Painting for the Cruel Seas

When I first saw mention of Warlord Games new game, Cruel Seas, I was both intrigued and a little tempted.

So far I have put together the models I got free with Wargames Illustrated and have now given them a white undercoat and a basecoat of Humbrol Grey. That didn’t cover too well.

Royal Navy Vosper MTB

The Vosper 73 foot motor torpedo boat was a mid-twentieth century British motor torpedo boat designed by Vospers that served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War

The plastic sprue that came with Wargames Illustrated has two Vosper MTBs, one type I and one type II.

Continue reading “Painting for the Cruel Seas”

Cruel Seas

When I first saw mention of Warlord Games new game, Cruel Seas, I was both intrigued and a little tempted.

So far I have put together the models I got free with Wargames Illustrated.

Royal Navy Vosper MTB

The Vosper 73 foot motor torpedo boat was a mid-twentieth century British motor torpedo boat designed by Vospers that served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War

The plastic sprue that came with Wargames Illustrated has two Vosper MTBs, one type I and one type II.

I found this graphic useful in putting these models together.

As with any small plastic model kit, I found these quite fiddly to put together.

Vosper MTB type I
Vosper MTB type II

Kriegsmarine S-Boats

E-boat was the Western Allies’ designation for the fast attack craft (German: Schnellboot, or S-Boot, meaning “fast boat”) of the Kriegsmarine during World War II. The most popular, the S-100 class, were very seaworthy, heavily armed and capable of sustaining 43.5 knots.

The plastic sprue that came with Wargames Illustrated has two S-Boats, an S-100 and an S-38.

I found this graphic useful in putting these models together.

As with the Vosper MTBs, I found these quite fiddly to put together.

On the Cruel Seas

When I first saw mention of Warlord Games new game, Cruel Seas, I was both intrigued and a little tempted.

In Cruel Seas, you take on the role of a naval crew manning their fragile coastal craft as they head out day and night to take on both the sea and the enemy. Command your flotilla of small ships as they head out to attack a convoy, drop off Commandoes for a behind-the-lines mission or task them with one of the other myriads of missions this small and versatile craft would perform.

Be it the Coastal waters of England or across the Channel to France, on to the Mediterranean waters or on further to the vast Island chains of the Pacific, Cruel Seas will ensure your small ships see plenty of adrenaline-fuelled action.

Cruel Seas is a 1/300th scale tabletop miniatures game where you command flotillas of small ships in battle. Action in the game is fast-paced – with six or more ships per side, a thrilling seaborne dogfight can be fought in forty-five minutes or less.

So when I saw that the December 2018 issue of Wargames Illustrated was going to come with a free plastic ship sprue, I thought this was an opportunity.

Wargames Illustrated 374

The magazine would come with either two Royal Navy Vosper MTBs or two German Kriegsmarine S-Boats. Well thinking that really I would need both, I also thought this is the kind of issue that would sell out very quickly. I decided in the end to see if WHSmith would carry both. I was in luck they did carry both, so on release day, I bought two magazines, one with MTBs and one with S-Boats.

The fact that these days that gaming companies can produce such excellent plastic model kits and give them away free on the cover of a magazine demonstrates how far the gaming industry has come over the last few years (or is it decades).

I really like the plastic models, and certainly gives you some great models to start playing Cruel Seas.