44 Gun East Indiaman - GHQ 1:1200

And here is the last of the old stuff I can post - a 44 gun East Indiaman, a 1:1200 model from GHQ. Throughout this era every European nation worth its salt could boast an East India Company, a private organization chartered to conduct trade with the nations of, well, the East Indies. The most powerful of these companies, such as the British and French EICs, operated enormous merchant fleets, and to protect their fabulously expensive cargoes they maintained their own private military apparatus as well. They also often enjoyed close support from national militaries, as their operations were so important to the economies of their respective nations.

I painted this model to look less like a national navy ship than many of these vessels actually did - in particular British EIC warships were commonly painted just like Royal Navy vessels. I wanted something that could fill a number of roles, as needed.

As I always do with these models now, I replaced the bowsprit with one of my own making (of steel and brass rod) because it adds a great deal to the strength of the model. I also raised the hull up slightly on a thin sheet of plastic, and mounted it on a resin sea base from Langton Miniatures, putting a plastic base with a magnetic layer under that for ease of transport and storage.

14 Gun Cutter: GHQ 1/1200

Here is another little project that I finished a little while back and am just now managing to post pictures of. This is GHQ's 1/1200 model of a 14 gun cutter.

Though the smaller ships are usually trickier to rig, since the spaces are so much tighter, when there is only one mast things are fairly simple. I did replace the kit's bowsprit with a brass rod so I would have something strong to anchor the rigging on. That makes a big difference.

I've raised the hull up on a thin sheet of plastic, added Langton photo-etched ratlines, and mounted the whole on a metal sea base from Langton. That then went on top of a black plastic base, with magnetic sheeting underneath. When the bases are too thin, people pick them up by the models, so the extra thickness adds to the piece's longevity.

28mm Imperial Romans - Warlord Games

So I'm moving to a new apartment this month, and it turns out that, besides the demands of a day job, few things can eat in to one's painting time more effectively than having to pack up all one's possessions and relocate them. I've not got much else done this month, but I wanted to get at least some pictures up, so here are some 28mm Imperial Romans from Warlord Games, which I painted for a private collector.

The shields are done with the transfers supplied with the set, which proved a little trickier than anticipated. The fit was good and they were easy to remove from their backings after soaking in water, but they did not want to adhere well to the shields themselves, the edges curling up as they dried. I tackled this problem by brushing on clear matt varnish, which both seeped under the transfer and held it in place, and took care of the glossy sheen.

Just 8 of them for now, but there will be more in the near future.

Auctioning off a ship: 1:300 Langton Miniatures Brig [EDIT: SOLD]

This is a model that I completed and posted to my blog some time ago, but in an effort to clear space in my over-crowded Brooklyn apartment I've decided to auction it off on Ebay.

It's an English brig from the period of the Napoleonic wars, and features crew members on deck and in the rigging, a painted sea base, MDF pedestal and a fitted plexiglass cover that can be removed.

If it turns out there is a market for this sort of thing (I've never tried it before!) then a few other similar models may follow.

The auction can be found here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-300-scale-Model-Ship-Langton-Miniatures-Brig/221219374315?ssPageName=WDVW&rd=1&ih=012&category=4248&cmd=ViewItem

Take a look if you're interested in this sort of thing! - James

28mm Cataphracts Command - Relic Miniatures

In the course of their eastern conquests the Macedonians encountered very heavy cavalry of a type used for generations in Persia, and which the Greeks called "kataphractoi", meaning "completely enclosed". Not only were the riders themselves covered from head to toe in heavy bronze armor, but their horses as well were similarly protected. Recognizing a powerful tool, the Seleucids especially incorporated these units into their forces.

Cataphract cavalry were slow moving but extremely powerful, well suited not only to breaking the strongpoints of the enemy's line of battle with a momentous charge, but also to remaining in close combat, protected by their extensive armor, where other cavalry would have been put at a great disadvantage by masses of infantry.

These figures are 28mm models from Relic Miniatures, and are fantastically detailed with ornate helmets and many, many-pieced suits of armor. The standard bearer wears a metal face mask. The standard itself is part decal (the wreath element I cut from a LBM transfer) and part freehand (the eight-rayed sun and the border lines).

Onboard the USS Constitution

Recently I had the great good fortune to make a pilgrimage to Boston for the sake of going aboard USS Constitution. I had talked about the subject for so long that, no doubt unable to listen to me go on about it any longer, my girlfriend made a belated christmas present out of the vacation. We took the train up on a Thursday morning, and spent several days touring the historical sites and wandering around the commercial districts, returning on Sunday. The best hotel deal we found was at the Harborside Inn on State street. I'd recommend the place, it was clean and comfortable and conveniently located. And better stil, there is a lovely model of the Constitution in the lobby by the elevators. If you look hard you can just see the reflection of my girlfriend Lysa looking - inexplicably - unimpressed. (She was actually an incredibly good, cheerful enthusiastic travelling companion the whole time, but I do like to tease her).

The day we arrived we went to the Boston Tea Party Museum. I confess to being attracted principally by the replica merchant ships one can go aboard there:

On board, a very congenial mannequin captain will allow you to snoop around in his cabin. Very hospitable of him, I think, especially since he is clearly pressed with paperwork.

On Friday morning we set out on the Freedom Trail itself, an actual trail or line, sometimes in red brick and sometimes in paint, that begins at Boston Common and winds its way through the city taking tourists to various sites of historical interest. We enjoyed this a lot, and many pictures were taken. However in the interest of space I'm going to confine myself in this post to ship-related imagery.

At the end of the Freedom Trail (I'd say it took us between four and five hours to get there, at our leisurely pace and stopping for lunch) one reaches the real destination. This was my first good shot of the ship, seen through the gaps in a chain fence. You can see that the topgallant masts are lowered down onto the tops. At this point I was beaming like a child, an expression that apparently didn't leave my face the entire time.

USS Constitution seen from the starboard side on a sunny winter's day:

The genuine smashers - carronades on the quarterdeck:

Down below, on the main gun deck now. At this position (port side, just in front of the captain's cabin) a friendly sailor is stationed by a display of different sorts of ammunition, and he will talk to you about the weaponry or whatever you'd like to pick his brain about. It was neat to listen to him speak of how the crew would respond to different situations in the first person plural: "if we could come into close range we would try to clear their decks with grape shot, which you see here." It's not just a museum ship, the crew consider themselves part of the living tradition of the ship and the men who served on her in her relative youth.

 Looking forward along the port side battery on the main gun deck. You can see that they are currently doing renovation work on the ship, which sadly meant that we couldn't go below this deck.

Inside the first of the captain's several cabins now.

And here is the bed on the starboard side, behind the room shown above. This is a mirror image of the same accommodation found on the port side. If memory serves, in between was another room we were not allowed to enter. I may be misremembering that though.

Here is the view looking forward along the port side of the ship, from the quarter gallery.

And back up top again, looking forward along the port side of the deck. 

Looking up at the dizzying heights of the masts. And these aren't even extended to their full height, as noted earlier. They would be a good deal taller with the topgallant masts were raised. Just imagine climbing the ratlines while the ship was swaying wildly in severe weather on a tossing sea.

I never cease to marvel at the intricacy of the rigging. 

At the bow of the ship, the bowsprit itself. Note the steps leading up its length, with a line on either side for safety.

Saying goodbye to the ship. A view across the water at the port side. The next day we walked all the way back to be able to go through the USS Constitution museum, which will tell you about the history of the ship and the men who served on her, as well as giving a lot of general information about life at sea at the time. And there are a great deal of ship models in it.

I can't tell you how much fun it was to be on board such a famous vessel from such a fascinating era in the nation's history, in world history. Lysa was kind enough to document my goofy grin. I'm wearing it again as I look through these pictures.

More of Hannibal's Veterans - Relic 28mm

As a further step toward liberating Italy from the overreaching Romans, and restoring a rightful order to the Mediterranean world, I have added 4 more Carthaginian veterans from Relic Miniatures (28mm) to the unit. As many of you are already aware, after his initial victories in Italy Hannibal equipped many of his men with captured Roman equipment, so these gentlemen wear Roman chain mail, two Roman helmets, and all of them sport large Roman shields, or "scuta".

I've hand-painted the shields with a variety of Carthaginian symbols - except for the second from the left. His has retained a Roman design to make the origin of the equipment all the more obvious - and hopefully giving just a little bit of a taunt to their opponents.