My Navwar Projects Review and "Get better soon Tony!"

I was reviewing the Navwar 1/3000 production line of ships (lots of WIP here). It is a naval wargamers collectors paradise for Pre-dreadnought, WW1, WW2 and a bit of (Falklands) modern. Here are a couple of my current active project streams (see below, firstly filling out the German WW2 destroyer and minor vessels  as we all have the Bismarck):  

The French Capitol ships (see below, because in that early war 1939-1940 period they played a big part in the numerous  "hunt the raider" groups - long before the interesting Vichy side of things started up): 

Imperial Japanese Navy in all its mighty glory (see below, a selection of their carrier force, the Pearl Harbour, Coral Sea and Midway "bad boys"): 

Just as scary as the CVs are the IJN Heavy Cruisers (see below, this is where the calculus of the 1922 Washington Treaty and subsequent treaties met its match against the minds of cunning naval architects and Civil Servants/Officials who measured tonnages wrongly [accidently]): 

Then there is the heavy tonnage f the renovated IJN WWI battlefleet, with later "big boy" additions of the Yamato and her sister ship the Mushashi (see below, but in the era of the carrier all this 'stuff' became scrap iron in a plane's cross-hairs or an expensive form of AA protection and 'bomb-soak' for the important CVs):  

I find out it fantastically good fun slowly collecting this stuff (for over twenty five years now), so I should give a shout out to Tony the owner of Navwar, as I heard he had a fall recently, but is on the mend. Get well soon mate and thank you for this awesome range of 1/3000 models. 

The French Admiral Suffren - Bane of the Royal Navy

After finishing listening to Mahan's "Influence of Sea Power on History" (although I have to say, it was a much longer than expected slog), I was delighted to uncover an aspect of naval history I was completely ignorant of, namely the illustrious career of the French Admiral Suffren, who was the bane of the Royal Navy on the India station in the late eighteenth century. I have to confess to my relative ignorance of the of both the "Age of Sail" and this great French admiral (other than a class of French WWI vintage armoured cruisers being named after ), things I am trying to address (see below, the Wikipedia link is a very useful starting point):  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Andr%C3%A9_de_Suffren

There is also a wonderfully titled tomb (Satan's admiral) on Admiral Suffren's career, but it is somewhat outside of my price range and budget (see below, I ask you is there nothing [in theory] you cannot buy on Amazon?):  

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Admiral-Satan-Life-Campaigns-Suffren/dp/185043686X

From my internet poking I see there are plenty of other wargame bloggers have tread the Suffren path before: 

http://jjwargames.blogspot.com/2020/12/admiral-satan-life-campaigns-of-suffren.html

http://devonwargames.blogspot.com/2013/02/battle-of-sadras-1782.html

There are even board games to play: 

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31251/monsoon-seas-naval-warfare-south-atlantic-and-indi

Interesting "Age of Sail" web-site:

http://www.larsonweb.com/transfer/miniatures/sail/sailhomepage.htm

More doubtless to follow ;) 

Black Seas and the USN

Here's my story. Many, many moons ago I purchased Black Seas and expected to dive into the "age of sail" in 1/700 scale and be a Horacio Hornblower reborn. Except, the wargaming butterfly that is I moved onto another project (anybody not see that coming?) way before paint met model and rigging sail lead to s a sense of frustration, so the box sadly languished in a dark place the loft. I did construct the free (well you had to but the magazine) giveaway frigate from the cover of a Wargames Illustrated magazine, but no further progress was made with a fleet. Then (several years later) a wandering eye in the local model store, sees a bargain but - end of stock - USS Constitution, the rest is predictable history (see below, "a love story starts" with an American super frigate):  

Size can matter (see below, a case of we only budgeted for six but as the Carling beer advert says it all, probably the best in the world - normal frigate [RN/French/Spanish] in the background): 

The master plan being that with the Master and Commander starter set and WI giveaway I have six brigs and four frigates, plus the USS Constitution ("old ironsides" herself - good timbers apparently). That means a basic USN fleet of two brigs and USS Constitution, a RN fleet of two brigs and a normal frigate and two brigs and a frigate for the French! Leaving two frigates in excess, whether to reinforce the French or British fleets, or make a Spaniard is the question (perhaps a wandering Russian frigate?). The only "possibly needed" expansion would be to include the bizarre fleets of the Barbary Pirates of the Mediterranean (where the teething battles of the USN were fought on the shores of Tripoli, as per the US Marines song) or the addition of a lazy fat merchantman or two. A small self-contained project, what could go possibly wrong, provided it gets off the painting tray. 

Back from the Warres

The boys I provided for the recent Ramillies game have returned. A little TLC was required before they were boxed away (see below, one broken flag, a broken sabre, an un-based horse and a dismounted rider - not bad seeing as they took on the full onslaught of the Allied Cavalry Wing, lots of dice and lots of manhandling):

The metal regiments by comparison were of a more sturdier frame. I may have to move into the metal realm for future acquisitions. Although the slender form of the infantry may be more anatomically correct!

17th Century [Hypothetical] Anglo-French v Dutch Naval Clash (Part 4) Finale

"Run for home" as the Flying Dutchman tears away from the teeth of the storm (top right). The French and British desperately clasp and claw at the coat-tails of the Dutchman, but with a running wind behind them the Dutch seem homeward bound. The second Dutch man-o-war is now quite out of the reach of the Royal Navy as a British battleship exchanges fire with her (see below):

Brutal vengeance is taken on the second and third man-o-war in the Dutch line of battle. The disabled Dutch third ship is doomed, exchanging shot with both British and French facing over 2:1 odds and being much more static due to the loss of much of their sails (see below):

The crowded middle and flotsam and jetsam of torn and shredded sail litter the sea. Critically the second Dutchman has lost her some of her sails. Escape for her is now highly unlikely. Her Captain knows his duty to his Admiral and is prepared to exact a dear price for the life of his ship and crew (see below):

In these final moment the British and French Squadrons form line of battle to sail by the de-masted Dutch ships and mercilessly pound them into submission. This is more of a punishment to the insolent Dutch who have stolen their treasure from beneath their very noses (see below):

Looking more like a yacht-race than a formed line-of-battle the wind gathers in the sails of all sails as the (futile) stern chase begins. Dutchman number two is still fighting like "a fury" (see below): 

As the British and French Squadrons are no longer capable of catching the Dutchman they call a halt to the chase. They are more likely to meet additional Squadrons of Dutch or the Dutch coastline. The French Admiral is the more despondent as he now fears he has lost the "most". His explanations (or rather excuses) will probably fall on deaf ears. The Royal Navy Rear-Admiral can lay the blame on his counterparts shoulders. He tried to close with the enemy but was hindered by the Dutch fire-ships and the (lack of) tacking ability of the French who (in the British Admiral's words) both endangered his ships and lost him valuable time (see below):

The final wreckage of battle lays strewn across the playing cloth. The Dutch flagship has escaped with the "treasure" (material, moral and perhaps even more of the personal variety) and the French and British Admirals are left distinctly red-faced. Naturally they will try and make the most of the two captured Dutch warships when towed into home waters. For official consumption the treasure was "chests of silver and gold" from the Indies but in reality? As previously mentioned, though sailors are notorious in their tall-tales but some swear oaths on Davy Jones Locker that the most precious form of treasure taken that day was the mysterious lady and the "man in the (iron?) masked cowl". Sailors speculate how much (if any) treasure you could really load from a ship in the midst of battle? (see below, the final watery battlefield): 

A riveting little scenario that completely immersed all the players and umpire into a gripping story line. It also served to introduce another two players to these naval rules allowing perhaps for bigger battles in the future. As it is I will end it in true Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean) fashion with the waving figure of the Dutch Admiral and damsel at his side, not forgetting cast of cut-throat (or noble - delete as applicable)  musketeers swords raised disappearing into the sunset (or rather the murky North Sea gloom).

I now have the sudden urge to make more ships ;)

17th Century [Hypothetical] Anglo-French v Dutch Naval Clash (Part 3)

The "middle phase" of the battle starts. A long line of ships of various nationalities are now intermingled amid the din of battle. The British and French squadrons (left of picture) obstruct each other "tacking" while the middle and rear Dutch warships set upon the rear French ship (frigate/fire-ship) at a advantageous 2:1 odds, trading vicious blows. The Dutch Admiral has meanwhile "with his eyes fixed on the goal" pulled alongside the merchantman and a boarding action ensues (see below):

The British and French Squadrons have completed their tacking and now spurred on by the wind close to the two Dutch ships that have interposed themselves as a barrier between the entangles merchantman and Dutch Flagship. The British fire-ship now tries to make an influence on the battle (see below):

The two Dutch rearguard ships suffer critical mast damage which means that they won't be able to escape, nevertheless they fight on to ensue success of the overall mission. It seems that the crews have been primed for their mission and fight with grim determination. Desperate men obviously given desperate pay for their services, I would suggest paid in advance to their families. They are fulfilling their part of this Devil's bargain (see below):

The Boarding Action: The exact events of the boarding action are clouded in conjecture, shrouded in mystery and fable. One account is as follows:

"It started as a fierce and confused melee, but suddenly a hush descended upon the deck as a horn pierced the air, followed by a challenge in French to the captain and master of the ship. The details are unclear, but the merchantmen seems to have been protected by a company of special (Cardinal?) guards whose Captain pushed the merchant master (a regal looking French Officer) rudely out of the way, then suddenly there are other French (musketeers?) who came from the Dutch ship duelling with these special French guards(?). Their swordplay was so distinctly flamboyant and French in the "old style". The "normal" French sailors and marines simply stood back and watched (these Cardinal Guards were evidently very unpopular). The Dutch at this point also seemed to play no active part in the boarding. The climax of the duel ended with the villainous (Cardinal) Captain, obviously losing, threatening to kill a mysterious female passenger. The silenced French master of the ship intervened and was mortally wounded. The French sailors and marines enraged turned upon the special guards and threw them overboard weighted down with cannon balls. The Master and Captain with his dying words ordered the ship scuttled and ordered all true Frenchmen on-board to join pledge their allegiance to the Countess and her "true heir" and go board the Dutchman with her. Around him knelt the mysterious band of French (musketeer?) boarders who raised their swords in salute. In a matter of minutes the merchantman was abandoned, ablaze and the crew were in boats or on the Dutchman"

Note: The above account has been discounted as a concoction of pure sea-folk fiction and the work of a drunkard hack listening to too much tavern talk and penning lies to keep himself out of a debtors prison. Others however have kept more open minds ... and maintain the actions of the battle in general were extreme and outside the realm of pure reason; the Dutch seemed to be driven by a reckless battle madness outside of tactical objectives, as if something higher was at stake and there seemed to have been a band of foreign mercenaries of sorts on the Dutch flagship.

Returning to the more conventional account. As the last chest of treasure (and two mysterious passengers plus others, this was documented though some still repudiate it) are finally hauled aboard the Dutch Flagship. She casts off with an avenging pack of French and British ships in hot pursuit. One Dutch man-o-war is disabled (de-masted) and another about to be embroiled with a Royal Navy fire-ship (see below): 

The Dutch rearguard succumbs in an uneven fight, but they bravely gave their Admiral vital time he needed. Despite the efforts of the British and French wolves who surge forward to almost within touching range of the Dutch Flagship the Dutch Admiral still holds the weather gauge and the initiative (see below):

To the delight of the Dutch the wind fills the sails of the Dutchman and she surges away to the sound of terrible French and then behind them British curses. They still have two men-o-war running before the wind but it is doubtful if both can escape (see below):

Next: Can the "Hounds" catch the "Foxes" somehow?

17th Century [Hypothetical] Anglo-French v Dutch Naval Clash (Part 2)

The maelstrom erupts as the leading Dutch fire-ship bumps into the leading British "ship of the line" fails to ignite and carries on. The fire-ship crew at this point have already manned the boats and themselves sailed away. The second Dutch fire-ship clatters into the stationary British vessel and starts a fire (which disappointingly they soon manage to put out). Meanwhile the plucky French fire-ship that attacks the Dutch is severely mauled. The Dutch captain deciding to try and sink rather than de-mast the craft, which in hindsight was not the best tactic (see below, note the French Squadron closing in line-abreast): 

The British are in disarray and how the Dutch hoped they would become, effectively "out of the battle". This the odds are suddenly 1-to-1. In addition the first Dutch fire-ship has swooned into the French formation and start chaos afresh. As the French are approaching in line-abreast and the Dutch are moving in line-astern the local superiority switches to 3-to-1 in favour of the Dutch. Something the plucky little French fire-ship is about to find out as the second Dutch man-o-war is about to pass her (see below):   

The British Squadron take wicked vengeance in the second Dutch fire-ship, which is fine by the Dutch Admiral as it allows his Squadron time to form up and attack the French. Cynics would perhaps suggest the British are not adverse to see the Dutch wear themselves out on the French and thus become easy meat for the British. The Dutch maintain the 3-to-1 local superiority. The French fire-ship bumps off the Dutch second in line while the van of the Dutch fleet engages with the only French man-o-war in position to defend the valuable merchantman, which now finds itself perilously close to the action (see below):   

With the wind behind then the avenging (or cautious) British position themselves to attack the Dutch rear. However the French try they are still outgunned in the middle, their second and third ships-of-the-line are still trying to close. Better news is that the third Dutch man-o-war has lost a mast, and thus speed so will be easy prey to the British (when they show up). The bad news is that the van of the Dutch fleet has been given a clear opportunity to run down and capture the prized merchantman. While the French and British warships vie for local tactical positioning their Admirals have taken their eyes off the strategic goal. The Dutch seem to still have the initiative (see below): 

The British battleships zig-zag not wanting to befoul each others lines, losing valuable time. The British fire-ship is hopelessly out of position and won't get into the game. The French savage the rear most Dutch man-o-war whose function now is to sell herself dearly. These Dutch have stout heats and courage. The remaining two Dutch warships are in the process of overhauling the merchantman and preparing boarding parties (see below):

Slowly the British again tack into the action. They have not been helped by the shifting and strengthening winds, These (random) factors have strongly favoured the Dutch as fortune often favours the brave. The French merchantman desperately tacks away but is now withing gun range and the Dutch are sure to target her sails. She has little in way of defence and her protection lay mostly in her escorts so out of position. She is desperate to play for time and somehow rejoin their consort (see below):

Next: The Chase and Scarifice

17th Century [Hypothetical] Anglo-French v Dutch Naval Clash (Part 1)

Another run out for the 17th Century naval rules. This time instead of a fleet engagement it was a peculiar "protect the convoy" scenario. A joint Anglo-French force is protecting a valuable merchantman. A squadron of Royal Dutch warships appear and although outnumbered 2:1 make a daring attack on the convoy. The Dutch sail into battle with a slight tactical advantage as the weather gauge runs left to right in their favour (see below, note this could always change as the weather is fickle): 

The British and French escorts tack to meet the Dutch threat (see below):

The Dutch disregarding their inferior numbers plough on ahead ambivalent seemingly to the odds and dangers of closing with the enemy (see below):

The British take the lead in the attack while the French squadron guards the prize merchantman closely (see below):

The British Squadron "crosses the Dutch Tee" but is well outside of effective gun range but the cunning Dutch Admiral sends his two fire ships into action with the aim of throwing the British line into chaos while turning to attack the French (see below)

Much mischief is caused by the fire-ships amongst the British. Meanwhile the French man-o-war close in on the Dutch. The valuable merchantman is hanging back, laden with silver and gold from the Indies it is rumoured. Others say there is a stranger cargo on board. What ever it is she is valuable enough to be escorted by six ships of the line and two small fire ship frigates (see below):

Next: Has the Dutch gambit payed off or are they all doomed?

The Next Napoleonic Ship: "A French 74"

Deep in the depths of a French port, shielded from prying British eyes, a sinister black shape is taking form. Nothing less than a deadly French 74. Intent on challenging the superiority of the Royal Navy, Napoleon himself has decreed a vast naval expansion programme (see below):

Well at least one more ship is under way, even though ever so slowly. Instead of "yellow and black" banding along her sides I am looking forward to painting her "red and black" in the 'French way'!

;)

"Form Line of Battle" : Napoleonic Naval Small Squadron Action

A small Royal Navy squadron of HMS Thunderer (74) and HMS Canopus (80) spots a suspicious pair of sails on the distant horizon (see below):

The sails turn out to be a small French squadron of two ships Le Franklin (74) and the Commerce de Marseilles (120) obviously intent on conducting a secret mission for the Emperor (see below):

Despite being out gunned the Royal Navy commander decides on a aggressive strategy of cutting the enemy (French) line, so the fittingly named HMS Thunderer leads the charge. HMS Canopus and the Commerce de Marseilles have exchanged fire resulting in "sail and mast" damage to both. As HMS Thunderer blocks HMS Canopus' line of sight to the French flagship Canopus turns her attention to the Le Franklin (see below, British squadron at top of photograph, French bottom):

The ambitious "breaking the line" manoeuvre goes somewhat awry as the captain of HMS Thunderer miscalculates the relative speeds of the two ships and impales herself on a ship twice her size (a crew of over a thousand Frenchmen compared to under five hundred British sailors). This meant interested reading and re-reading of the collision rules (see below):

As a wargame the battle had to be left unfinished, in rather a shambolic state, with the French flagship being entangled with the small British 74 (HMS Thundered). HMS Canopus and Le Franklin meanwhile continued their exchanges of broadside upon broadside, leaving both in a state of mutual "de-sailing and de-masting" (see below):

Chances are the Le Franklin will succumb to the continued attention of HMS Canopus as both ships become static floating fortresses, the rate of fire from the British being better. However if HMS Thunderer cannot untangle herself from the French flagship ultimately the battle will be lost to the French.

A 60:40 probability to the French methinks ;)

How to build the "Commerce de Marsailles" (Part 2 of2) 1/1200 Nap Naval

The last bit of painting before the rigging (gasp, intake of breath and sweaty forehead) saw white highlights on the gun ports (see below):

A final reddening of the interior bulwarks then push the paintbrush to the side and out with the black cotton thread. Starting at the front of the ship and the crazy polygon of the bow sprit, a ting knot at the front and a circuit of the sails, dabbing super glue as I go  (see below):

Then near vertical (well 60 degrees) thread lines are dropped from sails as I work towards the back of the ship adding the last two masts (see below):

"Secret Weapon 47" a cunning new Napoleonic shipbuilding resource. A ridiculously cheap, pink plastic brush than is "de-toothed" and its bristles used for rigging lines (see below):

These rigging lines are used for the previously impossible mast-to-mast diagonal rigging lines where "thread simply could not reach" (see below):

Sadly the brush I have is not long enough to replace ALL the cotton thread too, so I will have to keep my eye out for a longer haired (cheap) brush, but it seems to work (see below):

The final cut does not look too bad IMHO (see below):

This means I will have to revisit the Royal Navy squadron of 74's and do their "interior diagonals" too. Then sorts the "interior rigging" puzzle, still outstanding are the rat-lines I need to run up each mast (which perhaps the plastic brush may assist with) and the authentic sea basing which should cut down on "rough handling". I am keen to start experimenting with a strange jar of "Artist's medium" that apparently I have to mix into paint to make it a quick setting jelly, perfect for faking the 'sea effect'.  

How to build the "Commerce de Marsailles" (Part 1 of 2) 1/1200 Nap Naval

French Shipbuilding Program: 

As the French Navy are in dire need of reinforcements I decided to assemble the "Commerce de Marsailles" a huge 120 gunner (1st Rate of the Ocean class). Her sister was the Orient, the French flagship at The Battle of the Nile. The "Commerce de Marsailles" was yet another French Navy ship captured and used against her former owners, but after being damaged in a storm early in her RN career she became a long term "hulk" in Portsmouth.

From the black undercoat the sails and deck were painted (see below):

A quick dry run run through is always worth it (see below, note the dangerous RN squadron in the background):

After a 360 degree review (aided with a cup of tea to hand) and more than one look at the painting notes, I decided the deck was far too light for the French Navy "teak" so I repaint the the deck using Vallejo, Game Colour, Dark Flesh (see below):

Pressing on I browned up the hull and highlighted the ships boats (see below):

I gave the deck a weak black wash (using Tamiya XF1 Matte Black) to calm things down (see below):

Then I started the "yellow striping" process along the sides of the hull, with a dark yellow/brown (Vallejo, Came Colour, Plague Brown) shade colour (see below):

Then I started lightening up the yellow with a Golden Yellow (Vallejo, Game Colour again), adding a dash of white to lighten in further (see below):

The whole thing is a slow process which cannot be rushed. I have heard it described as 'Zen-like' but I am always on the fraught edge of thinking I am going to ruin it until the rigging is done and dusted (where deadly slips and fumbling falls cam occur in 'manual handling').