Backwards to INWARDs

And it all fits on the workbench!

My best laid plans to run an AK47 game at the end of this week have fallen through, so instead I thought I'd try out my new scratch built river terrain for a small scale game of Dahlgren and Columbiad, using the semi-historical scenario I developed for INWARD 2020 back in the holidays. This has the added bonus of having been play tested and I can also use two of my scratch built 1/2400th scale ironclad models, the USS Essex and CSS Arkansas. I've had to revise the set up to fit the terrain modules, with a 1' by 3' section of river laid out, rather than the 3' by 4' of the original 1/1200th scale game, but I think it will work without any major changes. I'll play the game tomorrow when I have some time to myself and no distractions, with an after action report to follow on.

Picking Up The Pre-Dreadnought Painting Project

I started this project about six months ago as one of my naval wargaming new areas of interest, so it's now time to get it finished before the end of the year. The French are all built, based and undercoated, so they are ready to paint. I have ordered a handful of armoured and light cruisers to balance the squadron, but these can be added as and when required. I now need to build and base the Italians, which I am going to do alongside the painting, with the aim being to complete both sides by the end of November, or sooner if I can get a move on.

Viva Italia!

The Tumbling Dice 1/2400th scale Italian pre-dreadnoughts arrived today and they are really very, very cool. I am definitely making these my next project after I wrap up the ACW riverine stuff, as not only will they be very effective opposition for my French pre-dreadnoughts but can also stretch backwards as opposition for my Royal Navy later ironclads of the 1880's. I have about half a dozen assorted turret ships and battleships but really need some cruisers to round out the squadron and some torpedo boats for coastal defence, so may have to push the envelope out to the early 1890s in order to fill the gaps. I now have a few days off work in between contracts, so plan to get the ACW gunboats finished for a game, then move onto assembling and painting the Italians and French pre-dreadnoughts.

Bretonef

I used to play an awful lot of Aeronef back in the day and was reminded how much fun the game is when I opened a draw and found my Portuguese fleet, together with a handful of Bolshevik ships that  was going to form the nucleus of a full squadron (using the Austro Hungarian range as a starting point). The Portuguese are mainly Brazilian and Argentinian aeronef from the superb Brigade Models range, together with a couple of dirigible battleships converted from plastic Hindenburg zeppelin kits. I've also got an entire Japanese fleet somewhere in battleship grey but I have no idea where it has ended up? 

Anyway, all this rose tinted reminiscence has inspired me to plan another aerial fleet but this time I have a cunning plan to create a Duchy of Brittany squadron, based on the premise that Brittany is an independent nation with its own military forces. It also means I can cherry pick all the coolest models from the Brigade Models range to create a new fleet, which is a good way to make the most of all the cool stuff that has been added since I last perused their catalogue. There's even a Breton naval ensign that I can fly, albeit a pre-revolutionary Breton Admiralty flag, but I'm sure it will look splendid nonetheless. The Breton other half will be mildly amused too?

A Damned Un-English Weapon

I've been doing some background reading on early submersibles of the 1880's and 1890's, with a view to incorporating them into my predreadnought 'what if?' wargaming. There is some potential for submarine coastal defence actions, using the Whitehead torpedo as the means of attack, although nothing like this was really feasible until the early 1900's with the Holland design. However, the Turkish, Greek and Russian navies all experimented with the Nordenfeldt steam powered submersible in the 1880's, which was a viable short range weapon alongside some of the less reliable, experimental alternative designs. It's a very interesting topic and I think would be great as a defensive scenario twist.

1/2400 Italian Predreadnoughts

I dug out my assembled, based and undercoated French pre dreadnoughts yesterday, which I'm planning to paint later this month, then realised that I better provide some appropriate opposition. The obvious choice, other than the Royal Navy again, is the Italian Regia Marina, with its cutting edge turret ships and fast battleships of the 1880's, which are an ideal match for the French Mediterranean fleet. The Tumbling Dice range is mostly of a later date but there are enough of the earlier ships to make this a viable option, including the iconic Italia. They should arrive at some point in the week so I can start putting them together and basing them up, ready to join the painting production line.

Arabian Assignment

I thought this looked really interesting for my stalled Sandbox Skirmish postcolonial project, which is set in a semi historical but largely imaginary south Arabian state, not unlike Aden or Yemen in the early 1960's. This is more about the cloak and dagger intelligence side of the conflict but obviously relevant to the military campaign as well, so useful scenario background stuff.

AK47 Game On

I haven't played a decent wargame for ages now, so with a few days free from work next week, I'm planning on an AK47 game with my son, who really loves the rules after the game we played in the lockdown and has been pestering me for a replay ever since. It's going to be the usual story driven propaganda extravaganza, once I've worked out a suitably silly plot, with the Mbote Defence Force once again clashing over the disputed border zone with the Zubuto Army of the People. Tune in for the latest Newsflash over the weekend!

You know what, I really should paint up another army for AK47...

First Sino Japanese War Fleets

I have now received the Chinese and Japanese starter packs from Tumbling Dice, with some extra models thrown in for free by Paul, which was a really nice surprise. The models are superb and very crisp, with loads of detail including separate funnels, masts and fittings, which makes them a bit of a fiddle to build but very nice to look at once they're finished. As there are only a relatively small number of ships involved, especially for the Chinese, I quite like the idea of making this my next 1/2400th scale pre-dreadnought project even if it has more of a later ironclad theme, at least for some of the older Japanese and Chinese warships? 

ACW Grey River Gunboats Painted

I managed to wangle an hour or two this afternoon to finish painting the three lightly converted Tumbling Dice 1/2400th scale river gunboats that I started last weekend, so that I can actually play a scenario or two of Dahlgren and Columbiad. They turned out okay but not as sharp as I would have liked, with some dodgy blurry brushwork and not a lot of detail, despite my rather rushed efforts at highlighting. They will do, however, at least for some games to learn the rules properly. 

I decided to name two as fictitious Confederate river gunboats, the double ender CSS Starling and paddle ram CSS Thornton, while the last one has been launched as a generic Union sidewheel gunboat, the USS Robinson. I'm now going to paint up another half a dozen or so, then give it a rest as I would like to move on as quickly as possible to the pre-dreadnoughts. I've enjoyed this project which appeared out of nowhere but really should be getting back to the actual plan!