"1/1200 v. 1/2000 v. 1/2400 Age of Sail Ships?" Topic

I am thinking about picking up some age of sail ships but I am unsure of which of the above mentioned scales offers me the best quality over price. I am hoping the salter members of the TMP can help me out.

How does each compare in regards to…

quality (are the more expensive lines worth it?)
detailing (clean, sharp details?)
durability (masts, rigging, etc…)
ease of assembly (a lot of small parts?)
Any lines clearly superior to others?

Thanks to all who respond!

I have some of the Valiant 1/2000 ships that I am pretty pleased with. Assembly was pretty easy. I drill out the holes in the hulls for the masts to go in. The front and back sails (whatever they are called) are probably the most fiddly pieces. I have some photos on my gallery: link where you can get an idea of the finished product. They are mounted on 30mmx40mm bases for size comparison.

I bought mine on Ebay from Valiant, where you can usually find a pretty good discount on big groups.

It is probably of function of space available, number of ships you want to game with at the time, effort you want to spend painting, how much you want to spend and how fast you want to begin playing. The 1/1200 Langton ships are, by a fair amount, the finest in detail and with a reasonable committment to painting and rigging are the best by such a margin that if you value looks above all, they are the best period but the cost is fairly high and the time and effort in painting can be considerable as well. The other 1/1200 makers that come to mind, GHQ and Skytrex, are a bit less costly and demanding but can also take quite an effort to paint and rig properly.

The 1/2000 Valiants are really nice and for my money, other than Langton's, can look just as good at a better cost although not that much gain in painting and rigging time and effort.

The 1/2400 ships are gaming pieces first and models second. You'll get varying opinions but the Hallmark stuff is a little smaller, has great detail but the masts are fragile, Tumbling Dice are my preferred 1/2400 and IMHO, balance detail with robustness and given the quality of the cast ratlines, look the best. Old Glory's 1/2400 are the perfect gaming pieces, robust and detailed enough at 3 feet but are a simple one piece casting and detail does suffer a bit. I have 1/2400 Old Glory fleets for most of my Napoleonic sail gaming salted with some Tumbling Dice and Hallmark ships for things unavailable in OG's range or simply variety or a special ship.

I've a modest 1/2000 collection for smaller games with 3-4 ships per side and a couple of Langton's just because they are great models.

Attached is a link for comparison of all three 1/2400 manufacturers.

link

I own a fairly large number of the 1/2000th minis, and like them.

Large enough to rig, if you want to take the time, but small enough to look good on the table without rigging, if you just want to do battle.

They are also reasonably priced.

About my only complaint with them, is they don't come with bowsprit cross-beams, and they don't sell them as an add-on either.

I own a few of the GHQ 1/1200th's, and while they look superb, and are impressive in size, I just don't have the time to rig them, and I don't think they look right without at least some rigging in place.

Most will tell you that Valiant's minis are pretty much the same size as TD or OG's 1/2400's. I have some V & OG "74's", and they are only a couple of millimeters apart.

The OG's are indeed more game-pieces, though the bowsprits are too thin! I had to SWEAT to bend some masts to shape (on one of the castings, they leaned much too far forward), but several of my bowsprits were nearly broken off in shipping.

I went with 1/2400 because I didn't want to fool with fiddly masts (and have too much else to do to worry over stay-lining them for support). This is why I have no interest in Hallmark. If I wanted to do delicate and complex, I would just upscale to Langton, as they are fine models.

Though I have toyed with the notion of "trenching out" the masts on my Valiants and replacing them with piano wire for durability. But I already have loads of 15mm minis who need to be converted to wire pikes.

Unlike McKinstry, I pprefer GHQ in 1/1200 but 1/1200 require some rigging to look right. For small actions (less than a dozen ships per side) I like them for their looks. You cant go wrong with either of these lines for 1/1200. I usually want more ships on the table so like the smaller ships. In this category I have a lot of Hallmark but prefer the TDs because the cast on ratlines work well on a gaming piece and create a more robust ship model. I also agree that the 1/2400 TD are less fiddly. With the Hallmark you almost end up trying to rig them (IMHO forge that).

Valiant are nice and could substitute for either GHQ or Langton on the table. My feeling however is either go big (1/1200) or small 1/2400).

I have's a large fleet of hallmarks they are a nightmare to stick together- although they were remodelled with al the fore mast and bowsprit moulded in one so that should make it easier. I recently added some Tumbling Dice and I prefer these. The Hallmarks are nice but are also extremely expensive when compared to the TD range.

In my opinion 1:2400 Tumbling Dice ships are the best at this scale, they are quite durable, easy to stick together, and also are detailed enough for large battles.
I only own one Langton ship in 1:1200, it is a small work of art, but the rigging work needed to make honour to the casting was just too much for me.
Hope this helps.

If it's 1:1200 you decide on I've got a box/fleet of never used unpainted minis. a mix of manufacturers. If interested I'll provide an inventory.

bryan @ 50paces . com

The Valiant 1:2000 I own have the gun ports are located incorrectly.
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Tim

It all depends on your preference and space. For limited playing areas, 1/2000 or 1/2400 is best. If the visual appeal is more important, 1/1200 is the way to go, but the ships look kind of naked without rigging. Langtons are superior to GHQ and Skytrex in appearance, variety, and ease of rigging. Rod Langton also publishes a guide book on rigging that is worth its weight in gold for this period.

depends on how many ships you want on the table – smaller is better for big actions – lower cost and smaller waterline./

1:2400 can look pretty good – here's some TD ones I painted up:

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Si

By co-incidence a discussion about this last night- I was running a game with the plasticard 'Pirates' ships based on vinyl floor tiles for weight. Freind said the Langtons are beautiful, but he found the rigging a nightmare because they are such a high standard.

I'm sticking with the 'Pirates' ships for the time being.