Ships for DANG 2019

DANG 2019 is less than a week away. I finished up my ship painting last week and have the ships mounted. All that is left is adding some labels so everyone can tell which ship is which without a course in WW1 ship recognition.

I took some photos, but the lighting and my camera did not want to cooperate with each other, so they turn out very good. I've posted them below, but I hope to get some better photos before and during the game.

The battlecruisers Tiger (left) and Derfflinger (right)

For a quick recap, DANG 2019 will cover naval operations in the North Sea from November 1914 through January 1915. Basically from the start of German raids on the British coast through the Battle of Dogger Bank. I could have done up the whole Grand Fleet and High Seas Fleet for the game, but I went with a more limited (and historical) view of using the battlecruiser squadrons for both sides, one battleship squadron, and some odds and ends with armored/light cruisers and destroyers. The ship models are all 1/2400 scale from Panzerschiffe.

I painted the German ships with light gray for the hull and superstructures; except for the destroyers, which were dark gray. The larger ships got light wood color for the decks, while the light cruisers and destroyers decks were painted brown for the tiling.

German battlecruisers (with Blucher tagging along at the end of the line)

For the German battleships, I went with the Helgoland and Nassau class, seen below with a light cruiser in the lead. You can see the different deck color for the cruiser.

German battleships

I also included some German armored cruisers, but the photo wasn't very good.

Out of focus German armored cruisers led by a light cruiser

For the Royal Navy I went with dark gray for the hull and superstructures (maybe too dark) while the destroyers were black. Similar to the Germans, the larger ships got light wood color for the decks, while the light cruisers and destroyers decks were painted brown for the tiling.

British battlecruisers (obviously being observed from a Zeppelin)

The Royal Navy battleships are the Orion and King George V class, also pictured with a light cruiser to show the different deck colors.

British battleships

The Royal Navy also gets a armored cruiser squadron.

Devonshire class ACs of the 3rd Cruiser Squadron

Along with light cruisers and destroyers

A Royal Navy destroyer flotilla

As usual, I've come up with my own basic set of operational rules for assigning missions, setting up battles, and repairing ships. For the tactical rules, I decided to go outside the usual rules and use Minden Games Battleship Captain. Minden has a lot of naval games, along with some other interesting looking games.

The Battleship Captain rules are sort of a throwback to the old Avalon Hill Jutland game, but with lots of optional rules and covering the pre-dreadnought era through World War II (but no aircraft). The rules are pretty easy and they should be able to handle a good number of ships without bogging down. The optional and advanced rules add some flavor to the basic game, which should keeps things interesting and provide a period feel. 

I'll see how everyone else feels about the rules on Saturday. Photos and an after-action report to follow soon.