Warlords Games Black Seas boat models

 

I'm a sucker for this sort of thing

      Well, I fell for it again; Wargames Illustrated had a boat model attached to the cover of the mag and then I noticed that there were two different models randomly inserted into the bag. Of course I poked through until I found one of each, I'm like that. As with the Cruel Seas models these are very well executed kits, cleanly cast and full of detail. Let's take a look......


     I primed these with flat white spray paint to make the detail easier to see, they are cast in a medium gray plastic
 

 

Brig sprue side A

 

Brig sprue side B

 

close-up of detail of Brig hull and deck

 

Frigate sprue side A

 

Frigate sprue side B

Frigate sprue details

      The models are are very well cast, no flash, minimal mold lines. The size of the planking and cannon are a bit overstated but, in this scale, to make them accurate sized would mean that they disappear. The brigs are chubby little boats while the frigate has very good lines. I can't wait to put these together and see how they look. I do question the odd scale, there is a long history of scales in naval modelling, especially for wargaming, and 1/700 doesn't come close to anything else. It is too big for a massed battle but Warlords is introducing 1st raters which means that they aren't thinking of the guerre de course. Unless this is an attempt to leverage the purchasers of the rules (which I have yet to see) into buying the models that go with them (which means they better be VERY good rules, Age of Sail gamers are very fussy about the rules they like).

       All that aside, these are very nice model boats, I particularly liked the optional figureheads and sterns on the frigate. If you just dabble in ships (like me) or are just starting out these are a great option. Warlords sells complete fleet packs in addition to the rules you can find them here.