Thursday, 8 December 2011

The Navies of Fezia and Rusland....Part 3


BMC on the left and Minifigs on the right

I had the opportunity this evening to go through my collection of Minifigs ships and the three BMC models I recently acquired and made a surprising discovery. I actually own a Minifigs and a BMC model of the same ship! It absolutely confirms what I suspected that the Minifigs models were, ahem, inspired by the BMC versions. The model in question I will leave you to spot but suffice it to say it is a very late pre dreadnought!


Two more BMC battleships - I have yet to identify the ships they represent

I have more than sufficient for the two fleets although I would have preferred a couple more battleships - if needs be I can always scratch build them - and so I will keep a weather eye open on Ebay or even at my local toy and train fair.


These I am not sure about - according to the Minifigs list these are early turret battleships

I have yet to assign the ships to their respective fleets and so I will give this some thought over the weekend after having had a look through Conway's 1860 to 1905 which will come in very useful methinks!


A selection of Armoured Cruisers


Some more Armoured Cruisers


A pair of modern Light Cruisers

I have a number of cruisers and a good selection of torpedo boats/destroyers so these areas will be well represented which is handy as both nations make much use of smaller ships in their operations around the Fezian Sea.


The rest of the collection

I also have a few submarines and a solitary merchantman that will doubtless see service as a Rusland mine layer or an auxiliary of some kind.

I have settled on the traditional Victorian livery for the paint job rather than the wartime grey - simply because it looks a whole better!
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6 comments:

  1. Bluebear Jeff9 December 2011 at 03:11

    As for Pre-Dread colours, take a look here:

    http://www.wtj.com/store/

    Look under "Information Links"
    Historical Naval Miniatures
    for. . .
    · Predreadnought Paint Guide

    You might be surprised at the wide range of "traditional" color schemes.

    I do suggest that you use different color schemes for the two navies . . . at least for the deck colors . . . so that it is easy to tell them apart.

    Your models look great by the way. What scale are they?


    -- Jeff

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  2. David Crook9 December 2011 at 05:31

    Hi Jeff,

    Many thanks for the link - that is a useful reference to be sure! The old 'different colour decks' trick is one I am familiar with and have used on a number of occasions - my ACW models are a good case in point.

    The Minifigs models are roughly 1/1200th and whilst they are fairly crude are charming all the same. They are ideal for wargames purposes and can be super detailed if needed..

    I am really excited about tackling these models and am pleased that I have at last found a worthy cause to use them for!

    All the best,

    DC

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  3. Paul O'G10 December 2011 at 21:49

    What a splendid collection mate! I'm most envious indeed :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. David Crook11 December 2011 at 16:36

    Hi Paul,

    These models are ideal for gaming and certainly have a little more visibility than 1/3000th models! Given that they are so basic it also means that adding scratch builds that look similar should not be too difficult!

    All the best,

    DC

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  5. Corporal_Trim11 December 2011 at 17:15

    The collection looks good, David !

    That anonymous pre-dreadnought is a very nice model, of all you've shown here it's one I don't have. My guess is the Formidable class, but the British navy got into a consistent groove with their pre-dreadnought designs, producing many similar-looking ships.

    Not that the prototype matters when you're going Fezia vs. Rusland ! I'm really eager to see these painted and based.

    Regards,
    Steve

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  6. David Crook11 December 2011 at 18:06

    Hi Steve,

    Very true re the 'parentage' of the Mysterious pre dreadnought! I am leaning towards those two going to Fezia whilst Rusland gets the newer ships. I am still on the hunt for others so this may yet change!

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete