"Ship Base Label Ideas and Guidance, not rules specific..." Topic

Hello all, I'm in the process of building fleets for WW1 and WW2 (and maybe Russo-Japan), using Naval Thunder for the most part but may play with a few other rules here or there.

I am using the ODGW clear bases for 1/2400 and am going to put labels on the rear (stern) of the base behind the wake. I've got 3/4 inch wide by 3/4 inch high space to do this and will include a little color flag pic. I've tried it and can fit quite a bit of info on a label that small (some would be 1" x 3/4" in for BB, carrier etc).

What would you put on the label or what is usually done that is NOT rules specific? I don't want to leave something 'crucial' out and go 'dang' I wish I'd asked the TMP guys…

I was thinking:
1) Color pic of country
2) Country Title (not sure of term) such as SMS, HMS etc.
3) Name of the ship
4) A generic designation, universal for all countries such as BB, ACR, CV, CL etc.. (I think this is a US ship designation system right?)

Any other thoughts or is even this too crowded?

I'm open to any Ideas that anyone has and as I'm pretty new to Naval gaming and am very interested in others insights. Maybe a mark for a special weapons system etc.. Just thinking out loud. Too much info is good :>

Thanks so much

I Play mostly NT as well and went with Naval Ensigns and ship names.

Here are some examples:

RJW:
link

SPAN-AM:
link

WWI:
link

Add a bit of color and are easy to identify. Mine are just printed then glued to the base prior to clear coating the models.

HTH,

Aaron

For what its worth, I would keep it simple. My WW1 & WW2 bases are only 15mm wide and I have a label (.45cm high by 1.5cm wide) at the stern. The font is 5mm Arial(I am blind as a bat and it reads ok for me).The label is split in 2 parts. left hand side is ship type BB,CA, etc and the background is either Red (KM-IJN-RMI) or Dark Blue (RN-USN-IRN). The right hand side is the ships name and for all navies is on a light blue background. I have found the additions of a flag unnecessary. Basically it's the Blue team versus the Red team and you soon get to know your ships and fleets. You will need the use of a hyphen to get the longer ships names in , but overall it looks neater and not as obtrusive when on the table.

I would do something a little more formal. Using a US example: [naval ensign, white stars on blue field] USS IOWA (BB 61) or USS IOWA BB

Japanese Example: [naval ensign, 'rising sun'] IJN ISE BB (or BBV, if refitted)

A merchant ship would have national flag instead, and type of merchant. Japanese example: [national flag, red circle on white field] DAIGO FUKYURYU MARU AO

But I'm funny that way. Warships get naval ensigns, while merchies fly national flags.

Oh, merchie-type hull markings:
AC: Collier
AE: Ammunition Ship
AF: Stores Ship
AK: General Stores Ship
AO: Fleet Oiler

Those are all great tips, thank you so much, if any other ideas come up, please post.

All great ideas guys.

Thanks,

Kimball

Maybe too late for the OP, but I label mine with a small flag, ship name (ie Hood), ship class (ie Admiral Class BC) and a simple ID (ie like A1, A2).

Not wanting to buy every ship in any given fleet, I like having a simple ID to make substituting in easier if I don't have the exact ship for a particular action.

I make my ship labels in an excel spreadsheet. You can set the widths to match your bases.

Most of my bases are 1.5 inches wide so I use thre columns set at .5 inches. Each label is made of of two rows (.25 inches high/per) and 3 columns.

I put a national flag in the upper left cell and the ship type (BB, CA, DD etc) in the upper left cell. The ship's name is entered in the lower center cell. These label are easy to print out and and attach to the ship bases.

Here's a link that shows the labels on my 1/2400 WWI ships:

link

I am the complete opposite and put nothing on the bases at all that can be read during a game. On the underside, where it is hidden, I put the ship name for my own reference, but that is all. It all adds to the fog of war as an opponent peers across the table trying to decide if a new ship that has just appeared is a another enemy, unexpected reinforcements or a neutral that has strayed into the battlezone.

An historical precedent for the latter in the USCG Madoc during the Bismarck chase when she was nearly fired on by the pursuing RN ships.

If you have the labels on the underneath, and have lots of identical ships such as destroyers, isn't that a problem? You need to pick the ship up to find which is which, and then how do you put it back where it was?

I used to have separate lables that i put alongside the ships (upside down to create FOW). But after time, I discarded that and now put a lable on the ship base much as the others have described--national insignia and ID
Flag,name of ship,(class of ship).
The font size is 10 BOLD so nearby players can read it.
We dont have a problem about FOW anymore (I just have to ensure Wichita (my favorite ship) is not an easy target as my son purposely tries to sink it for the morale effect it has on me!)

Good info, Guys. Any one try using decals from 1/72 aircraft kill markings? Looks like it would be about the proper size.

Kimball

If you have the labels on the underneath, and have lots of identical ships such as destroyers, isn't that a problem? You need to pick the ship up to find which is which, and then how do you put it back where it was?

I can't say I have ever had a problem with this, other than merchant ships in a convoy. It is rare that in any WWII engagement that more than four ships of the same class appear on the table, and if they do a flotilla or squadron will normally steam in a set order. For instance HMS Kelly is followed in order by Kipling, Kingston and Kandahar.

My ships have slight differences in paint jobs to assist with identification; a flotilla leader's band if appropriate, or minor differences in camoflage.

In a refight of Jutland where there are possibly dozens of similar ships (all those L and M class destroyers) I can see that a means of identification is needed. But until I see land gamers labelling their units "23rd Inf Regt" or "A Coy HQ" I shall not be doing it with my ships.

Demonstration games are a different issue. In this case spectators want to know what is going on and clear identification is a requirement.

But please don't think I am dogmatic on this topic. Because my Dutch destroyers are used infrequently they are labelled because I can never remember all the names, let alone which is which.

I'm with Pentius in that I don't label at all. I've never seen a real warship towing a barge behind it with a giant sheet of all it's own info. Secondly, if my gaming opponent can't identify ship nationalities and classes on sight, then like a real commander, his confusion could prove disastrous. For identifying individual ships within a class, I also mark the underside of the base.