Wednesday, June 5, 2024

New Scenario and making miniatures for it

There was a scenario that I wanted to include into the AWI book an interesting small skirmish between two vessels of the Georgia Navy and some loyalist militia. It featured a flat boat. These were vessels that were very shallow drafted and were used to transport cargo down the rivers to port cities for transport. In this instance, the Loyalist militia managed to mount a few cannon aboard the flatboat to engage the Georgia Navy.

The flat boat was used well beyond the American Revolution and would be seen on the waters of the Mississippi River during the Civil War and after.

This image is taken from https://peoplesriverhistory.us/blog/history-of-flatboating-and-a-charming-educational-film/.

Based on the image, I have guessed this flatboat to be about 12' x 36' in size. I was using an actual picture of a flatboat from closer to the Civil War for reference. These could come in a multitude of sizes as there was likely no standardization. Since the design was fairly simple, I decided to try to make a model in Tinkercad.

So I created this. An armed flat boat, an empty one, one with Cargo and one with a structure in the center. The armed flatboat that was referenced for my scenario had no details on how it was armed. My guess is a pair of six-pounder cannon. But in truth, it could have had one large gun mounted in the bow or a bunch of swivel guns. Since many actions of the American Revolutions occured near river mouths, having flat boats wouldn't be out of place on the table. I believe in the main TCG rulebook there is reference to the same.

With any luck, I will print out a few of these and see what they look like.

Monday, June 3, 2024

1/700th Models & AWI Scenarios

I am trying to figure out who all produces 1/700 scale models that are usable for To Covet Glory. In general, the models available in this scale are far more suited to Kiss Me Hardy as they tend to focus on those above the rate. But there are some stand outs that have some nice models below the rate. One item that I found was that Black Seas models are not true 1/700th. They can vary from 1/600 to 1/700. Saturnalia is listed as 1/650 scale. While Henry Turner makes true 1/700 vessels. Thus far, here are the ones that I can come up with.

STL Files

1) Henry Turner - He has webstores with MyMiniFactory and Wargames3d among others.

2) Simon Mann - He has a few models and they are on Wargames3d.

3) Saturnalia - They are on MyMiniFactory.

4) Productions Diratia - They are on MyMiniFactory.

Many of these can be purchased as prints by resellers on Etsy.

Physical Models

1) Warlord Games Black Seas lines - They have Brigs, Cutters, Schooners and gunboats.

2) Hagen-Miniatures - I just found this company. (https://www.hagen-miniatures.de/) They have some ideal vessels. They have a bomb ketch, a ship-sloop (18g), a galleass merchant, several arabic/Barbary vessels, a tartan, several gunboats, a lugger, a cutter, a ketch, a schooner and others.

3) Meridian - They can be found on https://navymodelsandbooks.co.uk/product-category/meridian-1700-scale-trafalgar-ships/. They have a limited line. They include the HMS Pickle. With some, the masts and such are separate from the hull. I have not ordered any of these models.

From Hagen-Miniatures, I have ordered a wreck marker, a shore battery, a gunboat with spirit sail, a cutter and a lugger. They are in the mail from Germany. I will likely order more.

I am adding another scenario to the book. I was searching for information on the last two ships on the Georgia Navy and discovered a new scenario that fit in. To it is added in as part of the other scenario I am working on. Currently there are 11 scenarios that are part of the book. Several of them are more than a single scenario. So far the list includes:

Naval Action off Fort Fredericka: April 19, 1778

Destruction of the Georgia Navy March to April 1779

Captain Howell, Georgia Privateer April 1781

Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina September, and November 1780

Fair American’s Patrol: October 7th - 15th 1780

HM Schooner Halifax

The Battles of Machias

Voyage of the Vengeance

Sampson and the Swallow

A Convoy Raid

Bonavista Bay, Nova Scotia 1780

I have really been enjoying working on this again. The ship list has provided a number of interesting side tracks.