Project | Battle of Lake Erie (Part 1)

As I'm sure you all can see, I've been obsessed with little ships lately. When it comes to painting, I've just been going along, painting an English ship, then a French, a Spanish, an American, and then a grab bag. Not that there's anything wrong with that style, per se, but I wanted to try something a little different. I took some inspiration from JJ over at JJ's Wargames, where he picks a particular battle, then gathers all of the ships involved, models and paints them, and finally creates a suitable scenario.

The last project he chose was the Battle of Camperdown, which is a sizable battle. I, however, am a simple minded man with not enough patience for that (yet). So I've decided to go small-er. Not so small as single ship actions, mind, because that's way too easy to do. Instead I'm taking a look at the War of 1812, specifically the Battle of Lake Erie.

News

Life has been upended as I now have a little Space Dino, so the consistency with which I've been blogging may drop off a bit. I, surprisingly, have managed to get some painting in, so I'm not going to completely disappear, and I can still comment on all of your blogs. Not that easy to get rid of me.

-The Space Dinosaur

Review | Warlord Games Black Seas USS Constitution

The one that started it all. Old Ironsides herself. Yes, I finally got around to the USS Constitution, my favorite ship in history, and fiction for that matter. This particular rendition is a resin and metal model from Warlord Games Black Seas. Let's see how the model holds up. 

Hobby | Black Seas Large Xebec

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. 

Tutorial | Sloop-of-War Conversion

This post is a sort of part 2 to the Converting a Brigantine post I made not too long ago. But, in the interest of each post being a complete bit of content in case this is the first one that you encounter, there'll be some repeat photos. The beginning steps are the same as you produce hulls for each ship type. 

Hobby | USS Constellation (1854)

If you purchase one of the various starter fleet boxes for Black Seas, inside you'll find plenty of plastic ships along with some metal bits. These metal bits let you customize your frigates and 3rd rates into bespoke famous ships. The United States has 3 normal sized frigates in their box: Congress, Chesapeake, and Constellation. Interestingly, they provide 3 stern plates and 4 figureheads. Intrigued, I looked into it. The figureheads match the USS Constellation, but there were two of them: the first one of the original six frigates, and the second a sloop-of-war from the American Civil War era. The stern plate and the carved wood figurehead belong to the sloop-of-war, which now sits in Baltimore. The more ornate, angelic figurehead matches the original Constellation. I set that aside for now, and I decided to work on the 1854 version.

Tutorial | Converting a Large Cutter

I went really big, now back down to the really small, to the second smallest seagoing ship-type in the game: a large cutter. But unlike all of my other Black Seas ships so far, this is not a Warlord Games model. This is a cutter from Hagen Miniatures, a miniature company from Germany. 

Hobby | Black Seas Santa Ana

Now that I've run through all of the ship sizes in the game, it was time to go big. This is the generic Spanish 1st Rate, cast in resin with metal masts. I decided that I would paint her as the ship Santa Ana, as the generic model fits closely with her look. Warlord does provide a unique Santa Ana model, but I don't feel like hunting that one down when this will do. 

Hobby | Black Seas HM Brig Speedy

Because being technically right is the best kind of right, Speedy does not get the designation HMS, as she is not a ship, as she does not have 3 square rigged masts. So she is His Majesty's Brig Speedy. This ship, and her captain, are famous for punching way above their weight class. Which is ironic, as Warlord Games decided to cast this in all metal, making her incredibly heavy for her size when compared with the other ships I've painted so far. So an extra coating of matte varnish to keep from chipping. 

Gaming | Empire in Flames Mordheim Campaign

It’s a new year, it’s a new Mordheim campaign. That’s just how it is. Last time, we started in the city, but this time around we’re taking a page out of the Mordheim: Empire in Flames supplement. Which means we’re arriving in the rural areas surrounding the City of the Damned. Our mission: loot and burn the greedy peasants’ and their households. 

Hobby | Black Seas L’Hermione

After I established my paint recipe for French ships, it’s time to toss that aside for some “historical” realism. You see, this ship exists today. Sure, it’s a replica of a past ship, but all the same there are actual reference photos that exist. So for the Hermione, I went with the colors, or a close approximation, that she currently is painted in. 

Space Din-O-Pionions | Goals for 2025

Another turn around the sun and we find ourselves facing another year. New Years can be new opportunities, or a chance to finish the ones we set out for ourselves last year. I've taken some time to clean up the hobby desk, organize some collections, and generally make things more accessible to make my goals a little easier to achieve. Now lets see what I plan to do.