INWarD 2026 after action report

We managed to play - with two years of delay, due to me not finishing the models - my Denmark Strait scenario, and the results are in. My wife commanded the RN and I the dastardly Germans.

Above, Prince of Wales starting the day with a fire on board, which was quickly put out (still better than four of ten guns not working properly).

INWarD2026 Preview: Battle of the Denmark Strait

All participants for my planned International Naval Wargaming Day game are ready for combat. I have also written a short set of rules, where players declare their intentions before moving (which hopefully would result in a more interesting gameplay than just the plain move-shoot routine). Also PoW has to roll for random critical damage at the beginning of the game. 

I'll write up the AAR next week, stay tuned until then!

Pride of a Nation, A Beast Made of Steel etc. etc.

 

I can't recall a more overdone topic in naval history circles than the Bismarck, both the ship and its operational history, even though I could recount, just on a whim, about ten different battleships that had a more interesting or successful career (including the Tirpitz and the Scharnhorst class [no, those were not battlecruisers]).

 

But there's no stopping the Bismarck fanboyism, and that may perhaps be one of the main reasons building her (yes it's a her) for my Battle of the Denmark Strait project took about two years. That's a lot of time for a 1/2000 model, even in scratchbuilding terms. 

Alas, taking some time off from the Aurora and managing a complete paintjob on a 1/700 interwar fit waterline Nagato, I took out the hulls of the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen (no, they are not DKM Bismarck and DKM Prinz Eugen), and built the superstructures.

When building such models, one must cut a lot of corners. Some of the details you simply won't see. Some have to look just about right from a distance. The main visual cues for the ships must be there, but otherwise it's more or less free reign. That's why I like WW1 era German battleships for instance: very little deck clutter, very effective, streamlined designs. I procrastinated with this project because I was overwhelmed with all the bits and bobs on a WW2 battleship's superstructure, so in the end I just went at it and made things on the go.

The ships' hulls and other larger pieces are made from 3mm and 2mm balsa (1mm on the top layers of the Prinz Eugen), and they are built using the layer or sandwich method, where I construct things from the waterline up. The balsa is stiffened and filled with liquid CA glue and acrylic paste. The turret rings on the Bismarck are small rubber rings bought at a craft store (apparently for making children's necklaces). The rest is placticard (0.5mm and 2mm), plastic bits from leftovers (such as a 28mm Mongol spear), paperclips, the cranes on the Bismarck are Perry sword sheaths and on the Prinz Eugen they are stolen from a 1/700 Derfflinger, and her floatplane is from an old plastic anchor.

Since taking the above photo I made the Bismarck's prow a bit more pointy (she resembled the Iowa class' crocodile prow a bit too much) and added the visually important large flying bridge. You will be able to see those when the models are painted and based.

The deadline for this project is InWarD 2026, as I missed the anniversary of the battle (again). Until then, it's peacetime readiness for the completed PoW and Hood.

Found at a second hand clothes store...

My wife and I scour second hand clothes stores (a local brand) regularly. About 90% of my clothes are from there, good value for the money.

We recently went to one of the stores and in the miscellaneous bin I found this Airfix kit. The price was weight based so I thought why not? With a pair of Disney toys I thought I could use for terrain the entire ordeal cost me about 8 euros.

As you can see the box was banged up, but I peeked inside one split corner and saw a nylon wrapper, so I had hope...

Et voilá! Everything is here and - which is the funniest part of all - in the original wrapper, undamaged. A 2010 issue Spitfire Mark Ia gift set. It even has the decals, paints and glue.

I don't do much aircraft modelling, but this very same Spitfire was one of the first models I built when I was little, so I might just complete it for nostalgia's sake. 

Steaming towards the Denmark Strait

My 1/2000 scale HMS Hood is now complete and joins the Prince of Wales to hunt for the Bismarck.

Since posting the WIP picture I added the AA suite on the main deck as it was quite featureless.

The paint job is based on the information available on the HMS Hood Association website and is mostly matching her last description before the battle. Maybe I should have added the reddish brown linoleum to the grey parts of the top deck, I'm not sure.

All I have to do is actually build the Bismarck so they could find her...

The High and the Mighty

I missed the date for the Battle of the Denmark Strait with my scratchbuilt 1/2000 project, mainly because I have been working on other things.

However I just managed to complete the build for my version of the HMS Hood, and when I showed the Prince of Wales in its unpainted state the last time it gathered some interest, so here's the model before any primer is being added.

This time instead of PVA I used successive layers of acrylic paste and paint to make surfaces smooth. The ship is mainly built out of balsa and plasticard, and then some bamboo skewers, paperclips, broom bristles and Magic Sculpt. I also found a small decorative rubber ring that is just the right size for the turret rings.

I think most people know the story of the Hood, so I won't bother anyone with that. I won't say anything more than I just like the design.

 Off she sails to the painting table and then to join the already completed PoW.

Worry not if you aren't the Duke of Porpoises...

 

... you can still be the Prince of Wales! (pun intended)

Here's a rare WIP shot of a 1/2000 scale scratchbuilt HMS Prince of Wales. I usually post completed products on the blog, but this one looked kind of nice the way it is, and it highlights some of the methods I use for tiny ships.

My main components for this build were: balsa wood, bamboo skewers, Magic Sculpt, 0.5mm plasticard, push pins and broom bristles. First I shaped the hull, and did the rest in five main sub-assemblies (that is the three turrets and two main parts of the superstructure).

Balsa wood has very large grain and soaks up paint/glue like a sponge, so I learned to harden its outer surface with either mopping on liquid superglue or acrylic medium, and then after many passes with sandpaper some PVA. For the quad turrets I also added some magic sculpt for detail.

I made an attempt to sculpt each of the quad barrels, but in the end I just went with my usual solution of using a single slab of bamboo and painting the detail on.

The occasion for this build is that I want to refight the Battle of the Denmark Strait in the near future, so after painting this one, next up is the Mighty Hood.

During the build I came to appreciate the no-nonsense approach of the King George V class design. Everything has its place and works, and that's about all a fighting ship needs. However, I anticipate building Hood for her excellent looks for a change.

Photo report of the Greek warship Averof

My wife and I took a four day trip to Athens, which we mostly spent in the southern districts near the sea (besides a mandatory trip downtown). The highlight of the journey, of course, was visiting the armored cruiser / battleship Georgios Averof.

The ship is moored in Faliro harbor, is maintained by the Hellenic Navy, entrance is 5EUR per adult. We arrived early Tuesday morning and were the only visitors at that time besides a guided school tour. 

Entrance is from the stern via a staircase - as we went up and down the length of the ship I organised the pictures from aft to fore instead of chronological order.

Most of the spar deck and upper deck are free to move around, and so are some of the internal areas. The bow is accessible via the enclosed superstructure above the spar deck.

Research on the MNF Bretagne that might be useful for somebody

Some of my readers might have followed the adventures with the 1/1000 scale waterline model of the Bretagne during Spring 2020 on this blog. That model was broken and thrown out to the trash, but the interest remained. The Bretagne-class, just like most dreadnoughts designed before or during WW1 and continuing to serve in WW2, are an interesting topic, and they are probably one of my favourite ships despite their obvious flaws.

1/700 IJN Kongo WIP: 'I Couldn't Leave It Like That' Edition

In my previous post I praised the quality of the model, and while I'm still kind of happy with it, a few problems arose that needed addressing - people with historical OCD can, I believe, relate to this.

The hull supplied in the set is suitable for the 1935 and 1944 builds of the Kongo. The bases for all the secondary casemates are cast together with the hull. However, examining models and period photos I had found out that in her 1944 form, the unused ports for the removed guns were welded over. This means that I had to scrape away the bases of the casemates and apply filler to be sanded later.

The rear conning tower (or similar structure, IDK) has an AA platform that is connected with a walkway to the one at the midsection of the rear tripod. While a walkway was supplied connecting the AA platform directly between the pagoda and the searchlights and further AA on the side of the first funnel, the one I'm talking about was missing. I had to fabricate it from cardstock, and added some PE railings (again, not very historical) both to this one and the one forwards.

There should be a large crane that is connected to the rear tripod, and this one was missing entirely from the kit. A Zvezda pikeman's arm came to the rescue, along with some stretched sprue.

Speaking of stretched sprue, a length of it was used to upgrade the crane servicing the seaplane catapult between turrets 3 & 4.

The kit was missing blast bags on all main guns, which was remedied with some goopy epoxy putty. When dried, it gives the appropriate effect. First I was a bit afraid of using it, but it works wonders.

The rather clumsy main radar antenna broke off during construction (this can actually be seen in the previous post), so I fabricated another using PE railings and card. There was a spare main rangefinder, from which I trimmed the periscopes off and used it as the base for the new radar appliance.

The flat bottom was attached without a hassle or any need for rubber bands, there is a metal bar glued to it to weigh the ship down, which is an excellent solution IMHO.

One thing I messed up doing the Bismarck was leaving way too many sub-assemblies separate for painting. I'm good enough with a small brush to reach everything on here while assembled, leaving only the seaplanes and the boats to be painted separately.

Revell 1/1200 USS Missouri Restoration

As I've mentioned earlier, I have a stash of 1/1200 scale WW2 era ships that I should be refurbishing. These include a diecast Yamato, and a Revell Missouri, Bismarck and Enterprise. I started with this one for no particular reason.

First I cleaned all the dust off the upper part, then sanded the bottom because it was glued to a paper painting stand and thus the flat bottom was not level with the base all the way. Then I took off the secondary turrets, cut their barrels and replaced them with broom bristles. They were also turned outwards, which is a hazard when handling the ship as they are quite brittle, so I turned the turrets facing the direction of travel. I did not bother doing the same with the main armament, it looks cool as it is. 

The base will entirely be made of wood this time, no fussing about with toilet paper. You can see the beginnings on the image. 

The next step is to shape the base and start painting the ship properly. I'll need to do something about the broken seaplane catapult though.

MNF Bretagne - Complete

So here she is in her final form, a very good-looking battleship with a tragic fate. Building the ship was great fun (except the rigging), but I've suffered with the base for a countless time, and finally ditched the 3D sea effect for something more simple. This way one can concentrate on the features of the ship.

MNF Bretagne WIP #5

This is the current status of the Bretagne, the ship is complete by my standards, and the suffering with the base continues. 

I have finished her paintjob a while back, but when I turned to rigging, I found that the matte varnish had raised some surfaces and I was not really happy with the bright grey colour, so I did another few layers on the sooty/black surfaces, the bridge platforms and the hull. 

The rigging is quite simplistic, but I could just not bear the sight of bare masts at this relatively large scale (at least compared to 1/2000 which is my standard scale for wargaming models).

The deck is a dark teak, on period photos the contrast with the bright grey hull is very visible. I also had to re-do the rangefinder on the second turret, and some barrels on the secondary battery.

I've restarted the sea base three times until I came to an adequate solution, this is hard foamboard, where the ship's bottom was cut, then filled out, so the waves end where the hull begins. This is a really frustrating part and I should read more about more proper ways around it.

I've also finished Nagato and Mutsu in 1/2000, so stay tuned for their debut, and most probably I'll do the Amagis and Tosas in the near future... problem is I'm running out of storage space for my ships!

MNF Bretagne WIP #4

Continuing with the superstructure, I've added the rails (made from cardstock or something similar I've found lying around) and the dissected tripod mast. You can see the final version of the gun director platform as well.

This is how she looks mostly assembled, sans boats and turrets.

MNF Bretagne WIP #3

Here are the five turrets, eight secondary mounts and six boats glued to sticks for easier painting. The hull is more or less complete, with the rear mast and the stacks installed. I found that the section behind the second funnel is not actually the continuation of the deck, but a two-storey boat bay, this will be simulated by shading the lower areas and letting half a boat show below the upper tier.

MNF Bretagne WIP #2

Since the last time, I've completed the turrets, with the second one having a range finder as well. I'll paint these separately to the dark grey colour visible on period photos. The barrels are from oars on a Revell Spanish Galeon, at their end there is a tiny piece suitable for a blast bag.

I've continued shaping the hull as well, adding the third tier of deck and turret rings. The bow is more or less complete, and the details for the secondary battery have been carved out, this needs a bit more sanding. I'll add the cabin windows when the painting is done, with a punch, something like a pinhead dipped in black paint. Once the stacks are complete and the secondary gun barrels are drilled and glued in, I can move on to the superstructure.

A Change in Plans - MNF Bretagne WIP #1

In my previous post I have talked about the idea of making the Bretagne in 1/1200 and 1/1340 scale, one for a desert diorama and one for a ship-in-a-bottle. Well I found out that I did not have the patience or the skill to make a scale drawing out of a digital blueprint, nor access to any safe printing services right now, but recalled that I had an 1/1000 scale version ready to go. So I'm going to be making a single 1/1000 waterline diorama with her. 

The plans I have are for Lorraine post-1935, the one with the 3rd turret removed, but it should be quite easy to use the prints I have on the other two members of the class to substitute a fifth, same-sized turret.

The main hull was cut out from a 5mm and 2mm piece of balsa. I sanded them down to shape, then used PVA and clamps to fix the upper hull in place. I used wood filler and the back of a knife blade to add detail to the lower deck. I had some trouble with the shaping and assembly sequence because of the concave shape of the bow: if I add the thinner top section too early, it could result in the protruding part above the 1st secondary casemate gun to be trimmed off, and if I add it too late, it would be increasingly difficult to shape the bow properly. So I did a little of both, and now we shall see.

I don't want to over-rush this project, because I don't really know how reliable house ordering supplies like these are.

Hobby Diary Post (Amidst COVID-19)

Hello dear readers, long time no see. This is slightly off topic, but I hope it will make sense in the end.

We have finished moving flats and we are in an overall safer and quieter place than before. The move could not have been timed better, because we have left behind the raging proles of our previous environment, where an early close at the local Lidl meant the beginning of The Hunger Games' new episode. I can't imagine the situation there now.

Just after we moved in and collected our first pieces of furniture, the first reports of the global virus hysteria began reaching Hungary. It took little time to identify the first contagions as well. 

Here's the thing though: the Hungarian medical services are understaffed, underpaid, and in general unprepared for dealing with the number of virus patients we are likely to see, where more advanced countires such as Italy had proven to be failing. While government news outlets made it an issue to point out at every possible occasion that the first proven patients were foreigners (Iranians to top it off), simultaneously they failed to diagnose Hungarian citizens arriving home from, amongst other places, Northern Italy, also elderly patients with coronavirus symptoms but no proven contact. At the time of writing this post, we are at 50 proven contagions, 2 cured and 1 death, but considering that neighbouring Slovakia with half of our population has more, well...

People are fighting it out over daily items- you may have heard from the mass TP buys in Australia, well here one of the home delivery guys told us that somebody just bought a literal metric ton of supplies, before there were more than 10 diagnosed patients in the country. This includes purchasing all the ANTIBACTERIAL disinfectants and surgery masks, which have no effect on the virus at all, but people with recent operations or chronic respiratory diseases can't get them because of all these idiots.

But there's good things amongst all the bad. We can shut ourselves in, avoiding almost all contacts. This affects most hobbyists and model makers around the world, as I found out in many Facebook groups, as they can launch themselves against the piles of plastic and paints bought earlier and finish them in good time.

I am between jobs currently, but we have enough reserves so I do not have to rush things, so I, too, can focus on some of my projects. In the picture above, you can see the semi-assembled Trumpeter 1/700 Bismarck, which I'm currently painting (finished adding the grey and washes, plus some smaller pieces like the seaplane and boats). I'll make a nice sea base for it as well and make it a display piece.

My further plans include building (at least) two versions of the MNF Bretagne in her 1935-40 refit, one ship in a bottle, and the other a desert diorama. I really like the tripod structure, and it could prove a nice challenge to reconstruct it using period photos and blueprints. Well, getting the blueprint on paper is also somewhat of a challenge currently, but I can manage. I also managed to finish Camus' The Plague just before the real large turd hit the fan and larger numbers of contagions began to surface.

So, we are fine (including the tiny pug), and I hope it will stay this way. I wish for the following period to be as trouble-free as it can for all of you.

Revell 1/1200 HMS King George V

What a surprise, another naval-related post, this time a 1/1200 scale Revell kit.

Not many good things to say about it, on the box it says it was re-tooled, but some parts don't fit very well, and there is a lot of filing and scraping involved. The friction fit on the turrets is especially bad, it doesn't take into account any layers of paint that might get in there. 

15mm Brits

This side-project was done a while ago, 15mm Forged in Battle WW2 British infantry and PSC Churchill tanks. I have more Churchills and Cromwells as well, they are buried in the plastic pile.