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Tuesday 17 April 2018

A quiet Monday finishing some models

After all the excitement of visiting SALUTE and then writing my photo-report, I managed to spend part of yesterday quietly sitting in my toy/wargames room finishing two models ships that will be featured in my forthcoming book about gridded naval wargames.

I needed a couple of American Civil War ironclads, and so I built a Casemate Ironclad ...


... and a Monitor.


I intend to include an appendix in the book that explains how I built these two models, but the techniques I used are similar to those I have used before.

Before I can use the models, they will need to be given a couple of coats of PVA glue to seal the wood they are made from, after which I will paint them ... probably in contrasting shades of dark grey. Once that is done, battle can commence!

28 comments:

  1. These are very appealing (I hope "cute" would not be deemed dismissive or inappropriate) and easily recognizable.

    Am I right that the grid lines are 1 cm apart? Meaning that these will fit a 10cm grid?

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    1. Ross Mac,

      I certainly wouldn't object to them being called cute! I think that they are. What is more important is that they are recognisable as being what they are supposed to represent.

      The grid lines are 1cm apart and the models are designed to fit inside a Hexon II hex.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    2. Definitely cute. I would welcome a tutorial on making these. I don’t know a thing about boats apart from playing Battleships, so knowing what boat is what would be helpful.

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    3. Stephen Briddon,

      The tutorial will be in the forthcoming book, but I will want someone to proof read it. If you are volunteering to do so, I'll send you a copy when it is written.

      I wish that there was a simple answer to your 'what boat is what' question ... but there isn't. The casemate was essentially an armoured box in which the guns were housed whereas the turret was an armoured tower on a turntable.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    4. Stephen Briddon,

      Hopefully it will be on its way to you later today.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  2. Bob,
    Great to see you enjoying the miniature ship modelling- ready for ACW Naval Battles...look forward to seeing the painted Ironclad and Monitor. Have myself been busy this -Tuesday making a 15mm Building - up to undercoating and drying- will dry brush the model before turning in for the night. Cheers. KEV.

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    1. Kev Robertson,

      Making models from scratch is one aspect of wargaming that I particularly enjoy, and I just love building model ships. I suspect that this is an aspect of the hobby that you also enjoy, and I wish that I could see your finished model building.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    2. Bob,
      I will probably post up my Dwarf Building in 15mm late tomorrow night (Wednesday). Yes, I just enjoy scratch building so much- we get a lot of satisfaction from crafting things with our own designs. All the best. KEV.

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    3. Kev Robertson,

      I look forward to seeing your newly-completed dwarf building.

      I am not sure that many wargamers do much in the way of scratch building these days, but those that do gain considerable enjoyment from it.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  3. When do you expect your book on ship gaming to be out?

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    1. Chris,

      I hope to get the bulk of the writing done by the end of next month, with publication taking place in June. That said, if anything crops up in the interim, the timescale might slip.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  4. Great look with those ironclads, Bob. One thing you might want to consider is including a sketch of the lower hull, so a person could trace over that or photocopy or print it, giving them a guide when making their own versions. Given the size of the books you produce, there should be plenty of space for it, even with the margins.

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    1. Justin Penwith,

      I intended to include an illustrated step-by-step guide to show how make theses two models from scratch. It might be possible to include a plan as well, and I'll see if I can draw one that will fit.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    2. Bob,

      That would be great. BTW, I've been working on (pondering, really) my own conception of a Portable War at Sea, going a step further in the simple-to-play approach. If interested, you can see a couple of posts on it here. http://royalistroundhead.blogspot.com/2018/04/portable-war-at-sea-card-concept.html

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    3. Justin Penwith,

      I'll be more than a little interested in read your blog entries.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  5. Definitely 'cute' :)

    Looking forward to the book Bob.

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    1. Alastair,

      Cheers! I hope that you enjoy the book when it is published.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  6. I have no problem with 'cute' as applied to military models or hardware. I have always thought the M3 Stuart 'Honey' to be 'cute'. But not 'cutesy' I draw the line at 'cutesy'. Those little vessels of yours stop short of 'cutesy' by being not painted pink. Or yellow. I like them.

    I don't know what others think, but I find my own scratchbuilt balsa ACW vessels at 1:300 scale seems to go quite well with my 1:76 scale land soldiery (Airfix), if ever I am conduction combined (riverine) operations. It seems one should tailor one's naval units to the ground scale, rather than to figure scale. As my ground scale for ACW is 1:900 (1mm to the yard) my 200mm Benton is still 3 times the ground scale (1mm the foot), so I think there is room for quite a bit of flexibility there. The Benton - the largest of the Eads ironclads - could be half the length I made it and would still look OK. I think your own vessels will have an equally satisfying effect.

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    1. Archduke Piccolo,

      'Cutesy' does sound like it should be pink ... and whatever else they may end up looking like, they will not be pink!

      I have no problem mixing scales on the tabletop when it comes to figures/vehicles compared to the terrain, and my models ships are designed on a ratio where the length may be 1:600th-scale, the beam, 1:300th-scale, and the height 1:150th-scale. They end up looking 'cartoon'-like but recognisable. It sounds to me as if your choice of a 1:300th-scale/1:76th-scale relationship is very similar.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  7. Great job, Bob ! Always enjoy the homemade gaming components.

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    1. Rick Krebs,

      I've really enjoyed making these two models, and I have been very tempted to make some more ... and would have done if I hadn't set myself the target of finishing my latest book!

      All the best,

      Bob

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  8. I always enjoy your cute wooden ships, and these ironclads are great examples of the genre!

    I also enjoy scratch-building - I made some buildings earlier this year, and recently made a "Trojan rabbit" (ala Monty Python) to go with some miniature figures.

    Now I want to see Kev's 15mm dwarf building!

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    1. Fitz-Badger,

      There is something pleasing about being able to use a scratch-built model in a wargame and thinking to oneself 'I made that'.

      I used to make all my model ships from plastic, but I found the smell of the glue tended to make me feel sick, hence the move to wood and the discovery that it was a great medium to use ... and the glue was odourless!

      I'd love to see your model of the 'Trojan Rabbit'!

      All the best,

      Bob

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    2. You can see a pic of the Trojan rabbit at https://talesofmirth.blogspot.com/2018/04/of-knights-and-bunnies.html

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    3. Fitz-Badger,

      I thought that the Trojan Bunny was superb!

      All the best,

      Bob

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  9. p.s. I used small wooden spools as chimney pots on some of my buildings. They do make for good smokestacks, too.

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    1. Fitz-Badger,

      Thanks for the suggestion. I have several bags of different-sized wooden cotton reels in my box of model-making supplies ... and I am always looking for new uses for them.

      All the best,

      Bob

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