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):
