Torpedoes and Tides Markers

I've quickly bashed together some Torpedoes and Tides measuring sticks and blinds for the holidays, using some spare bases, sticky labels and wooden dowel from the local craft shop. In the longer term I'll replace these with something more sophisticated but they'll be good for the first few games, while I get to learn the rules. I'm thinking of asking Warbases if they could make a set of markers, range rulers and turning templates in acrylic but will need to try out the rules first to see what is required, I'll also have to ask the author first, of course, but it would be nifty to have a set of markers ready to go!

Coastal Forces Kriegsmarine Reinforcements

Some mid to late war reinforcements for the Kriegsmarine over the last couple of days. These are all the old Skytrex castings, now available from Heroics and Ros, but perhaps a little long in the tooth. They're nice models nonetheless and paint up well once cleaned up and undercoated. I've run out of grey primer so these are in white primer, which I actually prefer as it shows up all the bits you miss when you assemble the buggers! As you can see, there are two Raumboote, four S-100 S-Boote with armoured 'kapotte' and two of the ubiquitous but very versatile M-class minesweeper escorts. Very handy!

Torpedoes and Tides Scenarios

I'm planning some Torpedoes and Tides games for the holidays but, as I have a limited range of models, I'm having to cut my cloth to size. I have a good selection of RN coastal forces craft for the early to mid war period but only S-Boote for the opposition, not counting my unpainted models. As a result, I'm limited to scenarios involving MTB and ML with the odd trawler thrown in for good measure, pitted against E-boats. To get a few scenarios lined up I've been looking back to some that I played ages ago with the fast play Schnell Rules for Schnellboote. One in particular was very enjoyable and can be converted over to Torpedoes and Tides with little effort. There's an after action report here:

http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com/2017/01/schnellboote-after-action-report.html

...good fun!

2mm HYW English Men at Arms

A bit rushed today but here's the second base for the 2mm Anglo-Breton army, consisting of Men at Arms on foot. I went for a quick splash and dash approach with these but they still came out looking okay I think. Nothing flashy, but they'll do the job. I only have a few days left before I'm away on holiday but I'll aim to get another two or three if these bases finished if I can before we head off to France. 

Gunboat Command

I'm on holiday next week so will have some down time to spend on reading, amongst other things. This is one of the few books on coastal warfare that I haven't yet read so it will be top of the reading list for next week. I have a few more that I'm going to re-read in advance of starting the Torpedoes and Tides project for the summer. I'm also planning on a few basic solo games over the holidays, to try out the rules and get a hang of things like blinds, spotting, movement and firing, ready to upscale to some historical scenarios and a solo campaign in a few months time.

East Coast S-Boote Primary Sources

I was looking for information about Hunt class destroyer escorts this morning, when I bumped into this intelligence report from 1943, which was based on interrogation of the survivors of S-71 after she was rammed and sunk by HMS Garth. It's much more than an account of the action though, with copious detail of the 6th S-Boote flotilla and Kriegsmarine coastal warfare tactics in general. It's a gold mine for anyone interested in historical scenarios and also very useful for campaign background material. You can find scans and transcripts of the whole document here:

http://www.lowestofthistory.com/book/mod_report_garth_0.html

2mm HYW French for One Hour Wargames

With the Anglo-Breton army for the early Hundred Years War well underway, it's now time to think about basing up the opposition, which will be a Franco-Breton army for the Breton War of Succession. I already have a base of mounted men at arms and will add a second base to fill out the ranks of the French nobility, although they are more likely to be on foot after the disaster at Crecy.

This leaves me with the foot men at arms, which will be the bulk of the army and so will take up three or four bases, which I'll need for some of the early battles. As well as this, I'll put together a couple of bases of crossbowmen for missile support and two or three bases of spearmen to bulk out the army. I was also thinking of a base of 'skirmishers' representing bidowers, bidets or similar but I think I'll save those for later.

2mm HYW Anglo-Breton Army Base Painting Progress

The bases have now been completed on the 2mm Hundred Years War Anglo-Breton army, so that they match the test base of longbowmen that I painted last week. I now have to block in the figures with matt black before I can start painting them. The plan is to do them all in one go rather than one base at a time, which will be quite laborious but much more efficient. I'm quite looking forward to painting the men at arms, both mounted and on foot, as they'll add a splash of colour to the force.

5th S-Boote Flotilla for Torpedoes and Tides

Cruel Seas S-100 and S-38b 1/300th Scale

Ex-Skytrex CF304 S-38 1/600th Scale 

A few years ago, when Cruel Seas was all the rage, I built seven late war models for the 5th S-Boote flotilla, which operated from Cherbourg and the Channel Islands in late 1943 to mid-1944. These included the standard S-100 version with a few additions, primarily some 40mm Bofors mountings, as well as a couple of converted 'cut and shut' models to create the up armoured 38-b variant with retro-fitted 'kapotte' armour. 

I used these a few times in club games but, as I mentioned before, the rules left me a bit unenthused, so they've been sitting in a box since then. I have now gone back to 1/600th scale for the coastal warfare project, so I'm going to reproduce the same unit using the old Skytrex range of models. As my existing E-boats are all S-9 and S-38 versions, I'm going to have to start from scratch for the later war 5th flotilla boats, but the CF304 model is really nice, so it's well worth the effort.

1/600th H&R Vosper 72'6" MTB's

Vosper MTB flotilla c1942.

Some good news for the Torpedoes and Tides project today, after I asked if the old Skytrex Vosper 72'6" MTB CF02 model was available, not having been able to find it on the Heroics and Ros web shop. It turns out that it had been placed in the aircraft section rather than the naval bit by mistake, so is actually still in production and can be purchased. I was worried that it had been deleted, perhaps due to worn out molds or the master going missing, but I can order some to kit out the 23rd MTB flotilla for the Free French, rather than repainting and labelling the ones I already have. Excellent!