GHQ Models Forums

Hello all. Out of morbid curiosity, has anyone here ever attempted this? Im pretty sure that to retain any semblance of realistic "distance" that the gaming field would grow huge pretty fast, but the incredible number of very high quality 1/700 kits out there has made me decide to ask. Im kind of a detail freak, not to mention there are still many many classes of ships that GHQ does not produce (i know, i know, there was only 1 destroyer in the Shimikaze class...dosent mean that its one i dont want) and for many other classes, there are some innacuracies, upgrades that arent represented, etc.
Gotta admit though, its nice to get 6 destroyers from GHQ for the cost of 1 kit.

And yeah, i have been bit by the IJN bug...must....convince GHQ...to produce....Kagero class...DDs...

Not knockin' my favorite mini manufacturer, just was wondering if anyone has ever attempted this. Thanks!

Yup. Considered it and really like the idea of it in WWII naval. My idea for the battlefield is to use the yard,change ranges from inches to feet and have fun. The detail for 1/700 is amazing. Many PE after market kits(Photo etched) are available in this scale. I have quite a few 1/700 scale ships that will be sailing the yard this coming summer.
Now for moderns I've gone completely nuts-1/350 scale. I figure that when using moderns you don't really "physically manuever the ship so I use the models on the shelf take pictures of what is happening to them, and send that online to the pertinent recipeints.
The aircraft in this scale are not "fiddly" like 1/700 or smaller. Talk about nice detail WOW!
After all I'm a model builder first and I love the idea of using them.
Another thing about 1/350 - it is micro armour---OH Yeah....mixes right in with the ground forces!
Right now I've got 1Admiral Kusnetzov CV, 3- Sovremenney class DDGs, and an OscarII class sub.
For the USN I've got the USS Nimitz CVN, 3 Arleigh Burke FlIII DDGs, 1 Ticonderoga class CG,and a Seawolf class attack submarine.
I have aircraft for both naval units and helos for the other surface ships.
I'm still waiting on my rules to come in (Harpoon 4.1). It was recommended to me on this forum and I've been reading nothing but great reviews about them.

I started playing miniatures in the 1960s with 1/2400 scale. For a while, I was even making my own models, albeit crude, to fill in some of the missing ships.

When I first saw 1/2400 scale, I recognized this as a wonderful development. GHQ Micronauts had detail to challenge most of the 1/1200 scale commercial models, were less expensive, and were much closer to scale.

Although I have built a number of 1/700 scale ships, I have never considered them for gaming purposes. The Japanese manufacturers have pretty well covered the Japanese fleet of WW II in plastic, as well as some US, British and German ships. To get the rest of these fleets or any French, Italian, or Russian vessels, you have to go to the extremely expensive resin specialty manufacturers.

I am going to stick with 1/2400 for my wargaming fleets.

(btw, I am going to take your mention of Shimakaze and Kagero class as votes and add them to the Consolidated Micronaut Wish List 2008-2009)

Don S.

Wow....1/350 gaming....but i agree, the detail in 1/700 is breathtaking, i have never built a 1/350 kit, but from the detail i see in the smaller scale, 1/350 would have to be mindblowing. Dont get me wrong i love 1/2400, and its sure easy to transport, but im also a detail freak....i guess ill just have to do both *sigh*

I know, its a sacrifice, but i dont mind at all....just got 3 fubuki class destroyers in 1/700, half a dozen Fletchers (early bridge)....the obsession begins anew. Im thinkin those fletchers are about to become Desron 21

Now to head up the Slot!

CA-68 wrote:Wow....1/350 gaming....but i agree, the detail in 1/700 is breathtaking, i have never built a 1/350 kit, but from the detail i see in the smaller scale, 1/350 would have to be mindblowing. Dont get me wrong i love 1/2400, and its sure easy to transport, but im also a detail freak....i guess ill just have to do both *sigh*

I know, its a sacrifice, but i dont mind at all....just got 3 fubuki class destroyers in 1/700, half a dozen Fletchers (early bridge)....the obsession begins anew. Im thinkin those fletchers are about to become Desron 21

Now to head up the Slot!

Like I said the 1/350 are on shelves ,er, will be. I plan on using ships that I actually have for scenarios. Of course with air ops and just running the ship i.e. a CV for example ,I look at having maybe three or more "crew" to operate it. BTW the aircraft may be used to actually do the spotting on the flight deck to actually see whats happening, oh and take pictures too.
Not to confuse you, I've been looking at doing these scenarios using email and Microsoft excel, along with Harpoon 4.1. The ships are just there for me to admire and know they are"operating". After all isn't this what we do with other scales too? Like I said I'm a model builder first.
Modern day naval for the most part will be combat OTH so no need to "move" them. Now WWII, I love the idea of using 1/700 outside, and when the weather is bad use my micronauts.
CA-68, what rules do you use?

I have a copy of Seekrieg that i have used for 1/2400 (a couple of test games thus far, between me and a friend, hopefully i can find some other players in the NE ohio area) and have used them simply because they are what i have. I am not sure how well they would adapt to 1/700, and if anyone else has a suggestion for a rules set for either (or both) scales, i am all ears!
I am probably going to have a go at 1/700 gaming, being winter outside gaming wont be an option, but luckily i have a very large living room to do some test runs in between my destroyers. I also am a modeler first and must admit the detail in the GHQ miniatures is amazing. I wouldnt have any complaints about being "forced" to use them exclusively.
Not to mention its much easier to transport the "fleet" in the smaller scale, and the selection of US vessels in 1/700 is nowhere near as complete as in 1/2400.
What rules set(s) do you use JB?

CA-68 wrote:I have a copy of Seekrieg that i have used for 1/2400 (a couple of test games thus far, between me and a friend, hopefully i can find some other players in the NE ohio area) and have used them simply because they are what i have. I am not sure how well they would adapt to 1/700, and if anyone else has a suggestion for a rules set for either (or both) scales, i am all ears!
I am probably going to have a go at 1/700 gaming, being winter outside gaming wont be an option, but luckily i have a very large living room to do some test runs in between my destroyers. I also am a modeler first and must admit the detail in the GHQ miniatures is amazing. I wouldnt have any complaints about being "forced" to use them exclusively.
Not to mention its much easier to transport the "fleet" in the smaller scale, and the selection of US vessels in 1/700 is nowhere near as complete as in 1/2400.
What rules set(s) do you use JB?

Well for WWII I've used General Quarters. Mainly because of the fact of using a lot of ships. No great details in GQ but quite usable if running several task forces. Handling air ops and ASW and other things in great numbers requires a faster rule system IMHO.
I was told about Seekrieg 5 being a good game for WW1 naval gaming but I've not used them so I can't really say firsthand. As a matter a fact a fellow on this forum does alot of SK5 and isn't too far from you. If he reads this thread I'm sure he will chime in. He lives in Indiana about two hours drive from the west Ohio border. His user name is fullmetaljacket. As for moderns I have the Harpoon 4.1 coming to me hopefully tommorrow. I would really like to immerse myself into them over the holidays.

Another thing to add about my 1/350 addiction, I really don'y plan on owning whole navies, basically what I have now is enough for 10 people to use with a detailed ruleset. I can also play scenarios with much less of a roster too.
I would really like to get some FFs,Corvettes,and large patrol craft too,you know play some scenarios around 3rd world coasts..

I used to play Fletcher Pratt's Naval Rules with some guys in 1/700 a long time ago. I even built up a historical IJN destroyer squadron, easy to do with almost all IJN ships being made, just hard to hunt'em down in hobby shops. Way before the internet. Large rooms and the occasional cul-de-sac, in a housing suburb that didn't get built.

Interestingly, as with Hardrock above, I once played Fletcher Pratt with 1/700 scale. I only did this twice as I remember, as a middle school student in the mid 70s. One teacher at my school had a club which met in the school gym on weekends. It was the first miniture game I had ever played. While the ships were cool, the lack of a blue playing surface undid the whole ambiance. Anyway, even though I now teach in the same district, that teacher must have retired many years ago and there are now weekend sports (how lame) being played in the gym.

I have adopted the opposite approach to my naval gaming these days -- I use the 1/6000 scale ships put out by Figruehead. I can play a reasonable size battle on a 4x6 area using a ground (sea?) scale which is only three times larger than the minis. Of course, the minis are a little small.....

hauptgrate said:

I use the 1/6000 scale ships put out by Figruehead... ...Of course, the minis are a little small.....

Aye, that they are! But at the same time, it is amazing how well the castings model the actual ship -- well enough that you can tell exactly the ship you're looking at, and not some "representative blob" on the gaming table! Well, usually... some of the WW I destroyers look pretty darned identical -- although that was often the case in the "real world" as well!

Regards,
Tom Stockton

1/350, wow that's impressive! Some of us can only dream of having the real estate in our homes to be able to game wth model ships of that size. Did I mention that my workbench/storage area shares an 8'x8' space with the furnace and water heater. Kudos to you.

Paul

My group games in 1/700 all the time.

But we generally limit it to WW2 coastal forces.

PT boats, E-boats, MGBs, MTBs, tankers, freighters, coastal barges, trawlers, F-lighters, a very few destroyers and once, a submarine. We've had great fun ambushing a light cruiser and many convoys but the best was a night time re-creation of the Slapton Sands LST debacle. Absolute chaos. 1/700 aircraft make regular appearances although the majority of our gaming is night scenarios to keep the firing ranges reasonable on our basement gaming tables.

Skywave makes a great 3 nation waterline PT kit which has both high (bow up and more out of the water) and slow speed multiple models inside. Several of the 1/700 kits include more tha enough buildings & wharves etc. to make "commando landing raid" games highly entertaining. Let me tell you that as the German player I was MOST annoyed to find myself prowling about in the dark, well offshore (far corner of the tabletop actually) of a coastal town (waiting to ambush some reported British MGBs) when British commandos from those same MGBs started to blow up installations ashore. I never saw that one coming at all and never did get into firing range.

Coastal islands are easy to scratch build and I find it interesting to have "terrain" to hide behind in a naval game which usually depicts the "wide open spaces" of the ocean. We even did one amazing game where a fierce storm was the only "enemy" as it chased us all onto a lee shore baited with an anchored freighter. Only two of the six of us managed to claw our way out of that trap and it turned out that the freighter was already aground so we couldn't even sink her either.

Another great game was the runnung rescue of a downed RAF pilot from a moored "lifesaving pod". A fast Fairmile B and its MGB two escorts fought a long running battle against German E-boats and aircraft intent on keeping one more Commonwealth pilot out of the Battle of Britain.

A few firms sell 1/700 scale metal coastal craft and we have had no huge problms in mixing in some of the metal, plastic and resin 1/600 models that are out there, either.

And at this scale, the "kitbashing" modelers in our group are always custom building "stuff" too. I will never live down the "88" that was lurking in the coal barge that I didn't bother to sink when I had the easy chance. Coastal radar stations are always popular.

A whole miniature nightime world awaits gents ...