This thread seems to have disappeared so I am trying to restart it. I have a copy of my posting but not of any of the replies. If you had a message in the previous incarnation, please re-post it if you can.
Don S.
Predictions / Guesses for GHQ's 2016-2017 Micronaut Releases
Moderators: dnichols, GHQ, Mk 1
-
Donald M. Scheef
- E5
- Posts: 1629
- Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2006 2:24 am
- Location: Waukegan, Illinois USA
Predictions / Guesses for GHQ's 2016-2017 Micronaut Releases
"When a fire starts to burn,
here's a lesson you must learn:
something-something and you'll see
you'll avoid catastrophe."
D'oh!
here's a lesson you must learn:
something-something and you'll see
you'll avoid catastrophe."
D'oh!
-
Donald M. Scheef
- E5
- Posts: 1629
- Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2006 2:24 am
- Location: Waukegan, Illinois USA
GHQ has released the last of the 2015-2016 models and within the next month they will announce their new releases for the coming year. I would like to post my predictions/guesses for next year’s Micronaut releases. A suggestion from Mikee started this several years ago and it seemed to provoke some good discussions. We are interested in any support or contradictory opinions. Those of you interested in Microarmor, ACW or Napoleonic figures, etc.; start your own thread.
For those of you following the Consolidated Micronaut Wish List, predictions/guesses for next year’s releases do not count as votes in the Wish list.
For some time now, GHQ has consistently released twelve Micronauts per year. I predict that they will continue with twelve releases this year. Since they resumed production of modern warships, there has been a pattern of four ships from the WWI era, four from WWII, and four modern (late Cold War or post-Cold War) ships. I’m going to assume that this pattern will continue for the 2016-2017 season.
WWI era releases: By the time GHQ announces its releases for next year, the centennial of the Battle of Jutland will have passed. Therefore, I am no longer advocating for producing participants in this event above other ships of the era. GHQ has already provided a fairly good collection of German and British ships of this era (although there are still a pre-Dreadnaught battleship, several cruisers, and plenty of destroyers yet to be produced). Because of this, I am predicting no additional ships from these countries in the coming year.
For other countries for which GHQ has produced WWI ships (Austria-Hungary, France, Russia, and the USA) there are diminishing good choices. All of the ‘modern’ (by Great War standards) battleships, cruisers and destroyers of the Austro-Hungarian navy have been produced. The pre-Dreadnought battleships of the Erhertzog Karl class and the armored cruiser Sankt Georg are possibilities. There are a number of pre-Dreadnought French ships that would make reasonable choices, including Charlemagne class battleships and Edgar Quinet class armored cruisers. Among Russian ships, the Svetlana class light cruisers and Kerch class destroyers are desirable. For the USA, New Mexico (BB 40) class battleships and Caldwell (DD 69) class destroyers would extend the available line.
I believe that it’s about time for GHQ to introduce another country into the Great War series. The two obvious choices are Italy and Japan. Although neither navy participated in extensive combat during the war, their ships were interesting and there were possibilities among hypothetical battles. Eventually, both should be represented but I think that Italy will come first.
My predictions for Great War releases are:
- France pre-Dreadnought battleship Charlemagne class (three in the class, all at the Dardanelles). The armored cruiser Edgar Quinet class is my backup choice.
- Italy battleship Dante Alighieri (only a single ship but with unique appearance)
- Italy battleship Doria class or Cavour class (eventually both, but not in the same year)
- Italy destroyer Indomito class.
For my four selections in the era of WWII, I’m going to divide them according to type of ship rather than by country.
Recently GHQ seems to have been producing at least one aircraft carrier each year. Although I am more interested in surface warfare, I predict that there will be another aircraft carrier in this year’s offerings. With last year’s release of US Navy early-war carrier-based aircraft, I think that a related aircraft carrier would be a good choice. My prediction is USS Lexington (CV-2) as she appeared at Coral Sea. A second possibility is USS Enterprise (CV-6) as at Midway.
I also think there will be a battleship from WWII produced in the next year. I predict USS Idaho (BB-42) as she appeared in 1945 at Iwo Jima and Okinawa with individual enclosed 5â€/38 gun mounts. My alternate is a late-war Fuso.
GHQ should produce a WWII era cruiser in the coming year. Since they put out the French light cruiser Duguay-Trouin class last year, I think that they will follow up with the French heavy cruiser Duquesne class. My second choice in this area is HMS Berwick or HMS Cornwall.
For my fourth choice in the WWII era, I am having trouble deciding between a destroyer type, an amphibious type, a merchant type, or a pack of aircraft. I’m going to waffle on this by naming one of each.
GHQ has not yet produced any of the War Emergency type destroyers (I think because CinC has already released fairly good models of many of them). It’s about time for GHQ to start covering this large group of war-built ships.
I’ve been waiting for some time for a good model of the Charles Lawrence (APD 37) class fast attack transport. The modifications necessary to change a Rudderow class destroyer escort to this appearance is beyond my capability.
Between the wars, the Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki built a relatively large number of commercial oil tankers to a single design. Since GHQ has been concentrating on US and UK commercial ships recently, I think it’s about time for the Japanese to get something of this type.
With GHQ’s release of US early-war carrier-based aircraft last year, it’s possible that they will continue with another pack of aircraft this year. I think that the most worthy of the available choices would be UK Fleet Air Arm carrier-based aircraft. With six different carrier types available, all the Brits have for their decks is Seafires and Swordfish.
I was surprised that GHQ did not release any modern Chinese ships in the previous year. For this year, I strongly expect them to return to this line. Now that some of the Luyang III (type 052D) destroyers are in service, I think that this would be a good choice. Other likely choices for Chinese ships to be modeled by GHQ include the Yuzhao (type 071) class amphibious transport/dock, Yuting (type 072, 072II, 072III, 072A) landing ships, Jiangdao (type 056) corvette, or Houbei (type 022) fast attack missile boat.
It’s too soon to release a model of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) is just about ready to enter service, but only three of these innovative ships will be built. If GHQ makes a model of a modern US ship this year, I expect the USS America (LHA-6) class to be the subject.
GHQ has released several modern UK ships in recent years. HMS Queen Elizabeth is still several years off and all the large destroyer or escort types are already available, so the most likely next release is an Albion class landing platform dock.
Since the fall of Communism until recently, the Russian navy has been relatively stagnant or even contracting. The only ships recently in service are the Admiral Grigorovich (Project 11356) frigates, Admiral Gorshkov (Project 22350) class frigates, and Steregushchy (Project 20380) class corvettes.
Some more Japanese ships are also a possibility, although the current Japanese practice of building only a small number of ships to a single design before going on to something newer makes it difficult to select a favorite for modelling. Possibilities include Akizuki (DD-115) class destroyers, Atago (DDG-177) class destroyers, Kongō (DDG-173) class destroyers, Ōsumi (LST 4001) class amphibious transports, and Hayabusa (PG-824) class fast patrol boats.
I don’t think that GHQ will start a new line of modern ships. If they do, here are the most likely ones:
- South Korea: For a HSK series, I would start with a Sejong the Great class destroyer. Additional choices of ships from this country include the Dokdo class amphibious assault ship, Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin class destroyer, and Inchon class frigates.
- One of the European countries that is not yet represented, perhaps France or Italy. These two countries have cooperated in the design of several destroyer/frigate types. Aside from their nation navies, these countries are eager to export their designs to second-level navies. Possible ships are the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, the Mistral class amphibious assault ships (perhaps augmented by several ordered by Russia but resold to Egypt), the Horizon (Forbin/Andrea Doria) class frigates, and FREMM (Aquitaine/Bergamini) class frigates.
My selections for four modern ship releases in this season are:
- China destroyer Luyang III (type 052 III) class
- China fast attack craft Houbei (type 022) class
- US amphibious assault ship America (LHA-6) class
- Japan destroyer Akizuki (DD-115) class
Don S.
For those of you following the Consolidated Micronaut Wish List, predictions/guesses for next year’s releases do not count as votes in the Wish list.
For some time now, GHQ has consistently released twelve Micronauts per year. I predict that they will continue with twelve releases this year. Since they resumed production of modern warships, there has been a pattern of four ships from the WWI era, four from WWII, and four modern (late Cold War or post-Cold War) ships. I’m going to assume that this pattern will continue for the 2016-2017 season.
WWI era releases: By the time GHQ announces its releases for next year, the centennial of the Battle of Jutland will have passed. Therefore, I am no longer advocating for producing participants in this event above other ships of the era. GHQ has already provided a fairly good collection of German and British ships of this era (although there are still a pre-Dreadnaught battleship, several cruisers, and plenty of destroyers yet to be produced). Because of this, I am predicting no additional ships from these countries in the coming year.
For other countries for which GHQ has produced WWI ships (Austria-Hungary, France, Russia, and the USA) there are diminishing good choices. All of the ‘modern’ (by Great War standards) battleships, cruisers and destroyers of the Austro-Hungarian navy have been produced. The pre-Dreadnought battleships of the Erhertzog Karl class and the armored cruiser Sankt Georg are possibilities. There are a number of pre-Dreadnought French ships that would make reasonable choices, including Charlemagne class battleships and Edgar Quinet class armored cruisers. Among Russian ships, the Svetlana class light cruisers and Kerch class destroyers are desirable. For the USA, New Mexico (BB 40) class battleships and Caldwell (DD 69) class destroyers would extend the available line.
I believe that it’s about time for GHQ to introduce another country into the Great War series. The two obvious choices are Italy and Japan. Although neither navy participated in extensive combat during the war, their ships were interesting and there were possibilities among hypothetical battles. Eventually, both should be represented but I think that Italy will come first.
My predictions for Great War releases are:
- France pre-Dreadnought battleship Charlemagne class (three in the class, all at the Dardanelles). The armored cruiser Edgar Quinet class is my backup choice.
- Italy battleship Dante Alighieri (only a single ship but with unique appearance)
- Italy battleship Doria class or Cavour class (eventually both, but not in the same year)
- Italy destroyer Indomito class.
For my four selections in the era of WWII, I’m going to divide them according to type of ship rather than by country.
Recently GHQ seems to have been producing at least one aircraft carrier each year. Although I am more interested in surface warfare, I predict that there will be another aircraft carrier in this year’s offerings. With last year’s release of US Navy early-war carrier-based aircraft, I think that a related aircraft carrier would be a good choice. My prediction is USS Lexington (CV-2) as she appeared at Coral Sea. A second possibility is USS Enterprise (CV-6) as at Midway.
I also think there will be a battleship from WWII produced in the next year. I predict USS Idaho (BB-42) as she appeared in 1945 at Iwo Jima and Okinawa with individual enclosed 5â€/38 gun mounts. My alternate is a late-war Fuso.
GHQ should produce a WWII era cruiser in the coming year. Since they put out the French light cruiser Duguay-Trouin class last year, I think that they will follow up with the French heavy cruiser Duquesne class. My second choice in this area is HMS Berwick or HMS Cornwall.
For my fourth choice in the WWII era, I am having trouble deciding between a destroyer type, an amphibious type, a merchant type, or a pack of aircraft. I’m going to waffle on this by naming one of each.
GHQ has not yet produced any of the War Emergency type destroyers (I think because CinC has already released fairly good models of many of them). It’s about time for GHQ to start covering this large group of war-built ships.
I’ve been waiting for some time for a good model of the Charles Lawrence (APD 37) class fast attack transport. The modifications necessary to change a Rudderow class destroyer escort to this appearance is beyond my capability.
Between the wars, the Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki built a relatively large number of commercial oil tankers to a single design. Since GHQ has been concentrating on US and UK commercial ships recently, I think it’s about time for the Japanese to get something of this type.
With GHQ’s release of US early-war carrier-based aircraft last year, it’s possible that they will continue with another pack of aircraft this year. I think that the most worthy of the available choices would be UK Fleet Air Arm carrier-based aircraft. With six different carrier types available, all the Brits have for their decks is Seafires and Swordfish.
I was surprised that GHQ did not release any modern Chinese ships in the previous year. For this year, I strongly expect them to return to this line. Now that some of the Luyang III (type 052D) destroyers are in service, I think that this would be a good choice. Other likely choices for Chinese ships to be modeled by GHQ include the Yuzhao (type 071) class amphibious transport/dock, Yuting (type 072, 072II, 072III, 072A) landing ships, Jiangdao (type 056) corvette, or Houbei (type 022) fast attack missile boat.
It’s too soon to release a model of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) is just about ready to enter service, but only three of these innovative ships will be built. If GHQ makes a model of a modern US ship this year, I expect the USS America (LHA-6) class to be the subject.
GHQ has released several modern UK ships in recent years. HMS Queen Elizabeth is still several years off and all the large destroyer or escort types are already available, so the most likely next release is an Albion class landing platform dock.
Since the fall of Communism until recently, the Russian navy has been relatively stagnant or even contracting. The only ships recently in service are the Admiral Grigorovich (Project 11356) frigates, Admiral Gorshkov (Project 22350) class frigates, and Steregushchy (Project 20380) class corvettes.
Some more Japanese ships are also a possibility, although the current Japanese practice of building only a small number of ships to a single design before going on to something newer makes it difficult to select a favorite for modelling. Possibilities include Akizuki (DD-115) class destroyers, Atago (DDG-177) class destroyers, Kongō (DDG-173) class destroyers, Ōsumi (LST 4001) class amphibious transports, and Hayabusa (PG-824) class fast patrol boats.
I don’t think that GHQ will start a new line of modern ships. If they do, here are the most likely ones:
- South Korea: For a HSK series, I would start with a Sejong the Great class destroyer. Additional choices of ships from this country include the Dokdo class amphibious assault ship, Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin class destroyer, and Inchon class frigates.
- One of the European countries that is not yet represented, perhaps France or Italy. These two countries have cooperated in the design of several destroyer/frigate types. Aside from their nation navies, these countries are eager to export their designs to second-level navies. Possible ships are the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, the Mistral class amphibious assault ships (perhaps augmented by several ordered by Russia but resold to Egypt), the Horizon (Forbin/Andrea Doria) class frigates, and FREMM (Aquitaine/Bergamini) class frigates.
My selections for four modern ship releases in this season are:
- China destroyer Luyang III (type 052 III) class
- China fast attack craft Houbei (type 022) class
- US amphibious assault ship America (LHA-6) class
- Japan destroyer Akizuki (DD-115) class
Don S.
"When a fire starts to burn,
here's a lesson you must learn:
something-something and you'll see
you'll avoid catastrophe."
D'oh!
here's a lesson you must learn:
something-something and you'll see
you'll avoid catastrophe."
D'oh!
-
CG2
- E5
- Posts: 457
- Joined: Tue May 22, 2012 11:38 am
- Location: UK
While Donald's suggestions look good, a German U-Boat pack and a British seaplane carrier like Engadine for WWI would add the most new dimensions to gaming.
For WW2, a German aircraft pack with Me109s, JU88s and He-111s would make a lot of sense as would a British Black Swan class sloop.
For moderns, I'm not sure GHQ could resist taking a punt on the QE class British carrier and a US aircraft pack with updated Hornets, F-35s, F-22s and V-22s would look like a good bet, especially as they have already designed some of those. I also like the chances of a Chinese Type 071 Landing Ship and possibly a Virginia Class sub.
Hopefully we'll find out soon!
For WW2, a German aircraft pack with Me109s, JU88s and He-111s would make a lot of sense as would a British Black Swan class sloop.
For moderns, I'm not sure GHQ could resist taking a punt on the QE class British carrier and a US aircraft pack with updated Hornets, F-35s, F-22s and V-22s would look like a good bet, especially as they have already designed some of those. I also like the chances of a Chinese Type 071 Landing Ship and possibly a Virginia Class sub.
Hopefully we'll find out soon!
CG2
-
Donald M. Scheef
- E5
- Posts: 1629
- Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2006 2:24 am
- Location: Waukegan, Illinois USA
Results of my 2016-05 predictions / guesses for 2016-2017 Micronaut releases
GHQ has released the last of the 2015-2016 models and within the next month they will announce their new releases for the coming year. I would like to post my predictions/guesses for next year’s Micronaut releases. A suggestion from Mikee started this several years ago and it seemed to provoke some good discussions. We are interested in any support or contradictory opinions. Those of you interested in Microarmor, ACW or Napoleonic figures, etc.; start your own thread.
For those of you following the Consolidated Micronaut Wish List, predictions/guesses for next year’s releases do not count as votes in the Wish list.
For some time now, GHQ has consistently released twelve Micronauts per year. I predict that they will continue with twelve releases this year. Since they resumed production of modern warships, there has been a pattern of four ships from the WWI era, four from WWII, and four modern (late Cold War or post-Cold War) ships. I’m going to assume that this pattern will continue for the 2016-2017 season.
Correct on the total number, but five WWII and only three WWI.
WWI era releases: By the time GHQ announces its releases for next year, the centennial of the Battle of Jutland will have passed. Therefore, I am no longer advocating for producing participants in this event above other ships of the era. GHQ has already provided a fairly good collection of German and British ships of this era (although there are still a pre-Dreadnaught battleship, several cruisers, and plenty of destroyers yet to be produced). Because of this, I am predicting no additional ships from these countries in the coming year.
Wrong on this prediction; of three WWI era releases, one was British and one German
For other countries for which GHQ has produced WWI ships (Austria-Hungary, France, Russia, and the USA) there are diminishing good choices. All of the ‘modern’ (by Great War standards) battleships, cruisers and destroyers of the Austro-Hungarian navy have been produced. The pre-Dreadnought battleships of the Erzhertzog Karl class and the armored cruiser Sankt Georg are possibilities. There are a number of pre-Dreadnought French ships that would make reasonable choices, including Charlemagne class battleships and Edgar Quinet class armored cruisers. Among Russian ships, the Svetlana class light cruisers and Kerch class destroyers are desirable. For the USA, New Mexico (BB 40) class battleships and Caldwell (DD 69) class destroyers would extend the available line.
I believe that it’s about time for GHQ to introduce another country into the Great War series. The two obvious choices are Italy and Japan. Although neither navy participated in extensive combat during the war, their ships were interesting and there were possibilities among hypothetical battles. Eventually, both should be represented but I think that Italy will come first.
My predictions for Great War releases are:
- France pre-Dreadnought battleship Charlemagne class (three in the class, all at the Dardanelles). The armored cruiser Edgar Quinet class is my backup choice.
- Italy battleship Dante Alighieri (only a single ship but with unique appearance)
- Italy battleship Doria class or Cavour class (eventually both, but not in the same year)
- Italy destroyer Indomito class.
Totally wrong here, although I did at least mention the Erzhertzog Karl class above.
For my four selections in the era of WWII, I’m going to divide them according to type of ship rather than by country.
Recently GHQ seems to have been producing at least one aircraft carrier each year. Although I am more interested in surface warfare, I predict that there will be another aircraft carrier in this year’s offerings. With last year’s release of US Navy early-war carrier-based aircraft, I think that a related aircraft carrier would be a good choice. My prediction is USS Lexington (CV-2) as she appeared at Coral Sea. A second possibility is USS Enterprise (CV-6) as at Midway.
Correct about an aircraft carrier, but Japanese Ryuho rather than one of the US ships.
I also think there will be a battleship from WWII produced in the next year. I predict USS Idaho (BB-42) as she appeared in 1945 at Iwo Jima and Okinawa with individual enclosed 5â€/38 gun mounts. My alternate is a late-war Fuso.
No battleships in this year’s offerings.
GHQ should produce a WWII era cruiser in the coming year. Since they put out the French light cruiser Duguay-Trouin class last year, I think that they will follow up with the French heavy cruiser Duquesne class. My second choice in this area is HMS Berwick or HMS Cornwall.
I’ll take a half point on this one; HMS Berwick and Cornwall are on the list.
For my fourth choice in the WWII era, I am having trouble deciding between a destroyer type, an amphibious type, a merchant type, or a pack of aircraft. I’m going to waffle on this by naming one of each.
GHQ has not yet produced any of the War Emergency type destroyers (I think because CinC has already released fairly good models of many of them). It’s about time for GHQ to start covering this large group of war-built ships.
No WWII destroyers in this year’s offerings.
I’ve been waiting for some time for a good model of the Charles Lawrence (APD 37) class fast attack transport. The modifications necessary to change a Rudderow class destroyer escort to this appearance is beyond my capability.
No WWII amphibious types this year.
Between the wars, the Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki built a relatively large number of commercial oil tankers to a single design. Since GHQ has been concentrating on US and UK commercial ships recently, I think it’s about time for the Japanese to get something of this type.
Two commercial types (if you include the MACs) but not the ones I predicted.
With GHQ’s release of US early-war carrier-based aircraft last year, it’s possible that they will continue with another pack of aircraft this year. I think that the most worthy of the available choices would be UK Fleet Air Arm carrier-based aircraft. With six different carrier types available, all the Brits have for their decks is Seafires and Swordfish.
No WWII aircraft packs.
I was surprised that GHQ did not release any modern Chinese ships in the previous year. For this year, I strongly expect them to return to this line. Now that some of the Luyang III (type 052D) destroyers are in service, I think that this would be a good choice. Other likely choices for Chinese ships to be modeled by GHQ include the Yuzhao (type 071) class amphibious transport/dock, Yuting (type 072, 072II, 072III, 072A) landing ships, Jiangdao (type 056) corvette, or Houbei (type 022) fast attack missile boat.
I listed the type 072A above, but didn’t pick it as one of my four predictions.
It’s too soon to release a model of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) is just about ready to enter service, but only three of these innovative ships will be built. If GHQ makes a model of a modern US ship this year, I expect the USS America (LHA-6) class to be the subject.
Apparently it’s not too soon to release a model of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). For GHQ’s sake, I hope there are no significant changes in the appearance before this ship actually enters service.
GHQ has released several modern UK ships in recent years. HMS Queen Elizabeth is still several years off and all the large destroyer or escort types are already available, so the most likely next release is an Albion class landing platform dock.
Since the fall of Communism until recently, the Russian navy has been relatively stagnant or even contracting. The only ships recently in service are the Admiral Grigorovich (Project 11356) frigates, Admiral Gorshkov (Project 22350) class frigates, and Steregushchy (Project 20380) class corvettes.
Some more Japanese ships are also a possibility, although the current Japanese practice of building only a small number of ships to a single design before going on to something newer makes it difficult to select a favorite for modelling. Possibilities include Akizuki (DD-115) class destroyers, Atago (DDG-177) class destroyers, Kongō (DDG-173) class destroyers, Ōsumi (LST 4001) class amphibious transports, and Hayabusa (PG-824) class fast patrol boats.
I listed Kongo above but didn’t put it in my final prediction list.
I don’t think that GHQ will start a new line of modern ships. If they do, here are the most likely ones:
- South Korea: For a HSK series, I would start with a Sejong the Great class destroyer. Additional choices of ships from this country include the Dokdo class amphibious assault ship, Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin class destroyer, and Inchon class frigates.
- One of the European countries that is not yet represented, perhaps France or Italy. These two countries have cooperated in the design of several destroyer/frigate types. Aside from their nation navies, these countries are eager to export their designs to second-level navies. Possible ships are the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, the Mistral class amphibious assault ships (perhaps augmented by several ordered by Russia but resold to Egypt), the Horizon (Forbin/Andrea Doria) class frigates, and FREMM (Aquitaine/Bergamini) class frigates.
My selections for four modern ship releases in this season are:
- China destroyer Luyang III (type 052 III) class
- China fast attack craft Houbei (type 022) class
- US amphibious assault ship America (LHA-6) class
- Japan destroyer Akizuki (DD-115) class
Obviously by crystal ball was pretty fuzzy this year. I didn’t get a single one of my twelve predictions exactly correct.
Don S.
GHQ has released the last of the 2015-2016 models and within the next month they will announce their new releases for the coming year. I would like to post my predictions/guesses for next year’s Micronaut releases. A suggestion from Mikee started this several years ago and it seemed to provoke some good discussions. We are interested in any support or contradictory opinions. Those of you interested in Microarmor, ACW or Napoleonic figures, etc.; start your own thread.
For those of you following the Consolidated Micronaut Wish List, predictions/guesses for next year’s releases do not count as votes in the Wish list.
For some time now, GHQ has consistently released twelve Micronauts per year. I predict that they will continue with twelve releases this year. Since they resumed production of modern warships, there has been a pattern of four ships from the WWI era, four from WWII, and four modern (late Cold War or post-Cold War) ships. I’m going to assume that this pattern will continue for the 2016-2017 season.
Correct on the total number, but five WWII and only three WWI.
WWI era releases: By the time GHQ announces its releases for next year, the centennial of the Battle of Jutland will have passed. Therefore, I am no longer advocating for producing participants in this event above other ships of the era. GHQ has already provided a fairly good collection of German and British ships of this era (although there are still a pre-Dreadnaught battleship, several cruisers, and plenty of destroyers yet to be produced). Because of this, I am predicting no additional ships from these countries in the coming year.
Wrong on this prediction; of three WWI era releases, one was British and one German
For other countries for which GHQ has produced WWI ships (Austria-Hungary, France, Russia, and the USA) there are diminishing good choices. All of the ‘modern’ (by Great War standards) battleships, cruisers and destroyers of the Austro-Hungarian navy have been produced. The pre-Dreadnought battleships of the Erzhertzog Karl class and the armored cruiser Sankt Georg are possibilities. There are a number of pre-Dreadnought French ships that would make reasonable choices, including Charlemagne class battleships and Edgar Quinet class armored cruisers. Among Russian ships, the Svetlana class light cruisers and Kerch class destroyers are desirable. For the USA, New Mexico (BB 40) class battleships and Caldwell (DD 69) class destroyers would extend the available line.
I believe that it’s about time for GHQ to introduce another country into the Great War series. The two obvious choices are Italy and Japan. Although neither navy participated in extensive combat during the war, their ships were interesting and there were possibilities among hypothetical battles. Eventually, both should be represented but I think that Italy will come first.
My predictions for Great War releases are:
- France pre-Dreadnought battleship Charlemagne class (three in the class, all at the Dardanelles). The armored cruiser Edgar Quinet class is my backup choice.
- Italy battleship Dante Alighieri (only a single ship but with unique appearance)
- Italy battleship Doria class or Cavour class (eventually both, but not in the same year)
- Italy destroyer Indomito class.
Totally wrong here, although I did at least mention the Erzhertzog Karl class above.
For my four selections in the era of WWII, I’m going to divide them according to type of ship rather than by country.
Recently GHQ seems to have been producing at least one aircraft carrier each year. Although I am more interested in surface warfare, I predict that there will be another aircraft carrier in this year’s offerings. With last year’s release of US Navy early-war carrier-based aircraft, I think that a related aircraft carrier would be a good choice. My prediction is USS Lexington (CV-2) as she appeared at Coral Sea. A second possibility is USS Enterprise (CV-6) as at Midway.
Correct about an aircraft carrier, but Japanese Ryuho rather than one of the US ships.
I also think there will be a battleship from WWII produced in the next year. I predict USS Idaho (BB-42) as she appeared in 1945 at Iwo Jima and Okinawa with individual enclosed 5â€/38 gun mounts. My alternate is a late-war Fuso.
No battleships in this year’s offerings.
GHQ should produce a WWII era cruiser in the coming year. Since they put out the French light cruiser Duguay-Trouin class last year, I think that they will follow up with the French heavy cruiser Duquesne class. My second choice in this area is HMS Berwick or HMS Cornwall.
I’ll take a half point on this one; HMS Berwick and Cornwall are on the list.
For my fourth choice in the WWII era, I am having trouble deciding between a destroyer type, an amphibious type, a merchant type, or a pack of aircraft. I’m going to waffle on this by naming one of each.
GHQ has not yet produced any of the War Emergency type destroyers (I think because CinC has already released fairly good models of many of them). It’s about time for GHQ to start covering this large group of war-built ships.
No WWII destroyers in this year’s offerings.
I’ve been waiting for some time for a good model of the Charles Lawrence (APD 37) class fast attack transport. The modifications necessary to change a Rudderow class destroyer escort to this appearance is beyond my capability.
No WWII amphibious types this year.
Between the wars, the Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki built a relatively large number of commercial oil tankers to a single design. Since GHQ has been concentrating on US and UK commercial ships recently, I think it’s about time for the Japanese to get something of this type.
Two commercial types (if you include the MACs) but not the ones I predicted.
With GHQ’s release of US early-war carrier-based aircraft last year, it’s possible that they will continue with another pack of aircraft this year. I think that the most worthy of the available choices would be UK Fleet Air Arm carrier-based aircraft. With six different carrier types available, all the Brits have for their decks is Seafires and Swordfish.
No WWII aircraft packs.
I was surprised that GHQ did not release any modern Chinese ships in the previous year. For this year, I strongly expect them to return to this line. Now that some of the Luyang III (type 052D) destroyers are in service, I think that this would be a good choice. Other likely choices for Chinese ships to be modeled by GHQ include the Yuzhao (type 071) class amphibious transport/dock, Yuting (type 072, 072II, 072III, 072A) landing ships, Jiangdao (type 056) corvette, or Houbei (type 022) fast attack missile boat.
I listed the type 072A above, but didn’t pick it as one of my four predictions.
It’s too soon to release a model of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) is just about ready to enter service, but only three of these innovative ships will be built. If GHQ makes a model of a modern US ship this year, I expect the USS America (LHA-6) class to be the subject.
Apparently it’s not too soon to release a model of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). For GHQ’s sake, I hope there are no significant changes in the appearance before this ship actually enters service.
GHQ has released several modern UK ships in recent years. HMS Queen Elizabeth is still several years off and all the large destroyer or escort types are already available, so the most likely next release is an Albion class landing platform dock.
Since the fall of Communism until recently, the Russian navy has been relatively stagnant or even contracting. The only ships recently in service are the Admiral Grigorovich (Project 11356) frigates, Admiral Gorshkov (Project 22350) class frigates, and Steregushchy (Project 20380) class corvettes.
Some more Japanese ships are also a possibility, although the current Japanese practice of building only a small number of ships to a single design before going on to something newer makes it difficult to select a favorite for modelling. Possibilities include Akizuki (DD-115) class destroyers, Atago (DDG-177) class destroyers, Kongō (DDG-173) class destroyers, Ōsumi (LST 4001) class amphibious transports, and Hayabusa (PG-824) class fast patrol boats.
I listed Kongo above but didn’t put it in my final prediction list.
I don’t think that GHQ will start a new line of modern ships. If they do, here are the most likely ones:
- South Korea: For a HSK series, I would start with a Sejong the Great class destroyer. Additional choices of ships from this country include the Dokdo class amphibious assault ship, Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin class destroyer, and Inchon class frigates.
- One of the European countries that is not yet represented, perhaps France or Italy. These two countries have cooperated in the design of several destroyer/frigate types. Aside from their nation navies, these countries are eager to export their designs to second-level navies. Possible ships are the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, the Mistral class amphibious assault ships (perhaps augmented by several ordered by Russia but resold to Egypt), the Horizon (Forbin/Andrea Doria) class frigates, and FREMM (Aquitaine/Bergamini) class frigates.
My selections for four modern ship releases in this season are:
- China destroyer Luyang III (type 052 III) class
- China fast attack craft Houbei (type 022) class
- US amphibious assault ship America (LHA-6) class
- Japan destroyer Akizuki (DD-115) class
Obviously by crystal ball was pretty fuzzy this year. I didn’t get a single one of my twelve predictions exactly correct.
Don S.
"When a fire starts to burn,
here's a lesson you must learn:
something-something and you'll see
you'll avoid catastrophe."
D'oh!
here's a lesson you must learn:
something-something and you'll see
you'll avoid catastrophe."
D'oh!