Thinking about the possible naval aspects of the ongoing First Blacklands War, I had at first in mind to use my Age of Imperialism fleets - 6 grey (Hellenic) and 6 purple (Turcowaz), and my ultra-simple naval rules (see e.g. the Battle of Jasper Roads). But every now and then, I catch the 'naval construction' bug, and, somewhat inspired by Bob Cordery's account an action between Greek and Turkish fleets (see Gridded Naval Wargames), began a small ship-building programme.
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| An early play test of my simple naval rules for these little ships. The Porphyrian fleet attempts to force a blockaded narrow strait... |
What I wanted were vessels that would 'fit' within a 10cm grid space, but at the same time, yet retaining a kind of 'large model' presence. So, following one of Bob's suggestions - which fell in with my own inclinations - I decided upon 'cartooning' the ships. It worked out very approximately to scaling the ships to 1:1000 in length and 1:450 in the beam. The superstructural detail I'd work out as I went.
Last week, I traced three of the 'capital' ships (rather generously adding cruisers to that grade of vessel) on 9 or 10mm balsa, but didn't really begin construction until 3-4 days ago. The pictures show where I have got so far.
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| Turcowaz Navy: modelled upon the Ottoman Turkish, c.1912 |
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| Turcowaz Navy: Turgut Reis leading Messudieh flanked by destroyer/torpedo boats Muavenet and Yadigar |
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| Hellenic navy: modelled on the Greek, c.1912 |
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| Hellenic Navy: Hydra leads Lemnos, flanked by destroyer/ torpedo boats, Panthir (Leopard) and Ierax (Hawk). |
To do: sand off the rough edges (weather prohibitive at the moment - I need to be outside to do this). Seal the wood. Paint. Flags and pennants, maybe.
To add: Cruisers Georgios Averoff (Hellenic) and Hamidieh (Turcowaz), and possibly a second Turgut Reis (named Hayreddin Barbarossa) to the Turcowaz fleet. Going by the histories of the respective navies, the vessels I have here seem slightly superior. And extra pre-dreadnought on the Turkic side would probably balance things up.
If anyone has suggestions as to what colours to paint these vessels, I'd very much welcome them!
Very nice models Archduke - I suppose light grey would be sensible but I quite like white. Flags are a definite requirement!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Maudlin -
DeleteI even considered green for the Turcowaz ships, which seemed possibly a tad extravagant, but it do look like some form of grey for both. Maybe there can be odd little touches that make them stand out a bit.
Cheers,
Archduke Piccolo.
Hello there Archduke,
ReplyDeleteOutstanding that man! They look really good and I can certainly see where the inspiration came from! I will go with go Maudlin Jack Tar on the light grey although try and use two shades (not 50...) - one for each side. I would also suggest wooden decks again, with two shades of wood colour. Flags for sure!
Lovely looking models and I am looking forward to seeing them in action.
All the best,
DC
Hi David -
DeleteI'm glad other people like them. I'm quite pleased with them myself. Right now Georgios Averof is under construction. I made a bit of a mistake with the superstructure on that one, but I've decided to let it 'stand'.
Now I'm having to think about maybe gridding up my 6' x 4' table ...
Cheers,
Archduke Piccolo.
I like the scratch built ships.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Peter. There is something about the battleship technology of 100-150 years ago that seems to lend them to 'cartooning'.
DeleteCheers,
Archduke Piccolo.
Archduke Piccolo,
ReplyDeleteYet again you have surpassed yourself! These models are exactly right for wargaming. There is enough detail to make each class and type of ship easily recognisable, but not too much detail as to make them too delicate for the rough and tumble of wargaming.
I would suggest that the two navies are painted in different shades of grey. This should make the two sides easy to distinguish from each other.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob -
DeleteThe two shades of grey seems to be the consensus. I have different deck colours in mind as well.
I'm very pleased, myself, at the way these ships have turned out!
Cheers,
Archduke Piccolo
Those ships are terrific Ion and must have been fun to build. I did a similar thing when I was in sixth form in high school. I had a naval campaign between Russia and Turkey c.1890 and made my ships out of layered card with details drawn on and pins for masts. The whole thing cost nothing and was a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to seeing your vessels in action.
Regards,
Paul.
Tell you what, Paul -
DeleteI don't think I've had so much fun modelling anything - kits, scratch-builds, anything. The whole process has gone with a swing. Monday morning, all I had were the traces of 3 vessels on a piece of balsa. Now (Friday morning) I have 8 vessels complete, and a ninth laid down, mid-construction (Georgios Averof - superstructure and secondary turrets and guns glued on, main turrets made but not yet installed.)
I can imagine, with such basic materials, you would have built substantial fleets - and by the sound of it they would have looked pretty good, too!
Cheers,
Archduke Piccolo.
Turcowaz could be khaki and Brown......
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gwpda.org/naval/s1200000.htm
Some drawings here (scroll down) with pictures of Greek ships in dark grey / black:
https://firedirectioncenter.blogspot.com/2018/12/battles-long-ago-elli-1912.html
Neil
Thanks, Neil -
DeleteActually that is an interesting site just for a general account of the navies and the Balkans Wars. Considering that the campaign is considerable 'pre-WW1' perhaps the pale khaki for the Turcowaz capital ships, might be the go after all!
Incidentally, the reading here, and other stuff I have encountered indicate that the Greeks were very proud of their 'Georgios Averof' and considered it a battleship, rather than a cruiser, however 'armoured'. It was certainly longer than the pre-dreadnought battleship 'Lemnos', though the latter had heavier armour and armament, and displaced 3000 ton more.
Interesting.
Cheers,
Archduke Piccolo.
They look great! Somehow just right for a fictionalised, slightly ruritanian version of the period. Looking forward to seeing them in action..
ReplyDeleteHi David -
DeleteThese vessels sure retain their 'battlewagonish' look. I like your complimentary description of this particular projects as 'slightly Ruritanian'. I have been tempted incidentally into some 'press releases' and 'expert commentary' in various 'publications' such as the 'London Pictorial Times' or the 'Paris March'... :-D
Cheers,
Archduke Piccolo.