Half Term Fleet in a Week - Mothballed

Almirante Latorre 

With the half term holiday over I've had to admit defeat in completing the interwar Chilean fleet, so I've decided to mothball the project and save it until another time. I have assembled, based and undercoated all of the ships required, however, so it's not a complete wash out. I now have just over a month or so in which to tinker about with before the summer holidays, so I'm not thinking of starting anything new, but will instead aim to finish off a few loose ends in existing projects when I can find the time. It's not been a very productive year so far, that's for sure! 

Jutland Battlecruiser Action Club Game

A rare trip up to the club yesterday for a big multiplayer game of the battlecruiser race to the South using the old Sea Wars Fleet Actions rules. I was given command of the Royal Navy 5th Battle Squadron right at the back, so didn't see much action but it was a very enjoyable game and good to catch up with other club players. Next week it's the actual battle so I'm hoping to actually roll some dice and sink some of the High Seas Fleet! 

Half Term Fleet in a Week: Assembly

O'Higgins (converted Asama) 

Almirante Latorre (original / modernised) 

Chacabuco (Takasago) 

Almirante Williams / Serrano

Libertad / Constitucion

Almirante Cochrane 

It's flipping hot today so all DIY has been cancelled, giving me a free afternoon to assemble the 1/3000th scale interwar Chilean fleet. I added brass masts to the models as I had some new 0.3mm rod that I ordered by mistake, but which is ideal for the top masts. I also converted the Navwar Japanese armoured cruiser Asama into something not unlike the Chilean O'Higgins. The next thing to do will be to base the models with acrylic paste, which is a different approach compared to my other 1/3000th stuff but which I use successfully for my 1/2400th scale models. 

Half Term Chilean Interwar Fleet in a Week

 

A slight change of plan after I realised that painting the Royal Navy for the Norwegian Campaign might be a little ambitious in one week? Instead, I'm going to paint and base almost the entire Chilean navy c1937-38 for an Interwar extension of my ongoing 'What If?' Chile vs Argentina naval campaign. The models are all from Navwar with some new additions making it a feasible project, along with a couple of 'might have been?' extras, including the dreadnought battleship Almirante Cochrane as converted into an aircraft carrier. I'll get cracking today! 

Get the Goeben Ship Stats for When Dreadnoughts Ruled the Seas

I've had a crack at working out the ship profiles for the Ottoman Navy warships not already covered in the First World War version of When Dreadnoughts Ruled the Seas. These include the two ex-German Brandenburg class pre-dreadnought battleships and the armoured cruiser Hamidiye. Its not too difficult to do the number crunching except for armour hull boxes but I think I've come up with some reasonably accurate ship stats, give or take a bit of guesswork. This means I can crack on with painting the models as soon as I've finished the 1/600th scale Airco DH2's for the PC10 project. 

When Dreadnoughts Ruled the Seas

I read an after action report of a game using these fast play WW1 naval rules, which I had never heard of before, and really liked what I saw. They're only four pages long, designed for 1/2400th and are supported by a scenario supplement and ship record sheets, all presented in to a very high standard of design. I've downloaded both the rules and the supplement as an alternative to Victory at Sea for my First World War naval projects, including the Battles of Coronel and  the Falklands, for the Dogger Bank and potentially for the Get the Goeben! project too. Excellent!

https://youtu.be/v1I1E4NJ3us?si=ld_eYt2p9OpQoyYZ

WW1 Naval Project Pick Up

It's been absolutely nuts since coming back from Brittany, with a funeral in Bath, a day trip down to Plymouth to pick up stuff from the boy's flat and even a missing person man hunt for a friend's elderly relative, who wandered off from his sheltered housing and got lost overnight.

This means I've not had time for anything remotely wargaming related, so instead I've set out what I'm going to do for the rest of the month, prior to starting a new project in September.  

http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com/2025/06/summer-naval-project-ww1.html

I have been focusing on the First World War this year including the naval campaign in the Black Sea and the hint for the Goeben, with a Turkish fleet ready for painting, so this will be my focus for the rest of the month. 

I may also tinker with a few other things of a naval persuasion, such as rebasing the 1/600th War of the Pacific stuff and perhaps even refurbishing the 1/1200th scale models I was given, but nothing too much as I just won't get it done otherwise!

1/2400th Scale WW1 RN Destroyers

I needed some 1/2400th scale destroyers for my 'Get The Goeben!' naval project, ideally Beagle or 'G' class DD's to be based in Malta for the solo campaign, but Tumbling Dice don't have any and GHQ are not available any more in the UK (I don't think they have any either). I have found some 3D printed 'L' Class destroyer models on eBay, which are three to a pack for four quid, so took a punt and ordered some. They are nicely detailed and could even pass for 'G' class DD's with a bit of light surgery but, as with most 3D printed ships in smaller scales, they do suffer from bendy hulls and are a bit fragile if you try to un-banana them with too much enthusiasm. They'll do for the moment but I think I might scratch build some ships out of plastic card in the long run.

WW1 Turkish Black Sea Fleet

I've almost finished the Jasta 11 Flying Circus triplanes, so I'm moving straight on to the WW1 'Get the Goeben!' naval project for the rest of the month. Here's the Turkish Black Sea fleet all ready for painting, with the two torpedo gunboats and a U-Boat added for good measure. I'll get cracking on the bases tomorrow, when I'm also planning to add the decals to the Fokker Dr.1 models to wrap up the Algernon Pulls It Off! project, at least for the Summer.

Summer Naval Project WW1

After thinking through the problems caused by Navwar probably shutting down, I've decided that the South American interwar naval project is not really feasible, at least until Navwar finds a new owner. So, to cut a long story short, my Summer focus will be the 'Get the Goeben' project from last year, or at least the Ottoman Black Sea fleet which I have already assembled, based and undercoated, ready for painting. I will also be assembling some opposing naval forces, with some Royal Navy battle cruisers top of the list but potentially also some of the Russian Black Sea fleet as well. 

Summer South American Project?

The half term holiday is almost over and, due to DIY and gardening duties, I've barely scratched the surface of what I hoped to cover in wargaming terms. At the moment, I'm painting the Jasta 11 triplanes and I'm going to continue with those over the next week or two, but I'm now switching from an air to a naval project, as planned for the summer.

In a change of focus, the Napoleonic naval project is going to be left for the summer holidays in about six weeks time, both for INWarD 2025 and as to assemble the Spanish fleet, so the decks are clear for something else. I did think of painting the 1/2400th scale Turkish WW1 fleet that I've prepared, so that's a definite option but I also fancy something a bit different. 

About a year ago before Navwar went off line, I bought two opposing 1/3000th scale fleet packs, one Argentinian and one Brazilian for the Second World War. I was planning to use them for another South American 'What If'? solo campaign, this time set in the 1920's or early 1930's but didn't get further than a few sketchy ideas 

I quite like the idea of getting this going again, although I'll need to add some WW1 'E' class destroyers for Brazil, which were not included in the packs. I do have all of the principal battleships and cruisers though, which makes this a very feasible, quick painting project for this month, if I get on with it. I'll have to take another look at my notes first though, as it's all a bit 'back of a fag packet' at the moment!

Magasin de Presse

We're about to head back home so, as usual, I've been to the local newsagent to pick up some French military magazines. This time there was only one that I thought worth buying, the current edition of Los!, which has some good articles on the Kanalkampf phase of the Battle of Britain and French pre-dreadnought armoured cruisers, amongst other things. The latter has got me thinking about the French pre-dreadnought fleet I have ready for painting but also the WW1 French models from Tumbling Dice for the Get the Goeben! project, which I didn't get round to assembling during the holidays. I'm definitely doing something naval next and either of these would be good fun to focus on next month.

Summer Naval Project Options

I've now wrapped up the Jasta 18 Algernon Pulls It Off! project, apart from play testing and some background blurb, so will be moving on to something new when I get back home at the weekend. I haven't decided what this will be but it will either be naval or land based as a change from aerial wargaming. At the moment, it's possibly going to be my Napoleonic Spanish fleet in 1/2400th scale, which I have wanted to assemble and paint this year, or possibly something naval for the First World War, for which I have several options.

Holiday WW1 Naval Project

I'm off on holiday for two weeks and have packed some 1/2400th WW1 warships to assemble and base. These include the models for Coronel and the Falklands, together with the French warships for Get the Goeben!. I'm not sure if I'll get them all sorted but it will be an enjoyable way to spend the time in the evenings. 

1/4800th Coronel and the Falklands

I was browsing through the Ark Royal Miniatures section of the League of Augsburg webshop today, after reading some of Barry Hilton's Dread Nought! game reports, when I discovered that he dies three packs of 1/4800th scale models for the the Battles of Coronel and the Falklands. Now, I already have virtually all of the ships for these two battles in 1/2400th scale from Tumbling Dice, but I am sorely tempted to have a look at doing the project in 1/4800th scale too, This would give me the option of trying out Dread Nought! Essentials, the introductory version of the yet to be published rules, and would speed up the process of getting the models painted, based and on to the table. Worth a closer look I think?

WW1 Naval Projects - Coronel and the Falklands 1914

 

I've been enjoying the WW1 air wargaming project that I've been working on the last few weeks, so I've decided to continue this year with more 1914-1918 themed projects. The next naval project will therefore be the 'Get the Goeben!' project that I tinkered around with at the end of last year or quite possibly the Battle of Coronel and the Falkland Islands. As a matter of fact, I already have all of the 1/12400th scale Tumbling Dice models for both of these battles, which makes it an obvious direction of travel. When I've finished the aircraft for the scenario play testing I'm going to sort out all of the models and make a start on some ships for one or both of these neatly self contained naval projects. 

Peyk-i Şevket Class Torpedo Cruisers

These are 1/2400th scale Tumbling Dice models of the Chilean Almirante Lynch class torpedo gunboat, which I've repurposed as the two Peyk-i Şevket class torpedo cruisers. These were both obsolete in 1914 but carried on in service during WWI as convoy escorts, both suffering damage from mines and torpedoes as a result. I added fore and aft gun mountings, as well as simplified masts from wire, but otherwise there was very little to do. While not identical to the loan model, they are close enough to do the job.

Get the Goeben! RN Battlecruisers

The latest addition to the workbench is a trio of Royal Navy warships for a "What If?" scenario set in August 1914. Here we have the battlecruisers HMS Indomitable and. HMS Inflexible, accompanied by the light cruiser HMS Dublin. I thought it would be a nifty idea to paint these up alongside SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau, so that I can actually play a game at some point, rather than have to wait until the Russians have been sorted out. I'll get these ready at the weekend.

Turkish Black Sea Fleet Basing

A refreshing nautical breeze is wafting across the workbench today, with the WW1 Ottoman fleet now based and ready for undercoating. I've added a single UB-III submarine to represent the UB-II flotilla that operated in the Black Sea, even though submarines don't really appear in most rules involving surface action, aside from convoy games or one off tactical scenarios. I'll crack on with the painting as soon as I get some free time, which may not be for awhile.

WW1 Turkish Black Sea Fleet

I'm taking a break from painting tiddly planes this month, with something a bit different from the 'to do' list, in the shape of a 1/2400th scale WW1 Turkish fleet. I glued this all together earlier but still need to add a couple of additional models and then base the whole lot before I can start painting. I'm going to get started as soon as I've finished the extra models for MiG Alley, hopefully after the weekend. I'll probably use Victory at Sea: Age of Dreadnoughts with these, unless something else pops up that's suitable for small actions rather than fleet sized battles.