The League of Augsburg

The Rejects' Guide to Ark Royal's 17th Century shipping Part 2

 


Let's start with code ARD014 Frigates




This code is one of the most popular in the range. It comprises 2 x 38 gun frigates and 1 x 26 gun. These ships are extremely utilitarian. They can be used from the period of the 1620s through to 1700. English, Dutch, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Venetian, Swedish, Danish, Ottoman, Berber fleets can all deploy them.

In the Martime Nations they would be used for...

A Taste of Victory! Autumn offer - Book + PDF £25 incl postage

 



At last A Taste of Victory in pdf! Autumn Special Offer! - Get the book and the pdf combined for £20! Postage is £5 anywhere in the World. The book is crammed with Beneath the Lily Banners scenarios from the Scanian War through till the Nine Years War. It has never been available in pdf before. Here is the link to the onlione store: https://www.leagueofaugsburg.com/shop/product-1183.html

NOTE:...

Ottoman Artillery - pre release - release!


Ottoman positional battery with 15 gunners

These were sculpted a long time back but Covid scuppered the release in various ways. I have not yet production moulded them but I have a limited number of master casts which I can make available to anyone who wants to get their hands on some now. There are three sets following our established pattern of Firing, Running back and Loading. 

OTG01 Gunners...

Playing like a demon


Western Approaches 1651 - Royalist and Irish privateers attack GWC ships


True, I have not been blogging as frequently as usual recently but that is not an indication of lack of hobby time, the opposite is true. A cancelled holiday in the north of Scotland due to raised levels of national restriction gave me an extra week with no work and no travel. That has allowed a real focus on several projects....

Dhow about this? 28mm scale.


Undoubtedly, left field but, when I saw it, several little projects aligned - Tangier, Omani and Indian pirates, 4Play scenarios, Donnybrook and the new naval rules I am devoting a lot of creative time to.


Crew are Warfare Miniatures - Ottoman Irregulars OT11/OT12 packs + new officers

I have warmed up hugely to laser cut models. With a little care they can be lifted from the prosaic to characterful...

Turning two ships into twelve ships


 How do you turn two models into twelve usable pieces? With a little bit of lateral thinking, some balsa wood, paint, glue, sandpaper and time.





I wanted to get the maximum scenario use from the two converted small ships I purchase from Ainsty. I will deal with their masts and sails in a later post but I wanted to get all the serious hull building work completed first before frigging in the rigging....

Sneak peek: BLB scenarios book: A Taste of Victory

 

Wonderful cover art by Neil Roberts

I have been talking about it on an off over the last few months. We are pretty much there now. Over the next few weeks the first full scenarios book for BLB 3rd edition will be sent to print. 


Each scenario begins with some historical context

The book is entitled A Taste of Victoryand offers eighteen scenarios set between 1676 and 1693. The table set ups are all...

DOB's Donnybrook ding-dong on the Costa del Plunder

 



Dave (DOB) O'Brien has been a gaming buddy for a long time. Covid has kyboshed our usual get togethers and we both have been filling in with alternative gaming options. 




He sent me some cracking pictures of a recent Donnybrook game which I know he has already shared on Facebook but some more detail here and links to other useful threads of the Moorish connection for gaming. 




Tangier and North...

And progress is good too..



The overnights are in on the two small warships for the Anglo Dutch Wars period. I have blocked in basic colours only on everything except the decks which habe been drybrushed  UP 3 as I would say (ie basic coat + 3). 





Some of the colours shown are not the end coulours which will be used for example, the yellow will be overlaid in gilt. The ochre hull will be darkened down to a more oaken shade.

 




No...

Change is as good....

Lots of prep work. The masts are scratchbuilt. Some additions to the hull were needed.

I have been working pretty intensively on multiple projects over the past 6 months the largest of which has been the two books due to be published this year. One is finished the other just about to be. 

The 4Play scenarios came out of nowhere but have consumed probably 200 hours - nevertheless, that has been fun...

Scenario pdfs - Lockdown was the spur and now...

Kinsale scenario on a 4PlayX table

Exactly a year ago I was sitting in a very quiet part of Mallorca planning the next book. It'll be quick I told myself. Six months maybe. Well, it is just about ready and it took a year. It would have been sooner but Lockdown affected the layout process. That's all done now. It is a 128 page scenario book for Beneath the Lily Banners and is called 'A taste of...

Ottoman gunners - sculpts completed




 I have been holding back on certain posts for a while simply because I wanted to see how things were unfolding with Covid and supply chain issues such as manufacturing and master moulding. 





Things are slowly getting resolved but overall, I will have to implement wholesale changes in the way that I get products to market.Ultimately, that will be to everyone's benefit but during the transition,...