Game: Man O' War

Thread: Man O' War Ships for Trade

edige23 — 2008-12-01T17:36:24+00:00

I hope it isn't too out of line to mention that I've posted my list of Man O' War ships for trade in the general BGG trade forum-- here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/359999.

Thread: Re: Making paper box ships. Pics inside!

manowarplayer — 2008-11-30T01:52:15+00:00

Nazhuret wrote:
Sarnon wrote:
Your ships look great! If you can, I (and maybe others) would appreciate it greatly if you'd make your final files, either JPG or PSD, available for download. Thanks.

Thanks!

I'm not really sure about the uploading the files....

I took them from someone else's work. I did do some modification but I might feel sort of strange uploading them here. I'd love to give a print ready file for others to use but there's the whole copyright thing as well as simply giving credit where credit's due.

Manowarplayer might chime in on whether that's cool or not..?

Someone already has posted over at the Sea of Claws to ask if the files could be posted elsewhere. I know I'd want to be asked if they were mine, so hopefully Zak will chime in soon with an answer.

Scott

Thread: Re: Making paper box ships. Pics inside!

Nazhuret — 2008-11-30T00:43:04+00:00

cosine wrote:
Nazhuret wrote:

I didn't like the way it looked.

A suggestion. Instead of boxes, make triangles; remove the top, front and back panels. Keep the base about the same size. This will give them some meat, but will greatly slim their profile.

Of course, there is also the option of printing a card and sticking it on just a plain base too.

Yeah, I did a mock up of the triangle type of build. It seemed wrong.

My original idea was to have the top down view and a two sided thick card sticking up from it to show the profile. I too wanted to slim the profile at first.

After making a few mocks before real printing and construction I found the slimmed versions to be very unsatisfying.
Once constructed the block ships make more sense. They just feel right. The big blockiness of them becomes a selling point and the slim ones just seemed sort of meh.

Remember, these are supposed to be stand ins for metal miniatures. I'm going for something that gives the impression of a big ass ship on the high seas, with towering sails, bristling guns and massive displacement.

Barring actual metal the best for this is big blocky blocks. Slimmed down profiles or top downs just don't give that beefy feel I'm going for.

Thread: Re: Making paper box ships. Pics inside!

cosine — 2008-11-27T01:32:42+00:00

Nazhuret wrote:

I didn't like the way it looked.

A suggestion. Instead of boxes, make triangles; remove the top, front and back panels. Keep the base about the same size. This will give them some meat, but will greatly slim their profile.

Of course, there is also the option of printing a card and sticking it on just a plain base too.

Thread: Re: Making paper box ships. Pics inside!

Nazhuret — 2008-11-27T01:19:34+00:00

Indeed. That's why I specified a VERY thin layer of it.

White glue is ok to use if you're familiar with how it can warp things and also familiar with the paper you're using. I've done many paper craft projects and my knowledge of the media I'm using is gained through much trial and error.

Glue sticks are very helpful in this regard to be sure. I personally don't like them as I've never found one that sets as permanently as white glue. This is not to say that all are like the ones I've used. As a matter of fact most paper craft "blogs" recommend the sticks. If you aren't used to using white glue I'd also say get some glue sticks. It'll make your project much less stressful.

If you DO choose to use white glue make sure it's a very thin layer. Make sure it dries a bit so it's slightly tacky. Another trick is to apply glue to both surfaces and let it dry till tacky then stick them together. This method is very effective but you've got to make sure of your positioning first try. The glue sticks together very fast and leaves very little time for adjustments.

Thanks for the tip!

Thread: Re: Making paper box ships. Pics inside!

Dorque — 2008-11-27T01:05:30+00:00

I find the wetness of white glue makes paper models curl if you don't dry them under pressure. I recommend UHU glue pens. Perfect control and dry flat.

http://www.buyonlinenow.ca/viewproduct.asp?sku=UHU99589

I'll add ManOWar to my list of projects. I should get to it by 2011.

Thread: Re: Making paper box ships. Pics inside!

Nazhuret — 2008-11-27T00:56:30+00:00

Sarnon wrote:
Your ships look great! If you can, I (and maybe others) would appreciate it greatly if you'd make your final files, either JPG or PSD, available for download. Thanks.

Thanks!

I'm not really sure about the uploading the files....

I took them from someone else's work. I did do some modification but I might feel sort of strange uploading them here. I'd love to give a print ready file for others to use but there's the whole copyright thing as well as simply giving credit where credit's due.

Manowarplayer might chime in on whether that's cool or not..?

Thread: Re: How to get started

Nazhuret — 2008-11-27T00:54:00+00:00

I started a thread about making the paper box ships here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/358904

Check it out to see what these can look like.

It's an easy and cheap way to get started in the game.

Thread: Re: Making paper box ships. Pics inside!

Sarnon — 2008-11-26T22:37:37+00:00

Your ships look great! If you can, I (and maybe others) would appreciate it greatly if you'd make your final files, either JPG or PSD, available for download. Thanks.

Thread: Re: Making paper box ships. Pics inside!

Nazhuret — 2008-11-26T22:11:47+00:00

Well, I tried that at first.
I didn't like the way it looked. The ships seemed too much out of the game. Like they were just big blocks instead of ships. Hard to describe...

The blue is supposed to blend in with the table (ocean) from the top and sides. The cloth used in those pics is not the one I'm going to use ultimately. It's much brighter and busier.

I can see where you're coming from but it just didn't look right to my eyes. The blue was added by me though so if anyone doesn't like it they certainly don't have to use it.

Great thing is any of the colors can be changed in moments. I am going to change the colors on the sails and flags for different squads for instance. No problem.

Thread: Re: Making paper box ships. Pics inside!

mrtof — 2008-11-26T22:02:33+00:00

I would suggest you use a basic white background instead of the blue for the following reasons:
- you will save a lot of ink/toner,
- your folds will not be so visible,
- the ships will contrast more with the background therefore enhancing the 3D aspect.

Right now, they look like sunken ships instead of sailing ships

Thread: Re: Making paper box ships. Pics inside!

manowarplayer — 2008-11-26T21:42:19+00:00

Be sure to give us some details (session report?) about your 1st game too.

Thread: Re: Making paper box ships. Pics inside!

Nazhuret — 2008-11-26T21:26:57+00:00

Ah! I had assumed that they were yours. Sorry to anyone who's paint is on the models for not giving credit.

Yes, it's very easy to make these. There are improvements that to make them even better. As I said I'm going to give them a heavy bottom. I would also like to find a pen or paint to mask the white folds and edges of the paper.
You could also cut out custom sized blocks from wood or foam to give them a more solid feel. I may end up doing the foam thing later myself.

Does this look as good as a custom painted fleet making it's way across the table? No, but it sure doesn't look bad! And, like I said, it allows you to actually play the game without spending an arm and a leg and the time it would take to paint the fleets yourself.
This is great for those, like myself, that want to play with people that would NEVER even think about painting a miniature just to play a board game...

I'm pretty stoked about these.

Thread: Re: Making paper box ships. Pics inside!

manowarplayer — 2008-11-26T21:14:11+00:00

It looks like the paper files have been updated since I last looked at them. Only some of them are pictures of my ships. So I can't take the credit for them.

Nevertheless, it is a cheap, easy way to get a fleet up and running in no time. The files are designed to print out at the correct size of the miniatures too, so all the rules and templates are used without any changes.

Excellent work!

Thread: Re: How to hit or not using paper ships?

Nazhuret — 2008-11-26T21:02:36+00:00

Ok! I started another thread showing the process and the first few ships completed today.

Check it out here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/358904

Thread: Making paper box ships. Pics inside!

Nazhuret — 2008-11-26T21:01:37+00:00

I've always loved Man O War but I had never built up any sort of sizeable fleet to play with.
Finding miniatures now is difficult and can be quite expensive.
Even if I were able to find them I don't really have the time nor inclination anymore to paint them. The people I would play with sure as heck aren't going to do it!

Recently I discovered and joined the great Yahoo group "The Sea of Claws".

Within the files section are some pictures of ships that you can print out and fold up into boxes that are the same size as the miniatures. The pictures are from Manowarplayer's extensive and beautifully painted fleets so you can't go wrong there.

Note that the files as uploaded currently do need some work by you to be viable. Some -not all- of the sides don't match up with the others etc... You'll see what I mean if you decide to take this project on. It's by no means difficult to fix though so don't take that as discouragement!

Here are some pictures of the construction and final product.

Cutting out the printed templates:

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LIGHTLY score the fold lines and press them for a neat, crisp fold line:

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Smear a VERY THIN layer of white glue onto the tab. Attach and burnish from the inside:

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Completed ships!

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I will soon cut out some very thick card and glue the box to it. Sort of a heavy bottom to the box. This will provide defense against being knocked over and also give the sides some nice, straight lines from which to shoot.

I suggest to anyone wanting to get into this game to go get these files and have a go. It's very easy, quite satisfying and it will allow you to play as opposed to simply pining over the game!

Thread: Re: How to hit or not using paper ships?

Sarnon — 2008-11-26T20:03:19+00:00

I'll second the interest in seeing the completed block ships. I've begun creation of 2D ship minis but was considering using the 3D block templates if I can find the time.

Thread: Re: How to hit or not using paper ships?

manowarplayer — 2008-11-26T19:49:04+00:00

Woot!

I have always thought the idea of the block ships a nice alternative to spending a ton on miniatures, but I had yet to see anyone actually make some.

You will definately have to post some pictures in the files section so people can see how great they look. I know that although the original guy that did them over at the Sea of Claws didn't do them for all the fleets, I'm sure he could be persuaded to finish them once he sees that there is some demand for them.

Can't wait to see them!

Thread: Re: How to hit or not using paper ships?

Nazhuret — 2008-11-26T19:27:04+00:00

I'm coming along at quite a clip making the box ships. Once you get into a pattern it's pretty fast and they look pretty awesome.

I'm eternally greatfull for the initial files. However, I've come across some problems with a few of them.

Both the Empire Greatship and ~~Hellhammer~~ Ironfist files have problems with one of the side images being longer than the others. For the GS it was a pretty easy fix as only one of them was off. I simply copied the good side, flipped it and pasted it back on. (I also turned the whole thing 45° so it would fit on 8.5 x11).

The HH IF though... Man... It was about an hour's worth of pre-print work to get it right. Some of that has to do with the fact that I'm not as proficient with photoshop as I might hope to be sure.

In any case, I'm reworking the files so they all print out to scale (based on the very convenient 5cm ruler on each) and all fit on letter paper AND all have the proper length of sides.

If you are interested I can send them over to you when I'm done with them. It might make it a bit easier for others to have a go. I can either send them as jpegs or ps documents, with or without the added blue background. My blue may not be other people's choice for blue...

Having a great time just building the things and hugely anticipating playing.

I've come full circle on the blocks. I think the blockiness is pretty neat looking, really. Once you have a few sitting there they look pretty awesome!

EDIT: wrong ship

Thread: Re: How to hit or not using paper ships?

manowarplayer — 2008-11-26T18:55:50+00:00

Actually, many of the paper files available at the Sea of Claws are pictures of my ships so feel free to use them (or use the ones you collected, either way is fine).

I went on a photo taking spree for that project awhile back and did quite a few.

Thread: Re: How to hit or not using paper ships?

Sarnon — 2008-11-26T18:30:54+00:00

On a related note, manowarplayer, I've collected all of the photos I could find from the gallery of your well-painted Man O' War ships. Would you object if I used the photos to create paper ships for use with the game? They'll of course be for my personal use only. Thanks.

Thread: Re: How to hit or not using paper ships?

manowarplayer — 2008-11-26T16:41:54+00:00

One thing I like about the blocks is that they would be much sturdier in general and the overall dimensions approximate the size of the miniatures very nicely.

Looking forward to seeing your pics!

Thread: Re: How to hit or not using paper ships?

Nazhuret — 2008-11-26T16:27:28+00:00

Actually, I've been fooling around with these and I put some blue background into the graphics of the block paper ships.
They are MUCH improved for it and I think now I might use them as blocks like this.

I'll try to post some pics later in the day of the initial builds. If not to the game page then to my personal gallery at least. I'll let you know.

Nazhuret wrote:

As for the ships I think I'm going to do a top down view just to get started playing but eventually I would like to make a two sided stand up to go on top of the top down. If that makes sense...
I'd like to take the time to cut around the graphics so there's no null space on either the top down or the side view.
I've got all this nice, thick card to use up and I figure this would be a good game to make a dent in it.
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The block ones just seem a bit too, well, blocky for my taste. I will likely use those graphics for this project though as they look fantastic.

Thread: Re: How to hit or not using paper ships?

Nazhuret — 2008-11-26T04:59:00+00:00

Thanks for the reply.

When I used to play we would set the template on the sides (or butted as close to the front as possible).
I can't remember about turrets... It's been a while.
For hits we ignored the sails as well.
I figured it didn't really matter so much as long as we did the same thing for all situations.

As for the ships I think I'm going to do a top down view just to get started playing but eventually I would like to make a two sided stand up to go on top of the top down. If that makes sense...
I'd like to take the time to cut around the graphics so there's no null space on either the top down or the side view.
I've got all this nice, thick card to use up and I figure this would be a good game to make a dent in it.
]]>

The block ones just seem a bit too, well, blocky for my taste. I will likely use those graphics for this project though as they look fantastic.

Thread: Re: How to hit or not using paper ships?

manowarplayer — 2008-11-26T04:14:36+00:00

Nazhuret wrote:
I'm wanting to build up a few fleets using paper ships. Whether I end up using the block ships or just top down views I've got a question about how to target and shoot.

Shooting: Would I place the template against the paper or against the image of the edge of the ship?

Target: Would any portion of the paper hit by the template be considered a hit or does the template have to hit the graphic of the ship on the paper?

I believe these two things go hand in hand. I'm sure that whichever I choose to go with will be fine as long as we always play that way.

Just wondering what others may have done using paper ships.

Thanks.

It really won't make much of a difference either way to be honest.

The same question arises in games with miniatures. "Do I place the firing template against the edge of the hull or from the center point of the ship?" For a ship with a turret, the center point makes sense otherwise you are extending it's firing arc a little all the way around. For ships with broadsides it makes sense to go up against the hull.

My advice is just to be as consistant as possible. If it's easier to go from the edges, use that and if it's easier to go from the center of the ship than that's ok too.

As for targeting, with the miniatures we say that the firing template has to hit a portion of the hull to be a hit. This makes everything consistent with targeting and eliminates ships being easier to hit if they have billowing sails for example.

There is no right or wrong, and you may find that the paper or block ships present other issues and you may have to have some other compromise to deal with them.

Hope this helps!

Scott

p.s. I'd love to see some pictures of your paper or block ships once you get them made.

Thread: How to hit or not using paper ships?

Nazhuret — 2008-11-25T22:40:19+00:00

I'm wanting to build up a few fleets using paper ships. Whether I end up using the block ships or just top down views I've got a question about how to target and shoot.

Shooting: Would I place the template against the paper or against the image of the edge of the ship?

Target: Would any portion of the paper hit by the template be considered a hit or does the template have to hit the graphic of the ship on the paper?

I believe these two things go hand in hand. I'm sure that whichever I choose to go with will be fine as long as we always play that way.

Just wondering what others may have done using paper ships.

Thanks.

Thread: Re: Alternate fleets?

Alex40K — 2008-11-19T11:51:35+00:00

Orcoteuthis wrote:
The cruisers and fregates might do fine as men-o'-war and ships-o'-the-line respectively.

Exactly my thoughts. And as it seems they just started their new product line, im looking forward to see some new miniatures soon, if their game is successful.

Imperial, Dwarfen and Orc ships fit into the theme from GW quit good, perhaps some customizing on the Dwarfen ships (not enough pipes visible) and Orc ships (not savage enough) would lead to an even more GW-like look.

I'm planning to try to make some Ships for Manowar using Fimo, if this produces only disastrous results I will certainly get some ships from Spartan Games and see if they "fit".

Thread: Re: Man-o-War Ships Trading/Value Question

edige23 — 2008-11-19T03:58:51+00:00

Thanks much again-- I appreciate your input on this.

Thread: Re: Man-o-War Ships Trading/Value Question

manowarplayer — 2008-11-18T20:33:22+00:00

edige23 wrote:
I posted this query on the trade forums, but it was suggested I ought to also post this here--

I'm trying to get a very rough sense of the value of these ships-- likely for trading or maybe selling on the BGG Marketplace rather than eBay. If I could get a sense of general value of small vs. large ships, complete vs. incomplete or some such.

Here's what I have. Most are either painted badly (to the point of cringing), or simply primed. A couple of the Skaven are unprimed. I wonder if anyone has had experience shipping there-- I kind of shudder at the thought. I suspecting I might be better off trading than selling these. This is what I can determine from a quick sort and eyeball. In any case (apologies for the long list)...

I'm also wondering what experience people have had (if any) shipping the assembled ships-- tips or advice would be welcome.

Dark Elf
1 Black Ark (masts and sails intact, some sail damage)
10 Doomreaver
6 Death Fortress

Elf
1 Dragon Ship (mast, no crossbeam, no sail, no pennant)
1 Eagleship (mast, no crossbeam, no sail, no pennant)
3 Hawkships (masts, no sails, one missing crossbeam)

Dwarf (no masts, no sails)
1 Dreadnought
5 Ironclads
6 Monitors
2 Nautlilus (Nautliti?)

Chaos Dwarf (no pennants attached)
3 Thunderfire Battlebarge
2 Great Leveller Battlebarge
6 Hull-Destroyer
7 Thunder-Roller

Orcs
3 Hulks (no masts, no sails-- one has an Iron Claw missing)
8 Drillakillas (no masts, no sails)
5 Bigchuckka ( no masts, no sails)

Skaven (no masts, no sails unless noted)
2 Doombringer
3 Deathburner
3 Deathburner (w/masts and sails)
6 Warp-Raider
3 Warp-Raider (w/masts and sails)

Chaos Generic (no masts, no sails)
9 Basic Chaos Skull Ships (2 with masts)
2 Bane Towers (flying city things, right?)

Chaos: Khorne
1 Bloodship (well-painted, missing one mast)
1 Bloodship (missing one mast)
1 Bloodship (no sails, masts attached, crossbeams bent)
2 Ironsharks (no mast, no sail)
2 Ironsharks (mast, no sail, no pennant tip)
1 Ironshark (mast, no sail)
3 Chaos Basic ships in Khorne colors with Khorne sails (some sail paper bending and wear)

Chaos: Tzeench
1 Great Winged Terror (mast, no crossbeam, no pennant tip, no flying base)
1 Great Winged Terror (no sail, bent pennant tip)

Chaos: Slaanesh
1 Hellship (tip of crossbeam damaged)
1 Hellship (nicely painted, masts with sailed detached but present)
2 Hellslicers (one nicely painted)
2 Hellslicers (no pennants)
1 Hellrammer (nicely painted, sail detached but present)
1 Hellrammer
1 Hellrammer (no sail)
1 Hellrammer (no sail, crossbeam broken)
3 Chaos Basic ships in Slaaneshi colors & sails (one with sail/mast bent, one with pennant bent)

Chaos: Nurgle
1 Plagueship (2 crossbeam damage, 1 pennant tip missing, slight bent to center mast, no sails, no pennant)
1 Plagueship (no pennant tips, 2 masts with sails detached but present)
1 Plagueship (no pennant tips, 3 masts with sails detached but present)
1 Plagueship (disassembled, no masts)
3 Plague Crusher (no masts, no sails)
2 Plague Crushers (no sails, no pennant tips)
1 Plague Crusher (mast detached, sail present, no pennant tip)
4 Plague Crusher (sail folding, no pennant tip)

Imperial
Greatship (no pennant tips, rear sail crossbeam broken but sail attached, middle mast topsail missing)
3 Hellhammer

I've gone through your list and highlighted the ships that are grouped together in Squadrons of 3. I think you'll have much better luck selling those ships in squadrons as opposed to singularly.

The rest of the ships are either Man O Wars or Independent - both which are used alone. Most of the independents (like the Nautilus) were sold in groups of three originally, but that would probably hurt you more (and get you less for them overall) now.

I wouldn't worry about the paint jobs or lack of sails either. Most Man O War players know that there are very few models floating around and stripping off a bad paint job or making your own masts is no big deal.

In summary:

Bold - package as group of three and sell.
No Bold - sell individually.

I also agree that you'll probably get a great response (and more accurate value) from members of the Sea of Claws as well. BGG.con will have a limited audience for these.

Good Luck!

Scott

Thread: Re: Man-o-War Ships Trading/Value Question

leaxe — 2008-11-18T08:47:05+00:00

I am sure that the guys at the sea of claws mailing list would be more than happy to buy/trade your ships.

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/theseaofclaws/

I can send your list to the mailing list, I am a member.

Greg (who is also interested in some of your ships...)

Thread: Man-o-War Ships Trading/Value Question

edige23 — 2008-11-18T04:30:53+00:00

I posted this query on the trade forums, but it was suggested I ought to also post this here--

I'm trying to get a very rough sense of the value of these ships-- likely for trading or maybe selling on the BGG Marketplace rather than eBay. If I could get a sense of general value of small vs. large ships, complete vs. incomplete or some such.

Here's what I have. Most are either painted badly (to the point of cringing), or simply primed. A couple of the Skaven are unprimed. I wonder if anyone has had experience shipping there-- I kind of shudder at the thought. I suspecting I might be better off trading than selling these. This is what I can determine from a quick sort and eyeball. In any case (apologies for the long list)...

I'm also wondering what experience people have had (if any) shipping the assembled ships-- tips or advice would be welcome.

Dark Elf
1 Black Ark (masts and sails intact, some sail damage)
10 Doomreaver
6 Death Fortress

Elf
1 Dragon Ship (mast, no crossbeam, no sail, no pennant)
1 Eagleship (mast, no crossbeam, no sail, no pennant)
3 Hawkships (masts, no sails, one missing crossbeam)

Dwarf (no masts, no sails)
1 Dreadnought
5 Ironclads
6 Monitors
2 Nautlilus (Nautliti?)

Chaos Dwarf (no pennants attached)
3 Thunderfire Battlebarge
2 Great Leveller Battlebarge
6 Hull-Destroyer
7 Thunder-Roller

Orcs
3 Hulks (no masts, no sails-- one has an Iron Claw missing)
8 Drillakillas (no masts, no sails)
5 Bigchuckka ( no masts, no sails)

Skaven (no masts, no sails unless noted)
2 Doombringer
3 Deathburner
3 Deathburner (w/masts and sails)
6 Warp-Raider
3 Warp-Raider (w/masts and sails)

Chaos Generic (no masts, no sails)
9 Basic Chaos Skull Ships (2 with masts)
2 Bane Towers (flying city things, right?)

Chaos: Khorne
1 Bloodship (well-painted, missing one mast)
1 Bloodship (missing one mast)
1 Bloodship (no sails, masts attached, crossbeams bent)
2 Ironsharks (no mast, no sail)
2 Ironsharks (mast, no sail, no pennant tip)
1 Ironshark (mast, no sail)
3 Chaos Basic ships in Khorne colors with Khorne sails (some sail paper bending and wear)

Chaos: Tzeench
1 Great Winged Terror (mast, no crossbeam, no pennant tip, no flying base)
1 Great Winged Terror (no sail, bent pennant tip)

Chaos: Slaanesh
1 Hellship (tip of crossbeam damaged)
1 Hellship (nicely painted, masts with sailed detached but present)
2 Hellslicers (one nicely painted)
2 Hellslicers (no pennants)
1 Hellrammer (nicely painted, sail detached but present)
1 Hellrammer
1 Hellrammer (no sail)
1 Hellrammer (no sail, crossbeam broken)
3 Chaos Basic ships in Slaaneshi colors & sails (one with sail/mast bent, one with pennant bent)

Chaos: Nurgle
1 Plagueship (2 crossbeam damage, 1 pennant tip missing, slight bent to center mast, no sails, no pennant)
1 Plagueship (no pennant tips, 2 masts with sails detached but present)
1 Plagueship (no pennant tips, 3 masts with sails detached but present)
1 Plagueship (disassembled, no masts)
3 Plague Crusher (no masts, no sails)
2 Plague Crushers (no sails, no pennant tips)
1 Plague Crusher (mast detached, sail present, no pennant tip)
4 Plague Crusher (sail folding, no pennant tip)

Imperial
Greatship (no pennant tips, rear sail crossbeam broken but sail attached, middle mast topsail missing)
3 Hellhammer

Thread: Re: Playing in studio apartment: Smallest scale? Smallest play area?

orionstars — 2008-11-17T23:40:08+00:00

That's It!!! I spent 10 minutes trying to come up with the name here at work to no avail. Thank you!

Your setup looks great by the way. Hope progress continues well still!

Thread: Re: Playing in studio apartment: Smallest scale? Smallest play area?

Nazhuret — 2008-11-17T22:04:20+00:00

Let me guess: "Model Railroading in Small Spaces" by Mat Chibbaro?

I'm currently working on a 5'x2' coffee table based on the plans on page 79, "The Rocky Gap and Dickerson".

Only I've themed mine as "The Hobbit" instead...

Here's an old video of the first test run though I've done quite a bit of work since then. Constructed the terrain shell and I'm now ready to begin the scenery.

Youtube Video

Thread: Re: Playing in studio apartment: Smallest scale? Smallest play area?

orionstars — 2008-11-17T18:56:28+00:00

I too am a recent transplant from large space to small.... small studio. Looking to play any mini's/fig's game has become the same challange for me as well. My euro/war boardgames are no problem playing, just some people have to stand or I incorporate musical chairs all in the same game!

One thing that I have started to pursue again as well are my model railroads. I used to have lots in every scale. Again, new smaller space = much smaller collection, actually only my N-scale stuff survives. In that vain 1 of my modeling books is all about building railrods into furniture. A concept that I have begun to look at for my gaming as well. The two leading contenders are a coffee table with a glass top that lifts off for access - probably use a bottom that would raise up & down, or a bar top that use some similar construction. Of course the bar top for the railroad sits on 2 old wooden casks as it's an early logging line so that might need some changing too.

This assume of course some woodworking to be done, but avoids the landlord issue completely, and gives you a place to play in any living arrangement! In the future if gaming ie. MoW is not what you want in the table in the middle of the living room.... then throw down a cloth and some photos or shells... or your favorite cork and button collection!
Good luck

Thread: Re: Playing in studio apartment: Smallest scale? Smallest play area?

Nazhuret — 2008-11-16T02:57:50+00:00

red_zebra_ve wrote:
Vassal is Mac compatible!!! With system X.

Well, that's cool, I guess.

So, where do I go to do this thing? Or at least look into it?

Thread: Re: Playing in studio apartment: Smallest scale? Smallest play area?

red_zebra_ve — 2008-11-16T01:29:45+00:00

Vassal is Mac compatible!!! With system X.

Thread: Re: Playing in studio apartment: Smallest scale? Smallest play area?

Nazhuret — 2008-11-15T22:40:40+00:00

LordJesse wrote:
Get a big screen TV, hook up a computer and make a Vassal Module (or ZunTzu mod). Then all you need to have room for is some dice rolling!

I initially dismissed this idea but it's been niggling in the back of my head...
It would be great thing to have both for myself and I'd love to contribute such a thing to the community.
I don't know the first thing about Vassal though. Where do I even start to find out how to do this sort of thing?

Actually, first question : Is it Mac compatible?
Secondly: Is this time consuming?

I'd still like to play with the physical components but it would be cool to try this anyway.

Am I actually thinking of getting into another hobby type thing such as setting up Vassal games..?

God help me... I have too many hobbies as it is.

Thread: Re: Playing in studio apartment: Smallest scale? Smallest play area?

Nazhuret — 2008-11-15T22:31:58+00:00

Well, hell, most card tables are 3'x3'...

I could just pick one of those up and slide it between the wall and desk when not in use.
I'd have to find somewhere to put the cards and drinks I guess but that's not a problem.

Hmm....

And it'd be great for playing Crokinole on too! Can't really flick the disks very well when it's sitting on a coffee table height table.

Thread: Re: Playing in studio apartment: Smallest scale? Smallest play area?

Nazhuret — 2008-11-15T22:15:04+00:00

Well, my girlfriend is the reason I am wanting to get back into it again. She said she'd like to give it a go and she's got some friends that are old GW types from "back in the day".
She IS here on the geek actually.
I'll send her that link.
Thanks again!

I think having the paper ships will go a long way. I don't have a lot painted and nobody else would really be into that if they could even find any... which they wouldn't because they wouldn't even look..

I think this will go over even better than back when I was in school and had tons of time and other game dorks around all the time.

Thread: Re: Playing in studio apartment: Smallest scale? Smallest play area?

manowarplayer — 2008-11-15T21:59:13+00:00

Nazhuret wrote:
That helps tremendously! This is exactly the sort of advice I was looking for. Thank you very much.

I think I might go for a 3'x 3' board. My coffee table is 2x5 and feels just a bit short on the wide side. I could easily get a single yard of cloth for the ocean. I saw some GREAT looking stuff at the local quilt store.
That's easily small enough that I could just store it beside my desk or something.

I'm very excited about playing again!

Now, if only I can infect everyone else in the same way...

Invite a select few friends over and go for a 2 against 2 battle. Print up the rule's summary at the end of the rulebook and pass it out to each player. If they are BGG members you can have them read THIS session report to learn the basics of movement and shooting.

You'll have 3 Nurgle infected friends wanting to play in no time!

Thread: Re: Playing in studio apartment: Smallest scale? Smallest play area?

yosemite — 2008-11-15T20:33:37+00:00

I'm thinking you'll be just fine with a 3' x 3' space. The actual conflict will start sooner!!!

I DO love this game! We definitely need to play here more often...

Thread: Re: Playing in studio apartment: Smallest scale? Smallest play area?

Nazhuret — 2008-11-15T19:56:40+00:00

That helps tremendously! This is exactly the sort of advice I was looking for. Thank you very much.

I think I might go for a 3'x 3' board. My coffee table is 2x5 and feels just a bit short on the wide side. I could easily get a single yard of cloth for the ocean. I saw some GREAT looking stuff at the local quilt store.
That's easily small enough that I could just store it beside my desk or something.

I'm very excited about playing again!

Now, if only I can infect everyone else in the same way...

Thread: Re: Playing in studio apartment: Smallest scale? Smallest play area?

manowarplayer — 2008-11-15T17:15:42+00:00

Actually, nearly all of the games I play on (and run at the conventions) are played on tables that are 4'x4' in size and they often seem to be too big when playing with slow moving fleets that start on opposite sides of the table.

I bet you'd not even notice a difference if you played on a board 3'6" square and simply shortened the deployment zones to 6" strips along a table edge instead of the normal 9". There is usually a lot of initial manuevering until the ships actually meet and then the battle tends to take place in a smaller and smaller area as ships get disabled. I've even played on 3'x 3' area in small gaming stores and never felt like it hampered the experience any.

I wouldn't scale the ships down - especially if you use the paper ship/wood block option. In reality, the board doesn't even have to be square - simply get a roll of blue vinyl from a fabric store and roll it out on whatever table you have, - then use that space as desired. If you want to play a quick battle - start across from each other on the shorter side of the table, if you want to get more manuevering going on, start on the farthest sides apart.

Also be sure to print up UniversalHeads's set of card sized ship templates (in the files section). These can slip into card sleeves and then you use Dry erase markers instead of the much larger templates and counters that also need a ton a space.

All the pictures you see of my games are on 4'x4' tables (or two of them butted together).

Hope this helps!

Scott

Thread: Re: Playing in studio apartment: Smallest scale? Smallest play area?

LordJesse — 2008-11-15T00:14:52+00:00

Get a big screen TV, hook up a computer and make a Vassal Module (or ZunTzu mod). Then all you need to have room for is some dice rolling!

I would not scale the game down any more as small rounding errors can make huge differences.

Thread: Playing in studio apartment: Smallest scale? Smallest play area?

Nazhuret — 2008-11-14T23:44:18+00:00

I've recently been wanting to get back into this game in a big way but I have kind of a problem.

I currently live in a pretty small studio apartment and so don't really have the space for the big tables required for miniatures games anymore.
The best solution would be, of course, to get a larger place but that's not going to happen anytime soon.
I do have a few options though and wanted some opinions on them.

I was thinking of getting a 4'x6' (or 8' maybe) board and actually hoist it up on to the ceiling when not in use. When playing I could lower it down to the coffee table and play. This would be pretty cool since it would allow me to save games during play if I was not able to finish them and the cats wouldn't get to them.
The major problem being, of course, that I'd have to put some big eye-bolts in the ceiling and I'm not sure if I can find any suitably strong joists to screw them into. And I'm not sure how the land lords would like that when I vacate.
Still, it's an option.

Secondly is the option of simply playing on a much smaller surface. I figure that 4'x6' is about the smallest I would want but I'm not sure. I was wanting to ask those of you that have played a lot what the smallest size table you can get away with would be.

A third option would be to simply scale the entire game down to something like 1" = 1 cm
Since I'm probably going to be using paper ships this shouldn't be a problem but I'm wondering if the "grandeur" of the full scale would be lost in super mini games. Then again, I could play some truly epic battles on such a scale.

So, that's about where I'm at in my thinking.

Please, any thoughts and input on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Thread: Re: How to get started

DrunkDwarves — 2008-10-30T20:52:54+00:00

No problem!
This is really a great game. Eventually I would recommend the expansions. The progression for MoW has been a little strange in the fact that the base game was a pretty tight little system. There were extra rules that added some very nice fluff and character, but overall nothing was really too far "out there".

Plague Fleet then takes that pretty clean and tight system and throws it on its head with lost of special rules for the various ships. Rules that I would consider "out there". As well as a new magic system (but only for the fleets in the expansion - Well Dark Elves can use Chaos magic if both opponents agree).

Sea of Blood put the finishing touches on making it a "complete" fantasy game with the fliers and the sea monsters, but I rarely play with those. One thing to note though is with SoB there are rules for two new Imperial ships (one with a giant cannon and one with a giant mortar) and the Dwarves received a new Men of War ship.

Personally I don't really use fliers and sea monsters that often, but I do use the additional ships from SoB. At the old game store I went to they only played with the base game because as I mention above the fleets in Plauge Fleet deviated so far from the feeling that was established in the base game.

By the way...Since I always have a problem finding the BGG Wiki, here is the link:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Man_O_War

Thread: Re: How to get started

jsharp — 2008-10-30T18:37:21+00:00

DrunkDwarves, What a great reply. You answer many of my questions and I was wondering about the expansion matters due to there being a number of ebay listings right now that include the base game and both expansions. In my case I think the base game is the way to go, and then proceeding to fill out a fleet or two is the way to go. I like the proxies available at Sea of Claws (thanks for that lead as well ManO'War Player), which should help me figure out which fleets I'm partial to.

Again, thanks for taking the time to compose such a detailed reply and I look forward to exploring my first ever game that requires the use of a ruler.

Jeff

Thread: Re: How to get started

DrunkDwarves — 2008-10-30T17:31:39+00:00

jsharp wrote:

My initial question is simply what do I need to get going if I should decide to try this game?

Jeff

Welcome to the world of miniature games and hopefully you find it very enjoyable. Since I've got some time here at work I'll walk you through a few things. I'll also make the assumption that you want to use official models and components (though as others have mentioned there are plenty of alternatives for homebrew models and rules and what not).

First off, you will need a copy of the Man o War game (the two expansions Plague Fleet and Sea of Blood are not required and add additional fleets, unit types and misc things). The base game will provide you with the rules, templates, and tokens needed to play all the fleets in the base set. A complete copy of the game comes with 12 plastic Wargalley models. These 12 models will allow you to field two squads of three against two squads of three. So the game itself will provide you with enough to get going, but it only scratches the surface of the character and color the Warhammer world offers. The ships provided are very basic and do not offer a lot of the color that the other fleets listed in the rule book offers. Once you play a game or two with them to learn the rules I'm pretty sure you'll want to expand into the additional races the game offers.

In the MoW rulebook there are lists for six races (Imperial; Brits; Dwarves; High Elves; Dark Elves and Orcs). Each fleet has their own army "list" which details the different ships availble to the race and the points associated with the ships. These ships are divided into three categories: Men of War; Ships of the Line and Independents. Men of War are one off ships, Ships of the Line come in squads of three and form the bulk of the fleet and Independents are one off ships. I believe the Wiki here on BGG lists the majority of the races and their respective ship types, squad size and squad costs. If you take a look at that, it should give you an idea as to what you'll be looking at per fleet and roughly how the fleet lists are set up.

As I mentioned, each squad is assigned a point value and you select from units from the list up to the determined battle/fleet size (the recommended fleet size is 1k pts per side). This averages out to 2-3 Men o War, 2-4 Ship of the Line Squads and one or two Independents (not all fleets have Independents). Of course the actual numbers will depend on the race you decide to play. Here I will give you my personal experience. I've collected now every fleet and each one is a size roughly around that outline. The cost per fleet is around $150-175 if you are patient on eBay and wait for full fleets to come up. Individual squads or ships on eBay will cost you much more. Some of the more expensive fleets have come around $225 but I've put together some as low as $125.

What I did when putting together my "shopping list" was to build a fleet list and noted down which of each type of ship and the quantity I desired. I targetted between 1,000-1,200 points per fleet to give some variety and options in a 1k per side battle. I then waited on eBay.

So at this point, to get a sample of the game you'll need the base set with the 12 ships which were included. If you want to get further into the game, utalize all the rules in the base set you'll need the base set and two fleets around 1k points. If you wish to further expand from there you can look into more fleets with the base set, or look into the expansions.

The first expansion was Plague Fleet. PF offered fleet lists for Chaos, Chaos Dwarves and Skaven. My personal feeling on these fleets are they brought too many special rules and race specific rules to the game. If you are just starting out, I'd recommend holding off on these fleets for now and stick with the fleets and rules in the base game. I don't think the rules or fleets that were added were bad, but they just provided too many exceptions to the form the base game provided.

The second expansion was Sea of Blood. SoB provided rules for sea monsters, fliers, allies and rules for the Norse. Again my personal feeling is these rules added too many special rules that broke the form the base game provided. And again I'd recommend holding off on anything from this set until you know you're ready to expand further from the base game.

So to sum it up, what I'd recommened if you're starting miniature games and starting with MoW would be to buy a complete copy of the base set and play a few games with the models included to get a feel for the rules. From there you and another player should both pick a fleet from the list in the base game, form a 1k pt force and put together that fleet. Expect to pay around $250-300 total to get a copy of the base game and two fleets...But of course there are the paper templates and what have you where you can get by with the base game and handmake everything else greatly reducing the cost.

Hopefully that helps you out.

Thread: Re: How to get started

Zarash — 2008-10-27T12:50:04+00:00

I have just tried to join. Just made a yahoo account so I could. Name is Grumiuk.

Thread: Re: How to get started

manowarplayer — 2008-10-26T20:41:04+00:00

The papercraft ships are pretty cool.

Print them up and mount them to blocks of cut wood that are the dimensions of each of the sides and PRESTO! you have a cool looking proxy that is the right dimension.

Enjoy!

Image

cipiii — 2008-07-22T02:33:17+00:00

The loan Wolfship (from paper and toothpicks)

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manowarplayer — 2008-05-29T16:36:04+00:00

KublaCon 2008 - The Hunt for Red Orctober begins as the fleets converge on the high seas.

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manowarplayer — 2008-05-29T16:31:12+00:00

KublaCon 2008 - The Red Orctober is taken down by another Orc secret weapon, the Hand of Mork.

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manowarplayer — 2008-05-29T16:29:07+00:00

The Red Orctober sinks a Dwarf Submarine while another lays in wait.

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manowarplayer — 2008-05-29T16:22:07+00:00

KublaCon 2008 - The Hunt for Red Orctober

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manowarplayer — 2008-04-13T23:22:58+00:00

Additional Magic Deck #2 - Grey & Light Spells

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manowarplayer — 2008-04-13T23:22:09+00:00

Additional Magic Deck #2 - Celestial & Gold Spells

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manowarplayer — 2008-04-13T23:19:30+00:00

Additional Magic Deck #2 - Bright & Jade Spells

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manowarplayer — 2008-04-13T23:18:11+00:00

Additional Magic Deck #2 - Amber and Amethyst Spells

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DRGNLRD — 2008-01-27T21:50:23+00:00