Wizkids ships what can I do with them? Warning large images

[Berthier]

Well they've been mentioned enough so let's talk about the uses of those hundreds of Wizkids Pirate series ships many of us have. For those of you who are not familiar with them here are some pictures to get you started, note the ships come in a single or multiple heavy duty plastic card from which the pieces of each vessel are puinched out and then assembled

So the picture above shows three different ships made up of one card through three cards respectively

Here you can see some of the pieces punched out with the hull assembled. Note the separate masts possible used as markers for mast down? Also there are separate flag markers (useful for captured ships?) plus one mast is shown with a pennant attached which could be used for decorating a SOG ship if there is a a way of mounting it. Hulls could be used for hulks, wrecks etc

[7eat51]

If you're new to these and decide to purchase some, be careful putting the sails on. The tabs can break due to the slots not being opened sufficiently. I found that by holding the sail close to its base, and rocking it back and forth in the slot, I was able to open the slot sufficiently to preclude breaking off the tab. Cheap and fun way to build a collection of ancillary ships.

[Berthier]

So when assembled how do they look?


First photo shows a large Wizkids ship next to a Langtons(? not sure it's 20+ years ago) 1/1200 98Gun First Rate
Second shows the smallest Wizkid ship and the last shows four different variants of Wizkids next to the 98SOL. Remember the SOG ships will be bigger than this 1/1200 ship by about 20%.

[7eat51]

Very helpful shooting the comparison photos.

Possible uses:
Prison ships
Unarmed merchants - great for convoys - requires moving around, etc.
Docked ships in shore actions

[Berthier]

Finally as Eric has pointed out, you can pick these up very cheaply on ebay...

PLUS they did oared vessels (handy for Venetian fleets, Baltic battles etc) and Chinese junks!!

[Jack Aubrey]

Very helpful shooting the comparison photos.

Possible uses:
Prison ships
Unarmed merchants - great for convoys - requires moving around, etc.
Docked ships in shore actions

Yes, and Pirates of course....

[The Barrelman]

Wish I still had mine. It was a fun concept and the ships were nice for the media it was manufactured. Tried it with friends and they did not get into it. They though the ships were not "enough" for a game. So, they kinda got left on a table and disappeared.

[Berthier]

And the latest update from Ares shows a ...Kraken not produced by Ares mind you, but hopefully they don't wander into the Pirates of the Caribbean genre it would be too much. We'd need a new section of the anchorage for 'fantasy'

[Cmmdre]

And the latest update from Ares shows a ...Kraken not produced by Ares mind you, but hopefully they don't wander into the Pirates of the Caribbean genre it would be too much. We'd need a new section of the anchorage for 'fantasy'

That is where Wizkids started to lose my interest. I like the ships but the monsters and such became too much as well. I hope Ares stick with historical and leaves the fantasy to the gamers imagination.

[GreenLaborMike]

That is where Wizkids started to lose my interest. I like the ships but the monsters and such became too much as well. I hope Ares stick with historical and leaves the fantasy to the gamers imagination.

Let me start by agreeing that i hope Ares sticks to the historical.

However, I think it's smart marketing on their part. They are a business trying to make money, and I suspect this post is meant to raise some cross-appeal to the much larger (to be very honest) fantasy game market. For those gamers who cut their teeth on Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer, etc., this is a small effort to whet their appetite. I don't think Ares is short sighted enough to drift from their core setting with fantasy elements, but if they can convince some number of gamers that their game can be adapted to an unconventional setting, then they will sell that many more units.

The danger that so many companies face is that in an attempt to broaden the market appeal of their product, they end up muddying the brand to their core customer base, and end up in a lose/lose spiral. I don't think that's a problem Ares will have to face anytime soon, as they know where their core strength is. One status update doesn't change that.

[The Barrelman]

I have to agree. It was a good move on Ares part to try and promote the game outside the historical boundary. I do enjoy the history, but approach SGN and other products like WGF as combat table games first and history lessons second. If they can get more mindshare to the average gamer (me) and they buy product, it helps everyone involved.

EDIT: But, the Kraken need not apply. I know where the fantasy bounds lie.

[7eat51]

Fantasy would, IMHO, hurt SoG. There is already historical piracy, so Ares could develop such lines without devolving into Johnny Deppness.

Additional uses: fireships (idea was just posted by Japheth in the thread on merchant ships)

[GreenLaborMike]

Fantasy would, IMHO, hurt SoG. There is already historical piracy, so Ares could develop such lines without devolving into Johnny Deppness.

There's a difference between Ares' encouraging people to look "outside the box" in determining how the game can be fun *for that person*, and it's another for the company to push the focus of the game in a new direction. I think Ares' has the right balance here between sitcking to their core historical context and encouraging greater sales by expanding how customers might think about the game. What I take from the update is that they open-minded enough to say "Hey, if you buy our game and decide to take it in crazy directions, that's fine with us!"

Although really, this is all based on one photo in one Status update. Most likely, it was nothing more than a quick pitch on behalf of a fellow game company by saying "hey, check out our friends' KS project which is really cool!". I don't think the experience of Wizkids is necessarily what is happening here. Let's wait at least until Wave 5 before jumping to conclusions!

[Coog]

Let's wait at least until Wave 5 before jumping to conclusions!

The only thing is that some of us have already been waiting for three years for the game to take shape and still don't really know where it is heading. It would help if Ares would come out and say what their plans are, assuming they have some. What size ships are they planning for the future? What time periods are the ships going to fall into? Are their going to make changes or add options to address issues with the game system. Wave 5 probably won't come out until 2017 based on WOG releases. That's a long time to determine if a game is one into which you really want to sink quite a bit of money.

[RotS-Targe]

Personally, I loved the Pirates ships, and I still slightly mourn the series, as it is now a deck building game. That said, I did lose interest right around the time they brought in the Cursed, but that's not quite related.

So, just a couple suggestions, there was a note of fireships, and I remember in some of the later expansions they had an item where you could set enemy ships ablaze, and replace the masts with billowing smoke, if you can find these, would really add to the flavor of a fireship. The islands were decent, and seem like they would fit in with this scale nicely, they also released a 3d islands pack, which would go great with SGN.
Also, a hint, most ships, especially the standard ones, are easily turned into wrecks by taking off one side of the hull, and removing or sliding crooked a mast or two, whenever I played I would have a house rule where once a ship was sunk it would be like this, since I hate games where once something is dead is just vanishes. Might make a good obstacle/objective?

[Andy Blozinski]

And the latest update from Ares shows a ...Kraken not produced by Ares mind you, but hopefully they don't wander into the Pirates of the Caribbean genre it would be too much. We'd need a new section of the anchorage for 'fantasy'

Where did you see this?

[Andy Blozinski]

The islands were decent, and seem like they would fit in with this scale nicely, they also released a 3d islands pack, which would go great with SGN.

I picked up that 3-D islands pack while the kickstarter was still going, thinking it might come in handy. They are first class nice and were well worth the money.

[Pappy Liam]

I have hundreds of these. I loved playing the game but it was so simple and got boring after a while. Those I played with finally moved on and now I have fleets and creatures as well as all the props. I was really proud of my US fleet. Great set of Frigates.
I cant see the pics for some reason. I agree these will be great for added hulks or convoy ships.

[Arakus]

I picked up that 3-D islands pack while the kickstarter was still going, thinking it might come in handy. They are first class nice and were well worth the money.

I ordered these:



Hopefully they will be delivered next weeks.

[RotS-Targe]

I really wish I could find my 3D islands, but something tells me they're deep in our storage... I mean... game(!) room, not to be found again without a couple day's search.

[Pappy Liam]

Those look wonderful!

[7eat51]

Jörg, those are really nice. I would love such a collection. I was fortunate enough to win an island made by a dear Friend who donated it to Origins as a prize. I will have Sue take a picture and post it; he did a beautiful job.

[Berthier]

Where did you see this?

Hi Andy, somewhere on the Ares site I think but it might have been long gone by now, it was back in April 2013, but my memory is not that good!!

[Berthier]

I have hundreds of these. I loved playing the game but it was so simple and got boring after a while. Those I played with finally moved on and now I have fleets and creatures as well as all the props. I was really proud of my US fleet. Great set of Frigates.
I cant see the pics for some reason. I agree these will be great for added hulks or convoy ships.

The pictures were lost in the "great hack" we had several months ago when most of the images on the site got vapourised. I dont have copy of the original pictures Anyway that is why you'll find many of the older pages with images come up as broken links for the pictures

[Popsical]

I ordered these:



Hopefully they will be delivered next weeks.

Ive also got a set of these. They come unpainted and made from a white plaster which is quite heavy.
The detail is very good and the price i paid was very reasonable indeed.
Now to paint them.

[Arakus]

My Islands arrived and they are looking beautiful!

Here a quick made picture of a few of them together with 2 ships from Julián from "J Model":

[Nightmoss]

Very attractive and will certainly add to any scenario or campaign that calls for islands, shoals or reefs.

[wbfritze]

wow.

can these be found anywhere now?

I ordered these:


Hopefully they will be delivered next weeks.

[Arakus]

wow.

can these be found anywhere now?

Sometimes they are offered unpainted at ebay ( the are from britain )
The are also announced here:

http://www.tanksandtrolls.co.uk/Sails%20of%20Glory.htm

They are made of resin and are then painted from hand.

[Diamondback]

Kickstarter's at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...nery?ref=email --looks awful tempting, but the budget just ain't there for me right now. :(

[Naharaht]

You may buy a model Kraken from Shapeways, if you wish.

http://www.shapeways.com/model/18701...l?materialId=6