Knocking 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 the future, but I intend to write a brief note here with a link to the subject on my main blog.  I hope that the folks that are still watching this humble blog will follow me over there!

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Projects

This 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. 

Next is Age of Sail.  In reality, this could be split into more than one project, but I am going to try and keep it simple (and to fool my brain about not having too many projects!)  This will be in 1/1200 also, and will be subdivided into Anglo-Dutch and War of 1812, and maybe another...

Ironclads is the next project, once again at 1/1200.  At first I was quite keen on ACW (as noted previously on this blog), but I am hoping to also add South American actions into the fold.

Last but not least is pre-dreadnoughts.  I am looking to pick up the pieces of my old WW1 project by slowly acquiring more 1/1800 ships from WTJ, although the cut-off point for my collection will be well before 1914.



Of all of these projects, only the Tékumel naval set is remotely close to earning the title 'playable', as I still have some of the ships from previous work.  Nothing is painted, however, and there are many ships to get for balanced forces.  Age of Sail counts only two models in my possession at the moment, and much prep work needs to happen before I can start to build them.  I want to get my ideas about rigging, basing, rules, etc. solidified before jumping in too deeply.  In the Ironclads project, I have a few vessels from a variety of manufacturers, and those are not in a cohesive collection as they are scattered among different theaters of the war.  Pre-dreadnoughts are still just a collection of books as I await my first order of models from WTJ.



It might seem that I am spreading myself thinly, and that is largely true.  However, with many of these projects I can have a game with only a single vessel on each side, or maybe two.

Back

A 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 get my photo editing woes out of the way, there will be more posts.  I just need to make it a habit once again...

And, my apologies to those who have blogs - I have been a very infrequent reader of even the blogs I enjoy, and a much less frequent commentator.  I hope to rectify this also.

Been 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 been.  Namely, the boxes with most of the ship miniatures went out - 1/1800, 1/2400, 1/3000, 1/6000 all gone.  Now, I did not have a large collection, but it was a shock to say the least and with the other issues going on it pained me to no end.

I did find a few ships that were stuffed into a different storage system.  What survived?  My Langton 1/1200 ancients ships, Figurehead 1/2400 Armada, and a few odd selections of Navwar 1/1200 ACW naval.  None of the figures are painted, and with the exception of the Armada collection nowhere near complete or even playable.

But, I think that I have a plan.  An order or two were made, some rules purchased from a well-known naval gamer's stand at Wargame Vault, and another attempt to get games going will be made.  No pics of the ships yet, as I am awaiting the last order to come in from Brookhurst Hobbies.

I found a couple of books also:

They look very interesting and I need to start in on them soon.

The 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 opinion, the miniatures are just too small and that might be a source of friction.  So, I am going to dig out the 1/600 ancient ships again and see if I can plug them into their original purpose as ships for Tékumel gaming.  Galleys & Galleons will be a perfect set of rules for them.

As a back-up plan, I have placed a small order for some 1/1800 ships from War Times Journal, but with my luck the order has fallen afoul with technical difficulties on the production end.  I look forward to their arrival - just a bit more patience.

And, if you are curious as to my other gaming pursuits, please take a look at Pewter-Pixel Wars.





Happy New Year all!

Underway again if slowly

Well, it has been a long time, as I have not had much inclination for the wetter side of miniatures.  But, a slice of inspiration has arrived - I volunteered and was accepted to the playtest crew of Galleys & Galleons, being produced for Ganesha Games by Nic aka Mr Hotspur.

As this is intended to be a miniatures game, I would need a fleet or two:

And, here are some volunteers!  I have had these squadrons for some 14 years or so - the price is in CAD$, back when the exchange rate was quite favorable to us Yanks.

The plan is to paint these ships up, and get some gaming in.  I have half a thought to break these squadrons up and mix them into something a bit different.  Instead of Spanish and English, I was thinking maybe Dutch and Portuguese, and split the ships across the fleets of the two nations.  These miniatures will have to do for now, as the harsh reality of budget limitations for naval activities has closed in - no funds for new acquisitions, just upkeep of existing ships.



Getting these squadrons has spurred some more enthusiasm about older projects, namely those neglected ironclads; might need to drag them out as well.  And the WW1 ships, but I am not liking the way I have based them...

A new year!

Looks like 2013 is on the way out, and 2014 is at the doorstep, so here is yet another post on the blogosphere about it all!

2013 was quite a mixed bag for this blog.  The fact that there were posts here at all marked a major improvement over 2012!  But, what was accomplished?  Just about the only thing that happened was acquiring some sense of what and where I would like my naval projects to proceed.

Despite some verbiage to the contrary, I keep coming back to a few projects:  ancients, now headed by my Tékumel fantasy ships (using Langton ancient naval miniatures); Renaissance (although this is the outside chance of all); ACW naval; and pre-dreadnoughts, buoyed by the excellent new releases from WTJ.  With the exception of the ancients ships, no decision has been made on these.  I think it best to stick with getting this one set out and usable before tackling others (my lovely wife agrees!).



I would like to thank everybody that visits/follows/comments my blog - it is appreciated more than I might let on!



Happy New Year!





p.s.   In case anybody is counting, today is this blog's 5th anniversary...

Part Two!

I had intended to continue the wall of text approach with my decision of a genre to pursue more closely.  But, I think it makes more sense to just cut to the chase and get going.  WW2 naval it is, specifically The Med as a starting point.

Now, does this mean that I am taking the narrow historical account?  Nope.  The collection will start with some hypothetical French/Italian actions, maybe even as early as 1939.  It is my intent to collect the proper forces to do historical battles, but I do not want to be limited to only that approach.

Slowly, this will include the British and Americans as well.  Plan Rubber has not been forgotten, but I will not be working on it to a large extent for a year or more.

The task has started already:

The pic above shows what is left of my WW2 naval collection, being re-organized.  These are all miniatures from GHQ.  Over years past, I sold off all of my completed ships, including a large Italian contingent.  Now, I am starting with two battleships, a Littorio class and another BB which I have yet to identify - probably Cesare.  One French ship is there - Dunkerque.  Two US ships were spared, Arkansas and Texas.  Four British ships are waiting - King George V, Hood, Rodney, and Barham.  And, a lone German ship - Graf Spee.  I have a large quantity of bits from past work, and one can see that they are being organized into a more sensible system.

It is a start, yes, but much more needs to be done.  Basing, rules, paints, and more are still to be determined...  Clear for action!!!

Fish, or cut bait!

Well, for quite a while I have floundered along with my naval projects, and maybe it is time to put that to an end.

The key is, as always, the perfect plan.  Well, I have yet to figure that one out so a close facsimile will have to suffice.

The easiest way to go about it is to start eliminating options.  I want to try and keep this project to a 'near historical'  aspect.  It could never be completely 'historical', as that just is not how I do things.  Close is enough.

So, what gets eliminated first?  It is easiest to talk periods, so let us start there.  Now, I enjoy all periods of naval gaming, but I will need to draw a line somewhere as my lovely wife (and current gaming partner) has some preferences.  One of those preferences is the ability to maneuver freely.  This will mean that the various 'Age of Sail' periods will be shunted to the back burner.

Next to go will be the 'Ancients' period, as this will be covered quite adequately by my fantasy Tékumel naval project, which will continue to get coverage here.

The two strokes of the knife described above just pared over 2000 years of naval history from The Plan!  This leaves just the past 150 years or so left...

The Modern naval era, or maybe more precisely the Missile era, is also out.  As I have stated previously, I do enjoy all sorts of naval gaming, and it pains me a bit to narrow my focus, but it needs to be done.  I am not stating that it is not a possibility in the future, however  :)

What is left?  'Ironclads', 'Pre-Dreadnought', 'WW1', and 'WW2', as the groups are commonly known.

And now, the choice becomes much more subjective.  Sending off the other periods was easy compared to this task, as each of these periods has special charms and obstacles.  Scale of the miniatures also has an impact.




Enough text for now, more later!

Stoking the boilers again...

Well, 2012 did not come off as I expected in the hobby department, especially with regards to naval gaming.  Suffice to say, I completely lost the plot!  I did manage to do a little with some of my other projects (I have a series of blogs specific to certain projects, click on my profile if you are interested) but I did not get very far with anything.

Recently, however, I have been trying to shake off the cobwebs and get some wok done again, and that includes naval projects.  Once again, one of the biggest obstacles is focus.  I can launch off on a new project very easily, but getting the miniatures on the table seems to be a bit hard for me lately.

So, coming up with the right set of projects will be my first goal.  As always, I have several options:

1.   Renaissance naval - I have several Figurehead 1/2400 ships waiting patiently;

2.   Ironclads - Again, more 1/2400 Figurehead ships from 1866 waiting;

3.   WW1 - A bit more complicated with this, as I have 1/2400, 1/3000, and 1/6000 scale ships;

4.   WW2 - Also a choice of scales here, with 1/2400 and 1/6000.


And this list is just for miniatures that I already possess!

One point that I want to check on immediately is this question - Can I paint 1/6000 ships to my liking?  If so, then I might have the post-1900 situation sorted.  1/2400 seems to be a good choice for any action from 1500 - 1885.



Also, I have begun to change the look of this blog.  I have added more links to other blogs on the left, and hopefully it is a bit easier to read.

On the horizon - 2012

Well, 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 new ones and not finishing old ones.  The past six months were not too kind to my hobbies, but that is over now and 2012 is shaping up to be a better year miniatures-wise.  The Lissa project continues - I actually sat down and slapped primer on 5 Austrian ironclads recently.  Plan Rubber is still cooking along slowly.  The Götland WW1 ships are waiting patiently for me to decide the next step.  And of course there are more that might never see the top of a table...

Third, this marks the 3rd anniversary of the start of this blog.

Last but not least, have a Happy New Year!

Weak-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 Micro-nauts hit me.  Those beautiful miniatures, albeit expensive, are a siren's call.

I have some old GHQ ship miniatures around here, so I am going to drag them out and see if I can paint them to a reasonable degree...

Becalmed

Just 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 did manage to get Erzherzog Ferdinand Max cleaned up and on a base, but that has been all for many weeks. I am slowly getting stuff done with my other projects...

I'll be back I promise!

Award!!

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. Share seven things about yourself.
3. Nominate 10-15 other blogs for this award.
4. Contact those bloggers above about the nomination.


Seven things...

> I like naval wargames but can not swim.
> I like air combat games but have never been in an aircraft of any sort (in the air at least).
> I have a degree in history.
> And work as a chemical lab technician!
> I have been to... Yaak Montana (and the Dirty Shame Saloon!).
> My sons paint much better than I.
> In my household, I am 'geek second rank' after my lovely wife.


And now, in no particular order, the next nominees:

A Wargaming Odyssey
Hetairoi Wargames
Geordie's Big Battles
Col. Campbell's Shipyard
The Single Handed Admiral
Baron's Blog
chirine's workbench
The Tékumel Project
Geektactica



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Projects

It 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 trick for that - Tiny Tin Troops has a set of flags for Armada-era ships, so that has been placed on the To-Buy list. After that, just some paint and a set of rules then I'm set!

2. 1/2400 Ironclads - Ten Italian ironclads have been mostly finished, and there are 8 Austrian ships - 5 armored, 3 unarmored - waiting. I'm hoping to try a variant of DBSA to start once some Austrians are done.

3. 1/3000 WW1 - Still work to be done on these Baltic squadrons. Rurik and Novik are still not finished, and most of the German ships are only partially complete. These, however, have been stashed away since my recent move, but just a smidge of work would get this project afloat. DBSA will be the starter rules for this project as well.


And now for the 'other' naval projects I have been puttering around with lately:

4. 1/600 Tékumel naval - Fantasy gaming in the world of M.A.R. Barker - follow this link for a little bit of info.

5. 1/1200 Half-Continent naval - Also known as Monster Blood Tattoo or The Foundling's Tale, this set of novels details a blend of the fantastic with alchemy and the 18th-century. More information on my take of the story here.


Apologies for the lack of pics, and thanks for all the votes and comments on the previous post!

A 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, which I normally keep sequestered on other blogs.

As I seem to have made some real progress on another, non-historical naval project, I am wondering if I should repeat that information here as well. In that regard, I have set up a poll find out what my reading audience thinks of this idea. Please give me a minute or so to vote, and leave a comment if you like!

Back 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 squadron

1/2400 Figurehead Spanish 16th century squadron

I thought that these packs were sold off long ago, but they look intact and almost completely untouched. Looks like two to three ships per pack - plenty to start off. I really do not know much about the period - any rules suggestions? Since these minis received the official 'thumbs up' from the missus, they are keepers...

The missus and I are still debating the fate of all of those 1/6000 ships, scattered on the work table in the first pic; I am still sorting them out! Looks like British, German, Turkish (!), US, and Brazilian (?) ships, in a mix of WW1 and WW2 eras.

On the horizon - 2011

Yet 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 old one. There will be no room on the table for a wide assortment of materials, paints, and minis, but that might be a blessing in disguise as I hope it will subtly force me to concentrate more on getting projects finished.

Quite a bit more attention is needed to re-organize everything before paint hits the lead... but that will be soon.



Happy New Year everybody - your visits and especially your comments are most welcome!

A brief update

Progress 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 to decide if I should use some of the unarmored ships for the Austrians or use them as the foundation of an Ottoman flotilla. One point that I did notice with the unarmored ships - the sails and masts are one piece, unlike the ironclads with the sails separate. A little more work will be needed to create new masts but not much more. It is odd that they are so different from their armored brethren, unless the mast/sail combos are just pieces from Figurehead's line of Age of Sail ships. I have ordered more 30mm x 60mm metal bases for this project.

In the Baltic, more loose ends are being tied up. All of the ships involved for the WW1 Götland scenario now have some form of paint applied. I probably should not call it the Götland scenario any longer, as my version is a bit different. In my Navwar order (from long ago!) I forgot to get a mini for one of the German light cruisers. That ship is being replaced by Prinz Heinrich (from WTJ); a slight upgrade there! I am also one destroyer short, so the Germans will only have six. I might need to lighten the paintwork on these destroyers - they are very dark grey. The Russians will get to keep Novik in their OOB - some sources do not mention Novik but he will be there in my games. Bases have been ordered also - 40mm x 80mm.

I promise pics when I can!

A 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 leaning towards the Baltic.