Golden Hind, Textured Like Sun

 

I finished this Zvezda model recently, although it sat in my cupboard for a while. It usually takes more time to finish one of these 1/350 scale models, because each step in the build requires a different kind of focus.

The 'Black Ship'

Recently I completed the Zvezda 1/350 scale version of the Spanish Armada flagship San Martín. I used scratchbuilt masts, sails and flags instead of the ones in the kit, and painted the hull using arcylics and an oil wash. The tones are deliberately muted to have that 'long service' look.

I'm not sure I'll ever play any games involving the actual first Spanish Armada, but this vessel would come in handy in other theaters, as she's big enough to represent any of the late 16th - early 17th century treasure fleet ships.

Ottoman Galiots (and Islands)

Originally I wanted to play the Battle of Denmark Strait on this year's International Naval Wargaming Day, but as usual, I got sidetracked and finished other ships instead. Bismarck and Prinz Eugen shall wait.

Instead, I've completed a pair of corsair galiots and four island sections, so the Mediterranean it shall be. I wrote a scenario to playtest my Block Galleys rules live for the first time. I'll play the game on the coming weekend and submit the AAR on the blog.

Used to Love Her, But Now I Have to Rig Her

I'm on a roller lately with pop culture references in my titles, for which I apologise.

Anyway, my labours on the Zvezda 1/350 Revenge model slowly come to fruition. I put this project off and on for a while now, but seeing the finish line is always satisfying. This is a snap-fit kit originally with plastic masts, sails and shrouds. But of course I had to do it the complicated way.

Holy League Block Galley Flotilla

I managed to paint three more 1/350 scale galleys during the previous months. Being scratch-built they take a rather long time to assemble, but I think they were worth the wait. From left to right, they are: a standard Venetian galley with a single mast (sail furled), a Spanish lanterna (or the big 'un), a Maltese standard size galley.

I experimented more with colour printed decorative elements to save a bit of time on painting. Their masts, prow, forecastle and stern can all be removed from the models to show damage, so those pieces are painted in subassemblies. Making the masts removable helps with storage, too.

Block Galleys WIP

 

No posts in a while, but that's only because after last month's painting frenzy I took a step back and started focusing on smaller scratchbuilding projects, mainly revolving around terrain pieces.

I showed a completed 1/350 scale 'Block' galley a while back, these are the follow-ups on the slipway. I completed the main parts of the hulls and started adding the rowing benches. (They are called Block galleys because I would simulate damage to the ship by removing parts from the model during gameplay.)

The one in the middle is a large 15cm long Capitana or Lanterna, that is a flagship with more rowers and soldiers aboard. You can see one of my printed templates doing its job on the oar banks.

The last bunch of balsa I got is from a producer named Santiago, so obviously these are going to be Spanish...

The Berber War Galley 'Aga Pasha'

Soon after I built the 1/1200 scale galleys I started thinking about larger ships for the same period. My rule set 'Block Galleys' sort of counts on removable parts, and after some theoretical sketches I came up with a list with all the features required for my test model:

• avoid the 'blocky' look that some gaming pieces have (the model should preferably have the true proportions of a real galley)
• show the crew and not the bare decks (always found it weird at larger scales that the ship sails herself)
• preferably 1/300 to 1/350 scale, to go with Zvezda's 1/350 Armada offerings and Black Swan
• removable prow and forecastle
• removable aft structure
• same for masts and two sail options (to show sailing or using oars)
• and preferably a removable section of oar bank

Then I turned towards designing paper templates for quick construction, and soon I worked out the entire process, the result of which is the Barbary pirate galley, the flagship of the infamous Pasha Aga, you can see on the image above. Of course not all the desired features were executed, but that is why this was a test piece, to see which is feasible and which is not.