tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836543444880123972024-01-21T11:43:57.481-08:00Mini Ship GamingNaval wargaming, tactics, and strategy; news of the hobby and my personal projectsEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.comBlogger123125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-31093856534025269942024-01-21T11:43:00.000-08:002024-01-21T11:43:10.585-08:00Great War naval, again Please click on the link below for a new post about naval gaming on my main blog:Great War naval, the returnEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-85037834286355578242023-09-29T12:50:00.001-07:002023-09-29T12:50:18.107-07:00Knocking off the rust, and moving a bit I'm not scrapping this blog, even after this long time between posts, but there are changes afoot. I have cleaned up the links on the right side of this blog a bit - still a lot more to do especially with the explosion of 3D printing resources for gaming. The big change is the transfer of attention to my main blog, Pewter Pixel Wars. Everything will be posted there in El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-91800793314955215962020-03-22T16:49:00.000-07:002020-03-22T16:49:24.033-07:00Ships off Haiti, part 1Some progress:
Here are the contents of the Haitian rebel ship package - hulls, masts, bowsprits, funnels, and deck guns! Fortunately, there are good pics of the assembled models on the FB page, and line drawings in the Salnave's War book. Phil (of Spithead Miniatures) also sent a helpful e-mail detailing some of the differences he decided for the models, and suggested painting El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-34276868616684142882020-03-15T06:44:00.000-07:002020-03-15T06:44:54.821-07:00Back, again?I am trying to get my wargaming 'sea legs' back!
A new arrival has piqued my interest:
These are 1/1200 ship models from Spithead Miniatures for the Haitian Revolution (Salnave's War) of 1867. Also pictured above is an ACW 90-day gunboat and USS Benton.
To accompany these wonderful models, I picked up a copy of this:
This slender book is a concise source of information for the El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-84531102401377515422018-10-29T20:00:00.000-07:002018-10-29T20:00:02.465-07:00BooksNot much is happening here on the hobby table as far as naval projects go, but hopefully that will end soon enough.
I have purchased a few books to help stoke the boilers a bit:
Many directions these tomes lead!El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-21149021116421949432018-07-15T13:04:00.000-07:002018-07-15T13:04:46.571-07:00Pre-dreadnoughtsA bit too much time away from here, don't you think? I have not had much desire to work on naval stuff lately, despite having several projects deserving attention. One has to start someplace so let's go:
Here is my first group of ship models from WTJ. These are assorted pre-dreadnoughts in 1/1800 scale. US, Spanish, Japanese, and Russian vessels are pictured as they El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-84476094657235322662018-05-23T05:00:00.000-07:002018-05-23T05:00:03.743-07:00Great Lakes, part 1With my recent order to Waterloo Minis, I added a sampling of the Langton War of 1812 ships:
Here we have a pair of schooners that could be used for either faction on the Great Lakes. Each model is comprised of five cast pieces - hull and masts - and a set of photo-etch sails. Beautifully cast in the Langton manner, and oh my, are they small. Each square on the grid in El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-18325747323464273922018-05-20T07:30:00.001-07:002018-05-20T07:30:44.976-07:00Anglo-Dutch, part 3The second pair of miniatures for my Anglo-Dutch naval project recently arrived. These ships are Langton, and they were purchased through Waterloo Minis:
This is Langton AD8, a British 4th Rate vessel, 48-56 guns. 13 pieces total. I decided to try cast sails for this batch, just to see how much difference there will be in assembly compared to the photo-etch variety, plus El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-20856392447822157192018-05-06T13:39:00.001-07:002018-05-06T13:39:39.096-07:00Anglo-Dutch naval, part 2As part of the build-up to my Anglo-Dutch naval project, I purchased a copy of this:
This volume is part of the 'New Vanguard' series from Osprey, number 183. A slender volume at 48 pages, it is nonetheless a useful introduction to the period. Design, construction, and operation of the two different navies are covered, and there are many period paintings reproduced within, along El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-32276910281929954562018-04-29T13:21:00.001-07:002018-04-29T13:21:42.741-07:00ProjectsThis is just a simple post to provide a bit of info on what is happening behind the curtain.
I have several naval projects that have various, but comparatively little, amounts of completion. First off is a fantasy naval project, based on the fictional world of Tékumel. This project will utilize 1/1200 ancient naval ships for the most part, although many will need conversions.
El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-89634694301314913052018-04-22T12:44:00.000-07:002018-04-22T12:44:02.880-07:00BackA bit too long of a break between posts! Even so, I will keep this one brief.
Many things are happening here, both hobby-wise and other-wise. I am still struggling to shake off the lethargy that descended many months ago, but I am picking up more steam as I go. There are old projects that will be revisited, and a new project or two that have suddenly sprung forth. Once I El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-6584760180669078392017-06-25T13:48:00.001-07:002017-06-25T13:48:58.850-07:00The return of an old favorite, with a twistAlong with the Anglo-Dutch ships, I purchased a few miniatures for an era that I once played extensively - ACW naval:
These ships are part of a new series of ships from Thoroughbred Models. Thoroughbred is well-known for their line of 1/600 ACW ships, and I once had quite a few. They were sold years ago to make ends meet, but now I am ready to return to the genre except that my El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-91980696086349245272017-06-11T14:11:00.000-07:002017-06-13T08:08:24.401-07:00Anglo-Dutch naval, part 1This is the start of my newest naval project; just a pair of ships but I find it to be very daunting. The rigging of these ships will be the hard part for me to overcome!
Here is the first step - a pair of lovely 3rd rates in 1/1200 scale from Langton. (Edit: purchased from Waterloo Miniatures) (and the ratlines are sold separately!).
Inside the box one will find:
El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-21121154157288376492017-06-03T16:27:00.000-07:002017-06-03T16:27:26.991-07:00Been a while...Sure has been a while since posting. It has, sadly, been quite an eventful time. For the major items, please go to my other blog and read this. For the minor stuff, read on.
Simply put, I made a mistake that I do not think that I have ever done before. While in a scramble to reorganize the place, boxes were shifted around and things thrown to the bin that should have not El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-47890915453484111082016-04-09T12:26:00.002-07:002016-04-09T12:26:28.990-07:00WW1 German ships, part 2With a little bit of spare time, I was able to make a little more progress with my WTJ 1/1800 ships.
Magdeburg and Strassburg, and their masts. I am not certain of the diameter of the brass rod used for the masts, but the yards are made of 0.006" brass wire (the long piece in the pic above). Again, the mounting holes for the masts are printed into the WTJ cruisers, so just aEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-6255471129303875272016-04-02T17:30:00.000-07:002016-04-02T18:08:18.342-07:00WW1 Russian ships, part 3Inspiration can strike suddenly, and this time I took advantage of the situation and worked on my WTJ ships a bit.
Here is my small flotilla of 1/1800 ships - German cruisers on the left, Russians on the right. One can see that I have already primed the first Russian cruiser - Bogatyr - but I forgot one small detail... masts! So, back to work.
I have some thin brass wire that I El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-32326964136082664582016-03-20T10:30:00.000-07:002016-03-20T10:30:22.760-07:00Ships from ValiantYet another new arrival:
These miniatures are from the Ramming Speed line from Valiant Enterprises. At 1/900 scale, they are right between the almost too small (for me!) 1/1200 ships and the oddly shaped 1/600 line from Xyston. I just can not put my finger on why the Xyston ships look off to me, but I am finding that I really do not want to work on them.
The variety of ships El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-86083220387016847382016-02-15T13:10:00.000-08:002016-02-15T13:10:46.221-08:00New project, and oldJust a quick pic or two:
On the left, my new 1/1800 ships from WTJ, with a pair of extras that were sent just in case some of my order fell afoul of a production problem. Awesome service from WTJ! Now, for some primer...
And on the right, one of my 1/600 Xyston ancient vessels, and assorted bits. I am going to take another look at this scale for my Tékumel naval project.&El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-43777174292451762372016-01-30T13:36:00.000-08:002016-01-30T13:36:25.999-08:00Ships from WTJ!Finally had some time to post this... my small, test order with WTJ arrived some time ago. I ordered just a few ships - SMS Magdeburg and V167 for the Germans, and cruisers Oleg and Bogatyr and TB Boiki for the Russians. Here is a quick pic:
Bogatyr is the top, Magdeburg is the bottom. These ships are in 1/1800 scale. The translucent material makes it difficult to get El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-89085012510403500172015-12-30T12:08:00.002-08:002015-12-30T12:08:58.268-08:00The year that was...And that year was an almost complete miss for any sort of naval activities here.
After a promising start with Galleys & Galleons, hobby-wise my naval activities just fell flat. I'm not certain why. But, my lovely wife has pointed out a few details, and I am getting ready to try again. She commented on an issue that did not really click until recently - scale. In her El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-66909809752748664092015-02-07T10:39:00.000-08:002015-02-07T10:39:21.564-08:00Interesting naval-related downloadsSometimes, web surfing can result in completely unexpected goodies. While bouncing through the 'Trending' topics on The Old Reader, I found a link to a very interesting PDF on ancient Egyptian maritime activities: Foundations of International Thinking on Sea Power
I have only just started to dig through the Egyptian pdf, but there is a section on maritime activities as based on El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-73618134487601714812015-01-25T19:34:00.001-08:002015-01-25T19:34:56.421-08:00Galleys & Galleons, part 3Now that I have some ships together (see previous post), my thoughts have turned to getting them painted. First, primer. I have found that my usual primer, Reaper Master Series Brush-On Primer, has seen better days and has mostly settled out in the dropper, even after much shaking:
The two on the right were 'primed' with my remaining Reaper primer - you almost can not tell that El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-20998922112513843962015-01-20T12:08:00.000-08:002015-01-20T12:08:35.610-08:00New blog, with a painting tutorialA new blog (not mine :) ) has sprouted up - The Great War at Sea by Grant. He has posted a two-part painting tutorial, with Part 1 here and Part 2 there.
He has some beautifully painted 1/2400 GHQ miniatures - take a look!
El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-19709182367412695942015-01-11T15:23:00.000-08:002015-01-11T15:23:27.844-08:00Galleys & Galleons, part 2After a multitude of delays, from holidays to a pronounced avoidance of the painting table, a small measure of progress has been made. Here is a pic:
This is the assembled Figurehead small English squadron for the Armada period, in 1/2400 scale. These vessels are not very large - those bases are 40mm long and 20mm wide! But, for small miniatures they are very nice.
Here areEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-14444827754704642202014-12-07T10:56:00.000-08:002014-12-15T12:13:27.974-08:00Galleys & Galleons, part 1Last weekend, my lovely wife and I sat down to give Galleys & Galleons, the renaissance-era naval rules now in playtest, a go. You will need to forgive the pics, as I do not have miniatures painted up, and I forgot to get my blue felt out for an appropriate backdrop!
This pic was taken after the full first turn. The table is roughly 3 feet square, and we are using counters outEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com2