tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836543444880123972012-02-11T11:21:30.106-08:00Mini Ship GamingNaval wargaming, tactics, and strategy; news of the hobby and my personal projectsEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.comBlogger761100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-41461944873355966282011-12-31T11:59:00.000-08:002011-12-31T11:59:41.502-08:00On the horizon - 2012Well, my last post of 2011! It should be something thoughtful and witty, but what follows will have to suffice...
First off, I would like to thank all of the people that follow and visit this humble blog. Having something to say is one thing, but also having an audience is another and I do appreciate all comments, so please keep them coming in!
Second, projects. I seem to be good at finding El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-71820594264428620032011-12-11T10:23:00.000-08:002011-12-11T10:23:39.015-08:00Leviathans, part 3After a long delay, here are some pics of another vessel from Leviathans, the French light cruiser Pontbriand:
Another nice looking model for the Leviathans game.
El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-81132872214319167962011-12-10T11:10:00.000-08:002011-12-10T11:10:53.267-08:00Plan Rubber linksA brief post for today, as we are having our delayed Thanksgiving get-together now that my step-daughter has returned from Iraq...
Plan Rubber on Wiki
Plan Rubber at Sixtant
A couple of links that explain the situation and the historical outcome - from which I plan to deviate of course!El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-42714716782343756352011-11-19T18:17:00.000-08:002011-11-19T18:17:01.178-08:00WW2 naval, part 3I think that I have a good idea of what the US force will have available for Plan Rubber, plus a couple of additions.
CV Ranger
BB Texas
BB Arkansas
CA Augusta
CL Savannah
DD Wainwright
DD Lang
DD Wilson
DD Hambleton
DD Emmons
During March 1942, all of the above ships, excluding the battleships, were formed as TG22.7 for a brief time, patrolling the Caribbean and Atlantic near Bermuda. The El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-29514793902384369422011-11-14T08:53:00.000-08:002011-11-14T08:53:17.930-08:00WW2 naval, part 2When it rains, it pours sometimes... Just when I thought that I had figured out a simple WW2 project, I find something else that catches my fancy. Here are the two candidates:
Plan Rubber - US forces try to invade Brazil to insure the security of airbases in Northern Brazil, vital to the transfer of aircraft from the US to Africa/Middle East/Australia.
The Med - France vs. Italy in a what-if El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-68095929470959457862011-11-06T10:22:00.000-08:002011-11-14T08:55:43.818-08:00Looking at a WW2 naval project...After a little bit of digging I was able to find a good quantity of GHQ WW2 naval vessels in various states of disrepair. Many of them look like this:
The top pic shows, from the left: a King George V class battleship, a Caio Duilio class battleship, a Littorio class battleship, and a Strasbourg class battlecruiser. The second pic shows, clockwise from the top left: Hood battlecruiser, El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-24813000026691738212011-11-03T15:43:00.000-07:002011-11-03T15:43:06.754-07:00Weak-willed me...Well now, another fork in the road of hobby project completion looms up ahead. Recently, I have been playing the on-line game World of Tanks. This has stirred a latent desire for micro-armour, something that I have not played for more than a decade, and collected longer than that. So, I zipped over to the GHQ Models web site, checking out tanks and such, when the urge to look at the El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-54415522758510506322011-10-05T20:35:00.000-07:002011-10-05T20:37:33.901-07:00Austrian ironclads, part 2After a long delay, I decided to get the shipyards going again. Here is a brief glimpse:
Drache
Kaiser Max
A couple of Austrian ironclads to get the ball rolling again. I am cutting the masts down somewhat, as I understand the Austrians ships, at Lissa, had reduced their rigging in advance of the engagement. It will help differentiate the Austrians from the Italians, although the hull El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-9144778132677327572011-09-29T07:23:00.000-07:002011-09-29T07:23:54.822-07:00Leviathans, part 2Here are some pics of the British light cruiser for Leviathans, HML Hertfordshire:
The models for Leviathans are 1/1200 scale. They are 'lightly' pre-painted in the colors you see in these pics, but I believe they come unassembled.El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-43783923171029677272011-08-31T06:28:00.000-07:002011-08-31T06:28:13.110-07:00Leviathans!At the recently concluded PAX Prime convention, I had the rare opportunity to see a great new game just before launch - Leviathans, by Catalyst Game Labs. We had next to no spare time as we were on our way to another presentation, but I had a brief chat with Randall Bills, mastermind of Leviathans, and as a token of appreciation (we were among the early playtesters - a few years ago - for the El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-23337349367355842292011-06-12T08:50:00.000-07:002011-06-12T08:51:45.131-07:00Another naval blogIf you are not already following along at Castles of Tin, you really should - great stuff!El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-20598229601883712522011-06-03T09:15:00.000-07:002011-06-03T18:09:22.983-07:00BecalmedJust a temporary slow-down, I am sure, but the shipyard here is looking at some downtime. Since I have not had a regular game group in several years, I do not feel any impetus towards completing projects, and with my regular game partner, my lovely wife, dropping a bit of a blast with "I don't really like naval games' (WHAT!!!!) I have lost all headway with the naval projects. I didEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-94694762583202052011-04-27T04:52:00.000-07:002011-04-27T05:31:37.877-07:00Award!!I am rather shocked and a bit pleased to announce that this blog has been nominated for a Stylish Blogger Award! (I suppose that this means that I should update it more than once a month then.) Many thanks to David Manley for the tip-of-the-hat!There are four rules that need to be followed after receipt of this award:1. Link back and thank the nominating party - Thanks again Mr. Manley!2. El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-23733491180585450912011-04-20T09:15:00.000-07:002011-04-20T09:37:23.796-07:00ProjectsIt has been a little quiet here at this mini-shipyard, so as an aid to get back into gear I'm listing the current naval projects:1. 1/2400 Armada - The discovery of some long-lost Hallmark ships was a pleasant surprise, but I have not done anything else to them since. The two small squadron packs contain plenty of ships for now, but I am thinking of spicing them up a bit. I discovered just the El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-66856500791367019502011-03-09T05:05:00.000-08:002011-03-09T05:15:59.809-08:00A bit of a diversion, and a poll...As many other gamers, I find it very difficult to maintain a singular focus on projects and periods - there have been many examples on this blog alone to prove that! But, I have endeavored to keep my blogs reasonably focused on certain genres. This blog is devoted to naval matters, and historical ones at that. But, I am also 'working' (more like thinking!) on non-historical naval projects, El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-50882667408809250792011-02-19T11:19:00.000-08:002011-02-19T11:27:59.465-08:001/6000Here is some of my unexpected collection of 1/6000 scale ships:Just the Germans and British in this pic. My 1/6000 German fleet is an eclectic mix of battlecruisers, pre-dreadnoughts, and torpedo boats, while the British only have battlecruisers. I have to say that I do not remember the specific plan for these ships! But, they are beautiful castings - do I really need another scale?El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-36896268056715234102011-02-12T09:58:00.000-08:002011-04-20T09:37:40.369-07:00Back on track, with a surprise...Far too slowly, but it is finally done - the hobby table is set up for business:And, it is immediately besieged with projects and a few surprises as well if you look closely! Here is the first one:1/2400 Figurehead English 16th century squadron1/2400 Figurehead Spanish 16th century squadronI thought that these packs were sold off long ago, but they look intact and almost completely untouched. El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-2234926774201323572010-12-31T16:12:00.000-08:002010-12-31T16:24:05.594-08:00On the horizon - 2011Yet another year is upon us. Here at the El Grego shipyards, things have been in a state of flux. I have not done anything with my naval projects for months, for a number of reasons, foremost amongst those being a change in residence. My work bench, which once looked like this:Now looks like this:The work bench was replaced by an old computer table, which is about half of the length of the oldEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-63092264552506681752010-09-25T14:37:00.000-07:002010-09-25T14:43:45.277-07:00Austrian ironclads, part 1Just to show that I had not forgotten the ironclads, here is a pic for you:Erzherzog Ferdinand MaxNo other progress however! I am a bit puzzled by the lack of sails for the mini - typically Figurehead ships come with enough sail pieces for each mast that needs them, but this one only has one. I will need to check with some pics of the actual ship to confirm but I am pretty certain that there El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-8513807978775313702010-08-14T12:11:00.000-07:002010-08-14T12:19:45.157-07:00German ships, part 1We saw the state of the Russian fleet last time - so here are the Germans:The bases are not quite finished; those that are blue will get one more coat, and the metal ones will get two! The torpedo boats do look dark and sinister, as they should, although when I paint the wakes on the bases they will pop out more.A broadside shot of the fleet. The closest ship, minelayer Albatross, is not nearlyEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-27724078461308421462010-08-07T13:23:00.000-07:002010-08-07T13:40:10.216-07:00Russian ships, part 2Long time no post - my apologies!I have put a little time and effort into the ships - the basics of the basing is done for all of the WW1 Baltic ships. I do wish that I had put a little more thought into basing before starting... I started with a thin piece of sheet steel, a commercially available base from Wargames Accessories. After super-gluing all of the ships to these bases, I realized El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-10179776329396074402010-06-28T08:59:00.000-07:002010-06-28T09:23:46.816-07:00Work-in-progressThese projects are slowly taking shape. My order from The Last Square arrived - mostly steel bases and one Austrian ironclad, Drache - and the bases have already been put to use.I'm using 40mm x 80mm bases for my WW1 ships. The trio on the right are the German torpedo boats... they are a dark grey with a darker grey deck, maybe too dark! I will wait until I have the bases painted but the smallEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-77758868787131255632010-06-26T10:17:00.000-07:002010-06-26T10:27:06.070-07:00Another note on Figurehead - availabilityI did not realize it at the time, but in my Links section, I did not provide the correct information for buying Figurehead minis. Noble Miniatures is the manufacturer of Figurehead (among many others) but they do not engage in retail sales. However, there are retail outlets for these fine ships - in the USA The Last Square carries the entire line from Figurehead, and Magister Militum is your El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-46610344154588876012010-06-22T10:05:00.000-07:002010-06-22T10:26:45.391-07:00A brief updateProgress is slowly clicking along here - no pics though as the batteries for the camera are on the charger.For the ironclads, I now have 10 Italian ships assembled, mounted, and with assorted amounts of paint. This is not the entire line-up at Lissa, but is plenty for the near future. Four Austrian ships and six unarmored 'generic' ships are waiting for their turn at the shipyard. I have yet El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-38967051288122065032010-06-11T09:03:00.000-07:002010-06-11T09:12:32.946-07:00Italian ironclads, part 2Again with the slow progress...Just a pair of work-in-progress pics:Principe de CarignanoPalestro, with Re de PortugalloI only have a few more Italian ironclads after these; Austrians are next then some of the unarmored ships. I have yet to finalize a shopping list for the Lissa engagement - I know that I am short several ships especially Austrians. But the handful that are in place already El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-92132181453729692232010-06-06T12:14:00.000-07:002010-06-06T12:27:48.135-07:00Russian ships, part 1Not much progress here, as I am suffering from an increased work-load, and a sore and swollen left knee. My recent computer upgrade was more successful but just as time-consuming!A small amount of work was accomplished, as seen here:Basically, a before and after pic of the Russian destroyer Novik. The Navwar mini appears to be the WW2 version, also known as Yakov Sverdlov. I trimmed down the El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-83731267265522055062010-05-26T06:33:00.000-07:002010-05-26T09:00:43.678-07:00Ancient Naval rulesLorenzo at Dadi & Piombo has a new set of rules for ancient naval battles - Impetus Navalis - for large scale actions. The PDF download is here. A brief scan of the rules indicates that you might need a copy of Impetus to use them. Some interesting concepts in there!Another, much older set of ancient naval rules is De Bellis Navalibus - based on DBA they are simple yet subtle. I hope to give El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-48190198952501002042010-05-17T05:53:00.000-07:002010-05-17T05:55:28.061-07:00A new naval gaming blog...Daveshoe has started up a brand-new blog on naval gaming - take a look!El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-60242564584985806562010-05-15T17:56:00.000-07:002010-05-15T18:07:39.057-07:00German cruisers, part 1It has not been all Ironclads work here - the WW1 ships have been getting some attention also. And to prove it, here are some work-in-progress pics:SMS Prinz Adalbert, ready for primer. I added some masts using brass rod.SMS Roon.Both minis required a bit of work with knife and file, and I see that I missed a gap in the second stack on Roon. Nothing too serious though. I do think that these El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-74079413748610466182010-05-09T19:39:00.000-07:002010-05-09T19:56:54.913-07:00Italian ironclads, part 1I sat down at the hobby table to try out an idea for the Figurehead ironclads. Almost all of these ships come with spars and sails set as a separate piece from the masts. Steam-driven ships would not normally have their sails set especially in a battle so it does look odd for the ships to be equipped this way. So, I have tried an experiment to make a ship look better:Here is Re d'Italia with El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-63508160276735444832010-05-01T10:19:00.001-07:002010-05-15T12:22:00.276-07:00Slow progressJust a brief update:Regina Maria Pia with a little bit of paint applied, andAffondatore.Progress has been slow through the previous month due to a really odd work schedule which should be resolved now. These Figurehead ships do seem to paint up nicely so that helps.And the WW1 fleet has not been forgotten:Before I set off to the balmy shores of the Med for WW1, I am going to finish off the shipsEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-79815074938928272842010-03-20T12:18:00.000-07:002010-03-20T12:31:50.081-07:00A welcome additionFound this while shopping at the not-quite-local Half Price Books:Not a bad find for $12. This will be moved up to near the top of my book reading queue!El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-20788509293393532762010-03-14T11:34:00.000-07:002010-03-14T12:21:07.248-07:00A brief updateA snippet or two of activity here:The mini in the foreground is Affondatore, with Regina Maria Pia to starboard, mounted on thin steel bases - 30mm x 60mm - and primed. The bases are much larger than any I have used in the past, but I rather like them as there will be plenty of space for labeling and splash markers - many thanks to SteelOnSand for the tip!But, I feel that in my haste to get themEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-30937168124141599962010-03-10T17:45:00.000-08:002010-03-10T17:47:11.403-08:00Another naval gaming blog...Scott is just starting up a ACW ironclads naval project, which can be followed at his blog.El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-67134496348144223022010-02-27T11:50:00.000-08:002010-02-27T12:04:02.073-08:00Notes on Figurehead ironcladsJust a couple of observations on the fine ironclads from Figurehead...The first point is minor: all of the Figurehead ironclads, all of them steam-powered, have sails set. I could probably live with that point; it does not seem to detract from the models at all. But, if one wanted a bit more realism, the sails would need to go. On Regina Maria Pia and her sisters, it would be easier than El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-22429581647427861732010-02-20T10:46:00.000-08:002010-02-20T11:14:50.359-08:00Old projects, part 1 - Figurehead shipsI have been slowly sifting through boxes of hobby stuff, and some surprises have been uncovered. There are some pics of some items over at my other blog, but the discoveries have not been of a naval variety, until now:I was quite shocked to find these! These are a nice set of Figurehead Ships ironclads in 1/2400 scale. I purchased these 9 or 10 years ago, I think, at a convention in British El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-34941188704164066142010-01-02T11:59:00.000-08:002010-01-02T12:05:20.091-08:00A new year...A late Happy New Year to everybody!I have really been slacking on this blog, and my naval project. Hopefully that will change a bit with this new year. I have had half a thought about changing the direction of my project from 1/3000 WW1 Baltic to 1/1200 ironclads (not ACW), but the historical record is a bit slim for more than just brief encounters. I'm still thinking about it, but I am El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-68497676887163842512009-10-31T12:27:00.000-07:002009-10-31T12:29:00.409-07:00More linksJust added a few links to the lists on the right, specifically from Alnavco and Tumbling Dice.El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-43600803724029804152009-09-13T18:56:00.000-07:002010-02-20T11:18:21.358-08:00Ship mini painting, part 1Been awhile, hasn't it? I am making some slow progress with the minis:Here is a pic of the WTJ minis, with masts of brass rod added and a coat of primer(Reaper Master Series Brush-On Primer). I have glued them to a nail for easier handling.I am also experimenting with paint choices:1. Reaper Master Series Pure White2. 1 part Pure White + 1 part Reaper Master Series Misty Grey3. Misty El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-42623009636583381562009-08-25T06:22:00.000-07:002010-02-20T11:18:21.360-08:00Navwar, continued...Unfortunately, I've been distracted and have yet to work with my new Navwar ships - no painting, no pics, and they are still in the bags. I have discovered that I forgot to place Augsberg on the order sheet and instead received one of my alternates - a Wittelbach-class predreadnought. I guess that means that I'll need to place another order, soon!El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-75932892089083656682009-08-16T10:04:00.001-07:002010-02-20T11:18:21.361-08:00Navwar orderThe ships from Navwar have arrived - faxed the order in last Monday and delivered on Saturday - very fast service! Pics later on...El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-27352274697600032442009-08-15T19:48:00.000-07:002010-02-20T11:18:21.361-08:00First set of minis...I finally have some pics ready to post. Some of these are a bit dodgy - I need to refine my method just a bit of these small ships.First up, the Germans:These are the WTJ versions of Prinz Heinrich and Lübeck.A very close-up overview of Prinz Heinrich.The WTJ castings are very nice - not much flash, just a small amount there on Prinz Heinrich's fore funnel.And some Russian ships:The cruisers El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-65972769013293920472009-08-11T06:23:00.000-07:002009-08-11T06:27:33.408-07:00Action off Götland, part 5The paints have arrived, and the Navwar order faxed off! I also have some pics of the WTJ ships stored in the camera, which I'll try to post later.El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-43551079512312127202009-08-11T06:19:00.000-07:002009-08-11T06:22:58.111-07:00High Seas Fleet linksHere are a pair of links to web sites that have some good information on the German navy circa WW1:Imperial German Navy deployment 1914Hochseeflotte ShipsThe Hochseeflotte page has several links to ship specs, histories, and some pics.El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-35803711959927375192009-08-02T20:25:00.000-07:002009-08-02T20:33:51.803-07:00Action off Götland, part 4Slowly but surely, progress is being made. My first order from WTJ has arrived, and they are beautiful ships indeed. No pics yet; it is just too hot here to mess around in our hobby area but I will take some soon.I have also sent off for an order of new paints. I am going to try something a bit different this time. Normally, I will purchase specific colors, as I do not like to blend my own El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-71952405774055633092009-07-28T19:38:00.000-07:002009-07-28T19:44:06.952-07:00Imperial Russian Navy linksHere are a couple of interesting Wiki links for pics of the Imperial Russian Navy:World War 1 Ships of the Russian EmpireWorld War 1 cruisers of RussiaWorld War 1 destroyers of Russian EmpireImperial Russian Navy destroyersVery useful in my opinion - they are mostly based on Russian sources.El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-1222675708850599632009-07-27T14:37:00.000-07:002009-07-27T14:57:28.689-07:00Action off Gotland, part 3While sorting through the painting table, I made an unwelcome discovery - I do not have any paints suitable for naval vessels! None of the typical greys that one would need. Now, I could just mix my own, and I do not mind doing that in a very limited manner, but large-scale paint formulation is not what I want, especially as I do not need large quantities. So, along with the ships I will need El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-62845889008911141852009-07-20T11:17:00.000-07:002009-07-20T11:23:50.694-07:00ProgressProgress is being made at the El Grego shipyards - being back on-line (after work on the building and a 'slight' hiccup in our internet connection) is the major one! I have placed the first order for 1/3000 minis with WTJ; German and Russian cruisers mostly, with a few torpedo boats thrown into the mix. Hopefully I will place an order with NavWar this week for the remainder of the ships I El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-37379214964487754112009-07-05T20:09:00.000-07:002009-07-05T20:17:10.449-07:00Action off Gotland, part 2After much deliberation, and the confirmation of a slow-down at my place of employment, I am reconsidering my decision of using 1/2400 scale ships, especially the beautiful but expensive GHQ models.If you look at this post on A Wargaming Odyssey, and again at this post on SteelonSandBlog, you will see some very nice examples of 1/3000 naval ships. With the prices for these minis running at leastEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-20231992616438107022009-06-05T13:18:00.000-07:002009-06-05T13:29:57.568-07:00Action off Gotland, part 1Way back on this blog - here actually - I started some notes on my WW1 naval project. After a bit of digging, I have found a few of the missing pieces of info.First, the scenario now has a title - Action off Götland. The battle was fought in the Baltic near the island of Götland.Second, I did find the 'missing' cruiser that was cruising with Prinz Adalbert - Prinz Heinrich, an older armored El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-48356399291125596252009-05-31T09:02:00.000-07:002009-05-31T09:04:15.391-07:00More links addedI have added a few more links on the margin, including the new site for Molniya Miniatures and David Manley's Naval Rules On-LineEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-3830849238206363202009-05-27T06:16:00.000-07:002011-09-28T15:53:00.882-07:00New VSF game coming soon - LeviathansCatalyst Game Labs has announced a new entry in the VSF aerial fleet genre - Leviathans.So far, the Leviathans blog has some information on the background for the game, and some interesting artwork. I am not sure how this new game would affect the already established Aeronef; it might be complimentary as the two games are based in slightly different time references. Aeronef seems (I am not El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-88861292845403118102009-05-25T13:47:00.000-07:002009-05-25T13:54:42.384-07:00Some more links...Mark at Scale Creep Miniatures has posted pics of the Navwar 1/1200 ACW lineMark at Deepfriedhappymice has several entries for naval rules at his Rules DirectoryAnd, I am trying to add more links to the lists on the right...El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-49549780311786671882009-05-24T17:27:00.000-07:002009-05-24T17:30:31.677-07:00More blogsHere are a couple of naval or mostly naval blogs:SteelonSand - Pre-dreadnought naval and some interesting 6mm sci-fiMy Victorian Navy - Ironclads among othersEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-53734700486088008342009-05-21T06:22:00.000-07:002009-05-21T06:26:54.386-07:00Another naval mini You Tube video...You Tube user SEEKRIEG4 has a video of a WW2 naval miniatures duel for your viewing pleasure - SeeKrieg Naval Miniature BattleEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-69648536028345446682009-05-20T08:01:00.000-07:002009-05-24T17:31:03.450-07:00Another naval gaming blogI just wanted to point my gentle readers to another great blog - A Wargaming OdysseyThere are several great ideas for naval gaming, and a lot of nice pics. Highly Recommended!El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-42005250602152414522009-05-08T12:37:00.000-07:002009-05-08T12:43:54.016-07:00Well where's he at?My apologies for not posting for so long... the blazing start I had burned right out!Some of this is due to getting a severe case of 'sticker shock' with the GHQ minis. They are beautiful minis, but I just do not foresee myself having the financial resources to invest in them, especially with the other projects demanding funding as well. Also, the problem with the GQ3 rules, as mentioned El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-64168805064752533882009-03-18T11:56:00.000-07:002009-03-18T12:53:52.895-07:00A list of Initial purchases...The first part of the plan - rules - is now complete with the arrival of proper charts for my copy of GQ3 - FAI, so now I can progress to the next step - minis!For this encounter of July 1915 in the Baltic (I have yet to find a 'title' for this battle, you know - 'Battle of Jutland' or similar), here are the German ships I will need and the vendor:Prinz Adalbert (Panzerschiffe)Roon (PanzerschiffeEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-24614326405136353882009-03-16T07:22:00.000-07:002009-03-16T07:30:20.338-07:00Naval Gaming news - 16 March 2009Old Glory Shipyard has released three fleet sets in 1/2400 for Warhammer Historical's new rules set Trafalgar (or any sailing ship game)Litko has a set of templates for Trafalgar in Jim's Product LabSteel Dreadnought Games has released a new WW1 naval set - Naval Thunder: Clash of DreadnoughtsEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-70124498346202126332009-02-28T09:44:00.000-08:002009-02-28T09:50:35.281-08:00Good newsI have a little bit of good news...Earlier in January, I had purchased a copy of GQ3 - Fleet Action Imminent. However, there was a problem - the charts were misprinted. The charts had copies of the spotting (and other info) tables on both sides and no gunnery tables. Kind of difficult to run a naval combat game with no gunnery info! So, I placed an e-mail with the publisher - ODGW - who El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-56143147228285309662009-02-28T09:37:00.000-08:002009-02-28T09:43:29.447-08:00Naval Gaming news - 28 February 2009James, at his blog - Olicanalad's Games - has posted a great series on a new ancients naval game - Fleet of BattleThere is a massive series of photos of WW1 German ships at the GameSquad forums - simply amazing!El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-41899988690254407692009-02-17T09:15:00.000-08:002009-02-17T09:19:15.604-08:00Naval Gaming news - 17 February 2009North Head Miniatures has announced the initial releases in their upcoming 1/3000 WW2 range (as reported on Tabletop Gaming News)El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-592152214247823322009-02-08T20:27:00.000-08:002009-07-25T09:09:55.615-07:00WW1 Baltic, part 1While surfing around the 'Net recently, I came across this site:World War 1 at Sea - Baltic(link fixed 07.25.2009)These pages have a great deal of information on the naval campaign in the Baltic in WW1. There is a brief description of the land campaigns in a chronological order, with notes on any significant naval actions that occurred during the same time frame. A lot of good scenario El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-29002769130168015012009-02-01T21:20:00.000-08:002009-02-01T21:31:02.360-08:00Dazzle Camouflage patternsThe Rhode Island School of Design has a collection of 455 plans of dazzle camouflage as used on US ships in WW2; here are some dazzle plan samplesEl Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-75152162736560501272009-02-01T09:20:00.000-08:002009-02-01T09:28:53.644-08:00Naval Gaming news - 1 February 2009Mongoose Publishing has posted a scenario for Victory at Sea: Age of Dreadnoughts (Heligoland Bight 1917) in Signs & Portents 65 - a free PDF downloadA new, revised edition of Don Featherstone's Naval War Games has been published by John CurryPanzerschiffe has released some new models in 1/2400El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-46980922851757718612009-01-31T09:46:00.002-08:002009-01-31T10:14:26.647-08:00The planSo, what am I actually going to do with this project? Here's a brief run-down of my plan as it stands at present:ERA - World War 1 will be the starting conflict for my restart of the collection. There are a multitude of historical and hypothetical actions that can be played out on a tabletop. I also like the ship designs. The lack of radar and aircraft is a minor bonus, although I do admit El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-68539769984036355122009-01-25T12:23:00.000-08:002009-01-25T12:26:45.674-08:00Ship gaming YouTube videoTed Henkle's latest wargaming creation is a movie about a Malta convoy in WW2 - Impending Fury El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-5792397026103035272009-01-25T10:41:00.000-08:002009-01-25T10:47:27.194-08:00Naval Gaming news - 25 January 2009Spartan Games has posted some new greens for their upcoming Sky Pirates miniatures for Uncharted SeasWarhammer Historical has opened a Yahoo group for their upcoming Trafalgar age of sail rules.El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-23382763941246182672009-01-18T21:00:00.000-08:002009-01-18T21:09:27.104-08:00Naval Gaming news - 18 January 2009Spartan Games has released their new Thaniras Elven ships - herePT Dockyard has a new series of never-built ships in 1/1200 - hereMongoose Publishing has posted a preview of their upcoming rules Victory at Sea - Age of Dreadnoughts - here.El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-40161981643812303682009-01-10T09:33:00.000-08:002009-01-10T09:54:39.247-08:00Naval Gaming news - 10 January 2009This is the first segment of Naval Gaming News, with hopefully many more to follow:Minden Games has released Panzer Digest Naval Special 2008, containing a complete game based on the Dogger Bank encounter of 1915, variant rules for Avalon Hill's Jutland, game reviews, and other goodiesToshach Miniatures has released several sets of appliques for 1/6000 WW2 aircraft carrier deck markingsTopgun El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-59304675204229058862009-01-04T09:36:00.000-08:002009-01-04T10:31:44.746-08:00Drumbeat 2009Yesterday, I played in my first game of General Quarters 3 at Drumbeat, a nice but small historical-only gaming event in Seattle. Mark Serafin braved adversities to show up and run this event.The scenario was a training scenario, just to get people up on the rules. There were six players - 2 Japanese and 1 German vs. 1 US, 1 British, and 1 Dutch (me!). Each player had three ships: 1 light El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-61706371465052892712009-01-02T11:10:00.000-08:002009-01-02T11:16:36.646-08:00A note about the links...I am adding links to the sections on this blog almost daily. Believe it or not, there are a great many links out there that are pertinent to naval gaming! I am trying to be as specific as I can with the links in each section, but there will be some overlap between the individual sections. A good example is Navwar - the links in the Pre-dreadnought/WW1 sections and the WW2 section are the same,El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-29287934547394188892009-01-01T22:20:00.000-08:002010-02-20T11:18:29.517-08:00Dutch BC miniKen Hall has made a nice conversion for a never-constructed Dutch BC, the pic is here - link.El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-8559140246666780522009-01-01T14:18:00.000-08:002009-01-01T17:04:38.279-08:00Roman SeasHere is a pic of a Roman Seas game in progress:This was taken during one of Eric Hotz's games during Enfilade 2006..El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-36038145203407153462008-12-31T11:50:00.000-08:002008-12-31T11:54:05.660-08:00Harpoon AARMr. Kevin Smyth writes up an AAR for a hypothetical action between Australian and Indonesian forces - link.El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883654344488012397.post-12932976652566833062008-12-31T10:45:00.000-08:002008-12-31T11:06:56.553-08:00IntroThis is the first post to my new blog!I intend to do the following with this blog:News of the hobby - new minis, rules, accessories, etc. for naval gaming... I will be limiting it to 'wet' naval subjects mostly, space gaming is covered elsewhere although I might stray into VSF subjects (AeroNef or Sky Galleons);Links to other blogs/web sites/photos of other people's work;My personal naval El Gregohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com1