Suffering with Heller's Le Superbe

 

I've been building this old kit for over a year now, on and off, because sometimes it just really upsets me.

I glued together and painted the hull halves, then installed the lower gundeck no problem. I had to pry the hull apart just a little bit to make it fit.

Not so much luck with the upper gundeck, apparently the manufacturer did not think about space after setting up the 30-odd cannon of the lower tier. I could not manage to squish the thing in in one piece. 

Next I tried to split it in three sections lengthwise, but there was an issue of fit again - there was no good order in which to install the sections. This caused damage to the lower deck as well. Furthermore, the point of attachment of the rope/chain that secures the bottom deadeyes to the hull is level with the upper gundeck, which made it nigh impossible to fit the two together.

So in the end I removed the molded-on deck fittings, copied the outline of the deck to a piece of 1mm balsa, and remade it completely. 

I also added some crosswise beams to the construction so that the gundeck sits flush and does not sag inward. Of course in the end these just interfered with the mast holes, so I had to scrape away some, notably at the foremast.

Once the deck - in one piece - received its paintjob, I trimmed off a large part off of each side, which followed the curvature of the outer hull, and glued these in first, followed by the larger central piece. This way I could make amendments and trim off any excess - the fit is not perfect, but good enough. I just had to move the three entry points for the masts a little bit back after test fitting.

I trimmed off the sides where the ends of the rope entered the hull, and filled it with Magic Sculpt once the rest was glued in. It's not very pretty, but blends in, and is deep enough in the hull that it won't be that visible.

At this point, jut to complicate things, a cannon at the bottom tier got loose, and I had to tear out a larger swath of the already installed upper gundeck to reach it (that is the crack line visible on the picture above), and then with some CA glue managed to fix the damned thing back in its place.

Fortunately the spar deck and the stored boats will hide most of the damage, so I turned to manufacturing other pieces, leaving the gundeck as is. I may just run it over with a gloss coat before gluing the guns in to hide the dots of glue. About a dozen guns in the waits will be visible from the spar deck, so those are going to have some tackle added (skipped this for the lower tier after some deliberation).

I also have the 1/100 Soleil Royal from Heller, where the gundecks are split along the middle and one side has a 'lip' the other can sit onto, which is a way better solution, as you don't have to force the hull halves apart and it's easy to make adjustments.

Some gratification is that after dry fitting the spar deck, the thing starts to look like a real ship of the line, and I also found out just how good oil washes can be, both on smaller items and large surfaces.

Rules Page update

I have added no less than three new rulesets to the 'Rules' page (available via the link or the header of this blog), which are free to download, use and distribute by the way, and are the results of more than ten years of gaming experimentation:

• Gudugan Pudugan, a fun little set which is only seven pages long, of pre-historical/ancient big battles and a flexible unit/army component system

• Victorious Eagle Warfare 2, an update on my go-to Napoleonics set, with better command options and explanations on unit behavior

• The Brave Lieutenant, a Pike and Shot period set which spent many months in the making, only to bin it altogether in the end and just adopt the useful parts of VEW2 with Renaissance spice.

Please do browse through them.

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.

Welcome to the Future

The beginnings of an 18th century naval campaign are currently on my mind. The basic premises are that it is centered around an Ottoman force running the blockade at the Pirate Bay, and then trying to capture as many merchantmen as possible.

For this, harbor defenses for creative use were necessary, and I began constructing a medium-sized ship "in ordinary". However, scratchbuilding such things, while cost-effective, is very time-consuming. I started looking for alternatives, and thought that even with the worst possible results, a 3D print of an old semi-derelict vessel of war could be a good start.

While I don't own a 3D printer myself, by the suggestion of my wife, I found an on demand 3D printing service nearby. You just upload the .stl file to the website, scale it up or down, get a quote and in a few days you receive the final product by courier.

It was kind of hit or miss, but worth a try. I downloaded a free .stl template of a 1/700 scale large frigate from Wargaming3D, blew up the model to a 150% scale (to better match my own fleet of 1/500-ish ships), and made an order worth about 7 Euros including p&p for the pair.

You can see the results above. I went over the models with a lighter to remove most of the fine threads sticking out, but overall I think they look pretty fine, and there is not a lot more prep work to do on them than on some old injection-moulded stuff. Some filling and sanding required here and there. One will be the Böhnstadt flagship SMS Jagdhund, and the other an Ottoman/Tekirdag razée of 40 guns, without masts or sails, ready to be towed to battle (or not).

 

A Xebec

After a while, we return to the naval engagements around the Northern Barfrican coast. This time, a nimble Tekirdagaç vessel, a three-masted Xebec sails into view. Although frail-looking, she packs a heavy broadside, and with her large lateen sails, she can out- and overrun most of the Allied shipping.

HMS Worcester, 80-gun Ship of the Line

HMS Worcester is one of the so-called 'W'-class of Albionic third rate ships of the line. The 'W'-class are the work horses of the Union, carrying the flag all over the globe, and fighting in the thickest of conflicts. They are old but sturdy vessels, and their captains take great pains to preserve them in a fighting condition.

Worcester has a sturdy build, and although somewhat slow and sluggish, she fits well in a line of battle. The model is entirely scratch-built, the only commercial attachments are the towed boat and anchors, which at one time belonged to the Revell 1/450 HMS Victory. The anchors have been shortened, and a hole was drilled where the cable should be attached.

The hull is a hollow piece of balsa, made of 6mm layers I believe, with some strengthening pieces to hold the deck. The deck itself is 1mm thick, scored with a pen not to look so flat. The bow piece is made from thin strips of card. The masts and yards are from bamboo, the sails from a piece of faux-satin polyester cloth, painted to a tan colour. The rigging is made from three different types of thread, and the cable connecting the boat to the ship is a fourth one, larger in diameter.

All in all an OK build, I especially like the way the colours turned out, but the hull is quite big and blocky compared to, for example, the Heller Le Superbe. Sanding that concave tumblehome is a very difficult job. I think my next few large ships will be modifications of the Revell Spanish galeon again, but right now every non-essential store is closed, so that's for the future.

 

SRKS Tajni Möjem

 

This is the Sjelle Regal Krigskjeppet Tajni Möjem. Sjelle is an independent territory of the Kingdom of Gluteborg-Varangia in my Schultze-Böhnstadt imaginary universe. She sports both the Royal Varangian and the Independent Sjelle ensigns. 

Tajni Möjem is a 26-gun single-deck warship, which might be called a corvette or a ship-rigged sloop of war. She has a shallow draft to traverse the many rocky channels and inlets of the Sjelle Islands. 

The ship's hull is way back from this post; compared to the other ships I have been building, it would simply have been too small for a full-sized frigate of war. But navies need smaller vessels, too, so I made her with an open gundeck. The hull is slim but rather simplistic: it lacks the usual ornamentation of 18th century warships. The sails are made from table cloth, I think, while the ensigns are satin. Every bit is scratchbuilt, including the cannon and the wheel.

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.

1/2000 Sailing Ships

Something a little bit different from WW1-era ships, these are small scratchbuilt vessels that I intend to use for my Schultze-Böhnstadt ImagiNations. On the above image a Tekirdagian pirate fleet comprised of a xibec, three galleys and two galiots.

And this is the allied anti-piracy squadron made up of the Böhnstadt frigates Jagdhund and Schweinhund, and the Armagnac 74-gun ships of the line Piété and Humilité.

The hulls are a balsa composite of 1mm and 2mm sheets, the sails are paper and bamboo, the rigging is made of brush bristles. At 1/2000, these medium-sized ships of the line reach a bit over 2cm, and most of them are based on 15mm by 40mm bases. They are very simple to assemble and paint, look great from a distance, and are a lot cheaper than 1/2400 metal models.

I left enough space on the base so that small markers could fit. I have three rule sets that I will be able to use with them: Kiss Me Hardy, Fighting Sail and Galleys&Galleons, and I think all of them use some sort of marker or another.

More Ottomen

Just a small update with some Ottoman auxiliary forces, light cavalry, less light elephantry and bowmen.

The elephants and archers are made by HäT, the akincis are RedBox set #2.

Rheinbund Reinforcements

Here's another few Napoleonic bits, mostly HäT figures from the larger participants in the Confederation, and then some Zvezda French skilfully converted. 

Left: Württemberg light cavalry and Berg Lancers

Middle: Bavarian light infantry, Saxon Leibgarde and Württemberg artillery

Right: Saxon cuirassiers and Württemberg (/Bavarian?) chevauxlegers.

Austrian big battalions!

Here's another big batch of figures not yet photographed together. I just finished the infantry recently, but the cavalry is from earlier and you could see some in the Eckmühl AAR.

My 1806 Prussian army - almost complete

There were no pictures submitted yet about one of my larger undertakings, namely creating a Prussian army for the 1806-1807 period. Now here's the bulk of that army, minus elites and specialists.

Tiny Eckmühl

Scenario with orders of battle here

I have just finished reading the first volume of Thunder on the Danube, and for motivation and honestly a little bit of change I have thrown together a small scenario for this historical engagement. It's for my own rules and has limited time and space as a priority. We finished the game in about 1,5 hours. 

On the picture above, the French had finished deploying, which the Austrians observe with some concern. The Emperor chose to bring forward the heavy cavalry instead of the lights.

Ottomen on the Horizon

(For the less linguistically inclined, Ottomen is the plural of Ottoman.)

I have not been as idle in recent times as the lack of updates suggests. I suspect mainly the fact that the camera is still broken deters me from taking loads of pictures. Anyway, the Napoleonic Ottoman army is almost complete (which army ever is?), so I thought I'd take them out to the sun and show them to the world.

Victorious Eagle Warfare - 1809 Italian Theatre Solo Campaign Rules

As promised, I'll be conducting a small campaign using my homemade rules in the following days. Before I post the AAR of the first encounter, I thought I could share the rules so everything would be clear later on.

Humble Napoleonic Ottoman beginnings

I don't know much about the Ottoman army in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, I only have one Osprey and Rothenberg's book on the complete history of the age, plus the bits of information gathered here and there. 

What I do know is that it was still a rather exotic-looking army, which is always good compared to the sometimes boring European forces, and that they could fight the Russians, Austrians and obviously the French. 

So here's my list of purchases so far, which will trickle in the coming weeks as the great army gathers:

Italeri Mamelukes- got a bunch of them for 4 Euros. From a complete set, I can make two 6-figure units and a smaller one (I think I have a spare mameluke somewhere, so make it 3). The horse furniture is not entirely OK, but can be overlooked.

HäT Union Zouaves - an older set I got for 8 Euros from Italy, they are good for light infantry "as is", or with minor conversion work they can easily become Nizam i Cedid infantry. 48 figures, three units' worth.

HäT Taaishi Camelry - these are originally meant for the Mahdist rebellion a century later, but the dress does not look out of place, and they have weapon options (as far as I can tell from PSR, they have jezails and not modern rifles, so I can even use those). 12 figures, worth two units of "horse".

RedBox Eyalet infantry - for the more irregular parts of the army. I checked the Mars Tufekci as well, but found them lacking. 34 figures, two or three units (I can add command figures from elsewhere and make groups of 12 in skirmish order).

RedBox Akinci - for the irregular cavalry. 12 figures, two units.

This is the stuff bought so far. I'll get the Zvezda Janissaries, which look a bit archaic for the 19th century with their hats and matchlocks, but at least they will increase the ranks nicely. I'm not sure about artillery, perhaps I'll get the RedBox set, or simply convert some Janissaries (I'll use only 36 figures out of 43) and use some older 17th century artillery pieces with them.

I have the Esci Muslim Warriors set, and while I mostly used them for skirmish games, I won't need all fifty on single bases, so I might just update their paintjob and use them as irregulars (although some clearly have bolt action rifles, which is not that good).

I'm also eyeing the Hagen Miniatures line of 1/72 metallic figures, perhaps later in the month (or after I find out that I have enough money for a car).

French cavalry WIP

Just a pair of shots, showing some more Frenchies on horseback, to complement the ranks for the Secret Project... soon all will be revealed.

Allied High Command for the Secret Project

This is a big ol' batch of creative conversions, mostly Russian and a few Austrian command figures.

Russian artillery for the Secret Project

The flash is still dead, so here are more grainy pictures of some HäT horses and gunners. I have 11 Russian guns and crew with these, which is just the right amount for my evil plan.