Six Cargo Ship Objects (CSOs for short a play on a friends joke about using TLOs truck like objects in World War Two land games). I mean occasionally you want some merchant ships for a game but usually you want spend your money on something a bit more combat oriented. So I built my own.
They are loosely based on the profile of the Victory Ship. Each ship is built with two short craft sticks (popsicle sticks) and some additional bits a pieces of wood for the superstructure and cargo hoists. The smoke stacks are made out of old plastic spear hafts.
Up front you can see the one Tanker type ship I built the. I did the ships in a sort of "Dazzle Camouflage pattern" I don't know if Victory ships ever had this sort of paint scheme but I didn't want them to be too boring.
The goal was to make them approximately 1/2400 scale which is the scale I use for World War II naval games. Shown here with a Benson Class Destroyer, so they might be a bit shorter than they should but close enough.
Here is an over head view. The should have some 40mm or 3" deck/AA guns but weapons that small would be hard to model from scratch (you don't see the 40s on the Destroyer above) so I just didn't worry about these. They'll mostly play targets/objective anyway. Points since 1/2400 scale isn't listed I'll suggest 2 points each as that is the smallest vehicle scale available so 12 points (But please adjust as you feel appropriate).
Plus the 30 for collecting the Map Point for 42 Points to start my campaign... now to hump these supplies inland to Cooke's Crevase.
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First, welcome back to the Challenge Adam!
Well, I definitely applaud and envy your ingenuity and craft skills - this fleet of Victory Ships definitely look the business. As you say, we often end up spending our hard-earned sheckles on stuff representing the 'sharp end', whereas the important support elements frequently get neglected. I also like your take on the 'dazzle' camoflage and rest-assured that some Victory Ships did indeed sport this type of paint scheme during the war.
In the past we've scored 1/2400 ships at 3 points each so with that being the case this will give you a tidy 48 Points as you lay anchor in Douglas' Shallows. Well done Adam!
-Curt
Great to see some home carved balsa ships Adam, takes me back to my teenage years. They are more than welcome in my shallows too. FYI if you want a source of cheap 1/2400 merchant ships check out the bargain packs at Panzerschiffe, simple resin casts that paint up well and give you a good selection of types.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip most of my collection is Panzerschiffe and I know so merchants I'll have to check out this option if I do want more merchant men.
DeleteThank you Curt for that extra point per ship it is most generous and welcome.
ReplyDeleteEffective scratchbuilding, Adam :)
ReplyDeleteGreat start Adam, home built too, nice 👍
ReplyDeleteNice scratch built stuff
ReplyDeletecracking effort on these
ReplyDeleteExcellent objectives for naval games and at a cheap price to boot. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteNice economical scratch building and who doesn't like a dazzle finish?!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Scratchbuilding is always great to see.
ReplyDeleteAah we do like a bit a decent bit of scratch build!
ReplyDeleteMore Scratch builds are coming
ReplyDeleteNice work on these and a good way to save some pennies for spending on the heavier units.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to make landfall on this lovely island mate!
ReplyDeleteLogistics is definitely overlooked often and not just by wargames/gamers! ;)
ReplyDeleteFantastic ingenuity on the scratch build. They look brilliant and the dazzle theme is nice on them!