 Inari7  | 28 Apr 2014 11:02 a.m. PST |
I think I found a set of rules or two, but was wondering about how many ships I should get. I was thinking of getting American ships, but who would make a good adversary. I like unusual looking ships so that is a factor. What kind of groups did the this era ships travel in. One battleship with a few cruisers and more destroyers? Or did they travel another way? I guess I am asking What would make a couple of good starter fleets? THANKS in advance. |
| Winston01 | 28 Apr 2014 11:43 a.m. PST |
You could do Spanish vs American for Pre-Dreadnought era. The United States had groups of cruisers. Pre-Dreadnought battleships were engaged at Cuba after the battleship Maine exploded. The Olympia under Admiral Dewey and his fleet at the battle of Manila Bay could be a starting point for a fleet all Protected Cruisers and gunboats. Olympia,Baltimore,Raleigh,Boston all protected cruisers and the Concord and Petrel gunboats. |
GildasFacit  | 28 Apr 2014 12:38 p.m. PST |
Get fleets that might have fought rather than those that actually did. Limiting yourself to historical conflicts severely restricts what vessels you can employ as few of the major powers were at war during the period. The battles that did take place were all fairly unusual in some respect or very one-sided. I chose to do a mediterranean conflict with France v Italy supported by Britain – initially the Brits don't actually figure in battles, they just keep the best French ships in the channel so that the smaller Italian navy has some chance. Now we're building up to larger conflicts as i now have British and german ships too – next the Russian Black Sea fleet will get into action. Another alternative is to do even crazier 'what if' conflicts – maybe the Japanese think that they should have a colonial empire too and they fight the US for the Phillipines 50 years before WW2 ? The possibilities are endless with a bit of reading around the period and some 'creative' twisting of history. |
| The Beast Rampant | 28 Apr 2014 12:42 p.m. PST |
Russo-Japanese is another obvious choice. I have always been partial to the "what if" notion of an Anglo-French conflict. Both fleets are both very distinctive and very predread-ey. I had been amassing 1/2400 Panzerschiffe, both for price and basic detailing I won't waste too much time on. But WTJ's wonderful ships, with the "pick your scale" option is awfully tempting. |
| David Manley | 28 Apr 2014 12:42 p.m. PST |
We played a three way pre dread campaign set in the Phillipines, Spanish and Germans vs US vs Japan. That was fun. Especially for the Japanese as they let the Europeans and the Americans maul each other, then moved in, wiped out the US fleet and occupied the islands., |
| SteelonSand | 28 Apr 2014 1:31 p.m. PST |
Many moons ago, I dabbled in a 'what-if' campaign based around the intervention in China during the Boxer Rebellion circa 1900- gave you the option of ships from all over the world! link As others have said above, 'Fantasy Fleets' are very much the order of the day, with only the Russo-Japanese or Spanish American Wars having much in the way of historical action – just a word on 'Line of Battle' – most doctrines saw types of ships grouped together – Battleships in the main Battle Line, Armoured or Protected Cruisers forming scouts, with groups of Torpedo Boat Destroyers snapping at their heels…… Hope this helps, and have fun! |
| warwell | 28 Apr 2014 2:22 p.m. PST |
You could do US vs. Germany vs. Britain over Samoa
link |
| Grelber | 28 Apr 2014 6:03 p.m. PST |
Who is WTJ? I don't find them in the manufacturers list. Grelber |
| CraigH | 28 Apr 2014 6:13 p.m. PST |
War Times Journal you can find them here wtj.com |
| Grelber | 28 Apr 2014 9:20 p.m. PST |
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| Chuckaroobob | 29 Apr 2014 7:14 a.m. PST |
I use the 1/600 ships from the Old Glory Shipyard. Live large, play large! |
| CPBelt | 29 Apr 2014 2:56 p.m. PST |
Since you like sci-fi a lot, why not try Dystopian Wars? They make starter fleets as well. |
| Mallen | 30 Apr 2014 5:04 a.m. PST |
Find yourseld a copy of Robert COnroy's 1901: The Kaiser's First War. link It is a fictional account of a German Invasion of the US in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War. It features land and sea warfare, and while not historical, it is an excellent platform for a campaign. I looked into the background a bit, and the Germans did indeed formulate some plans to invade the US, but it was more of an intellectual exercise than a serious "War Plan Orange" type of thing. I live in New Hampshire, and at least one set of plans had them invading the area around Plum Island off the northern coast of Massachusetts. A friend of mine and I have fought a number of actions (land and sea) using the actual topography of the area for the land actions. WTJ will supply most of what you need. |
| Inari7 | 01 May 2014 4:28 p.m. PST |
Dystopian Wars will soon be a game that was played, but not played anymore. Historical miniarures can be played 50 years from now with the same miniatures. Plus sometimes like real history. |
Zen Ghost  | 05 May 2014 7:50 p.m. PST |
Inari,
I just bought pre-dreds from WTJ. I included photos of the french and german pre-dreds in this TMP link
TMP link
Love the 3d printed minis, and priced right in my opinion. Don't restrict yourself to historical scenarios. Get miniatures you think are cool and run your basic scenarios… Encounters, ambush, raids, etc. Whatever you want, your minis your game. WTJ has free rules as well, from simpler to more complex for free download. -ZG |
