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Sunday, September 25, 2011

Langton Fleet in Review

 I know that I have been blathering on about the latest shiny new object, Saga.  However, in a fit of unfamiliar discipline, I decided I needed to finish at least one existing project before starting another.  I had some minor rigging and repair work to do on my 1/1200 Napoleonic fleet mini's (all Langton models) so I selected those to be "done".  The first picture shows my British fleet which consists of one powerful First Rate (HMS Victory), 5 Third Rates (74's), 1 Third Rate w/ 64 guns (HMS Agamemnon) and two 44 gun Frigates.  I play with the Trafalgar rules and this is a very deadly force.

 Opposing the Brits is the French Fleet (naturally).  The French are lead by a Second Rate (Bucentaure), 6 Third Rate 74's and 2 44 gun Frigates.  9 ships in total.  The Bucentaure (first ship, lower left corner) has been my favorite build yet.

 In addition to the Brits and French, I have a small fleet of 4 Spanish ships, including the mighty Santisima Trinidad (with a whopping 140 guns).  There is also a small US fleet consisting of 2, 74 gun Third Rates and a 44 gun Frigate (USS Constitution).  I plan on expanding the US fleet as I have a few more models in inventory to build.

 Here's a close up of the US fleet.  These models feature brass sails rather than the one piece metal sail/masts on the rest of the fleet.  Each sail is shaped and applied as a separate part.  It's one of the most challenging modeling tasks I've ever tried but the outcome is worth the effort.  The entire US fleet will feature brass sails.

 I always liked the head on shots of sailing ship games, so I threw one in here.  These Langton's look fabulous on the table.


Lastly, here are the ships all in "port" and awaiting to be put up.  That's about a year's worth of modeling efforts sitting in a single tray!  I haven't figured out a way to transport these models safely.  Once I do, I will plan on running a sailing game at one of the HGMS east cons (Fall-In, Cold Wars or Historicon).

Now that I'm up to date on at least one project, it's on to Saga!
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14 comments:

  1. DeanMSeptember 25, 2011 at 1:25 PM

    Beautiful fleet! Those are a lot of nice details worked in. I only have the Langton Ancient ships, but I know the quality is first-class. Man, that's a lot of sails to paint, luckily for Ancients they can come furled :)! Best, Dean

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  2. MontySeptember 25, 2011 at 1:32 PM

    Nice work, Miles - very nice ;)

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  3. AnonymousSeptember 25, 2011 at 1:58 PM

    They look great Miles and just love the way they all fit into the tray.

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  4. Dave S.September 25, 2011 at 2:40 PM

    The ships look great!

    I'm not sure there is a safe way to transport sailing ships. I'm not sure what your bases are made out of, but you could always cut some sheet magnets to mount on the bottom of the bases and in your transportation tray (that would at least stop them from sliding around).

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  5. Christopher(aka Axebreaker)September 25, 2011 at 4:25 PM

    That's one fantastic looking fleet! I've been thinking of doing some naval gaming as well, but more in line with ACW Ironclads.

    Christopher

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  6. Paul O'GSeptember 25, 2011 at 4:39 PM

    Brilliant! I used to do a bit of Nap Naval gaming, and we used the Navwar ships which are quicker and easier to build but nowhere near that quality. And you have indeed done that fine models the justice they deserve. Bravo!

    I too have problems with durable storage (I also move every 2 yeras) This year I have discovered magnetic basing and cannot recommend it highly enough. If you were to use magnetic bases, you can then store your ships in a large metal biscuit tin (you call them cookies but I refuse too!) or similar. The rigging then is freestanding in the tin and quite safe.

    Now lets see some action photos!

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  7. ZardozSeptember 26, 2011 at 3:58 AM

    Yes... another vote for magnetic basing for the ships. 3 rare-earth magnets in the ship's base and some sheet metal or "ferro sheet" (google it) on the bottom of your container will hold the models in place.

    Like this guy does...

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  8. tidders2September 26, 2011 at 8:21 AM

    Lovely collection of ships

    -- Allan

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  9. jmilesrSeptember 26, 2011 at 8:30 PM

    Thanks for the comments:

    I'll try magnets on the ships - the bases have different lengths (based on ship type) but have a uniform 40mm width. I'll try making a metal base with 5 mm rails separating each row to provide some additional stability.

    I'll try to get an in game photo soon.

    Miles

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  10. JMSeptember 27, 2011 at 9:19 PM

    Those look outstanding, Miles!

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  11. Doc SmithSeptember 28, 2011 at 8:05 AM

    Miles - these look really cool - massed fleets like these on the tabletop at that scale would look fantastic!

    Cheers,
    Doc

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  12. JoelSeptember 28, 2011 at 8:45 PM

    Hi, I came across your site and wasn’t able to get an email address to contact you about some broken links on your site. Please email me back and I would be happy to point them out to you.

    Joel Houston
    JHouston791@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. MSFoyOctober 4, 2011 at 2:49 AM

    Fabulous work - lovely fleets. You know what you've done? - you've got me thinking again about dabbling in Napoleonic naval wargames. I keep having spells of this (for most of the last lifetime or so), but always get brought up short by the realisation that my modelling skills couldn't hack it!

    I need some uncle I didn't know about to leave me a load of 1/1200 ships in his will.

    Thanks for the pics - inspiring.

    Tony

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  14. BluewillowOctober 4, 2011 at 9:29 AM

    lovely stuff Miles! I suggest magnets or foam trays (camera case type) arrangement. I use Magnets though for my stuff

    cheers
    matt

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