From KenR: 1/700 HMS Forester & Foxhound (80 points)

 

Ship of the week has become ships of the week ! In what may be a vain attempt to finish off the military ships of Narvik I managed to get two Destroyers finished off this week, leaving me 1 Battleship and 3 Destroyers to do before close if Challenge in just 15 days.

HMS Forester is one of 9 F Class Destroyers a repeat of the E Class, she served throughout the War being involved at Narvik, where she escorted the Warspite. Forester went on to be part of Force H participating against the French at Mers el Kebir, escorting in the Med, Atlantic and the Russian convoys, chase the Bismarck and DDay, her crew would certainly have some tales to tell.

HMS Foxhound was also an F Class Destroyer, she had a similar career to Forester but was converted to an escort Destroyer and transfered to the Canadian Navy in 1944 and renamed HMCS Qu'Appelle, she also ended the war in one piece and her last duties were bringing Canadian soldiers back home after they served in Europe.

Both ships are 1/700 E Class Destroyer kits from Tamiya, the tooling for these is really old and they are the most basic of the kits I've done. The ridges along the Hull are a massive pain in the backside both for the decals and the weathering but they have turned out nice enough.

Foxhound is in a particularly interesting colour scheme, one I haven't seen on other ships and comes from wartime photos of the ship. It uses the high contrast of other schemes but the lower hull is split into two colours rather than having a single colour hull and a single colour upper. 

So that's two Destroyers at 40 points each for a total of 80. I have 2 Destroyers half built and Warspite on the go, but the easy wins have all gone. The remaining Destroyers are more advanced kits and Warspite is, well huge, my work pattern means I've only got 4 days left in the Challenge to get stuff done, so let's see.

TeemuL: As promised last week, there are two ships this week, well done, Ken! Older and simpler kits are not necessarily easier and funnier to work with, something you seem to have experienced first hand this week. Once again, you have managed to make the ships individual even though they are the same kit. Let's see if you can make a ship in four days for the rest of the Challenge, I'm sure there are several thumbs up.

From KenR: 1/700 HMS Punjabi (Ship of the week) (40 points)

Well this Challenge has turned into a ship fest against all my planning but with work commitments getting through a ship a week is a challenge in itself at the moment. It's definitely helping me progress the ship part of the Narvik Project.

This week I present HMS Punjabi, the final one of 4 Tribal Class Destroyers for the project and this one is a 1/700 scale Trumpeter kit, just like last week's entry. I've opted for a dark grey lower hull with light grey upper on this one and it does make quite a nice contrast.

The ship spent its career in home waters and on the Northern Convoy routes, she was involved in the 2nd Battle of Narvik where she was badly damaged, losing all power for over an hour. She was lost escorting Convoy PQ15 in May 1942, the deck watch believed they had see a mine and ordered a 15 degree turn to avoid it, unfortunately it was foggy and without knowing the ship turned in front of the British Battleship KGV. The larger ship sliced Punjabi in two however the impact and explosions of depth charges on the Destroyer caused serious damage to the KGV.

So that's another 40 points to the total, I'm a country mile of my target but at least I'm getting a bit done each week. With this ship complete, I have 5 more Destroyers and Warspite to do. With 3 weeks to go, I'll need more than a ship a week and the Warspite is a huge job on its own. Never mind a half done unit of Prussian Landwher !

Anyway, I'm going to aim for two ships next week, until then here are the 4 Tribals for the project.

TeemuL: Let's start with a safe and familiar first entry of the day, 1/700 ship. Thank you Ken, I know there are lots of followers on this project. And two ships a week next? I just hope that those people who are waiting for the Prussian Landwehr and other 28mm models are not neglected too much.

It is interesting to see, that even when those four ships are more or less similar, your skightly different colour choices make them all individuals, but they still look like a group and they all look very real. Splendid job!

From RaulM: Black Seas Cutter and Schooner (20 points)

Life has been particularly busy for me as I just became a new dad, so this will more than likely be my last post for this year's hobby challenge. I was working on a Battle of Lake Erie project, and as part of that I have these two vessels: a cutter and a schooner. 

Both are metal models from Warlord Games Black Seas, although I do think that the schooner comes with resin hulls nowadays. They're fairly simple to build and paint as the sails are sculpted onto the masts, which eliminates a step when compared to the standard Black Seas models. 

The cutter comes in two varieties, an armed and unarmed version. I used the unarmed version, but added a 12-pdr gun to the fore and aft, run out on opposite sides. I based the look off of the HMS Little Belt, that itself was actually the Friends Good Will, of which a replica can be found at the Michigan Maritime Museum. It was fun to use some different colors than yellow and black. 

The schooner got the standard US Navy colours that I've established thus far. It has a little bit of stern detailing, that I embellished with a metallic gold paint. 

These are both planned for a Battle of Lake Erie scenario at some future time. 

As for points, they're both quite small, so I'm taking 5 points each for a total of 10 points. 

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I must admit to getting a bit excited each week when I see that Raul has a post ready for Minioning :-)

And this week's entry is no disappointment either! Two more lovely additions to your Fleets and the great lakes are a wonderful place to sail the lighter hulls. I really like the darker stains on the canvas on the Yankee Schooner too - reminds me of the effect sails get when furled not quite dry.

Lovely work as ever on all the details - worth 10 points each at least!

Most importantly though - hearty congratulations on becoming a Father!!! I'm thrilled for you, as I'm sure everyone else here is too. And you thought Wargaming was expensive.... :-)

- Paul

From KenR: 1/700 HMS Cossack (40 points)

 

Second ship of the week and that's me back on track. I've a couple of Tribal Class Destroyers to do and this is the first one.

This model is the usual 1/700 scale made by Trumpeter and after the Photo etch fest of the previous IBG Models, this has zero PE which is definitely my favourite amount of the devil's work. It's still the same 40 points PE or not !

HMS Cossack had a short but exciting career, first known for her part in the Altmark Incident where she "bumped" into the German Ship and rescued around 300 British prisoners of War who had been captured by Graf Spee. This took place in Norwegian waters (who were Neutral at the time) and Germany claimed that it was a breach of International Law. Pot, kettle, black.

Cossack was involved in the 2nd Battle of Narvik and was badly damaged during an engagement with the German Destroyer Z17 and just made it back to safety. She was then involved in the hunt for the Bismarck, finding the German Battleship during the night and kept it busy until larger ships and aircraft could attack the next day. Cossack was rather lucky in that one of her antenna was shot off by a shell from Bismarck, a few feet lower and it would have been a different story. She was finally sunk after a storm when she was being towed back to Gibraltar after a U Boat Torpedo hit.

Above are the 3 Tribal Class Destroyers to date (2 done pre challenge) and HMS Punjabi is the next ship to build. I reckon I can get another couple of Destroyers done plus Warspite before the end of the Challenge, which will leave me with just 3 more to complete the warship side of the Project.

TeemuL: And Ken delivers, the second ship this week and project is again back on track. Quite an interesting career for this HMS Cossack, nice to read it. Great job again and it is nice to hear there are options even on this project, with different manufacturers and amount of photo etches. :)

From KenR: 1/700 Destroyer HMS Hostile (40 points)

Apologies for the late entry today, its been a busy week but I needed to keep my ship a week target up, it's not a Challenge for nothing !

Having finished the 10 German Destroyers for Narvik last week it was time to move on to the British, there were 5 H Class ships in the first battle followed up by 4 Tribals and 5 mixed Destroyers for a total of 14 ships (plus Warspite of course). 

This is HMS Hostile, Pennant number H55, the model is 1/700 scale and from a company called IBG Models in Poland, these are what I call a "Big boy" kit, there is a load of photo etch, some of which is on the kit 😀 The detail is amazing.

HMS Hostile had spent a lot of time in Spanish waters during the Civil War enforcing the arms embargo, she entered the port of Narvik in the initial British attack, torpedoing a number of merchant ships. Hostile then engaged the German Destroyer Z17, causing significant damage for only one hit in return. She briefly escorted Warspite the next day before escorting HMS Hotspur home as she was badly damaged. 

Her War ended later that year when on the 22nd August Hostile hit an Italian mine and had to be scuttled.

So that's another 40 points in the bag, this week will be a real challenge to get a ship done due to work but I'm going to give it a go. HMS Havock is looking at me 

TeemuL: I'm quite sure there should be a circle in Dante's Abyss for "Hostile". For "Havock", too... But I disgress. Another fine ship, Ken, and you have joined PaulSS in Thursday crew to paint both sides of a conflict. Am I wrong, but is this more brown than the German ships? Very lifelike - as lifelike a grey metal construct can be, but I guess you understand.

P.S. I added some basic labels to the post, I hope you have more time next week. ;)

From RaulM: Black Seas USS Constitution (50 Points) (Lust)

She was lusted after by Paul in my last post, and so I have delivered in the first ring of the Abyss. I've painted Old Ironsides, or USS Constitution, a resin and metal model from Warlord Games Black Seas. 

This ship is the reason I got into Black Seas, as upon my visit I was enthralled and needed to get into some kind of naval wargame where I could use this model. I believe it's one of the earlier Black Seas resin models to be made, as some of the details are quite chunky when compared to the latest releases. All the same though, I like the look of this model. 

I kept the metal masts this time around, as they were thick enough to withstand some touching. With all of the rigging and sails in place they're quite solid. The kit came with a stern davit, but it covered all of the beautiful stern detailing, and I couldn't bring myself to the do that to the model. Instead, I stole the quarter-davit boats from the USS United States model, and I think it nails that iconic look of the Humphrey's frigates without obscuring any critical details. 

I do think the bow railing is a tad chunky, but I think that was a limitation of the casting, as otherwise all of this detail would have been too difficult to cast. I think the Black Seas ships are a "heroic" scale for naval miniatures, as details like figureheads and stern galleries are larger than they should be just so that you can actually read what's going on. And I'm totally ok with that and actually prefer it. 

Based on ratings I've done for previous ships, I'll score this at 20 points, as it's larger than a standard frigate, almost about the same size as a 3rd rate. I've claimed the Lust bonus for this one as Paul wanted to see this model before the challenge was up, and I also have really wanted to point this one. That gives me 40 points total for the post. 

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A fabulous beauty she is too Raul, well worth waiting for! As ever, your work on the rigging, sails, pennants and flags is top notch and worth some bonus points too. 

Thanks indeed for prioritising "Old Ironsides" - thats made my week!

- Paul

From KenR: 1/700 German Destroyer Z12 - Erich Giese (40 points)

It wouldn't be a Thursday without a 1/700 WW2 ship and this week is no different. Welcome to the final German Destroyer of the Narvik Project.

So thus is Z12 - Erich Giese a Type 1934A Destroyer, completed in March 1939, she had a short career being sunk on the 13th April 1940 at Narvik, but before that had been involved in mine laying actions as well as escorting two German Battlecruisers out to sea. She was also responsible for the torpedoing of HMS Jersey before heading to the Fjords.

Struggling with various mechanical and ammunition issues she survived the first days fighting at Narvik she managed to get into action on the 2nd day at a much reduced speed, Z12 ended up fighting 2 Tribal Class Destroyers and unsurprisingly came of worse and was sunk.

As previously this is a Trumpeter Model and this is the best kit for this ship in this scale. So its another 40 points to add to the total which keeps me on track for 1500 for the Challenge. Next up, ship wise is the British, I have started building HMS Hostile so hopefully you can see that next week. Finally a group shot of the German Destroyers done this challenge.

TeemuL: So you have done now the German ships, but will continue on the British ones. I'm glad several followers are happy to see more of these ships of yours. Myself, it seems like last week when I saw one of these ships, is that so? Yes it is, Thursday traditions are strong and alive! Another 40 points for you!

From KenR: 1/700 Z13 German Destroyer (40 points)

 

No surprises with entry no 1 this week as another German Destroyer rolls off the Production line, this is the 4th of the Challenge and also the 9th of 10 German ships for Narvik.

This ship represents Z13 Erich Koellner a Type 1934A Destroyer. She had a very short career, after two mine laying sorties she was involved in the Battle of Narvik, She was hit by HMS Warspite whose 15" shells failed to detonate but even so they caused tremendous damage and the ship was scuttled.

As everyone loved a coloured turret I've done some yellow topped turrets on this ship, as seen during German Operations during the war, it will certainly make the ship more visible on the table.

Points wise it's 40, the ship is a 1/700 kit by Trumpeter Models, next up is the final German Destroyer. Below is a team photo of those done so far, this Challenge 

TeemuL: Is there another way to start a Thursday morning than one 1/700 German Destroyer? Excellent work again Ken. Those yellow turrets are not that striking in the photos, but I'm glad if they work on the table. Another 40 points for you!

From RaulM: Black Seas USS Constellation, Sloop-of-War, and Bomb Ketch (80 Points)

Yup, you guessed it. More Black Seas. I've got another 3 ships done. The USS Constellation from 1854, a British ship-rigged sloop-of-war, and finally a a generic bomb ketch. 

The USS Constellation is one of the named ships that comes in the US Navy starter fleet from Warlord Games. The intent was for it to be one of the original six frigates of the US Navy, but the supplied bits were for the later version from 1854. I did a fair amount of conversion work to the stern to integrate that piece, as Warlord does not make a frigate with a rounded stern. 

This Sloop-of-war is an even heavier conversion, albeit a common one in the Black Seas space. I fused two of the smaller brigs together to make this 3-mast ship. I also took a plastic stern plate from the frigate, and molded it to the back. Finally, I raised the stern deck to create a raised quarterdeck. I did all of this conversion work a long time ago, and I finally decided to paint it so that'll be my exit from Limbo and into the larger world of Dante's Inferno. 

Finally, the Bomb Ketch. Nothing special was done to this vessel, other than that I didn't give it a nationality. I only have 3 of these, and instead of limiting each one to a nation, I decided to keep it generic so I can use it with any fleet in any scenario. 

 For the final points tally, I have:

USS Constellation: 15 points

Sloop-of-War: 15 points + Limbo 20 points

Bomb Ketch: 10 points

For a total of 60 points. 

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What a treat you've sailed in again Raul! You are really doing some fantastic work with these Black Sea ships. The rigging, rat lines, sails and pennants really are top notch. Please take a bunch of bonus points for the great eye for detail in your modelling

I'm hoping you do a USS Constitution during the challenge too: I've been aboard 'Old Ironsides' on three occasions including being "rung aboard" formally, and my name is inscribed on the protective copper hull sheeting under the waterline :-)

- Paul

KenR: 1/700 Z22 Anton Schmitt German Destroyer (40 points)

Second entry of the week and I've managed to keep up with my planned ship a week. This time its Destroyer number 8 of 10 for the Germans at Narvik

The ship is a 1/700 scale model from Trumpeter, I'm very impressed with these kits which are full of detail without being ridiculously difficult to put together. After the excitement of the red Turrets last week, I've turned down the heat with a plain light grey ship with aerial recognition flags front and rear, maybe next week I'll have some coloured Turrets 😉

The model represents Z22 Anton Schmitt which was a Type 1936 Destroyer named after a German Sailor who was the last man on the last gun operating on the German Light Cruiser Frauenlob at the battle of Jutland, he went down with the ship. She was sunk in the initial British attack on Narvik whilst still in port. 50 crew were lost, the remaining men joined the ad hoc German Naval Infantry units in the land campaign.

So that's another 40 points towards my total, to keep me on course towards my 1500 points total for the Challenge. At the moment I've got the next German Destroyer being built and some Spanish Italian Wars Cavalry hopefully ready for next week. Until then here is a group shot of the ships to date.

TeemuL: Big ships, what's there not to like? Excellent quality once a again and I like your athmospheric photos, too. 40 points to your tally and expecting two posts next week. :)

From KenR: 1/700 German Destroyer Z18 Hans Ludemann (40 points)

 

A theme for this challenge will be me finishing (or trying to finish) off the ships I need for my Narvik display and this is Destroyer 7 of 10 for the German forces.

The ship is Z18 Hans Ludemann one of six 1936 Class Destroyers which was named after a midshipman who saved the lives of a number of other sailors when a cylinder exploded on his Torpedo boat in 1913, like all the German ships at Narvik it didn't end well. After British ships had knocked out all her guns the crew tried, unsuccessfully to scuttle the ship. The British boarded the ship after which it was Torpedoed so that it couldn't be repaired.

With each ship I do I try and look for some subtle difference so they can be identified on the table without picking them up. The German Destroyers at Narvik were most likely all light grey and although historically accurate to that afternoon it would be rather dull and also impossible to tell them apart!

It was common practice for all the ships in a German Naval operation to paint their Turrets and Gun Shields in different colours to aid visual detection, so I've added some rather sumptuous red turret shields, the photos have really made them stand out but in real life they are quite subtle, honest 😀 

The model is 1/700 Trumpeter and I claim my usual 40 points for a ship of this size. I've another ship on the go along with some 28mm French Napoleonic Artillery so lets see what arrives first. Team Kreigsmarine so far below.

TeemuL: I really like your 28mm minis, but these ships have something! I guess a big part is the diomara style they are represented, good looking water effects, breaking waves, foam and so on in addition of great photos. I like the way you have added wear and tear to the ships, emphasizing the diorama style.

As for scoring, we can really see the difference with the first timer DaniHG, who asked 2 points for his 1/285 vehicle and veteran KenR, who asks 40 points for 1/700 vehicle.... :) But it seems to be a tradition to award 40 points for 1/700 ships, I might need to try some of them, too. :)