Wednesday 29 August 2012

Across Four Oceans....WW2 Naval


HMS Warspite - the Airfix 1/600th scale kit super detailed and with what looks like the Spanish Civil War air recognition banding atop of 'B' turret

One of the tasks I am currently involved with in connection with the newly acquired 1/4800th scale WW2 collection concerns the thorny subject of what rules I should use. Unsurprisingly I have a number of sets to consider, all of varying degrees of complexity - but have narrowed it down to a set I discovered quite by chance whilst looking at Boardgamegeek as per the link -  Across Four Oceans. These rules have been developed from Axis and Allies: War at Sea and so are very familiar feeling in terms of game mechanics but are very much at the next level in terms of detail and also with, for me, the priceless bonus of an operational level version as well as tactical. I have played an enormous number of games using War at Sea and can happily confirm that they are great fun to use but that they are somewhat light in some areas in respect of detail. Across Four Oceans manages to retain the flavour of the original rules but adds a degree of detail that will make the end result feel more amenable to the mainstream naval wargamer. At least I think so! As all of the ship specifications have been completed by the author (and very comprehensive they appear as well) all I need to do at this stage is to get the models painted and then start playing.

I am very excited about the opportunities these rule offer me in terms of playability, speed of execution and the all important command perspective level (not to mention the 'feel') and so I will try to get some models ready as soon as possible to give them a run out.

6 comments:

Bluebear Jeff said...

*sigh* . . . a "real" naval gamer would eschew WW2 and concentrate on the "purest" period of the steel navies . . . that, of course, is the Pre-Dreadnought period . . . but since you already have the WW2 ships, I forgive you.

Hope that you have fun.


-- Jeff

David Crook said...

Hi Jeff,

Oddly enough the pre-dreads have given me much pleasure over the years (going back to a set called 'Devil at the Helm' in the early 1980s)and I fully intend revisiting them at some point. I want something larger than 1/3000th though.

All the beat,

DC

Bluebear Jeff said...

I have a lot of 1/2400 Pre-Dreads (mainly Panzerschiffe) and some 1/1000 Houstons . . . the former are nice but a bit smaller than I'd like; and the Houstons are larger than necessary.

I'd like something in the 1/1500 to 1/1800 range . . . but I don't know of any other than scratch-built . . . *sigh*.


-- Jeff

David Crook said...

Hi Jeff,

I would really like to use Panzerschiffe for PDs and WW1 but the cost of shipping to the UK and the prospect of being clobbered by customs makes them unattractive price wise. Same deal really for Houstons. The problem is you need a reasonable number of models for the period.

The only models I can think of in 1/1500 to 1/1800 are Axis and Allies: War at Sea - these are WW2 but a number of WW1 models are in the range which could be pressed into service (Schleswig-Holstein and Georgios Averoff immediately spring to mind although the funnels on the former are the rebuilt 'twixt the wars configuration - the same deal with some of the deadnoughts as well). The old Minifigs range is available again from Caliver books but these are expensive so shipping would be a problem cost wise.

Luckily scratch building generic looking models for the period is relatively straightforward.

All the best,

DC

Bluebear Jeff said...

But "generic" is just not what I'd want for the Pre-Dreadnought period.

The actual ships are so wonderfully individualistic and varied that I want them that way.

As an example, in the Russo-Japanese War, the Russians fielded various cruiser types with one, two, three, four and five funnels.

So, for now I'll make do with my Panzerschiffes and dream of scratch-building after my chemotherapy is finished.


-- Jeff

David Crook said...

Hi Jeff,

That will give you something to look forward to and may I say that I hope all the treatment goes well and that you are soon firing on all cylinders.

All the very best,

DC