Sunday 19 August 2018

All At Sea

That's a bit more like it?

I've been using my Tiny Wargames Dark Sea Cloth for the 1/2400th scale ironclad naval games that I've played over the holidays, as I could easily pack it away and it looks just right for a grey day in the English Channel. I bought it originally to use for 1/600th scale nocturnal coastal forces games and to double up for 1/3000th scale WW2 battles with my French fleet in the Med. It's a nice bit of kit but not cheap and a little too grey for a sunny day.


However, I've been thinking about something a bit more blue, especially for daytime games in less inclement weather conditions. I had a look at the Tiny Wargames standard blue sea cloth but at nearly sixty quid for a 6' x 4' version, it's at the far end of affordability. The alternative is to make some sea terrain myself, either a cloth or some modular tiles, as I don't have space for a permanent wargaming table or board. This would be ideal but it's off the radar until I retire!

I like the idea of modular tiles, as I can build some coastline sections and islands but would need to store them and make them light enough to transport. I have a load of 30cm x 30cm mdf boards that I bought in a Poundland sale which I could use as a starting point but the joints would look pretty horrible, so a base cloth and terrain pieces might be a better option? I may just try to find a cheap blue cloth that I can adapt for wargaming purpose or just make some coastline pieces to use with my existing dark sea cloth.

The Baltic in March is pretty grey

In the meantime, I'll have to bite the bullet and paint my ship's textured sea bases in what I think will match the terrain. In the end, the current Second Schleswig War project will probably just use the dark sea cloth anyway, as it's not a bad match for the Baltic on a wintery day and it would make things a lot less complicated. The British and French ironclads can also be painted to match, as the North Sea and English Channel aren't exactly a translucent tropical blue for most of the year. I'll definitely need an alternative at some point but it will just have to wait!

And I thought naval wargaming was the easy option?

3 comments:

  1. Yeah, it's a bit of a poser. I use a plastic shower curtain for sea actions, but I think Naugahyde might make a good sea battle mat. It's vinyl with a texture like waves seen from a height, and stiff enough to stay put during a game. It might work out cheaper than those standard blue sea cloths.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naugahyde

    ReplyDelete
  2. I’ve been using some blue cloth that I got from a fabric store; it’s OK but the professional sea mats do look awesome. I’m also in a quandary about it. They are kinda pricey and I want one that’s the right shade of blue and that can be hard to tell from pics online but i don’t really have the opportunity to see one in real life.... yet.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just ordered a 'sea' mat from tinywargames ... didn't say if it was light or dark! just have to 'see' when it arrives I guess ...

    ReplyDelete

Labels

Bag The Hun (746) AK47 (488) Books (480) Ironclads (474) Wings at War (392) Back of Beyond (234) Pre-Dreadnoughts (228) Coastal Warfare (225) Britain's Small Wars (199) Bolt Action (175) What a Tanker (170) Target Locked On (162) Victory at Sea (155) MiG Alley (150) Knights of the Sky (149) Old West (146) Chain of Command (145) Napoleonic Naval (144) Find Fix and Strike (137) Sandbox Skirmish (119) Naval Command (118) Bag The MiG (117) Naval Thunder (117) Pirates (116) Indo China / Vietnam (114) Air War Over Khalkhin Gol (108) Fistful of Lead (108) 15mm Sci-Fi / Near Future (95) Darkest Africa (91) VBCW (89) Strength and Honour (84) Shows (79) Ancients (78) ACW (77) The Football War (75) France's Small Wars (67) Boardgames (66) Corsairs and Cavaliers (66) Shipwreck! (66) BKC (65) Rapid Fire (63) Saurian Safari (61) Cruel Seas (60) Saga (60) Air War C21 (58) Journals (57) The Men Who Would Be Kings (57) Nimitz (55) Flashpoint Alto Cenepa (53) IABSM (53) Flashpoint Taiwan (50) Finest Hour (49) Gladiators (48) International Naval Wargaming Day (47) Red Actions! (47) Scramble for Britain (44) Flashpoint Baltic (42) Fortifications (41) Cold War (39) Duel of Aces (36) SCW (36) Thud Ridge (36) Desert Spitfires (34) Flames above the Falklands (34) RCW (34) War of the Pacific (34) Death in the Dark Continent (32) Atlantic Wall (31) Post Apocalypse (31) Iron Cow (30) Lion Rampant (30) Bag the Springbok (29) English Civil War / Anglo Dutch War Naval (29) Algernon Pulls It Off (28) Mexican Revolution (28) Normandy Firefight (28) Full Thrust (27) It Rolls For Ivan (26) Bulldogs Away! (24) One Hour Wargames (24) Samurai (24) Jet Knights of the Sky (23) 28mm English Civil War (22) Imaginations (22) Achtung Kommando! (21) Flashpoint PVO (21) PITS (20) Galactic Heroes (19) Steamer Wars (19) Strontium Dog (19) Ancient Naval (18) Iron Cross (18) Winter War (16) Aeronef (15) Aircraft (15) Imperial Commander (15) Rate of Fire (15) 2mm English Civil War (14) Aliens (14) Dragon Rampant (14) Mad for War (14) Arctic Eagles (13) Black Ops (13) CY6 Jet Age (13) Congo (13) Impetus (12) Wars of Insurgency (12) Zulus! (12) Flashpoint Fleet Air Arm (11) Gaslands (11) 633 Squadron (10) Franco Thai Air War (10) Jungle Green (10) Sharp Practice (10) 28mm Future Wars (9) Bohica (9) Dux Britanniarum (9) Merry Xmas Mr Sankara (9) Adventures in Jimland (8) Cry Havoc (8) Dreadnoughts (8) French Indian Wars (8) HYW (8) Renaissance Naval (8) Star Wars Legion (8) Sword and Spear (8) Through The Mud and Blood (8) Frostgrave (7) Target for Tonight (7) Five Parsecs From Home (6) French Resistance (6) A Mighty Fortress (5) Air War Angola (5) AirWar:1918 (5) Bombers over Germany (5) Check Your Six! (5) Five Men at Kursk (5) Fivecore Skirmish (5) Maurice (5) Seven Days to the River Rhine (5) Three Musketeers (5) Arab Revolt (4) Continuation War (4) Corvette Command (4) In Her Majesty's Name (4) Infamy Infamy (4) Medieval Naval (4) Never Mind The Billhooks (4) What a Cowboy (4) Battletech (3) Gangsters (3) HOTT (3) Hind Commander (3) Lord of the Sea (3) Luft 46 (3) Mourir Pour l'Indochine (3) Sturmovik Commander (3) Wings Over Suez (3) Blood Red Skies (2) Chincha Islands War (2) Crom (2) Disposable Heroes (2) Fire and Steel (2) Fivecore Company Command (2) Iron Stars (2) Judge Dredd (2) Lethal Skies (2) NUTS! (2) No Go Zone (2) Pulp! (2) Starfighters! (2) War in El Dorado (2) Whispering Death (2) A Billion Suns (1) Air War 1940 (1) Battlegroup (1) Black Powder (1) Dropzone Commander (1) Falklands War (1) Harpoon (1) Load and Return (1) Missile Threat (1) Missiles at Sea (1) Naval Wargames Society (1) Norway 1940 (1) Spanish American War (1) Sunray is Down (1) Ultracombat Normandy (1) Xenos Rampant (1)