After a busy and distracting February, I've finally finished up my 1/300 coastal freighters. I would still like to do some weathering and touch-ups on the ships, but they are basically done and in good enough shape for a game.
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| Coastal freighter ready for convoy duty |
If you read my previous post, you may recall that I decided to scratchbuild some target ships to go with my Cruel Seas models. I didn't really want to invest much money in this project, so I decided I only wanted to use materials I had on hand for the ships. So the ships are made from basswood, balsa wood, and plastic sheets and rods. I would have liked to add some more details, however my other ship building is done in 1/700 and all the spare parts I had looked to small on the freighters. This is one reason there are no lifeboats, which I'm sure those of you that are sharp-eyed have already noticed.
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| A 3/4 bow shot for a slightly different view |
The ships all have the same basic hull size and shape. Two ships have aft bridges (these are essentially the same ship with only the mast positions changed) and the third has a center bridge.
So how do they compare to the Warlord Games models? Here is a shot of them with some German Schnellboots.
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| Hunters and targets |
And with the merchant counter that comes in the Cruel Seas starter kit (I assume this is about the size of the tanker sold by Warlord Games).
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| Flat and 3D targets |
Overall, the ships turned out okay. While not very detailed, they do give a decent representation of coastal freighters and will make decent targets for 1/300 scale attackers. Plus the price was right.
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| One more comparison photo |
On a mostly unrelated subject, I don't have a Facebook account and for the most part I haven't seen the need for one. I can usually look at open groups (like the
Naval Wargaming group) and various manufacturers/vendors, even though I can't post to them. Lately though I seem to be missing out on some of the local gaming notices because the local group is closed. I was wondering if I should just bite the bullet and join. But I really don't need something else to take time away from already limited free time, so I think I'll stay in the dark for a while longer. That said, if any readers feel like posting any of my blog posts or photos to the appropriate Facebook groups, I'm sure I would enjoy the cross-traffic.
Very effective and cheap too. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteNicely done scratch building job! I would game with them with no problem.
ReplyDeleteI too am not a face book'er, but your right about manufacturers and vendors and things moving to it, along with twitter, snapchat, and all that other stuff. Harder to keep up. But I do love my like minded blogger's, feels more family like, without all the other baggage that comes along with the other venues.
Cheers
Kevin
Very nice results, Dave! I see we were both "offline" for about the same time frame too :)
ReplyDeleteI've been on Facebook for a number of years now and many times, I've been pushed to quit. However, I really like most of the various game-related groups that I've joined, including the Naval Wargaming group (there is also a Modern Naval Gaming group). One thing that sets these groups apart from some others is that they seem to be very strict on the "no politics" rule, which is refreshing.
ReplyDelete--Chris
I don't have a problem with people wanting to be on Facebook or that I can't comment because I don't have an account (although there are time I would like to comment on something). My issue is more that there is a general assumption that everyone has an account and so it is the only (or best) way to share information.
DeleteFB has become a primary means of creating community for various gaming ventures. It's much more immediate and visual with all the photo posting 'n' stuff than discussion groups ever were. Even forums like TMP, tapatalk, etc. aren't as satisfying, IMO. But, yes, FB can be a hellacious time-waster.
ReplyDelete