Victory at Sea - Painting the Models

Many moons ago, I bought myself the old version of Victory at Sea by Mongoose Publishing. It was a nicely produced, hard-backed book that suffered (in its first edition) from very poor binding, leading to the pages falling out! This is the copy I’ve got!!

The rules were well supported on-line with downloads etc. and ultimately an additional book came out with more ship stats and updated rules. This was (thankfully) a perfect bound paperback.

The game was simple and fun and from what I remember, it split the naval wargaming fraternity, as to those who liked it and those who hated its ultra-simplicity.

1. Having glued the two halves together, I applied acrylic artist paste to the base to give it a "wave" texture

I purchased some 1/2400th scale metal ships to go with it enabling me to refight most of the RN vs. Kreigsmarine actions in the book’s scenarios.

2. Once dry, the whole model was given a spray coat of matt grey primer (from Poundland!)

Now I see another co-operative production is coming out from Warlord/Mongoose relaunching the game once more, this time in 1/1800th scale.

3. The decking area was picked out in Vallejo Orange Brown

I’m tempted (aren’t I always?) by the Pacific theatre starter set as I have never ventured into this part of WW2 so may weaken and get myself a copy when it is released sometime in August.

4. The hull sides were painted in Vallejo Dark Grey

The models look to be moulded in Ultracast resin and incorporate an oval base with the ship’s name embossed along the side.

5. The entire model was given a coat of Vallejo Light Grey Wash to darken the shadows and the base painted in Vallejo Pastel Blue

To get a feel for how these might look I took a quick look at what was available on-line to 3D print.
While there are one or two generic models (not necessarily in 1/1800th scale) on Thingiverse, there are a whole load of suitable models already to scale, available on Wargaming 3D’s website (https://www.wargaming3d.com/)

6. The Grey Blue base colour was given a coat of Army Painter Blue Tone wash.

These are all designed by Ghukek's Miniatures and whilst most files can be purchased for a modest fee, there are a handful available to download for free. He also has a range of suitable aircraft available on the same site for free, in 1/900th scale. These can be either used as they come (easier to print and identify on the table!) or scale down to suit the ships.

7. Finally the whole model was dry-brushed with Vallejo Game Colour White to highlight the upper surfaces. The waves were further enhanced with added attention to the tips of the texture. All that remains is a quick spray of varnish and this will be complete.

As an experiment I downloaded and printed out the 1/1800th scale USS Indiana battleship model – a South Dakota Class battleship.

I added an oval base before slicing the model along its centre line. I then printed out the two halves laid down on the bed with no supports or brim, so they required no clean-up, just sticking the two halves together.

To give the base some texture I applied acrylic artist’s paste with a pallet knife and left some “wave” like ridges.

Once dry I finished the model in acrylics. The picture captions will explain the process.

Nice scale to use. The model measures up as around 130mm (with its base) long, with ample detail, easy to paint and looks good on the table. You’ll need to ignore the highly unrealistic scale distances on the table though! I think I could enjoy the relaunched version…..time will tell.