Defying Gravity - Leviathans Style

Gotta love the idea of a flying battleship! The base game contains 8 PRE-PAINTED models - 2 battleships, 2 cruisers and 4 destroyers split equally between Great Britain and France. These are made from plastic and are scaled at 1:1200th - the same as those from Brigade Models from their Aeronef/Imperial Skies range

I have a long history with Victorian Science Fiction aerial wargames. Initially this was down to the Aeronef rules produced by Wessex Games years ago - a set I have fond memories an, along with Aussie Paul of The Man Cave fame,  even collaborated on a mini campaign supplement called Aeronef over the Aegean. I scratch built fleets of Balkan dirigibles for the Turks, Greeks and Bulgarians, and in short, had a lot of fun with the genre.

Since then I have sort of looked at genre a few times - mainly with a view to scratch building the models again - but never really got anything off the ground so to speak. I am going to look at Robin Fitton’s Imperial Skies (available from Brigade Models I believe) and even revisit Castles in the Sky for additional inspiration but something has appeared at Maison Crook that the genre did probably not expect….

Leviathans is a miniatures based game of flying warships set around 1910 - firmly in the Dystopian Wars/Steampunk ‘era’. I remember seeing mention of the game prior to its launch around 2011 and being pretty ‘meh’ about the whole idea. I have a vague recollection that the models were going to be released moulded in transparent plastic which I was underwhelmed by - not sure why but at the time it did not appeal for some reason - and also the range of ‘official’ models seemed quite limited. 

Nowadays I tend to be a little less precious about ‘official’ models - how very avant-garde of me - so when a copy of the released game popped up for sale on one of the Facebook groups I belong to I thought I would take a look - just for old times sake and all that.

I looked into the current situation of Leviathans and was surprised to see that a further edition had been fully funded on kickstarter and added in the Germans and Russians as well as extending the original game to include the Great War. The new base game features French and German Leviathans with the inevitable extra fleet packs adding additional models. A quick messenger exchange with the game’s producers - Catalyst Game Labs - confirmed that the new version is essentially the original game rebadged and expanded and critically, all the original material is still relevant and usable. That clinched it!

Now I should perhaps explain my thought process at this point. Obtaining a copy of a game like this - self contained, with pre-painted models and ready to use straight out of the box - is at the present time probably the best way for me to get into something new. Although this is not strictly a new project per se, it is something that has been on the radar and I do have ‘form’ with it. Is that a justification? Perhaps - but it what passes for rational decision making in my universe it was a no-brainer!

The Game Itself

When this large box of goodies arrived the first thing I realised was that aside from the eight ships in the base game there were also the British and French expansion packs - a further eight models! I queried this with the seller and he said he had forgotten about them. He did not want any extra money as a result which was a generous gesture indeed although I had managed to score one of each set off eBay in anticipation - which now means that I will have twenty four models in all!

There are two double-sided map boards - these are 16 by 17 hexes (the hexes are 33mm across the flat sides). The above are the ‘land’ sides….

….and this is the ‘sea’ side

Some of the models on their bases along with the data cards and damage cards

More of the game components

The paperwork - the Lieutenant’s Manual is the quick start version whilst the Commanders’s is the full rules set. The Gazetteer is a 90 page background guide to the world of 1910 and the technology involved. The world is very much historically aligned although a few changes are present!

A poster featuring the main types involved in this version of the game.

All of the models - the lighter grey types are French, the darker are British

The models from the base game.

The models are rather nice but do feel a little fragile. The paint jobs are acceptable although even reluctant old painter me has felt the urge to ‘pimp’ them up a little - time however, is still my greatest adversary!

All in all then, this is a welcome addition to the collection that crucially does not need much in the way of getting it table ready. The new version should be available later spring so will increase the available models somewhat. I would have liked to have scratch built them but sadly time would not permit so having an ‘over ready’ option for the genre is really handy.

The map boards could also serve for 1:600th scale aircraft games so all in all the game has many benefits - even if I used the models elsewhere. 

In closing the only thing I would say is that I am not a fan of the bases used!

The Ship Builder’s Progress

The Turkish fleet. These are going to be limited to plain black hull sides, possibly with the lower hull in brick red, and with the inevitable white trim around the main deck.

The Royal Navy. The single thickness hull templates at the top of the picture will be painted brick red for the lower hull and the layer above will feature the thin white ‘boot strapping’. The main deck will also have a white trim.

After what has been the best part of three months I am finally on the last lap of my on and off seasonal chesty/throaty thing - an affliction that is not serious but is extremely wearing. I tend to lose concentration easily (more so than usual!) and suffer from what feels like a permanent slightly nagging headache - tension based and no doubt due to the coughing. In short, it means that I am at somewhat than optimal efficiency and so most gaming related activities are greatly reduced.

The pictures you see above at this stage do not look like much but I was able today to get the models up to a tipping point prior to the next phase. I cannot begin to tell you how good it felt to be knee deep in MDF once again and in a meaningful way! 

I have a few pieces I am waiting on from Warbases but I am at last at the stage where at the very least the lower hulls can now be undercoated prior to painting. The main decks will have their hatches etc added before being painted so that the first phase will be just the lower hulls. I want to get all the hulls completed  (I am waiting on half a dozen pieces main deck pieces from Warbases for these) before I tackle the masts, bowsprits, flagstaffs, flying decks, funnels, turrets and barbette mounted guns. 

I am quite pleased, relieved even, to be back in business and am also delighted that the 24 of the 16 models planned are back on track….

New Year, Old Challenges….

Portable Ironclads in action

The Block of Ages - expect to see these in the new year!

Our first trip abroad since Laurel’s surgery - a fantastic week so we have booked for two in 2025 (which means I shall miss Broadside in June but I reckon the Paella will make up for that, along with the planned visit to the Alhambra palace!)

Dunno what he looks so pleased about but he is definitely punching above his weight…. ;-)

The view from the breakfast terrace at the hotel - just soak it in!

For Steamer Wars: Hexed - Charlie and Rose keeping a low profile in the African Queen

The Lake Tanganyika collection

First of all, a (belated) very happy new year to one and all! I hope all went well in whatever way you chose to celebrate (or not).

Ours was a quiet affair as SWMBO and I binged watched the final three episodes of The Winter King - it was OK-ish - before retiring in advance of midnight. That was probably not a smart move as the fireworks marking the new year seem to go on for ages and with a disturbing level of WW1 barrage intensity!

2024 was a little like the curate’s egg in many ways. My redundancy and four bereavements - one of which hit us both particularly hard - set against the backdrop of Laurels continued struggles and for me a prolonged series of bouts of my seasonal throaty/chesty/coughing thing over the last quarter, and now an infection in my right eye means that yours truly was probably less than enthusiastic about seeing the new year in! Nothing fatal in there though, just tedious and energy sapping.

The brightest spot of the year was when Laurel and I headed off to Andalusia in June for our first trip abroad since 2019 (when we went to Cuba). It was a fantastic week that all went off swimmingly - much to our (especially for Laurel as this was her first trip as a disabled traveller) relief. Flying from our local airport (Southend) was a huge advantage as it is small and less busy than the larger ones and so less stressful. The staff on hand for the assisted travel were absolutely top drawer - all of which helped to settle the nerves etc. My daughter said that in many ways it was like ‘ripping the plaster off’ as all the imagined problems did not materialise although Malaga airports for the return was a different story. We will know how to deal with though, when we return this June for two weeks, with a visit to the Alhambra Palace.

The gaming front has been relatively quiet but with a few bright spots. The hex based version of David Manley’s Steamer Wars was written and published and of course I was able to build some models to go with it. It was great fun to do and a couple of cracking games came out of it - along with some ideas for my planned WW1 Madasahatta inspired campaign plans.

A number of boardgames came into the collection as well as a fair few going out and also the library saw a lot of ‘churning’. The books have been greatly reduced but some choice acquisitions have kept it honest and more importantly, me inspired! In both cases the reality is that I am no longer able to get out as much I used to due to caring responsibilities and also, inevitably the day will come when a down size will be needed. The more precise focus has certainly been beneficial though as concentrating on a mere 247 projects instead of the usual 862 is easier to manage….

I was finally able to get to The Other Partizan in October. It was a flying visit but an enjoyable one and next time I shall be better prepared.

I managed to get a couple of ACW Portable Ironclad Wargames in which were great fun and indeed, there are a few more models to be built for the collection - once the Royal Navy and Turks are finished.

Developing the Portable Ironclads Wargame is three quarters ready in terms of text. Some 24 of the 16 models needed are now under construction and as soon as a couple of things are in place I should be good to crack on with them. On the writing front I have some pretty good news but this will have to wait until after DTPIW is published, hopefully at the end of Q1.

That is about it for now as concentrating for long periods is quite wearing at present so once again,

Have a great new year - stay healthy keep rolling whatever you need to roll!

Catch you all later!