Schultze-Böhnstadt Navy Frigates

The Schultze-Böhnstadt Navy was originally to be comprised of three vessels of the same class, but as it usually happens with government purchases (believe me, I have the experience), not everything turned out the way the mighty Princeps Erhard Berthold von Jazygen wanted.

Thus happened that of the planned class of three similar ships, one became a razée of 40 guns, modernized to the standards of the day and packing quite a punch; one more of a ship-rigged sloop with a heavy battery, but still having an open deck; and the last one a quite old vessel purchased from the Glambrian East Continent of Rot Company, or shortly CCOGG.

The Royal Insolencian Flagship

This is the Royal Insolencian Navy's flagship, the Nuestra Senora Santa Maria de Concepcion Immaculata e Bendecida por San Felipe e San Antonio de Habana. It is a large and cumbersome three-decker, made in the waning colonies of the West Indies, mostly from red mahogany wood. She is currently stationed in the Mediterranean, overseeing the activities of the international anti-piracy squadron around the Pirate Bay of the northern Barfrican Coast.

Metamorphosis Pt 3

Work stalled on the galleys and the Victory somewhat, but after a bit of rest, I had the motivation to do something again, so I pulled another Revell 1/450 Spanish Galeon out from the bottom of the trash heap on my workbench. I am kind of fascinated by Baroque warships, a lot more so than the later ones at the moment, so I decided to build her to those lines.

Thus was born Le Flaumberge, the Kingdom of Glambria's 60-gun ship of the line. I took the galeon prow off with my dremel, and fancied a new one from an Ikea plastic cap, stretched sprue and 2mm balsa. The upper deck is originally a single piece of plastic and the fit was really bad, so only the central section remains, the rest is wood again. I raised the stern with another tier, which necessitated removing the original stern gallery. The new one has two rows of windows and a much more pronounced walkway. 

The oar deck is again replaced with a gundeck. Compared to the original model's ten pairs of guns, I could cram in nineteen more per side, making a total of fifty-eight guns. Ten of these additional guns are on the superstructure, six on the elongated main deck, and twenty-two heavy pieces on the gundeck. Turns out you gain a lot more space when removing the oars.

The masts are, as usual, made from bamboo, with stretched sprue flag poles. Cloth sails and rigging will also be included, although I was thinking about building a ship "in ordinary" before starting this project.

Anyway, I really hope I can dazzle all of you with the complete ship in a little while.

The Böhnstadt Royal Frigate Dachshund sets sail

After a failed attempt, I managed to produce the first of the small scale Schultze-Böhnstadt Navy frigates, the famed Dachshund. There is no fixed scale, I just made her to a slightly smaller size than comparable 1/450 and 1/600 scale models like the Heller Le Superbe, La Couronne, and the Revell Spanish Galeon, all of which I'm using as contemporary warships. 

The Dachshund was completed to protect Schultze-Böhnstadt overseas interest, guard trading routes and present the flag around the globe. There are whispers that an Albionic-led anti-piracy squadron is due to assemble at the northern Barfrican coast, near the famed Pirate Bay, and she might be needed there.

Metamorphosis, Part 2

This is the now hardly recognizable Revell Spanish Galleon as an early 18th century warship. The complete facelift includes: scratch-building the entire bow section, the sails and the masts; replacing the oar deck with gunports; and raising the stern gallery while adding larger windows for the officers' cabins. This is how she became Konung Harald XVI Jordgubbvän, a proud Varangian ship of the line, as the various flags are showing.

Merry Christmas from aboard the Judgement's Scream!

Christmas is tomorrow but I thought I would just let my readers know I'm still alive and quite eager to see the Essex figs I'll have got under the tree. And honestly, I wish the same for all who reads this weblog. 

Well it would be hypocrite to say it's the expectation that matters and not the moment when you rip the wrappings apart like a hungry Berserk and put your dirty, Christmas-tree-leaves-pierced, decoration-wire-stabbed, possibly not yet electrocuted hands on the shiny things that await you.

All in all, a merry Christmas to you. 

Gave in to temptation and bought a plastic ship kit, Revell's 1/450 'Spanish Galleon'. Now the mould is extra super terrible: imagine all the flash you can, and double it, now you have what I had to face. Fortunately I didn't have to bother with the underwater parts and cut them right off, wishing to make a waterline model. Assembly was also very painful and included a lot of swearing (my roommate bears witness, I think I just invented some new, cool sounding curses). There are no pegs and holes in the hull and if there are, the mould is old and pours plastic into them or leaves them right off. Then I encountered more flash. As bad as it was assembling it, painting the thing was a joy. Really, a neat little model. 

I removed the oars and replaced them with a gun deck and added some primitive rigging as the masts looked really bare. 

Have a little more back story: the ship was built by Halbard Dun of Waterburg, who has originally been a shrimping captain (obvious Forrest Gump reference), and made his fortune bargaining with the Lesser Folk who occupied the sunken parts of the city. He dealt with Crabmen, Sharkmen and all what you can imagine. They got legit Imperial coins which they could use 'Upwaters', and Halbard got a cheap workforce who were very much eager to be occupied. And Halbard Dun did it all for one thing: to be a pirate.

Now these are perilous times we're talking about, and the Galleys of Ódensbarad are pretty much an opponent to anyone willing to be a 'free sailor'. So the Judgement's Scream (ol'Captain Dun had something for bizarre names) has been equipped with more cannons any galley could bear, and more sails any smaller vessel or rower could use.

After unsuccessful raids on Kingdom, Waterburg and Fjördstiri waters, the crew set sail to the southwest, into the heart of the archipelagos, and setting up a base in the free port of Nolisium. There they met a bard and an Elven woman who've changed the course of their story... Together they were tasked by the Golden Prince to reclaim the Claymore of Omens, the last relic known to the world forged by the Nine Phoenixes etc. etc., more lore thing. So the Judgement's Scream is a key to the story and a very trusty vessel. 

And she looks oh-so good!