Wednesday, March 18, 2020

British 80 gun Caesar and nameless French 76


Has It Been So Long?


According to my blog, it's been about a year since I posted any ships from the Age of Sail project.  I'm sure by now I've lost my ship adventuring loving audience.  Maybe it's time to take them back by a storm at sea!

Here we have a named ship for the British, the 80 gun HMS Caesar, and some nameless wretch of a 76 for the French.  As it has been my habit, I make these ships in pairs.

The Caesar


First to raise expectations:

This is a LINKY-LINK to BW's post of the HMS Caesar.  He did a smashing job and I believe it's the same Langton model.  Take a look at the other ships too because you know you want to...I'll be here when you get back.

And while I am highlighting people with more talent than myself; Here's another CLICKY-Click to Vol's blog and his excellent ships.  I could of swore he had a post on the Caesar but I couldn't find it.

But now to dash you back to reality.  Here is my Caesar.

Actually came out pretty well.


Don't tell anyone, but I kinda screwed up on the pendant.



Ship, Ship, Shippy Ship Ship.



A close up of some of the rigging.


The stern cabin looks pretty smart.
Also, I need at least one shot with my fingers in it to show the scale.


Sail off  to the storage bin.
Safe Travels.


French 76


Next up is this French 76.  However, I don't have any rules that really differentiate between a 76 and 74, so really it'll just be another 74.  This isn't any particular ship so it's got no name for the present.

Ahh, we meet again, my old enemy, the double sail jib.
It is a such pain to get on right.


In all humility, I think I've gotten pretty good at ships.
They are some of my favorites models..


I do like the more rounded French Stern cabin.
Remember that I have the hands of a lumber jack
which helps make the ships look extra small and petite.




This ship too can sail off to the storage bin.
Safe travels and fair winds.



The Immediate Future is Floating on the Ocean.


So, for the moment let’s pretend that the Kublacon Convention at the end of May is not going to be cancelled due to the virus.  We shall see.   At the convention  I have signed up to host some Age of Sail games because I wanted to run games because I enjoy such things, but wanted to make it easy on myself.  It’s NO PROBLEM to plunk down the sea mat and some awesome looking squadrons, plus it’ll be easy to transport.  This won’t be anything Trafalgar-ish, just around 7-10 ships per side.  Like I said, no problem.

But there’s a problem; I don’t have that many ships. 

All my ships safely in their storage bin.
See, they made it there safely after all.

What I have is 5 ships per side, that’s including these two new ones.  Time to get to work.  Nothing spurs productivity like a deadline.  For the foreseeable future, I’ll be a Ship Making Machine. 

My Age of Sail lead pile.
Each circle is a hull and masts to complete 1 ship.

Waiting in the shipyard are 5 ships, and I’m gonna try to get them all done in time for the convention.  It is a little over 2 months away so there should be plenty of time (in theory).  Maybe if there’s an excess of hobby time and these get done ahead of schedule, I’ll start in on some extras like super cool broadside markers.  Or of course I could just order a few more ships.  
But time is a wastin'!  What am I doing just sitting around blogging.

Two more ships in the works.
Facing away from each other like they're siblings on a time out.


Maybe it’ll go pretty fast, the basic parts of the ships do go together pretty quickly.
So if you need me, I’ll be out to sea. So....

Sea you next time!
Knot if I don’t see you Schooner!
That’s a really bad pun, I’m such a Nautiboy.  But really I just gave in to the Pier Pressure.


I'm Shore that I have you Tide up in laughter. (last one I promise)

On a Serious Note


It's a surreal time right now. Take care of yourselves and your families.

36 comments:

  1. Beautiful ships all aournd, splendid details....Take care of yourself!

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  2. Beautifully done! I am both admiring of your work and scared of the prospect of doing my own rigging.

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    1. I agree! Rigging ships scares me too!

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    2. Shucks guys, if I can do it than anyone can. It does help that I have the fingers of a brain surgeon. 😀
      But in all honesty, I don’t do knots, it’s just gluing pieces of stiffened thread in the right places.

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  3. Cool stuff Stew! That rigging is awesome. Can’t say the same about those puns though.......😄😄😄

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    1. I disagree, it’s hard work to be that puny....😀

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  4. Very nice ships (and the basing: top notch). I once made a modest attempt to get started in the age of sail (Angl Dutch War period)...being a land lubber, I was not prepared for the complexity I was confronted with when I opened my first ship model (Langton). For once, I admitted reality and realized that I didn't have the expertise necessary to carry the project through. Good luck on completing your ships by May!

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    1. Thanks Ed. I’m surprised at what you wrote, with all the converting of figures you have done so excellently I’m sure you could manage a little ship. And as I always point out, if I can get a decent rest then anyone can for I am no master modeler. 😀

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  5. More rigging you nutty professor!? Will this amazing looking insanity ever end?

    In all honesty though, once again, fantastic results matey boy. Dearly hope the Con doesn't get cancelled cos your new armada deserves to get a trundle on the table.

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    1. Lol, much appreciated Dai. The madness will end when I have massive fleets!
      Or at least these next five. 😀

      I seriously hope the con won’t be canceled, fingers crossed and good thoughts!

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  6. Nice work a lovely collection of ships 👍

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  7. Hopefully I'll see you at Kublacon!

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    1. Thanks Barnes! I certainly hope so.
      I was caught off guard about picking games online so far ahead of time. I was still thinking they used sign in sheets. 😀

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  8. I'd like to think painting MESBG and those 15mm minis prepared you well for the fine details on those ships! ;) They look really fantastic and I think that game at Kublacon will be a great-looking and immersive experience. Its great to see you making a lot of hobby progress and I'd love to see a report from the game(s) at Kubla too. I hope you and your family stay healthy in the meantime! Its getting scary out there :(

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    1. Thanks Kuribo. Painting those things and also reading a bunch of age of sail fiction have got me all set up. I hope my hosted games will go off without a hitch. I’ll need to play the rules a few more times (solo it looks like). 😀
      It is getting a little cray. Yet I’m still going to work...

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  9. Splendid pair ships of the line! Very impressive rigging and basing ,good luck getting the rest done in time!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain! I can’t take too much credit for the base, it’s the Langton sea base that already has waves on it, I just dry brush it with shades of blue. 😀

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  10. Great work on these, and I am sure that the next five will be awesome as well. Is there much scope for smaller ships? Line of battle is great and all, but it was such a small part of the wars... all the tiny ships and frigates got so much more action.

    And I certainly hope that things are returned to normal by the time we get to Kublacon! I would not count on it though.

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    1. Thanks Laz. I have some frigates in the lead pile, I just haven’t got around to making them. Most rules have stats for the smaller ships. I just prefer the bigger ships. 😀

      Kublacon seems a long way off, so I’m hoping all of the quarantine is over by then.

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  11. Great stuff Stew! Really like your rigging detail 😀
    Be safe, surreal is an understatement...

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  12. Great looking ships there Stew. Take care.

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    1. Thanks very much for the comment El Grego. 😀

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  14. Great work Stew. I love Langton ships and I admire anyone who has the patience to make them up to your level of expertise. For me, my fingers and abilities suck so I have eleven which were made by Rod Langtons wife before her eyesight gave out many, many years ago. She was a true artisan!
    Keep it going on the project, keep it safe off the field and take care of yourself and that young family. All the very best as always.

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    1. Thanks Carlo. I really like the Langton sculpts as well. It’s taken me some practice but I think I’m getting the hang of them. Hopefully at the end I’ll have 14 of them.
      I am trying to take care of myself and the family. We’re having to make some tough choices though.

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    2. Great looking ships Stew! You're right, you are getting good at this! I too dislike the doubled jib sails and usually cut them apart so the lay beter with the stay lines. So I'm assuming you have 5 Brits and 5 French. How are you going to split the remaining 5 ships? Or maybe make them Spanish so you can have a 3-way game. Or an allied fleet vs the other fleet.

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    3. Thanks Vol! Yes, 5 British and 5 French. The next 5 are also 2 British and 2 French 74s with 1 French 120. I haven’t got any Spanish ships yet. My plan was to have each player control around 4 or 3 ships each with 2 players on a side.
      Allied fleets are in the future. 😀

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  15. Oh, and thanks for the blog plug Stew. I just posted a new frigate.

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    1. No problem! Your blog deserves a plug or two. I’ll be checking out your frigate post soon. 😀

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  16. Great post. I've just started with AoS, though I'm planning 1:700 to allow for more modelling detail. Can you do a post on how you do your water? (And I'm in the Bay Area as well - Go KublaCon!)

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    1. Thanks Schoon. Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. The water is just the sculpted sea base that you can buy with the ships. Just painted bluish and dry brushed. 😀

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