Italian Weekend

I grabbed some time today to assemble the core of the Italian pre-dreadnought squadron using the excellent Tumbling Dice 1/2400th scale range. These are lovely models and go together very easily, without as many of the fiddly funnels and masts that the French pre-dreadnoughts are festooned with, so assembly was a fairly painless task. I have some more to add to the selection on display, including some more protected cruisers and battleships, which I'm hoping to build over the coming week. I also need to texture the bases and glue the ships in place but I'll do that in one production line workbench session. The plan will then be to paint them up over the half term break alongside the French. 

Ironclads 1860-1918 Rules

These popped up on eBay of all places a while back and I thought I'd take a closer look. Although designed for 1/2000th scale and the publishers own range of resin model ships, I suspect I could easily convert them to 1/2400th scale without too much difficulty. They also have a  range of supplements for specific periods and a scenario book which might well be useable for other rules systems. I've put in a bid for a copy so will have to wait until I win it to find out more, assuming I do of course. I do wonder why they aren't available on Wargame Vault but I'm sure he has a good reason to use eBay instead?

15mm Sandbox Skirmish Terrain

I spotted this bundle deal the other day via the Wargames Website and was sorely tempted to add some more lasercut mdf buildings to my Sandbox Skirmish modern and post-colonial project, even though I have quite a lot of similar ones from Blotz. These look really good, especially the multi story compound buildings, which with a little bit of detailing would fit in very well. The price tag is quite high, however, so it will have to wait until the end of the month. I really should give this project a boot up the bum and get it going again, perhaps in 2021, as it's got a lot of potential for a relatively small outlay in terms of cost and time, with the solo play aspect being a big factor in the current coronavirus climate.

https://shinygames.uk/product/15mm-desert-building-bundle/

Normal Service Will Be Resumed

Those of you of a particular vintage will remember the test card from long, boring afternoons in the '70's, when the TV only had three channels, was black and white and you had to get out of your sofa to push the buttons, albeit when it hadn't either blown up or gone all fuzzy. Anyway, I digress, as the message is the same, with a temporary black out due to work and family life resulting in my absence from the workbench.

Fear not, as I have a free weekend ahead (I hope?) and a couple of days off at the end of next week to make up the shortfall. I've also received my small but perfectly formed order of Aeronef from Brigade Models, which will form the nucleus of my Breton aerial squadron. I've gone for a dirigible theme, as they're underrated and not often deployed as an entire fleet, even though there are some lovely models in the range. 

These are an eclectic mix of Russian, Swiss and Turkish digs, but I think they look pretty good when mixed together. I've also got a lovely French 'Les Arc' class aircraft carrier from the old range which I may add to the fleet, together with some more of the Turkish Class Four and Five models, so there will be a nice balance to the whole shebang. I can also pull it together with a consistent 'look', especially if I paint them up in black and white Breton colours.

One Bullet Away

I've been reading this over the weekend, having finished Generation Kill last week. This is an auto biographical account of a career in the US Marine Corps, which wouldn't have been of particular interest were it not for the fact that the author played a pivotal role in the events described in Generation Kill. I'm not that keen on reading about recent conflicts in Iraq or Afghanistan, as many of the books that have emerged from both conflicts lean toward the sensationalist, elite special forces vicarious end of the literary spectrum. This, however, is different and written by someone with a background in history and the classics, which lifts it above the run of the mill. A really well written and reflective account.

1/2400th ACW Riverine Project Finished

I wrapped up my 1/2400th scale ACW riverine project yesterday by speed painting the rest of the gunboats and a single casemate ironclad, giving me enough models for a decent set of games. I didn't spend much time on these so they're a bit messy but I think they'll do. I decided to label two of them as generic Union gunboats and the rest as Confederate, with the only historical model being the scratch built CSS Louisiana. I now have twelve models in total, so enough for a decent range of scenarios using Dahlgren and Columbiad or the Noddy Fast Play rules and my home made river terrain modules. 

Job done!

Nautical Nicknacks

I noticed that Blotz have some inexpensive but very useful new accessories for naval games in their catalogue, no doubt designed for Black Seas and the like, but perfect for my Broadside and Ram games. The two that I picked out are an 8'' movement ruler with 45 and 30 degree turn angles on either end, and a rather nice 40mm round compass rose, which I can use for wind direction, current and smoke drift, amongst other things. The neat thing is that they are available in a smorgasbord of acrylic colours, so I have chosen clear ice blue to match the acrylic Warbases firing templates that I use for my ironclad naval games. Cool!

Yazoo River Scenario

As a follow on from my Battle of Baton Rouge game yesterday, I thought I'd have a go at a scenario from Iron and Fire, which I can adapt for Dahlgren and Columbiad. This involves about half a dozen ironclads and gunboats which I will use substitutes for, apart from the CSS Arkansas of which I have a scratch built 1/2400th scale model. 

The plan will be to have the USS Benton and a fictitious sidewheel gunboat, the USS Robinson, as the Union flotilla, accompanied by another generic gunboat acting as the transport. The Confederate flotilla will use my two other hypothetical gunboats, the double ender CSS Starling and the sidewheel paddler CSS Thornton. This will keep the scenario within it's original parameters.

The terrain is the easy bit as I have all the river modules required to lay out the bend and the tributary for the CSS Arkansas to hide in. I just need to paint a model to represent the Union transport, write up the record sheets for the various gunboats then set it all out ready to go. I'll aim to run the game tomorrow if I can find the time, although I suspect I'll have other less interesting things to do?.

The Battle of Baton Rouge 1862

The Set Up

CSS Arkansas

USS Essex

Opening Shots

Another Broadside

Scraping Past

Ouch!

Stuck Fast

I played the modified Dahlgren and Columbiad INWARD 2020 scenario with the lad this morning, with his command being the CSS Arkansas and mine the USS Essex. I'd re-jigged the scenario briefing to convert it into centimetre measurements for 1/2400th scale, to adjust the play area to the modular river terrain boards and to clarify the objectives for each side, but other than that it was identical. The CSS Arkansas had to escape down river while the USS Essex had to stop her. Simple, or so it seemed?

In the game, which we both really enjoyed, the CSS Arkansas managed to slip past the USS Essex despite having an engine breakdown in Turn Three which left her drifting down river toward the blockading Union fleet. This was exactly what happened in the actual engagement, so pretty accurate in historical terms: 

''On the morning of 6 August, Essex came in sight, and Arkansas moved into the stream to meet her. Just at this time, crank pins on both engines failed almost simultaneously, and Arkansas drifted helplessly to the shore''

She did suffer some light damage to her steering and some hull damage from the USS Essex's broadsides as they passed, but this was balanced by the Union ironclad's light damage from the aft 6.4'' Brooke rifles of the CSS Arkansas. The CSS Arkansas had also managed to point her bows directly downstream so had no worries about running into the shallows or going aground.

The crunch point came when the USS Essex attempted to turn in the river channel and promptly ran aground in the shallows, despite almost scraping through. She did manage to unstick herself but then proceeded to do it all over again on the opposite side of the river. The problem she faced was her low manoeuvre rating rather than the width of the river channel, which meant she could only turn in 30 degree increments. A double ender or sidewheeler would have had no problem, so the terrain did work despite my worries that it might be too restrictive.

The outcome of the battle was a clear Minor Victory for the CSS Arkansas, which was now adrift and floating downstream toward the rest of the Union river fleet. I'm pretty sure that Lieutenant Stevens would have decided to abandon ship and rig the CSS Arkansas for destruction, just as he did in the actual engagement, sending her drifting into the midst of the Union fleet where she promptly blew up in a spectacular explosion!