Projects and Plans 2021

Happy New Year!

Here are the things I'm going to be working on this year in my 'Let 'Em Have It 2021' naval wargaming project campaign:

1. 1/300th Cruel Seas

This was in my list last year but didn't happen, primarily as it was aimed at multiplayer club games, but I've had a re-think and will now focus it on scenarios I can run at home, either solo or with the sprogs. The initial focus will be on the Kriegsmarine and the 5th S-Boote flotilla c1944 but I have plans to diversify, with some RN MTB's, MGB's and trawlers to follow.

2. 1/3000th WW2

This was also on my 2020 'to do' list but got sidelined by other things, so it's coming back in 2021 with a focus on the early war Kriegsmarine and Royal Navy, with a specific emphasis on destroyer and cruiser actions, rather than capital ships, at least to start with. I am thinking of using Find, Fix and Strike as the rules for this project, with Naval Thunder as a fall back.

3. 1/2400th Pre-dreadnoughts

I made good progress with this project last year, assembling, basing and undercoating French and Italian fleets from Tumbling Dice, so it would be a shame not to see them painted and in action this year. I'm also considering extending the project to the Sino-Japanese War, which is a really interesting conflict for the early pre-dreadnought period. The rules will be Tsushima or Broadside and Salvo.

4. 1/600th Steamer Wars

This was a project that popped up this year but only got to the planning stage, with the models ordered frim Tumbling Dice but then stashed for a rainy day. The plan is to paint up German, Belgian and British coastal forces for action on Lake Tanganyika, using Steamer Wars and the supplement for the rules. I will probably use my existing coastal terrain for this with a few specific additional features.

5. 1/3000th Cold War Naval

A new project for 2021, although it's something I've thought about doing before, with a focus on the Indonesian Confrontation as a 'What If?' conflict. I've already gathered together two naval forces for this, with the Royal Navy and Indonesian Navy of the mid 1960's well catered for, alongside the aircraft for both sides in 1/600th scale. I also have some sketchy plans for some more up to date modern fleets.

6. 10/15mm WW2 / Modern

I can't just do naval things, so I'm also going to have at least one land based project in 10 or 15mm, having not painted a single figure or vehicle in smaller scales in 2020. I had a go at 28mm painting last year with the Beja army, which reminded me why 15mm is a much better scale for my painting purposes! I am now thinking of starting a 15mm WW2 late war platoon or company level project, or at the very least some 10mm or 15mm modern wargaming perhaps based on Sandbox Skirmish revived, but I'm not making any definitive plans just yet.

No planes this year? No, I'm going to stick to naval projects but there will be some 1/600th scale aircraft required for a couple of these, so I will be able to get some aircraft painted at some point. Will anything else squeeze it's way onto the workbench? Almost certainly, with 1/3000th scale modern fleets and 1/700th scale modern fast attack already in  the side lines, but I will try to stick much more to the straight and narrow in 2021!

A Billion Suns

Something else I'm looking forward to next year is the publication of these new fleet scale space wargaming rules. I've played a fair bit of Full Thrust in the past but these rules look really different and intriguing, at least from the outline on the rules website.

They only need a handful of ships to start with, mostly merchants, gunboats, frigates and destroyers, with some fighter stands and a single big warship, so a minimal outlay is required. I have some Brigade Models Amrep ships that I never got round to using too.

It just so happens that the Brigade Models online shop has just reopened, so this week's pocket money may well be spent on more 'ooh shiny!' spaceships instead of more Aeronef. They've added lots of new models to the range since I was last around, so I'll be like a kid in a sweet shop!

Full Thrust GZG Japanese Starter Fleet

I ordered a GZG Japanese starter fleet last weekend and it arrived very soon afterwards but I have only just got round to unpacking it for a closer look. The ships vary in size from frigates and destroyers all the way up to heavy cruisers and very nice they are too. I particularly like the low slung destroyers and light cruisers, which will look great when painted up, although when, how and with what I do this I have yet to work out. I'm keen to get back into Full Thrust and fleet scale space gaming in general, so these may be my next mini-project on the Workbench. 

Full Thrust Fleet Pack

I 'unmed' and 'arred' about this yesterday at the show, not being able to make up my mind, but after some deep thought I've decided to get a new GZG fleet pack for Full Thrust. I have an NSL fleet painted up somewhere, which I gave to the sprog, and a Brigade Games Soviet fleet that I have sold on eBay, so I have a good excuse for another addition to the lead pile. The fleet pack I've chosen is the Japanese one, as I really like the low slung design of the models, although I also really like the Crusties ship design as well.

This Japanese fleet will be used against my other one that as yet remains unpainted, a Federal Stats Europa fleet pack that I bought at Warfare ages ago. I think this project will have to wait until next year before I start on the painting but, if I get some time over the next couple of months, I may well get cracking early. I still have to finish my 15mm sci-fi army first, however, not to mention some other bits and bobs that need my undivided attention. No rush. In the meantime, I'll be flicking through the new edition of Full Thrust Light that I picked up free at the show.

Imperial Skies vs. Full Thrust

I had a quick flick through of the Imperial Skies rulebook at the Brigade Models stand today and thought it looked really flash. At £22 a shot, however, I was reluctant to splash the cash, especially as I have a perfectly good set of rules for VSF aerial wargaming in Aeronef. I have played a lot of Aeronef in the past, although not recently or for quite awhile, and have fully operational fleets for the Portuguese, Japanese and Bolsheviks, with an entire French fleet waiting to be assembled and painted one day.

I'd love to dig them out for some games but have yet to find the impetus to pick up where I left off, after a Scramble for Africa club campaign I organised came to an end. Perhaps this new variation on an old theme might be the stimulus I'm looking for? On the other hand, I also picked up a free copy of the new edition of Full Thrust Light from the nice people at GZG, which is something I could get into again without any further persuasion. Now, I wonder where I stashed that Federal Stats Europa fleet in the lead pile?

Sci Fi Summer

It's been a bit quiet around here this week, due to the return to work and being generally busy, but I have had some time to think about my project for the summer. This has arrived although you'd be pushed to realize that it is now here, given the storms and torrential rain we've been experiencing. So, to cut a long winded story short, I've decided to park my pre-dreadnought naval plans for the season to pick up my sci-fi and near future projects instead. These are many and varied but will be focussed on a 15mm platoon sized army for Gruntz and possibly a new fleet for Full Thrust, both using GZG miniatures with a few Brigade Models thrown in for good measure.

Plastic Planets

I spotted these illuminated multicolour plastic globes in Homebase today in the sale shelves, so grabbed the two that were left to use as planets for my X Wing games and for other deep space miniatures rules like Full Thrust or Iron Stars. They are slightly smaller than the moon that I found the other day but they look really good together. They were only 50p each too. I now need some asteroids and space junk to navigate around!

Moon Light

I found this hard plastic illuminated moon toy in the local Co-op store this morning on a Xmas stocking filler display. It only cost four quid and has an internal battery to power the light inside. It's a bit on the small side at around 10cm in diameter but I thought it would look pretty good alongside my X Wing stuff and my Brigade Models fleet scale spaceships. I may well get a couple more and spray paint them in different colours to represent planets or asteroids. Not bad?

Silent Death

I put an Ebay offer in on a set of the old Silent Death space fighter combat rules today and ended up with the rules and unpunched counters for a tenner, which isn't too bad. I have a stash of the EM4 plastic space fighters that were originally designed for the Silent Death box set, so I can replace the cardboard counters with proper models for no extra expense.

I've read some good things about the rules and, even thought they're very old I'm hoping that they'll be fun and get the boys back into gaming, especially as they'll be able to paint up their own fighter units using the plastic models. The EM4 fighters were originally bought for the kids at Colours a couple of years ago, so it's a good result all round.

Deep Space Full Thrust

I ordered a deep space nebula vinyl gaming mat a few days ago and it arrived yesterday, safely rolled up in a sturdy cardboard tube. It's a full 6' x 3' size mat, as I wanted to use it both for X-Wing and for Full Thrust. So, here's a couple of my Brigade Models Neo-Soviet ships that I painted up years ago, to give an overall impression of the quality of the artwork (with apologies for the crappy black plastic stands). I think the mat looks really good and I'm even thinking of getting a 3' x 3' version for 'beer and pretzel' style games.

Bag the Doodlebug [18]

Those nice people at Brigade Models announced a 25% off sale at the weekend, which was very handy as I wanted to get some re-inforcements for the Neo Soviet Full Thrust fleet. I have now got a couple of additional heavy crusiers and some merchant ships to use as transports, which should make it possible to run some convoy escort type games. They're so quick to do up, that I can probably have them based and painted over a weekend.

I've also sent off for some of the new Land Ironclads 2mm scale village and agricultural buildings including a pack of parish churches. These are designed for the War of the Worlds type games but I think will look splendid as terrain features for Bag the Doodlebug, assuming I can base them in such as way that they can be placed on the lanscape without interfering with the flight stands. The agricultural buildings in particular look spot on for Sussex or Kent, especially the oast house and windmills.

Anyway, if they don't work out, I'll just use them for Aeronef.

Full Thrust February Finished!

I finished off the Neu Swabian fleet this afternoon by over-painting the red strips on the models with the same blue-white shades as the engines. I didn't like the original red version so thought this would look better. It's not great but it doesn't clash half as much as the first time round. I was intending to add some decals but this was too fiddly, so I didn't bother in the end. They're a bit 'ho hum' but there you go.

I have some larger dreadnoughts, battleships and carriers that I could build but I think I'm Full Thrusted out for the moment. I also have more Brigade Models spaceships that I'd like to paint up but these will be a future quick painting project, as I have plenty of other things to tackle for the moment. If I get the time tomorrow, I'll try to get started on the Spitfires MkI's for the Finest Hour campaign.

Full Thrust February [5]

A very busy day (again) but I have painted the windows, engines and other details on the Full Thrust Neu Swabian ships. I gave them a drybrush of GW Space Wolves Grey first, which went some way to resolve the wash issue from yesterday. I also, as an after thought, added some red to the engine strakes or exhausts, or whatever they are. I'm not sure I like the end result so may repaint them in light blue tomorrow, when I'll also be adding some simple decals before I spray varnish the lot.

Full Thrust February [4]

I finally got round to some painting today, having been really busy all week with several evenings spent at work or going out. The Full Thrust ships have been wetbrushed in GW Fenris Grey, followed by a drybrush in GW Shadow Grey and GW Fenrisian Grey. I'm not sure it was worth the drybrushing, as the subsequent wash in Future has blended it out. I'll probably give them a further light drybrush in GW Space Wolves Grey tomorrow, once the Future wash has dried properly. I'll then tackle the details including the bridge windows, engines and antenna.

Full Thrust February [3]

I undercoated the NSL fleet this evening, using my ad hoc but very effective spray painting jig which, as you can see, is a highly precision engineered tool, consisting of a couple of bits of offcut with some nails bashed in at random. It actually works really well, with the tiddly magnets on the ships keeping everything in place, even when held upside down to do the obscure bits.

I've also spent a very meagre twenty quid on pdf copies of Action Stations!, Iron and Fire and Blue Steel, Grey Thunder, all of which I have in hardcopy format but now have on the Kindle Fire as well. I'm planning to make naval gaming a bit of a theme this year, having lots of projects in readiness that have yet to see the light of day, including at the top of the list some coastal warfare from WW1 onwards.

I've alsp been thinking about the BTH2 'Finest Hour' Battle of Britain club campaign for April / May, but that's another story.

(Incidentally, I have no idea why the pictures are like this..??)

Full Thrust February [2]

Here's the bulk of the next FT Neu Swabian League fleet, give or take one or two extra ships. It's looking a bit lightweight at the moment, as I've got to find a suitable way to base the heavier models that I have, including the grounded transport in the picture, before I can finish off the full fleet. I also need to wait until the temperature in the garage rises above bloody freezing, so that I can spray undercoat the ships without fear of disaster.

Full Thrust February [1]

It's looking as though I'll be as busy next month, if not more so, than in January. As a result, I've decided to postpone the Bag the Hun Operation Bodenplatte project until half term, when I hope to have sufficient time to do it justice. In the meantime, I'm going to tackle a second small fleet for Full Thrust, this time using the GZG Neu Swabian models that I bought at Warfare in November. If I can get these done as quickly as the Neu Soviets taskforce I'll be really pleased, although I have yet to decide on the actual paint scheme.

Full Thrust Mini Project [5]

I now find myself in unfamiliar territory, having completed a project that I started less than a week ago, leaving me in a bit of a quandry as to 'what next'? I'm sorely tempted to have a crack at a second small fleet for Full Thrust now that I've got the painting sorted, give or take a few refinements.

I have a good selection of GZG Neu Swabian ships that would be easy to clean up and assemble, allowing me to field some suitable opposition for the Neo Soviets. They wouldn't take long to paint but I'd have to think up a different scheme based on a three stage wetbrush, drybrush and highlight approach, probably using the Foundry paint system to make things easy.

I've also got a small selection of Brigade Models South African ships, which caught my eye when they were released last year and which could act as stand ins for the Royal Navy. I quite like the idea of a small taskforce of spaceships with classic Cold War era aircraft names as class types.

I'm thinking along the lines of Hunter class frigates, Lightning class destroyers,  Javelin class heavy cruisers and Victor class battleships. It's just an idea, and I'll probably stick with the GZG models, but it would complement the Neo Soviets really well and give me a use for some  otherwise superfluous lead.

Full Thrust Mini Project [4]

Taskforce Red October

Krivak Class Battlecruisers

 

Kotlin Class Cruisers

Suvurov Class Dreadnought

Udaloy Class Frigates

The Sub Light Engines

I finished off the Neo Soviet taskforce this evening with some I-94 and Doms Decals insignia, followed by a spray overcoat of GW satin varnish. I was thinking of adding some battle damage but, in the end, I decided to keep things simple and avoid any fiddly bits. I think they came out quite well, especially as I spent little more than a few hours on them, even though they're not up to close inspection.

Hurrah!

Full Thrust Mini Project [3]

In a series of very disjointed sessions I managed to get the Neo Soviet fleet wetbrushed, drybrushed, washed and detailed today, despite feeling pretty rough due to my resurgent cold. It's self inflicted as I've spent quite a lot of time outside in the snow with the kids over the last couple of days, which was less than sensible but also unavoidable.

The models were given the tried and tested Foundry Phlegm Green coverage to start with, then washed in gunge. I painted all the tiddly windows in Foundry White followed by GW Bad Moon Yellow. The engine exhausts were painted in two shades of Foundry Sky Blue, followed by a highlight in Foundry White, although you can't see this in the photos.

If I feel up to it, I'll add the decals and some battle damage tomorrow before giving the whole fleet an overspray in satin varnish, in order to seal the decals and tone down the shiny effect of the wash. I'm not going to go overboard with the fiddly details, as this is a supposedly quick mini-project, but I may also do some additional farting about to pick out some features.