small and medium sized generic boat that looks OK. I could do with some civilian ships as well, but removing the guns from some of the auxiliary steamers I have already should make that an easy job.