Saturday, December 1, 2018

Of Course I Fell For It!

free stuff that isn't really free, OK, I'm a sucker

      You have to hand it to Warlord, they are pretty good at marketing. They bring out Cruel Seas, a new rule-set and the attached models and then they give away just enough of the models to get your attention. I mean, I was going to buy the magazine anyways but then I noticed that you get a choice of the British MTBs OR the German E-boats. Obvious answer; buy both copies! So I did, Warlord wins big time but from my point of view I got $36.00US worth of product for $18.00US of cost and I can give the spare magazine to one of my wargaming buddies. The real question now is; Was it worth it?


     Long ago (I'm talking nigh unto 40 years here) Heller brought out a series of E-boats and Vospers in 1/400 scale. My friends and I were playing Fast Attack Boats by Yanquinto and having a jolly time with it. I thought that I could easily convert the 1970s rules backward to handle the fights in the Channel. Time passed and I never got around to it. This same cycle occurred again when Skywave brought out their line of 1/700 scale models a few years later. Again I never got this off the ground (mostly because I couldn't manage the tiny parts with my sausage-sized fingers). Since then I have lost track of my copy of Fast Attack Boats and just let that idea drift away along with so many other almost started projects. 

     Now Warlord has brought out a new line of minis and rules to match. I can't speak to the rules as I have not had a chance to look at them yet but I can only hope that they are up to the standard of the models. While not  having a chance yet to examine them in reference to detailed drawings I can say that they are cleanly cast in a light gray plastic and look great. You get two different models on each sprue cast as a one-piece hull with the guns and torpedoes to be added.

the torpedo boat and the gun-bus versions of the British  boats

 the detail is delicate and well-cast

I think that one is an E-boat and the other an S-boat but my memory is vague

beautifully molded and cleanly cast

the only flaw was the loss of a superstructure bit on the nearer boat to the right of the picture, doubtless from some rough handling in the bag 
my fault for not checking before I opened the bag and lost the part


     I find myself praying that the rules have some detail and granularity unlike the horrid Blood Red Skies which pairs lovely models with truly uninspiring rules

3 comments:

  1. They are really nice, the only issue I have are the Vosper masts which are atrocious, far too thick, the wrong shape, and much too tall. I'm trying to put something together to replace them

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  2. Me to.... One for the Christmas list.
    I worry about a 4x4 table once you add in some of the larger craft, but itching to give them a try.
    Cheers
    Stu

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  3. "I think that one is an E-boat and the other an S-boat but my memory is vague"

    They are both Schnellboat's, one is early version and one is later version. E-Boat is just what the British called them E for enemy boats.

    I've got a collection of these and played Flaklighter from PT Dockyard.

    I am definitely getting a collection of these, I know this because the Christmas Elf told me so;) The only thing I hated about those A-holes at Warlords is that they didn't release the merchant ship until the day they started shipping pre-orders, thus forcing you to have to order 50 plus pounds again to get free shipping.

    Cheers
    Kevin

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