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!

Austrian ironclads, part 1

Just to show that I had not forgotten the ironclads, here is a pic for you:

Erzherzog Ferdinand Max

No 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 should be sails on the fore and main masts.

German ships, part 1

We 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 nearly done, but if you look past her to the cruisers you can just see that I tried to paint the two-tone scheme that was used by the Germans in WW1. Too subtle, maybe, but in absolute scale terms probably too dark. I do like the effect so I think I will keep it...

Russian ships, part 2

Long 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 that they were too thin for regular handling. So, I found some old pieces of thick card and cut to size. But, with the card bottom I would not have the pleasure of easy storage using magnets! So, I found an old piece of sheet signage magnet - I have had it for many years - and cut more pieces for the bases. The bases now have three layers and are fairly heavy. You can almost see it here:


That's Bogatyr getting the final, magnet layer. The layers came out a bit uneven; my base-cutting skills are lacking. The bases are quite thick now and should be easily picked up by the average gamer! The magnet bottom will allow me to use steel containers for secure transport, and the metal top might still be useful...


Here is the Russian squadron, so far:


Adm. Makarov, Bogatyr, Oleg, and Bayan in front followed by mighty Rurik and Novik. The older cruisers are almost done, just need to finish off the bases and overcoat.

Work-in-progress

These 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 small boys might get another, slightly lighter coat of dark grey paint for their hulls and superstructure. In the middle you can see the backbone of the Russian cruiser force - Admiral Makarov, Bogatyr, Oleg, and Bayan. And finally, still on the painting rack: Rurik and Novik for the Russians; minelayer Albatross, light cruiser Lubeck, and armored cruisers Prinz Adalbert, Roon, and Prinz Heinrich for the Germans.


The ironclads have not been forgotten:


All of my current squadron of Italian ironclads are assembled and on bases, with varying degrees of completeness. The stack of minis on the right includes five Austrian ironclads and five generic wooden steam ships. These bases are 30mm x 60mm.