Messages

1

Misc. Naval Games / Re: Where would you set a fantasy naval wargame?

« on: January 08, 2019, 05:25:24 pm »

Bigger fan of the generic setting. Possibly this is because I have (almost) no knowledge of GoT (I lack cable Telly and have none of the books).

I’d rather have decent base rules with add/on supplementary templates to reproduce-represent fleets from Umbar, or Lannister, or Terrabinthia, or wherever.

I would call the setting “The Sea Between the Worlds” (TM Pendrake  all rights reserved.)

The Concept would be such that Melnibónean battle barges could tangle with an Orc Fleet from WoWarcraft, but on the next table over a Skaven squadron could be tackling a fleet of galleys belonging to the Tisroc of Calormene.

Purists could limit their fleet builds to wage a campaign set solely in their favorite fantasy setting.

( Also +1 on allowing flying galleons & sky pirates type of craft.)

2

General Discussion / Re: MBS Monthly Poll #2

« on: July 11, 2016, 06:06:06 pm »

I knew nothing about any of this until I saw this thread <big shrug>

3

News and Rumors / Re: GW Revitalizing Specialist Games

« on: July 11, 2016, 05:59:04 pm »

I have most of an Orc Fleet for BFG.

4

Roll Call / Re: Reporting Aboard

« on: July 11, 2016, 05:32:48 pm »

Glad to see that Avatars are now working. I loaded my old one from the old (defunct) Spartan Forum (which was replaced by the newer 'community'). As anyone might guess from the avatar my first 1:1200 fleet is Japanese. (Spartan calls it The Empire of the Blazing Sun...)

Does anybody have an idea where my avatar image might have gotten to? ...been awhile since I last logged in, but I was pretty sure I had picked one (cf. above).

5

Modeling Q&A / Re: 3D Clouds

« on: July 11, 2016, 05:29:20 pm »

As I start ramping up for another Tournament and other events, we're looking to build a 3D Terrain collection for Firestorm Armada. Asteroids and Debris Fields are pretty easy, but we're kinda stumped on how to handle Gas Clouds. Cotton seems like the only material to use, but maybe there's something else?

In addition, what's the best way to paint it? What would a space gas cloud look like?

How about a sheet of clear plastic? Ideally a big flat piece from clam-shell packaging.

Airbrush or spray paint cloudy FX onto it. Lay flat on table. Any ship on the plastic is in the cloud (suffering or benefiting from the effects as provided in your rules).

6

The Showcase / Re: Quickdraw's Kurak Alliance and Mercenary Thread

« on: July 11, 2016, 05:23:13 pm »

I like those green Oroshan ships a lot. 

7

General Discussion / Re: Anybody know what this camo is?

« on: October 27, 2013, 03:16:23 am »

Thanks for the response!

Yeah I've been doing internet research on and off for the last four days or so.  I might have to go find some Jane's books at the library and see what I can find...

I am thinking about replicating it, but I also want to know if it was real, who used it (NATO in Europe maybe?), what it's called, etc.

I think the bird is a Eurocopter HH-65 Dauphin (Dolphin). Here is the USCG variant:



(Eurocopter's US subsidiary was formerly known as Aerospatiale.) Compare:



It is probably just a one-off paint scheme on a civilian Dolphin used for the movie. The white and red stripes beside the star were discontinued on real USAF equipment at some point. Was it before 1997? And, are the stripes too long, compared to the authentic marking on the USCG bird?

8

News and Rumors / Naval Aviation NEWS | With Timeline

« on: July 18, 2013, 03:18:27 pm »

18th of January 1911, Naval Aviation is born: Eugene Ely lands an airplane on USS Pennsylvania. First time a plane successfully lands on a ship.
(102 years, 7 months ago -or- 1231 months ago)



_____________________________________________________________

1911-2013,  102 Years of Manned Naval Aviation and Two World Wars ensue.

_____________________________________________________________


10th of July 2013, Naval Aviation Changes Forever: A drone airplane lands itself on the USS George H. W. Bush. First successful landing by an unmanned airplane on a ship.
(8 days ago)

9

General Discussion / Re: Spartan's Image Problem

« on: June 20, 2013, 01:18:25 pm »

What do you all think? Have you noticed this same trend?

I have. It is apparent on the Spartan Forums as well, although there it manifests more as waning enthusiasm.

If you don't like it, and if it really frustrates you that much, DON'T PLAY THE GAME.

I am the sort that buys models because I like the models and then I later hope that if someone wrote rules for them that they will perform OK under those rules.

Rules never frustrate me. They sometimes disappoint or make me laugh at their silliness. If that becomes a problem I just go write my own rules. And my rules are always perfect...

(But I was was raised by Bears in the Woods ---Back in the Days of Yore--- When companies that made model tanks or boats or whatever, simply made models and then fondly hoped that some of the people buying the models would use them in games. Games the people playing them had devised for themselves.) 

10

General Discussion / Re: What are you watching?

« on: May 27, 2013, 11:04:34 am »

Ya they really know how to ruin a movie with previews :/. My wife really liked the last Star Trek movie which was a surprise because she never really cared much for it before. Hopefully this one will be about the same. What Im really looking forward to tho is Ender's Game! Ive loved the books since I was a kid.

The one or two Star Trek trailers I saw actually did a bit of misdirecting and served to create (some) surprise(s).

11

General Discussion / Re: What are you watching?

« on: May 25, 2013, 06:04:34 pm »

I saw the new Star Trek movie. It is definitely an action movie first, a Sci-Fi film second. And somebody needs to coin a new term to replace "Sci-Fi" for films like this. The Science part needs to go away. Far/Future/Techno/Fiction??

No edition of Trek has ever withstood the scrutiny of real physics (but the older material made an attempt to maintain a veneer, albeit a thin veneer, of science and super-physics). This new movie, well it went a parsec or two out of its way to rub your face in the fact that they not only chucked physics out an airlock, they blasted it with phasers and 5 or 6 dozen photon torpedoes after they did so.

So anyone about to view this movie should lock down all analytical sub-routines, quarantine all physics knowledge  in their databanks, and run suspended-disbelief shielding at 110% before entering theatre orbit.

12

Dystopian Wars / Re: The Ottomans Have Arrived

« on: May 25, 2013, 04:46:04 pm »

Releasing in July:

https://shop.spartangames.co.uk/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=DWAL36

....[snip]....

First impressions:  the superstructures are VERY ornate, and very clustered.  I think they'll be a challenge to paint.

Thoughts on the design?

I am under impressed. I do not like the trend of "iconic national architecture" becomes "naval architecture". The Ottomans are just the latest but perhaps the most egregious example. Basically, the design paradigm is: The Hagia Sophia goes to sea.

Multiple minarets on major warships.. ? ..uhhh, no. 

I have not wanted to post this on their forum because they tend to ban negativity if or when they decide it gets out of hand. While I am on the topic of "iconic national architecture becomes naval architecture" I must say something about the Italians: the smoke stacks are forward of the bridge on every ship class except the MTBs

That is a monumental design blunder that I find stunning; result: some very silly models.

Back to Turkey: I was really hoping they would give the Ottoman fleet a bunch of low-slung , menacing looking rams. Drawing inspiration from their Uncharted Seas Cloud Mages designs perhaps. Casemate ironclads with  sharp pointed ram noses is what those were.

I do like the look of the Ottoman small flyers (that you get three of instead of a pair of bombers). Am am unlikely to buy a boxed set just for those however.

Does anyone think that the minarets are resin? Metal add on pieces seem far more likely to me. If that were the case and somebody sent me the Ottomans as a present I would be almost certain to leave them off. Aside from everything else the temptation to use them to model shore installations would be overwhelming.

13

Modeling Q&A / Re: Tutorial - Asteroid Markers

« on: April 08, 2013, 10:11:42 pm »

Gotta vote with Ruckdog on this:

...As for the base color, I prefer black over clear as I feel it blends in better, but YMMV .

+1

Black bases & black posts for asteroids. Litko could provide black acrylic bases but when I do my asteroid field I will probably just cut up some MDF or something.

14

General Discussion / Geography and Naval Deployments

« on: April 08, 2013, 09:57:44 pm »

I am watching the news (almost filed this under 'What Are You Watching') and it is all about Korea.

I have a couple of 'maps'* to show off which should be of interest to anybody keeping up with current naval events.

First up Korea - The Center of the World:

This is how the globe looks if the Korean peninsula is plotted at the very center. Very useful for understanding what is closest to Korea and what is under the flight path to some particular point.

Second map: A Great Circle: Korea to CONUS** (As the Tern*** Flies).

On this map a straight horizontal line across the middle would connect the Korean peninsula to the US along the shortest possible path. That path makes it clear why this:

is deployed somewhere in the Bering Sea, why Fort Greely, Alaska is where our interceptor missiles are, and why Aegis Destroyers are deployed to the Sea of Japan. All of those are waypoints on the potential flight path to the US.


*The maps came from:http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Earth (a nifty online globe map resource. Just plug in the correct options and generate whatever view of Earth you might want.)
** Continental United States (for anyone that doesn't know that one.)
***Crows lack the range...

15

Modeling Q&A / Re: Tutorial - Asteroid Markers

« on: April 08, 2013, 10:43:58 am »

...I was thinking about using Dystopian Wars flying bases to hold them up--so I would need to be able to make them a little smaller maybe than the ones you've made.  Do you think the lava rocks are too heavy for DW acrylic flying bases to support?...

@LL
I have lava rocks and Dystopian Wars flying models. The models are heavier than the rocks.

Bases: I would be very tempted to spray paint 6 penny nails jet black with auto primer for the posts. If I just had to have clear acrylic bases (to match what the models are on..?..I suppose) an outfit like Litko might be an option. The link goes to square acrylic stands. Litko can also do custom jobs. I have had two custom orders from them that turned out great. You could order round or hexagonal bases for asteroids with large diameter center holes to match whatever wooden dowel you wanted to use (just as an example).