I've been thinking of running a solo campaign using 1/2400th scale models for a while, so the new models from Tumbling Dice for the War of the Pacific have given me a boost in the right direction. I'd considered using the War of the Pacific supplement for Dahlgren and Columbiad to run a solo campaign but the various models required weren't all available, so I pushed it to one side. Now, however, it's a bit more feasible so may well get another look. I have a lot of the models required already and the new gunboats will be a very useful addition.
Another idea that I've had of late has been to run the Messing About on the River solo campaign from the By River and Sea supplement for Dahlgren and Columbiad, originally published in the Blue Steel, Grey Thunder supplement for Iron and Fire. I'd thought about using 1/600th scale models for this but it would need a full sized table to allow for decent room for manoeuvre, as well as a whole set of bespoke terrain. This isn't a massive problem but I think it would be a lot easier, not to mention cheaper and faster, to set it up in 1/2400th scale.
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| Confederate Ironclads |
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| Gunboats and Tinclads |
At the start of the year, I painted up a whole flotilla of Tumbling Dice 1/2400th scale American Civil War ships as a commission job, including several of the river gunboats, ironclads and monitors. These are nice models and despite being a little wonky when it comes to accuracy, they paint up really well. I have dome some number crunching and I reckon you could get everything required for the solo campaign for about twenty five quid, give or take, especially if you also did a bit of scratch building for the single Union monitor, the Tumbling Dice Cairo class ones being a bit dodgy.
I'll have a closer look at this, even if I would still need to make the river terrain and scratch build the shore line features, as it would be a lot easier at a quarter of the size of the 1/600th scale equivalent. The Brigade Models small scale terrain sets could also be used for buildings and settlements, making it even easier to get set up for minimal effort. I could even make the river sections as modular tiles, which is something I've always fancied doing as a bit of a scratch building challenge, to make the whole thing storage friendly and transportable for potential use at the club.
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