Lately my modelling and hobby work has focused on cranking out 1/2400 scale ships for the Great War naval campaign that I'm running. I'd love to say more about it, but it's all hush hush. I look forward to telling the story when it's all over.
This blog post shows off the work I've done lately (a mix of Tumbling Dice and GHQ models) and is intended as a player aid to help recognize ships when I send digital photos of what the players might be seeing from their bridges. I won't identify the ships, I'll just show them photos of what they see. So in lieu of Jane's Fighting Ships, here is Mike's Fighting Ships.
German battle cruiser, Moltke class. Ships in class: Moltke, Goeben. 10 28cm (11"), 12 15cm (5.9") guns, speed 25.5 knots.
German armoured cruiser, Scharnhorst class. Ships in class: Scharnhorst, Gneisnau. 8 21cm (8.3"), 6 15cm (5.9") guns, speed 22.5 knots.
German light cruiser, Magdeburg class. Ships in class: Magdeburg, Breslau, Strassburg, Stalsund. 12 10.5 cm (4.1") guns, top speed 27.5 knots.
German light cruiser, Dresden class. Ships in class: Dresden, Emden. 10 10.5cm (4.1") guns, top speed 25 knots.
German light cruiser, Koenigsberg class. Ships in class: Koenigsberg, Stettin, Stuttgart, Nurnberg. Ten 10.5cm (4.1") guns, top speed 24.1 knots:
British battle cruiser, Indefatigable class. Ships in class: Indefatigable, Australia, New Zealand. 8 12" guns, top speed 25.8 knots.
British pre-dreadnought battleship, Swiftsure class. Ships in class: Swiftsure, Triumph. 4 10", 14 7.5" guns, top speed 19 knots.
British pre-dreadnought battleship, Canopus class. Ships in class: Canopus, Glory, Albion, Ocean, Goliath, Vengeance. 4 12 inch guns, 12 6 inch guns, top speed 18 knots.
British armoured cruiser, Minotaur class. Ships in class: Minotaur, Shannon, Defence. 4 9.2", 10 7.5" guns, top speed 23 knots.
British armoured cruiser, Monmouth class. Ships in class: Monmouth, Bedford, Essex, Kent, Berwick, Cornwall, Cumberland, Donegal, Lancaster, Suffolk. 12 6" guns, top speed 23 knots.
British armoured cruiser, Drake class. Ships in class: Drake, Good Hope, King Alfred, Leviathan. 2 9.2", 16 6" guns, top speed 23 knots.
British armoured cruiser, Devonshire Class. Ships in class: Devonshire, Antrim, Argyll, Hampshire, Carnarvon, Roxburgh. 4 7.5 inch guns, 6 inch guns, top speed 22 knots.
British Town class light cruiser. Various sub-classes, 21 in all. 6-10 6" guns, top speed 25 knots.
Japanese protected cruiser, Chikuma class. Ships in class: Chikuma, Yahagi, Hirado. 8 6" guns, speed 26 knots.
Russian protected (light) cruiser Askold, unique design. 12 5" guns, speed 23.8 knots.
Russian Izumrud class protected (light) cruiser. Ships in class: Izumrud, Jemtchug. 6 4.7" guns. Speed 24 knots.
Armed merchant cruisers (converted passenger ships). Used by both sides. Varying light armaments and speeds.
A humble and typical merchant ship.
I love this era of ships with the various janky designs and turret layouts.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, I love the aesthetic, especially with the older cruisers and pre-dreadnoughts, a mix of hull mounted sponsons, turrets all over the place, all those funnels. Very cool period in naval history.
DeleteYou have been busy! Very nice models with some interesting detail. Will we see some merchant ships?
ReplyDeleteThank you Keith, the Tumbling Dice minis look good painted and based. I just added a merchant and some AMCs. Cheers, Michael
DeleteVery nice! Looking forward to seeing some of them in the game... or not. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Thomas - you never know who might show up on the high seas!
DeleteYou've been busy!
ReplyDeleteObsessed is more like it.
DeleteLovely looking ships
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Peter, very kind.
DeleteMichael: I'll be looking forward to seeing and reading the narrative!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Ion
Thanks Ion, I think it's time for some initial news reports, though news travels slowly from the wild Pacific.
DeleteNice little models 👍
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Matt. They are mostly Tumbling Dice and while not as detailed as some products, they work fine for me and the customer service from TD is outstanding.
DeleteLiking these very much! You have also given them a very real sense of movement on the seas with your basing too.
ReplyDeleteThank you Dai, the basing has been a work in progress but I'm increasingly happy with the technique.
DeleteOutstanding looking ships!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nick, very kind.
DeleteLovely looking ships Michael - this looks like a great project. I've had only brief (I almost said "fleeting", but caught myself just in time) involvements with naval games in the past - they feel hugely impressive, but the amount of calculation was always a worry. I think I should know about this, so will keep an eye on your efforts here...
ReplyDeleteHello old friend, I'm so pleased that you are still following this silly blog. I certainly wasn't expecting to catch the naval war-games bug but I've always loved naval history and the early Great War in the Pacific is I think the most interesting naval part of the War. The ships are eccentric, the technology fairly primitive, and the matchups between ship classes can vary widely depending on the ship design (eg, Coronel and the Falklands). Cheers, Michael
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