Medieval Naval Wargaming

I'm away in Devon for a few days which might explain the lack of activity at the workbench. Not to waste any time, I've been contemplating the potential for some medieval naval wargaming later this year, to complement my 28mm Hundred Years War and 15mm War of the Roses activities. I've looked at this before, focussing on Long Face Games Lord of the Seas rules and Ganesha Games Galleys and Galleons, the former for fleet level battles and the latter for tactical ship to ship actions.

Unfortunately, there aren't many options for miniatures, aside from some medieval cogs in 1/1200th scale from Reiver, Ral Partha and Navwar, or some STL files for 1/2400th scale multiple ship bases from Long Face Games. I'd like to use 1/1200th scale for visual impact but that would limit the scope to tactical, rather than fleet level actions like Sluys or La Rochelle. I need to give this some further thought but there may well be scope for the latter if I can find a way to print those STL bases at an affordable cost?

Lion Rampant 15mm Reinforcements

This has been a very slow burning project of mine, going way back to 2014 when I originally thought of doing it, but a recent birthday gift of a Peter Pig voucher is bringing it back to life. The original idea was set out here:

http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com/2014/09/lion-rampant-war-of-roses-retinues-in.html

...unfortunately scuppered when I realised there wasn't enough variety in the figure poses to make it look right. A while back, however, Peter Pig released a whole set of new packs to solve that problem, but I've been putting off getting some due to the cost factor.

With the impetus of a twenty five quid voucher this problem has now been solved. I've ordered some packs of levy, retainers and household men at arms plus Margaret of Anjou as a scenario objective (!) and Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, as a retinue commander. 

This year is now definitely going to be focussed on the medieval period, so it's yet another string to my bow to have a 15mm Lion Rampant project waiting in the wings. I'm also thinking of a naval angle for this year, air warfare not being an option for obvious reasons, but more about that at a later date!

Long Face Games FB Group

             

It's been a bit slow to get going but the Long Face Games FB group is now starting to move along in a positive direction, with close to one hundred people signed up over the space of a couple of weeks. I'm ploughing a lonely furrow at the moment but I'm sure that more posts will be forthcoming, so that I can ease back a bit and let other people take the strain. It would be great to have some more diverse posts from a wider selection of people, but I'm grateful to those who have already contributed. If you haven't signed up already or are interested in posting some content, from game reports, to rules queries or modelling ideas, that would be excellent. 

Long Face Games FB Group Update.

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1336305623905353/?ref=share

Why not pop over and sign up? ⚓

Tumbling Dice Feudal Japanese Ships

The new range of Asian warships from Tumbling Dice includes a number of Japanese models, suitable for the feudal era including the Sengoku Jidai civil wars. I ordered some of the packs a couple of days ago and they arrived yesterday, so I thought I'd show you what they contain.

Pack ASC41 'Nihon Maru' tower ship

This is the largest model in the range and represents the flagship of the Japanese fleet but could also be used as an O Atake Bune or very large 'battleship'. It's a four piece model and is supplied with a sculpted sea base. It's an impressive model even in 1/2400th scale and would make a great command unit, perhaps based with some of the smaller boats alongside.

ASC42 Atake Bune x 2

Although listed as a pack of four, this set is actually a pack of two Atake Bune, the standard medium sized warship of the period. Each pack contains two models, one with a sail and one with the spar lowered, together with two metal sea bases, both with sweeps. These ships would form the bulk of the fleet and would look good when massed together.

ASC43 Seki Bune x 4

These models represent the smaller galley style boats that were used for coastal raiding, boarding actions, patrolling and other similar things. The pack includes four different versions, each with sweeps out and spars stowed, cast on integral bases. They're small but nicely designed and really look the part.

ASC44 Kobaya x 4

This pack is of four light craft used for dispatches, raiding and so on. The pack includes two models with cast on sails and two rowed models, again on cast on bases. Despite being tiny they are also nicely detailed and should be easy to paint up. They would look effective based with some of the larger models as dispatch boats on a command base.

I also ordered some sets of Japanese clan mons or standards to go with the ships, another addition to the existing range designed by The Square. These are very colourful and should add a bit of flair to the different fleets once attached, although you'd need to add some flag standards to the models first.

Overall, I'm really pleased with these models and think they will look excellent once painted and based, although I'm not sure how I'm going to arrange them yet. I'll probably go for 30mm x 40mm bases or thereabouts, with single models for the larger ships and multiple basing for the Seki Bune and Kobaya.

Miniature Maritime Middle Ages

I noticed that Paul at Tumbling Dice has just expanded his 1/2400th scale ancient and medieval range to include Japanese, Korean and Chinese warships. While I am sorely tempted to have a go at some Sengoku period naval wargaming, it did remind me of Lord of the Sea, the medieval naval rules by Long Face Games.

So, to cut a long story short, I emailed Paul to ask if he had any plans to add some European medieval ships to his range. He replied to confirm that there will be a whole new set of later medieval ships for the Hundred Years War and Crusades as well as a range of Byzantine ships, with the masters already finished and ready to go.

This is great news, as it means I can finally get round to playing some fleet sized actions, for which the rules are designed, using multiple based ships for which 1/12400th scale is ideal. They should be available at some point in the summer, so I'll have to wait a little bit longer, but it's definitely a project to think about in the meanwhile.