Broadband … What broadband?

Just after 4.00pm this afternoon the broadband and TV service to our house was cut off. I immediately telephoned our ISP (Internet Service Provider) – Virgin – and according to the recorded announcement I heard, service should be reinstated at 8.10pm.

It is a nuisance not being able to access the Internet and emails … and it shows how reliant we have become upon it. That said, it has meant that rather than send emails I have actually had to telephone people and talk to them … and that was a very pleasant experience.

One thing that did puzzle me, however, was the fact that the estimated time that service should be reinstated was so precise. 8.10pm … not 8.00pm or 8.15pm … 8.10pm … and that prediction was made nearly four hours beforehand. We shall see how accurate the prediction is later today!

Note: Service was reinstated at 5.42pm … so the prediction was wrong … but in a positive way, so I won’t complain!

Clear vinyl

Whilst out shopping today my wife spotted something in one of the local ‘pound’ shops that she thought might be of interest to me … large rolls of 2m-wide clear vinyl. In fact she actually went and I found me lurking in the magazine section of the local supermarket and took me back to the shop … where I bought a 2m length from one of the rolls.

The vinyl is intended to be used as a table covering, and it is quite thick. I don’t have an immediate use for it, but it is the sort of product that once sold, I won’t see again. It will be very useful if I ever want to run a map game as it will be possible to write on the vinyl with water-soluble OHP pens. It might also be useful if I run any naval wargames using Fred Jane’s Naval War Game Rules as it can be placed over the ‘sea squares’ to hold them in place as well as enabling torpedo tracks or minefields to be drawn in.

Another mercantile interlude

The Shooters Hill Shipyard has been busy … again … building more merchant ships for the forthcoming Fletcher Pratt Naval Wargame.

The latest six ships include two tankers, and bring the total ‘convoy’ to twelve merchant ships, varying in size from 400ft (4.0”) to 275ft (2.75”) in length.

I suspect that these ships will not last long once the enemy gets in amongst the convoy … but at least they will provide a sizeable objective for the enemy to destroy or disrupt.

'How to ...' page: Updates

I have updated the 'How to ...' page of this blog so that the following downloads are now available in PDF format:

• How to build a model Steam River/Coastal Gunboat and model Steam River/Coastal Passenger Ship from scratch using plastic styrene
• How to build a hollow hull for a larger model ship from scratch using plastic styrene
• How to build a Casemate Ironclad from scratch using basswood
• How to build a 1:1200th-scale model merchant ship from scratch using basswood
• How to modify Heroscape terrain

Please note that they are set to be printed on A4-sized paper and, with the exception of the 'How to modify Heroscape terrain' download, they all feature half-tone rather than colour images.

The old and the new

As part of his History of Wargaming Project, John Curry has been reprinting several early wargaming books. Amongst the most recent of these are the late Terry Wise's INTRODUCTION TO BATTLE GAMING (ISBN 978 0 557 12097 0) and Phil Dunn's SEA BATTLE GAMES (ISBN 978 1 4457 4297 7).

I bought both books when they were first published, and they cost me £1.25 each. My copies both reside in pride of place on my bookshelves, but when I realised that the newly published editions contained rules that were not included in the previous editions, I had to buy them.

My original copy of INTRODUCTION TO BATTLE GAMING had a Napoleonic-themed cover ...

... as does the latest edition.

What the latest edition has, besides an introduction by Terry Wise and a foreword by Stuart Asquith, are copies of Terry Wise's 18th Century Rules, Napoleonic Wargaming Rules 1792-1815, and Colonial Rules 1874-1914. The new edition does not contain the chapters entitled 'Making Your Own Model Soldiers' and 'The Final Touches' that were in the original, but which I suspect have been omitted as they are more about modelling and painting than about wargaming. The original Appendices ('Battle Gaming Figures and Accessories', 'Publications', 'Societies and Clubs', and 'Directory of Addresses') are also omitted, but as these were current when the book was originally published but are now long out-of-date, their omission makes a lot of sense.

The scene of a surface raider sinking an enemy merchant ship that graced the cover of the original copy of SEA BATTLE GAMES ...

... has been replaced by a partial side and plan view of the Japanese battleship Yamato.

The main text has remained the same, although Phil Dunn has added a very interesting new introduction that looks back over the 39 years since the original edition was published. What has been added are two new chapters entitled:

• Monster Guns
• When Big Guns Thunder: A New WW1 Gunnery System

The book also has six new appendices:

• Hunt the Bismark by Paddy Griffith
• Books on Naval Wargaming
• Model Ship Suppliers
• Rule Sets
• The Wargames Shows and Conventions
• The Naval Wargames Society

Buying both of these new editions has been worth the money I spent because of the additions they include. They will now sit alongside the original copies ... and I suspect they will be read and re-read again many times ... just like the originals were.

How to build a 1:1200th-scale merchant ship from scratch

This is one of the easiest scratch-build projects I have undertaken in years. The raw materials were basswood strip and dowel, and the tools used were a razor saw, a modelling knife, a pencil and ruler, an emery board and paper, a drill bit held in a pin vice, and PVA glue.

The hull was cut from a piece of 0.50"/12.50mm x 0.25"/6.25mm basswood strip that was approximately 3.50"/ mm long. The forecastle (0.375"/9.50mm long), poop (0.375"/9.50mm long), and central superstructure (0.50"/12.50mm long) were cut from 0.50"/12.50mm x 0.0625"/1.50mm basswood strip, and the bridge was a section of 0.50"/12.50mm x 0.25"/6.25mm basswood strip approximately 0.25"/ mm long.

These were then glued in place.

Once the glue was dry (I left mine for two hours), I used the razor saw to cut the basic shape for the model's pointed bow and rounded stern.

Using the emery paper and board I then carefully sanded the bow so the shape was more streamlined and the stern was rounded off. I also sanded the sides of the ship to ensure that any slight overhangs at the bow, stern, or middle were removed.

I then glued the bridge structure into place.

Once the glue was dry (I left mine for two hours), I used a hand-held 0.125"/3.0mm drill (in a pin vice) to drill a hole for the funnel.

The funnel was made from a short length of 0.125"/3.0mm basswood dowel, and once this was cut and the ends sanded flat, it was glued into place.

I used the same basic method to create a number of different styles of merchant ship. This was achieved by using different hull, forecastle, poop, and central superstructure lengths and funnel heights.

The wooden surface of these models will be sealed using a coat of PVA glue. Once that is dry the models will then be painted in appropriate colour schemes.

A PDF version of this blog entry will be added to the 'How to ...' page of this blog in the very near future.

Aaargh! Clumsy ... or what?

I have just managed to tread on the hull I had made for my 'Monopoly' battleship ... and broke it!

It was my own fault. I had bent down to get a book off of one of the lower bookshelves in my toy/wargames room and as I stood up, I stepped back ... not realising that I had just knocked the recently finished hull off the table just behind where I was standing. I heard and felt the 'crunch' before I realised what I had done.

I have consigned the mangled remains to the rubbish bin ... and have decided to put this project on 'hold' for a day or two. In the meantime I am going to finish building and painting some more 1:1200th-scale merchant ships ... and possibly writing a 'How to ...' blog entry about the methods I have used.

Simulating War

Last week Tim Gow wrote a blog entry on his blog 'Megablitz and more' about Professor Philip Sabin's latest book, SIMULATING WAR. As soon as I read that the book had been published I ordered a copy ... and it arrived in the post today.

The book examines the analytical and modelling techniques used in the design and development of conflict simulations (AKA wargames)and explains how to apply them. It also features several relatively simple simulations (AKA wargames) of specific historical conflicts. These are:

• Second Punic War: a multi-player political simulation of the Second Punic War
• Roma Invicta?: a simulation of the first two years of Hannibal's Italian campaign
• Big Week: a simulation of the US Army Air Force's bombing raids into Germany on 25th February 1944
• Hell's Gate: a simulation of the Battle of the Korsun Pocket (January and February 1944)
• Fire and Movement: a grand tactical simulation of an attack by a British infantry battalion during the period 1943 to 1945
• Block Busting: a simulation of low-level urban fighting during World War 2
• Angels One Five: a grand tactical simulation of an escorted bomber formation during the Second World War

On the basis of these games alone, this book is well worth buying.

Coming as it does so soon after the publication of John Curry's INNOVATIONS IN WARGAMING VOL. 1: DEVELOPMENTS IN PROFESSIONAL AND HOBBY WARGAMES, one is tempted to hope that this book is the harbinger of a time when wargaming is no longer regarded with a certain degree of derision by people who think of themselves as being 'serious' students of military history.

A mercantile interlude ... is over

I finally managed to finish painting the merchant ships that will be taking part in a forthcoming Fletcher Pratt Naval War Game.

In the end I did not add any detail to the models as they will need to be fairly robust to survive the rigours of a wargame that will be fought out on the floor. The models were made from basswood and I found that they needed four coats of paint before the surface was smooth enough to pass muster, but now that they are finished I think that they look good enough for their intended purpose.

A rather busy day ... but I did not seem to get much done

Last night my wife and I went to a social event at our local golf club (we are non-playing social members) to mark St Valentine's Day. We had a great time. The food was good, the people we sat with at dinner were interesting to talk to, and the entertainment was excellent.

All-in-all we had a very enjoyable evening, but were rather late getting to bed, with the result that we woke up later than we had planned to ... to find that the leak in the conservatory had got worse (and not better, despite my efforts of yesterday) and that my wife had lost her keys. After yet another series of failed attempts to stem the dripping water, my wife and I began a detailed search for the missing keys. Whilst she searched her handbag and coat pockets, I searched the car and the driveway. We then retraced our steps to and from the golf club, only to be asked by a member of the staff if we had lost a bunch of keys!

After offering the member of staff profuse thanks (and a promise of a drink the next time the bar was open!), we set off to do some retail therapy at the local shopping centre. I needed some grey paint to finish my model merchant ships and my wife needed to visit a branch of a large chemists shop for some hair products, but before we did so we stopped off at the branch of the High Street travel agents where we book our holidays to enquire about a cut-price offer on a cruise that we had seen advertised. The young man who always deals with us was busy, and asked us to come back in about forty minutes. I went off to buy my paint, and my wife went off to buy her hair products.

When we returned forty five minutes later the sales adviser was still busy, so we waited to see him ... and waited ... and waited. Finally, after another thirty minutes, his 'clients' left (without booking anything!) and we booked a cruise that will take us to Zeebrugge and Amsterdam early next year ... and another one that will take us to Iceland and back later this year!

When we got home my wife informed me that she had also bought use a new camera. This struck me as rather odd, as she had a new one only two months ago ... but then she showed it to me and I realised that we were now the proud owners of a small digital video camera.

We had just unpacked it when I received a telephone call from one of the people we had dined with last night. They were unable to download a new program to their computer and wondered if I could help. Ten minutes later I was sat with them sorting out their problem (their anti-virus software was clashing with the new program's setup process) and within the hour I was back home in time for my late lunch/early dinner.

I have now managed to begin applying the paint I bought today to my model ships, and I have glued the sides of the hull of my 'Monopoly' battleship to the Plasticard that will form the bottom of the hull. I doubt that I will manage much more wargame-related activity tonight, and I keep asking myself 'where did my day go?'

Perhaps tomorrow will feel slightly less busy ... but I still have the problem of dripping water in the conservatory to solve.