Mike's Fighting Ships: A Player's Aid for the Swan of the East PBEM Game

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 armoured cruiser (arguably a battle cruiser),   Ibuki class.  Ships in class:  Ibuki, Kurama.  4 12", 8 8" guns, speed 21.5 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.

Back to the Denmark Straits: Some GHQ WW2 Famous Adversaries

 The naval minded among you will know that today, 27 May, is the anniversary of the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck.  It seems like a fortuitous day to show off these recently completed 1/2400 naval models from GHQ.

Bismarck and Prinz Eugen:

Hard to tell which is which from this angle.   You can see how the British were confused at Denmark Strait and mistook Prinz Eugen for Bismarck, as the silhouettes are very similar.

Easier to tell them apart in this shot.  That's Bismarck on the left.

And of course their brave adversaries, including the poor doomed Hood and Prince of Wales beside her, though for some reason steaming in the opposite direction!

There's something rather sad about the fact that of these four ships, only one would survive the war.

Not much to say about the painting of these models, I start with a medium gray (Americana craft paint), then cover it with Army Painter Dark Tone wash, then a light drybrush with a light gray.    I paint the decks using Tamiya Deck Tan, and then give it a wash with Army Painter Light Tone.  The Light Tone has the added benefit of adding hints of rust to the hulls.   The bases are handcut polystyrene painted with Americana Navy Blue, drybrushed with Americana True Blue, and then stippled with light grey to give the wave effects.  The bow waves and wakes are a mixture of white craft glue and light grey paint.

Hopefully I'll find time to do a Denmark Strait matchup using the Naval Thunder WW2 rules, though in my heart I know who I want to win!   

Cheers and thanks for looking.  Blessings to your die rolls.

MP+

Swan of the East: Considering An Early WW1 Naval Campaign

 Some years back (2018 seems almost idyllic when viewed from the present) I had the good fortune to take some leave in Australia following a brief assignment at the Australian Forces Chaplain School in Canberra.  It was enough time to get to know Melbourne and Sydney and to generally fall in love with Oz.   Our hotel in the Sydney business district was beside Hyde Park, and strolling one day I came across both the Anzac Memorial and this trophy monument, a Great War naval gun.

At the time I knew enough about the Great War at Sea to recognize the name of SMS Emden, the famous German raider that gained a piratical but chivalrous reputation before being finally cornered and sunk by the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney.  This 4.1 inch (10.5cm) gun was one of several recovered from the wrecked German light cruiser and was presented to the City of Sydney in 1917.  

At the time I made a mental note to learn more about the Emden, but it had to wait for six years until I went down a hobby rabbit hole of naval gaming.   That lead me to start collecting 1/2400 scale naval models from both world wars from GHQ.  Of course at some point I was bound to order an Emden model, which is currently almost painted and nearly ready for basing.

While this and some other GHQ Great War models were on order, I picked up this book by Wes Olson when tempted by a Naval and Military Press book sale, and it did not disappoint.  

 Olson's account of Emden's brief career is gripping, and his blow by blow account of her duel with Sydney was very conflicting, as I was cheering for both sides.   Of course he tells the amazing story of how Emden's Number One, von Mucke, who was ashore on a raiding mission when the battle started, led his party across the Indian ocean in a leaky sailing boat, how they fought Bedouins in Yemen, and were finally feted when they reached friendly Constantinople.  I realized that Olson provided more than enough material and inspiration to think about a WW1 naval campaign based on the Emden's career.  But how to structure it?

I then recalled that my gaming library's shelf of shame had a small game published by Avalanche Press called Cruiser Warfare (CW).  I've played other Avalanche naval games and found the tactical system wanting, but I had a second look at CW and realized that it could give me the framework for a campaign game.  CW provides an area map for ALL THE SEVEN SEAS!, simple rules for searches, raiding, convoys, coal supplies (vital in this period and the Kriegsmarine's Achilles heal), and a complete OOB for the German raiders and for the RN and allied fleets that hunted them down.  Of course the game includes Emden:

And her nemesis:  

The objective of the campaign game for the Germans is to rack up points by commerce raiding and knock off weaker allied warships, while the Allies want to protect their convoys and run the Germans down, focusing of course on their most powerful foes, Von Spee's East Asia Squadron.  

While the whole campaign is tempting, I concluded that a simple proof of my concept would focus on the Emden, starting with the outbreak of hostilities when she was in the German colony port of Tsingtao.   Her task is to escape Tsingtao before the Royal Navy blockading force arrives, find Von Spee and receive his orders for solo raiding.   The Allied goal is to find Emden (SOS calls from merchant ships are clues to her location) and sink her before she can do too much damage.   Any encounters between Emden and allied warships will be played out on the tabletop using Naval Thunder Clash of Dreadnoughts rules, although the game will likely end with one battle, as Emden is a gallant but fragile light cruiser, and naval warfare in this period was a pretty bloody rock paper scissors affair where speed and gunnery advantages were all (as proven by the Coronel and Falklands battles where the Germans outclassed the RN and then were in turn outclassed).  

I think there's the potential for a good internet-PBEM game here, with one player playing the role of Emden's Captain Muller and other players commanding various allied squadrons in a cat and mouse game.  A more complicated game could add two more German players commanding the solo raiders Karlsruhe and Dresden, but that's too ambitious for now.

So that's the concept, and once my Holy Week obligations are over, I hope to tinker with it some more and report on Emden's progress in a test game.  Stay tuned, me hearties!

Blessings to your gaming,

MP+

Shipyards Update 2: Naval Warfare Bases

 A few weeks back I showed some work in progress on basing GHQ 1/2400 scale model warships.

After some trial and error with cutting techniques, and thinking through some standard base sizes for ship classes, I've made some progress.  Here is HMS Hood steaming proudly alongside my first trial piece, a Flower class corvette.  The wake and bow waves are a combination of white carpenter's glue mixed with off-white paint.  It would have been nice to put them on a proper sea mat, but I had to settle for slapping them down on the dining room table.

I try not to look too suddenly at the Hood model just in case it blows up.

Also finished is a little Great War RN squadron, two Calliope class light cruisers with an escort of three K or Acasta class destroyers.

I figured as these are all light ships, I would exaggerate the wake to suggest travel at speeds.

I find that painting these ship models is actually easier than cutting and painting the bases.

Next up:  Prince of Wales, Bismarck, and Prinz Eugen - of course.

Cheers and blessings to your brushes, MP+

Update from the Shipyards: Making Ship Bases

Lately I've been taking a break from Ancients gaming stuff to try and formulate a plan to base my growing collection of 1/2400 scale naval models, a side project that is rapidly becoming an addiction.

There's a running joke in our hobby about whether model tanks should be based (the correct answer is yes, they should) but basing ship models seems essential as they are delicate and are constantly being pushed forward, turned, etc.   I've learned this the hard way in my first two naval games.  So below is a glimpse of the shipyard and the materials I'm using.

I found these small, fairly thin clear plastic sheets from the local DIY store.  They're small, but surprisingly pricey.  Since my Olfa craft knife wasn't doing well scoring the plastic, I also purchased a cutting tool and a clamp to hold the ruler in place as a cutting guide.

Since the Naval Thunder rules I'm using don't have any basing requirements, I'm trying to establish some standard sizes that I can repeat for ship classes, so shown below are bases for a battleship (HMS Hood), for a light cruiser (RN Leander class) and a small escort (RN Flower class corvette).  Also shown on the cork and currently being painted is a WW1 RN Acasta or K class destroyer). The models are all from GHQ.  Given the current political and economic climate, I'm not happy that GHQ is a US company, but their products and service are first rate, even though the exchange rate on the poor Canadian dollar is painful.  

I am thinking of leaving the bases clear as I have a Geek Villain fleece mat with a very convincing wave pattern, but I'm leaning towards painting them, and maybe using something textured to create waves and wakes.   I also haven't yet figured out what sort of glue to use.  In past with American Civil War 1/600 scale models, I've tried glueing them on plastic bases but the glue doesn't hold for long.   Grateful for any suggestions you may have.

More photos once I get it all figured out.   And yes, since I'm painting HMS Hood, there will be a Denmark Straight game soon.  Blessings to your hobbying!  MP+

Take That You Beast Part Two! River Plate Project Progress

 Back in September I said that I was going to experiment with WW2 naval gaming, using the Battle of the River Plate as a test project.  Working relatively quickly, I've been able to get my initial order of 1/2400 ships from GHQ painted.  Here is "the Beast", the Graf Spee, sailing serenely on a Geek Villain mat.

Leander-class light cruiser:

HMS Exeter:

Commodore Harwood's squadron in search of the Graf Spee:

"I say, sir, I do believe we've found her!"  Litko splash markers.

I had a very positive experience with the Naval Thunder: Battleship Row rules by Harry Pratt, which I found for purchase as a download from Wargames Vault.  I'm grateful to Keith who runs the excellent Across the Table blog for putting me on to these rules.    Since NTBR uses a written orders and simultaneous movement system (seems to be a hallmark of naval rules!), it is not ideal for solo play, but I suspect with some more thought I could write some general battle plans for both sides with some die rolls for the commander's likely reaction as the situation evolves.  An even better solution would be an opponent!

I was only using the basic NTBR rules and found them easy enough to learn.  The d10 system provides for some unpredictability, and shooting is not easy at the larger ranges.  When a shell does hit, there is a step to assess penetration vs armour (each ship has a data card which can be printed before the game and which provides this information readily).  Penetrating hits cause damage (different shells have different damage ratings, and each hit reduces a ship's hit points) but also cause critical hits, which can be quite dramatic.   There are advanced rules for crew quality, torpedoes, aircraft, etc, but I kept the first game simple.

The RN player has to put his head down and run at the Spee to get within effective range, and this means the Spee has several turns to inflict damage, as happened in the actual fight with the crippling of Exeter.   In my game, Achilles in the lead followed by Ajax attacked on one side, while Exeter tried to get on the other side of Spee.  This gave the Germans time to hammer Achilles with 11" shells, crippling her gunnery and causing a fire.   Here we see Achilles turning away from the fight and on fire, making smoke to hide her escape.   Her brave New Zealand crew never did get the fire under control and she soon sank (more Litko markers).

However, Ajax was relatively unharmed and struck a blow, causing a fire amidships.   Spee's crew could not extinguish the fire, and it spread, detonating a secondary magazine and causing significant damage.  Captain Langsdorf was now seeking to withdraw and fight another day.  By this time, Exeter was adding her fire, though reduced because her aft turret had been knocked out.  Her first salvo missed, but a second landed two fatal hits.  The first caused flooding damage, but the second hit the main magazine (two "O"s on 2d10) and the mighty pocket battleship blew up with few survivors.

At least in this encounter, German propaganda can say that she died fighting, rather than being ignominiously scuttled!

I'm  now debating whether to mount my ships on bases, which would minimize wear and tear on the models from handling, vs leaving them as they are.  The Geek Villain seascape map is quite nice and I like the look of the models sans bases.   This requires a good ponder.   In the meantime, another order from GHQ will soon allow me to fight the Battle of the Denmark Strait, although that order is currently in limbo due to a Canada Post strike.

Thanks for reading.  Cheers, and blessings to your die rolls!

"Take That, You Beast!": Getting Ready to Chase the Graf Spee

Fans of old British war films may remember that line, uttered by Anthony Quayle playing Commodore Harwood in the 1956 film, Battle of the River Plate.  It's a terrific Technicolour film and an intelligent account of a naval battle.  I have a hard time thinking of a better naval film made since, except (possibly) Greyhound.  The film is here if you want to watch it online.

Faithful readers of this intermittent blog (bless you!) may recall that I've said before that I don't need to take on any new periods, especially as I turn 62 soon and "Time's winged chariot" seems somehow nearer.   However, naval games have always intrigued me and after reading a terrific blog account of a WW2 naval battle in the Med, I felt I had to scratch this itch.

River Plate seemed like a good place to start, seeing as it only requires four ships and is an interesting contest between numbers and hitting power.   I was considering NavWar in the UK as my source for the models, but they only take postal orders and I've been thoroughly spoiled by online shopping.  Besides, I have lived through the era of sending money orders to the UK and (hopefully) receiving the models two months later, so i've paid my dues.

I selected GHQ in the US as my source, and while the white metal models are pricey, the 1:2400 scale seemed small enough to be manageable but large enough to be satisfying on the tabletop.   I was very pleased when this package arrived shortly after I placed the order online, with lots of  paper goodies stuffed inside the mailer, including an intriguing and old school glossy paper catalogue.

A sharp Olfa knife, a metal file, tweezers (mine were barely adequate) and super glue were all employed to assemble the models.  Each ship took about an hour, including breaks to keep an eye on whatever Toronto Blue Jays baseball game was on.  I present HMS Exeter, which soaked up fearful damage during the battle.

Leander class light cruiser, representing Ajax (Harwood's flagship) and the NZ crewed Achilles (which stars as itself in the 1956 film):

Force H assembled!

The dreaded Beast, the Graf Spee.   Some of the barrels on those turrets look a bit wiggly!

The next step is to paint these guys and try out the rules I've chosen, Naval Thunder.  There's also a naval fleece on order from Geek Villain and some markers from Litko.

More to follow!

Cheers and blessings to your super glue!

MP+