As I mentioned in the very first post of the year, I’m focusing on the various conflicts that the United States Navy fought in during the Age of Sail. While the War of 1812 is arguably the most famous naval conflict for the US during this period, the First and Second Barbary Wars were the first. This conflict was against the Barbary States in the Mediterranean, and as such there are some exotic ship types to cover. The first up is a large Xebec, a resin model from Warlord Games.
Warlord Games offers two different ship types for the Mediterranean factions: xebecs and galleys, in a large and small format. This is the large Xebex, which looks fairly similar to its smaller siblings, just with more cannons. The galleys are differentiated by the number of masts, two for the large and one for the small. The masts and oar bundles are metal, and the sails are of the same cardstock material that the standard sails are printed in.
What these kits lack are clear spots for the rigging. I ended up gluing the ropes to the cannons in many places, or even directly to the hull. Thankfully the rigging was quite simple when compared to the European ships. No flags or pennants for any of the Mediterranean factions are included. I had to go do some searching on the internet, and even then many of the images I found were quite blurry. This required a little bit of touch up with acrylic paints. The pennant was stolen from a Spanish flag sheet and painted green.
One other issue I have has to do with the materials. The hull is resin while the masts are metal. While most ships have enough of a base to be stable, the Xebec is such a thin ship that it's constantly tipping over because it's so top heavy. I've been avoiding adding bases to my ships, and so far I've only had to do so with the gunboats. They had the exact same issue, but were even more top heavy so couldn't stand up on there own. I think I'll play a game or two with the Xebec and see how much of an issue it is or isn't before I make the call with basing.
-The Space Dinosaur
Lovely looking ship, nice build and great painting,to the shores of Tripoli I guess?
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thank you, and then perhaps to the halls of Montezuma after ;)
DeleteA great looking ship, and very different from the others, and the colours really stand out.
ReplyDeleteHad a thought on the basing not basing dilemma, what if you made a bow wake on the less stable ships, it wouldn't be a full base, but could add the stability needed.
Hmm that's a really good idea, I'll take a look into it and see if it's feasible.
Deletethat's NOT a terrible idea. though I believe that once you make one for one ship the rest will look naked without on and then it's back to all ships having a base of some sort.
Deletebut anyway the Xebec looks fantastic!
Ha now that's true, maybe I could make it a removable base or just something see through and call it quits.
DeleteOr just deal with it falling over all the time.
Thanks!
That's beautiful. Berber ships have that exotic quality that makes them look so appealing, this one looks gorgeous. The stability issue is a bummer, though. I'm looking forward to seeing the solution you provide
ReplyDeleteThanks Suber, I do really like the lines of it, very sleek and elegant.
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