My Swedes from Rory

[Devsdoc]

Hi All,
Not much to say on this site as SOG is not for me. I hope all is well in the GLORY seas. I have been busy with the Swedes. I had hope to finish them by Christmas. I missed by a day or two.
To the fleet. It is 13 ships strong and one wreck. I have had a little fun with them. One has maned yard-arms. One is an anchor with ships boats on a side boom. The two oared ships are from the smaller sized in-shore fleet which is to be my next fleet (I think).














Hope you enjoyed my fleet. I wish you all fair winds for the new year.
Be safe
Rory

[Nightmoss]

Wow, Rory! That's an impressive amount of work and it looks fantastic. I think you've included just about everything. The manned yard arms, the wreck, the launched boats and the oared ships all are great.

Fair winds and a bountiful New Year for you too!

[Coog]

Beautiful work!

[David Manley]

Looking rather good there Rory.

[Devsdoc]

Hi All,

Wow, Rory! That's an impressive amount of work and it looks fantastic. I think you've included just about everything. The manned yard arms, the wreck, the launched boats and the oared ships all are great.

Fair winds and a bountiful New Year for you too!

Jim,
You keep me on my toes, I cannot paint like you, but I like to think out-side the box.

Beautiful work!

Thanks Bobby,
Hope I can give you all some idea's

Looking rather good there Rory.

David,
Thank you for your help with the manning the yard-arms. I have posted the troops, but not the cavalry.



What you sent me was for 5mm troops. So had to make smaller still for 1-1200 scale

Be safe
Rory

[Naharaht]

Great paint jobs and rigging, Rory.

[7eat51]

As usual, Rory, your work is beautiful.

I like the shoreline as well. Your game table must be striking; the 2-D mats fail miserably by comparison.

[Devsdoc]

As usual, Rory, your work is beautiful.

I like the shoreline as well. Your game table must be striking; the 2-D mats fail miserably by comparison.

Thanks Eric,
I make "Eye-Candy", yes I like it too. I have seen games played with bits of two sided printed cards on a dinner table. That will work too. As long as all gamer's have fun. No game fails if the game flows and is a laugh. Yes! I like the wow factor! too. I'm a little sad, as I get all silly when I see a lovely set-up on a table. But read your "Plato". Do not forget the idea of SOG is out of the box and play. If you play with me, it will be out of the box and play. But you know the months of work to get that. A photo of my big bash for "Trafalgar" this year.


David,
You live in Norfolk. We have a great chance that we will meet one day. I hope so. It maybe with my set-up
Be safe both
Rory

[7eat51]

Rory, your response to a beautifully set up table is anything but sad. It is sad when others are unable or unwilling to be moved by beauty.

I wholeheartedly agree that the primary emphasis of gaming is fun among the participants; I am disheartened by the ill-effect alpha gamers bring to the table. I have a growing appreciation for the contribution beauty can make to having fun, as it has a drawing in power. There is an added dimension that can enrich people.

Though my modeling skills are, shall we say, suspect at best, though non-existent is probably more accurate, I truly appreciate the developed skill you and other other members, here, possess. I have skills in other areas, skills that I have actively honed throughout the years; so it takes little effort to recognize and appreciate the craftsmanship and hard work of others.

Out of curiosity, how long does your Trafalgar game take to play, and how many players are typically at the table? I was at our FLGS last night discussing the 2015 calendar. I will be running WoG and SoG events at least twice a month. I would like to do something large one day.

[Devsdoc]

Hear, Hear! to you Eric,
It was a big game with 4 nations of 12 to 13 ships each. Four of us played a nation each, Brits and Russians V French and Swedes. It was a fantasy battle, it just got all my ships on the table. A friend Phil had 2 Spanish ships which was good as I had not finish my Swedes so they became a part of the Swedish fleet. We added my 4 merchant ships in the harbour for set dressing. 54 model ships in all. It was played with G.W. Trafalgar and got 4 turns in only. We only played for 3 hours with lots of brakes for drinks, smokes, food and talking. It was all in by turn 2, so the action started very fast. Why??? I don't know it just was so.
We had 1 ships log for each ship. Just tick boxes and very simple rules. We could have played 2 or 3 more turns if we had pushed it. We had fun. You would need lots of side tables for S.O.G.for the tokens on the ship's logs. Or make tick box logs. I think someone has made some on this site! God knows how many token sets you would need? Good luck with your big games
Be safe
Rory

[7eat51]

Very cool. That seems like a feasible set up for a Saturday afternoon game; I am encouraged. I think I can recruit eight players ahead of time, informing them we'll be playing a grand battle. I don't have the requisite ships for a historical battle, but I can develop a scenario using what I have. I might have to play around with the rules a little to ensure turns don't take too long; we often suffer from analysis paralysis.

The gamestore has lots of tables in the basement, which the owners have done a great job making it a warm and inviting space. I don't use the counters; we made laminated ship logs/mats for Origins, and I will never go back. They make record keeping quite easy, as well as set up and take down, and no worries about bumping tables.

Something tells me we'll take a lot of breaks, too. We tend to laugh a lot when we play, and folks are always having side conversations, catching up on things, etc.

[Devsdoc]

Eric,
I think so too. The one chance I made to "G.W. Trafalgar" was the ship that was down wind moved frist. You can make squadrons of frigates or smaller ships but not SOL. This sometimes made the last ship in a line move frist. This made some ships lines impossible to play. So we chanced this so SOL could move as a squadrons too. You had to say if X number of ships are in a made up squadrons and they move at the speed of the slowest ship. You had to declare before you broke-up a squadron. We also used David,s add on to the rules.
Be safe
Rory

[Volunteer]

Rory I will never get tired of seeing your eye candy.

[Devsdoc]

Rory I will never get tired of seeing your eye candy.

As a fellow candy-maker that knows the trade. The above means a lot.
Be safe
Rory

[Redcoat]

Hi All,

Jim,
You keep me on my toes, I cannot paint like you, but I like to think out-side the box.

Good work, a game table dream ...
a question, how do you do the bases of soldiers? is very hard to find brands that manufacture something in this very small scale ...

Thanks Bobby,
Hope I can give you all some idea's


David,
Thank you for your help with the manning the yard-arms. I have posted the troops, but not the cavalry.



What you sent me was for 5mm troops. So had to make smaller still for 1-1200 scale

Be safe
Rory

[Redcoat]

Good work, a game table dream ...
a question, how do you do the bases of soldiers? is very hard to find brands that manufacture something in this very small scale ...

[Devsdoc]

Good work, a game table dream ...
a question, how do you do the bases of soldiers? is very hard to find brands that manufacture something in this very small scale ...

Hi Julian,
I'm sorry I do not know the name, but you can get 2mm figurines I think it's "Rose or Ross"! Ask Vol, he has some. Or go to Vol's blog and look for Rory's guide part 4 to see how I made the troops. Hope this helps you.
Be safe
Rory

[Union Jack]

Fantastic table, fleets and all rigged! Loved the game I too have a large Langton collection (34 ships) British, French and Spanish. Am looking to working on some fast play fleet rules using tick box ship cards like yourself. Great inspiration to get me motivated again.

[David Manley]

Happy to help out with some suggestions on fast play / fleet action rules if you want. Drop me a PM

[jophan]

Rory,

It makes me very happy to see my compatriots at sea like that!

[Devsdoc]

Good work, a game table dream ...
a question, how do you do the bases of soldiers? is very hard to find brands that manufacture something in this very small scale ...

Julian,
Did the information help? If not PM me.

Fantastic table, fleets and all rigged! Loved the game I too have a large Langton collection (34 ships) British, French and Spanish. Am looking to working on some fast play fleet rules using tick box ship cards like yourself. Great inspiration to get me motivated again.

First welcome to this site Neil,
If my work gets you going, that is the niceness thing you can say. Thank you and good luck and have fun with your fleets.
(Neil, I'm so sorry. I saw your blog number and saw (1) and thought it was your Log Entries number. Again sorry )

Happy to help out with some suggestions on fast play / fleet action rules if you want. Drop me a PM

I do have your rules, Sorry to say I have not played them yet. I would like any help with rules. So will PM you. Thanks

Rory,

It makes me very happy to see my compatriots at sea like that!

Everyone does the so called big 3. The Russian (3rd biggest navy at the time), Swedes, Dutch, Danes and Turks are forgotten by many gamers. I do have British and French fleet, but as yet no Spanish. I do now have a Russian and Swede high-sea fleets. I'm now working on the in-shore fleets for both nations.
Be safe
Rory

[Cmmdre]

Another brilliant fleet ready to sail into tabletop legend. Rory your work is always a pleasure to behold.

[7eat51]

Rory, have you done any Americans?

I was hoping to play 1812, but that seems distant at present.

[Devsdoc]

Rory, have you done any Americans?
I was hoping to play 1812, but that seems distant at present.

Hi Eric,
No, I have not thought about the 1812 wars. Sorry it is not big or impotent in my eyes over this side of the pond (and we lost). Would some of the smaller frigates from SOG work for the lake wars?
Langton do some American "Great Lakes" model ships. You could I think paint them up quickly (Being smaller) and mount them on SOG bases. (Lots of threads here on making bases and cards for bases). I think you could make smaller bases for the gun-boats. The gun-boats would look silly on the standard bases as they are so small. I would not think scale (1-1000 to 1-1200) would be a problem. I do have some gun-boats from the Baltic wars they are very small and will not be much work to paint. I will try to rig them. That is me, I do not think it is a must do on them.
They may work for you. You I think would have 1 or 2 biggest ships (small frigates or/and brigs and schooners) and lots of gun-boats etc per side. Sorry I can not be more helpful on this. Have a look at Langton's web-site.
Be safe and good luck
Rory

[Coog]

(and we lost)

Don't let David (Manley) see that...he'll want you court martialed for treason!

[David Manley]

Nah, we'll just give him a teach in with Jonathan Lambert to get him up to speed with reality

[7eat51]

Sorry it is not big ... over this side of the pond

That's interesting. We have a little song, this side of the pond, we sing all the time from the war.

[David Manley]

"From" or "About"? The guy who wrote the famous one wasn't born until 1907

[7eat51]

Touché.

[Devsdoc]

Don't let David (Manley) see that...he'll want you court martialed for treason!

Nah, we'll just give him a teach in with Jonathan Lambert to get him up to speed with reality

O.K.
I only try to help and get kicked in the nuts I'm now going to show how dumb I am Who is Jonathan Lambert?
Be safe
Roey

[Coog]

Of course there is another song that sums up the British experience.

[Coog]

Who is Jonathan Lambert?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islands_of_Refreshment

[David Manley]

O.K.
Who is Jonathan Lambert?

Sorry, brain fade. I meant Andrew Lambert, professor of naval history at KCL

[7eat51]

Rory, is it safe to say that, in the UK, Napoleonics is the most popular of the AoS eras?

[David Manley]

Of course there is another song that sums up the British experience.

He's even later, born 1925

[David Manley]

Mind you, the quintessential US Naval experiential song must be this one, for sure.



It seemed very popular in the waterfront bars near the naval base in Philly when we were there in the early 2000s

PS Bonus points if you know which ship that was filmed on and where

[Coog]

You have to remember that was during the Carter administration. I'm sure the Navy ditched it faster than the Iranians released their hostages when Reagan took office.

[David Manley]

Now, now, be careful there, verging on "p" word territory

[Coog]

After 34 years I think we can call it history now.

[David Manley]

Rory, is it safe to say that, in the UK, Napoleonics is the most popular of the AoS eras?

By a country mile - and true for the US and the rest of the AoS community around the world too. I'm a member of a number of AoS wargaming fora and the interest is very heavily towards "traditional" Napoleonics, followed by 7YW. There are a few very large AoS gaming groups on the East Coast and looking through their batreps from the last ten years or so its about 70% Napoleonics, the rest 7YW and one 1812.

Understandable I guess, as everyone really wants to do big fleet actions (even if frigate duels and other small actions are a lot of fun)

[Coog]

By a country mile - and true for the US and the rest of the AoS community around the world too. I'm a member of a number of AoS wargaming fora and the interest is very heavily towards "traditional" Napoleonics, followed by 7YW. There are a few very large AoS gaming groups on the East Coast and looking through their batreps from the last ten years or so its about 70% Napoleonics, the rest 7YW and one 1812.

Understandable I guess, as everyone really wants to do big fleet actions (even if frigate duels and other small actions are a lot of fun)

And therein is one of the big problems with SOG...a system that was designed toward small actions, "dogfights on the sea" one could say, now trying to get in on the big fleet action market.

[David Manley]

Which, TBH, it ain't very good at. It would be nice to think that one day there may be a "Fleet Action" version of SGN that streamlined the mechanics a lot and let you play big actions quickly

[7eat51]

I prefer small actions, speed and dexterity over strength, if you will. I like the interplay between maneuvering and firing. I enjoy larger scale battles, so I pretty much enjoy any wargame I play, but my preference is small scale.

I just ordered Warfighter, a coop game in which the players are a team going on missions. Though most of my interest lies in WWII and before, the concept of this modern-era game is very appealing. You make up a team with the skills and equipment you think is needed to successfully accomplish the scenario's goal.

[Gunner]

Which, TBH, it ain't very good at. It would be nice to think that one day there may be a "Fleet Action" version of SGN that streamlined the mechanics a lot and let you play big actions quickly

If Ares wants to increase sails(pun intended), that's the way to go

[Nightmoss]

If Ares wants to increase sails(pun intended), that's the way to go

For sure. . . however, any new products and better communication with buyers and vendors might be a way to increase sales as well?

[Gunner]

For sure. . . however, any new products and better communication with buyers and vendors might be a way to increase sales as well?

Better communication with buyers and vendors? There's a novelty Ares hasn't tried yet.

[Devsdoc]

Guy,s
I only asked who Jonathan Lambert was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Be safe
Rory

[Devsdoc]

Eric,
Just read about Jonathan Lambert. Silly man! Not the best sailor/fisherman in the world. I do not understand his connection to the "Great Lakes"? I'm into lots of ships and lots of bangs. I hope to bring the Swede and Russian high sea and in-shore fleets into one game. With lots of islands and shallow waters. Lots of ships and bangs then.
Be safe
Rory

[Devsdoc]

Another brilliant fleet ready to sail into tabletop legend. Rory your work is always a pleasure to behold.

Paul,
Sorry but I got mixed-up with Eric and Davids history lessons. Thanks for your kind words.
Be safe
Rory

[David Manley]

I prefer small actions, speed and dexterity over strength, if you will. I like the interplay between maneuvering and firing. I enjoy larger scale battles, so I pretty much enjoy any wargame I play, but my preference is small scale.

I reckon I'm just an AoS junkie, I like the lot from thundering fleet actions with 100 ships on the table down to gunboat actions, shore parties and skirmishes and all points in between.