Thursday 2 December 2010

They are finally ready, just in Case,mate....


At long last (and courtesy of the inclement weather and the stinking cold I am suffering from) I have finished the construction of the five casemate ironclads for use with Bob Cordery's 1860 to 1870 variant of Memoir of Battle at Sea. I used balsa wood for the hull and funnels and as the core to which the casemate panels were anchored. The casemate itself was made from craft sticks (large size) which are made from a much harder wood and so are more durable. The hatches, gun ports and the pilot houses were made from strip plastic supplied from Model Zone. The next step will be to seal the surface and then base the models prior to painting.


I am really pleased with these models and whilst they will undoubtedly offend the purist they are suitable gaming pieces and have been relatively inexpensive. I had to purchase the raw materials for construction which came in at around £20 all in. For five models that probably does not seem great value but the sheer quantity of building material I have acquired means that I will be able to build a couple of dozen extra models easily so the unit cost will come down dramatically.


I opted to model these on a generic basis rather than specific historical vessels and so I have built a large ship, two medium sized and two small versions. I will tackle some Cairo class gunboats next and then the part of the project I am most looking forward to - the assorted side wheel gunboats and rams.

6 comments:

Robert (Bob) Cordery said...

David,

The models look very nice indeed!

I can see why you used the modelling sticks for the casemates, and it hase gived me a few ideas for my own model ships.

By the way, I am currently trying to buld a couple of central battery ironclads that are based on the 'Blanco Encalada' and 'Cochrane' ... but only because they are an interesting shape. Nothing to do with a possible South American war being my next project whatsoever!

All the best,

Bob

David Crook said...

Hi Bob,

Many thanks as ever for the kind comments. The craft sticks are very useful and I shall be using them in all my building projects. The curved end of the stick is the ideal shape and size for using in the construction of paddle boxes and so are very useful for the side wheelers I shall be building.

I shall look forward to seeing the new ships you have under construction - I am sure you don't need me to remind you that some models + new books + rules = new project!!

All the best,

DC

Paul O'G said...

Well done Sah! Well done indeed

David Crook said...

Cheers Tas,

I am really enjoying this project and of course the possibilities for VSF are many and varied.

It has given me something to do whilst snowed in!

All the best,

DC

Wargame News and Terrain Blog said...

Nice fleet you've scratchbuilt!

Really love VSF contraptions and ships.

Greets,

David Crook said...

Hi The Belgian,

Thankyou for the kind comments - much appreciated. I really enjoy scratch building stuff and am very pleased how these came out - the next lot will be ready soon as well although I need to get some painting done!

All The best,

DC