Whereas I have a small collection of 1:1200th-scale warships that I enjoy wargaming with, I’ve never quite got my head around using them alongside my 20mm and 15mm figures … and as a large part of a navy’s function is to support land-based operations (what I believe is now included in the term ‘littoral warfare’), I’ve long been an advocate of the use of what I have called ‘cartoon’ model ships.
Basically, these are non-scale models that represent the type of ship or ships that I want to have offshore providing fire support to land operations or carrying troops towards a landing beach. They should look vaguely like the type of ship they represent but will be smaller and less well-armed than a representative full-size model … hence the use of the term ‘cartoon’.
As a rule-of-thumb, I try to make the models fit the following proportions:
- Length: 600th-scale
- Beam: 300th-scale
- Height: 150th-scale.
For example, the Imperial Russian Gangut-class battleship looked like this:
... and had a length of 181.2m (594ft 6in) and beam of 26.9m (88ft 3in). If my scale ratios were applied to these dimensions, the model would be 30.2cm (11.89in) long and 8.96cm (3.53in) wide. You can get some idea what the resulting models shape might look like from the following image.
Some years ago I decided to build a model of a Gangut-class battleship as modernised by the Soviets. As I wanted my model to fit within the confines of two Hexon II hexes (i.e. no more than 20cm in length), I decided to revise the design by removing the two central turrets, thus:
My finished model looked like this ...
... and appeared in my Winter-ish War mini-campaign as the Armoured Artillery Ship (or Battleship) Krasny Viputa (Red Viputa).
Interestingly, this cartoon approach to ship models isn't unique. The Japanese model manufacturer Fujimi created a whole range of what were called Chibi-Maru model ships. These were cartoon-ish models of Imperial Japanese Navy warships, and included aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and submarines.
The Chinese model manufacturer Meng has also produced similar model ships, including HMS Hood ... of which I have a copy.
The concept has also been used by two of my fellow wargamers, Archduke Piccolo, who has built whole fleets of what he has called 'Chubby Marines' or 'Chubbies', ...
... and Chris Kemp, who has converted some toy model ships into generic warships he can use in his wargames.
Please note that the photographs featured above are © Fujumi Mokei, Archduke Piccolo, and Chris Kemp.
Bob -
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering how much this whole genre of Chibi/Chubby model-making will catch on. I find it a whole lot of fun, myself.
My final two Azurian Battleships have been built - a 'Suffren' class and a 'Republique'. I thought both would provide more 'heft' to the fleet but only the latter is a match for the biggest Ruberian vessels.
The gunboats (Phlegeton and Styx) are, regrettably, overscale, by about 50% in both dimensions, but they will have to stand.
Chris Kemp's 'plastic surgery' has yielded very serviceable looking ships, hasn't it?
I've always liked your 'Krasny Viputa' (I can imagine an Anglophone enemy styling it the 'Crazy Viper'). Your models (and David Crook's, come to that), are a lot more precise than my own 'by guess and by golly' methods!
The pity about the Fujimi and Meng kitsets, is that their scales are different - giving you 4-inch and 8-inch long models respectively. Had that not been the case, I probably would have bought at least one model of each long ago.
Thanks for posting pics of my own ships
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteI have a feeling that it might catch on ... especially once people realise it gives one the opportunity to produce models that look right(-ish) and are still usable on a restricted tabletop.
Chris Kemp's foray into making Chibi/Chubby ships is interesting in that he used existing cheap models as a basis for his, something that I think I need to look into in greater depth. I'm sure that other suitable cheap Far East-made toys could easily be converted; its just a matter of finding them!
I like the 'Crazy Viper' name! Expect to see it appear in a battle report one day!
David's models are a prime example of what a modeller can achieve with the bit of imagination and design ability. He gets Warbases to cut all the MDF shapes he needs, and they produce the parts to his designs. I wonder if they might even see it as an opportunity to experiment before they create their own range of MDF model warship kits at some time in the future.
It was too much to hope for Fujimi and Meng to produce compatible ranges of model ships, and the cost of buying the former in the UK is so prohibitive as to make collecting them for wargaming use a dream that only a very well-off wargamer could ever conceive of doing!
By the way, it was a pleasure to include pictures of your ship on my blog. I hope that other people will find them as inspiring as I do.
All the best,
Bob
Some lovely vessels here Bob. Are you planning on reopening your shipyard?
ReplyDeleteMaudlin Jack Tar,
DeleteWell, there’s a distinct possibility that I might …
All the best,
Bob