"Signing on for service in a 1/600 fleet..." Topic

Okay, after seeing these drool-worthy examples…

(From the Contemptible Little Wargames Club North East‎ site.) ‎

… I've decided to plunge like falling shells into 1/600 to do some pre-dreadnaught gaming. They're of a size that's friendly to my current rather 'challenged' painting style, (medications make things wobbly!) but I also think they have a certain charm and presence at this scale.

So, unless there's another manufacturer in this scale I don't know of, that's the Old Glory range I', looking at.

I've been trawling for reviews of these models… seen some positive, a number… not so positive.

So, before I throw a percentage of my nation's GDP into pursuit of naval supremacy, may I ask those who have examples of this range what they think of them? What were the common issues / challenges?

(I'm aware that the pewter masts are not much cop, and better replaced with brass tube / wire, there's a few bubbles in the resin castings, etc.)

Also, if anyone's got unbuilt examples they're thinking of offloading, I might be in a position to be of some assistance. :D

Thanks all!

- Martin

greentigeryork.blogspot.co.uk

Not my usual thing (or particularly competent photography) but quite pleasing I think.

Oh joy. The #%$^%*%^&*%^$%#@#%*! bug.

Yay!!! PS your ships look nice even if they are on my post!

The Old Glory ships paint up very nicely. However, I would advise that you look over some pictures of the specific ships before you start putting them together -- this is a necessity in order to get everything right. Also, you can drill some little holes where the smaller guns on the sides would be located on some ships and place some small metal wires to represent the guns. I always used the excess metal from the pikes that I had to shorten for my 28mm ancients.

Nice models nicely painted. Sadly 1/600 is way to big for my tastes and gaming area. 1/2400 works better for my interests.

They are fantastic! I second the opinion on the Old Glory ships. They are a pain to put together. Test fit everything. You will need to drill new holes to make sure everything fits correctly. On top of that you are left to your own devices on how they go together. There are no instructions with them.

I've almost pulled the trigger and bought some of these OG models myself several times, because they can look gorgeous if nicely built and painted (as illustrated in the photos above).

They tend to be pretty big (6"-9" long). After doing a little pre-dreadnought gaming, I personally decided not to build a big fleet of OG 1/600 ships, because I can't tolerate the amount of scale distortion they would introduce in order to fit a maneuver contest onto a real-life table. I've found that 1/2400 is about right for post-1900 fleet gaming.

Previous posters have already warned about the difficulty building the OG models. Also see VicCina's blog post about his trials and tribulations building the OG Italia.

If you get frustrated by model-building issues, you might consider stepping down several scales to the War Times Journal models. WTJ makes most of it's 3D-printed pre-dreadnoughts in 1/1800 and 1/1500 scale now, and a growing number in 1/1250 and 1/1000 scales. The larger WTJ models are pretty expensive, but they're beautiful, well-proportioned, detailed, and there is little assembly to do (usually just add wire masts, and rigging if you like that).

- Ix

Thanks for the advice, those of you who've tackled these beasts personally. Much appreciated!

Y.A. – the blog article you linked to is one of the reviews I found, but thank you for taking the trouble.

I was very tempted to go the WTJ route, and I agree that there will be some mind-bending distortion of ground-scale involved at this size! But a big part of my motivation is to scratch my modelling itch, and as I said, I am having a woeful time with working at very small scales of late.

Masts, rigging, searchlights, anchor chains, etc are always things I add to a model if it's not there, so I'd rather be doing that stuff at 1/600 rather than (say) 1/1800 at present. In the past, I always preferred my ships in 1/2400, but that was before surgery, medication, and the wobbles. :(

I love what WTJ are doing, though, and I just know that at some point I'm going to buy WW1 fleets from him. Those I will NOT be doing in 1/600!! :D

I agree 1/600 is a nice scale for modeling, and there are numerous detail accessories available in etched brass and from Bay Area Yards. It's also a lot easier to bend and install a 1/600 wire boat davit than in smaller scales. I think I may go blind if I do any more in 1/1200…

- Ix

The question of scale and table top play has come up before when dealing with Old Glory ships, both these 1/600 and the 1/300 line.

The answer to this question is what do you want on your table top, a game or simulation? I have found that using larger ships with smaller scale rules accomplishes both issues. It allows you to play a game while including elements of simulation. Brian Whitaker who runs a lot of ship games using Old Glory ships has been doing this for years at HMGS cons with great results.

One issue that I always have with size and saying that we need a gym floor to play the game for this time period is that a gym floor does not offer the challenges of an open sea, especially since you have a giant that can see for miles and miles. Second, when playing these type of games we often ignore a lot of other aspects of the naval doctrine as the time.

Beautiful miniatures!!

I've been VERY tempted myself, but even though I have a decent sized house I just don't have the space to do any sort of game with them.