The Naval SITREP is edited by Larry Bond and is published biannually by the Admiralty Trilogy Group (AdmiraltyTrilogy.com). Price per digital issue is $3.00 US. Article contributions should be sent to [email protected]. Include name, postal
address, and phone number.The Admiralty Trilogy is a registered trademark of Larry Bond, Chris Carlson, Ed Kettler, and Mike Harris. Harpoon is a registered trademark of Larry Bond and Chris Carlson. Command at Sea is a registered trademark of Larry Bond,
Chris Carlson, and Ed Kettler. Fear God & Dread Nought is a registered trademark of Larry Bond, Chris Carlson, Ed Kettler, and Mike Harris.
Product Updates Atlantic Navies and Harpoon Naval Review 2009 are both in the stores, so it’s time to see what’s next. Andy Doty has been working hard on a booklet of Form 10s for Fear God & Dread Nought players. It covers every ship that fought at Jutland, organized by squadron and division, and, to save trees, will be sold on a CD. Players can print the forms they need as they need them. Jutland Forms will also include a new rules supplement. It will bring FG&DN closer to the new harmonized rules standard. It replaces chapter eight (damage) and the gunfire modifiers table. Designed for the loose-leaf rules format, players just replace their old pages with the new ones. This brings the rules up to FG&DN 1.1 standard. This is not a complete upgrade, but it is the quickest and cheapest way to cover the two most important parts. After that, we’re working on a new edition of Harpoon, (the fifth!) using the harmonized standard. It’s a much cleaner and faster-playing rules set, discarding the
30-second Engagement Turn, as well as using the new dogfight and air attack rules. And you should see what using the CaS AA system does to speed game play. Troubled Waters II, by Jay Wissmann, will be released with Harpoon V. It’s a major update of the old GDW littoral warfare supplement, with scenarios set all over the world and brings small craft actions in Harpoon up to Mighty Midgets standards. Signal Charlie, by Paul Kopplin, is going to focus on carrier warfare, with some special rules for aircraft aboard carriers, scenarios, and specs on carriers that might not be published otherwise. For CaS, we’re going to continue the 4th edition update process with two stat books similar to Home Fleet. One will cover the U.S. Navy, the other Japan in WW II. These will replace the third edition Rising Sun annex and will also have all the annex data needed for Ed Kettler’s Steel Typhoon, the second half of the Pacific War. Stay tuned ...
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FeaturesSpanish Harpoon Gamer 2Dave Arneson 1947 - 2009 2CaS Scenario: Escalation 3Web Alerts 4Annex A Ships for Escalation 5Sensor Technology Development in the Twentieth Century 6This Day in History … USS George Washington Arrives 8Fog on the Tabletop 9The Value of Research 10French WW I Battleship Found 10Harpoon Scenario: Operation Opera 112008 ‘Pooner Awards 12CaS Scenario: Sydney and Kormoran 13Harpoon Scenario: Das Picket 15FG&DN Scenario: Strangle the Baby 26Israel’s New Special Mission Aircraft 29The US Navy’s New Patrollers 30Don’t Try This at Home 31
Special Flanker ReportThe Flankers Untangled 16Flanker Variants 20Annex J3 Flanker Radars 21Rating the Su-27 Flanker 22
DepartmentsProduct Updates 2New Miniatures Accessory 5North Head Miniatures 7New Viking Forge 1/2400 WW I, WW II, and Moderns 8New Figurehead 1/1200 WW II Japanese Coastal Craft 14North Head Miniatures 1/3000 Price List 14Book Review: Su-27 Flanker by Yefim Gordon 22 US Battleships 1941 – 1963 by Wayne Scarpaci 31
Cover: An artist’s conception of the RQ-4N naval variant of the Global Hawk UAV. The contract for the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) aircraft was awarded in April 2008.
Northrop Grumman
Spanish Harpoon Gamer
Jorge Garcia Flores wrote to me recently with some questions about Harpoon. I told him there is a very active Harpoon gaming community in Spain, and he is interested in contacting other Spanish Harpoon gamers. Please contact him at [email protected],
BT
Dave Arneson 1947 - 2009 Word reached me today (April 8, 2009) about the passing of a dear friend, Dave Arneson. I can’t remember when exactly I first met Dave, but I was still in college, so that was before 1973. He was one of the many players I met while gaming in St. Paul, Minnesota and we played this strange game with swords and armor. We were attacked by “orcs.” I asked, “What’s an orc?” I hadn’t read Tolkein yet. “Just roll the dice,” the other players insisted. It was the first of many games with Dave, and we were friends more than thirty-six years. Dave’s company, Adventure Games, Inc., published the first and second editions of Harpoon, and his friendship was worth even more than the wise advice he gave a new game designer.
Dave most recently taught game design at Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida. He retired from that post in 2008. In recent years, his health suffered, and when I saw him at Historicon last summer, he told me about the cancer. He continued to run D&D games at The Source, a game store in St. Paul, until very recently. His influence on the hobby was immense, and he lived to see his creation become part of American culture, although he never received the name recognition he deserved. Dave was a kind, creative man. He’s been gone less than twenty-four hours and I miss him already. Dave is survived by his father Bob, daughter Malia and her husband Luke, ex-wife Frankie, grandchildren Shelby and Duncan, and two generations of game players around the world.
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CaS Scenario: Escalationby Michael W. Harris
Location: Off the Catalonia coast, 0842 hours local time, July 19, 1937.
Operational Situation: Despite pleas from Franco and demands from Berlin, Italian submarines have remained aggressive off the Spanish Mediterranean coast. An Italian submarine was located, disabled, and captured by a French Intervention patrol after the sub sank another merchant. Despite protests from Rome, the submarine was turned over to Republican control yesterday afternoon.
Tactical Situation: The submarine is Torricelli (full name Evangelista Torricelli). When she was sighted near the sinking freighter yesterday, several shots were fired by French destroyers of the 8th Destroyer Division to prevent her from submerging, and they have damaged her sail. Torricelli was turned over to a Spanish Republican force late yesterday afternoon and they are towing the sub into the Republican-held port of Valencia. However, a recent aerial report indicates an Italian battle group is moving west to reclaim or sink the submarine. A French battle group is moving south to interpose themselves between the Italians and the Republicans.
Environment: Visibility 40% with moving fog banks. Dawn was at 0413 and sunset will occur at 1951. The wind is from 315° at 10 knots. Sea State 2.
French Player
French Forces: Jean de Vienne (La Galissonniére CL) 5th Destroyer Division Vauquelin, Tartu, Chevalier Paul (all Vauquelin class DD) 6th Destroyer Division Cyclone, Sirocco, Mistral (all Bourrasque class DD)
13th Destroyer Division La Bayonnaise, Baliste, La Poursuivante (all La Melpomène class DE) 10th Destroyer Division Bordelais, L’Alcyon (both Le Hardi class DD) Trombe (Bourrasque class DD)
French Orders: Prevent the Italians from retaking Torricelli or sinking her. Defend the Republican ships if they are attacked by Italians. Do not initiate action against the Italians, but aggressive maneuvering is permitted. If French ships, Spanish ships, or Torricelli are fired on by the Italians, inflict maximum damage on the Italian force.
French Victory Conditions: Decisive: Torricelli is not sunk and no Republican or French ship is crippled (greater than 50% damaged) or sunk. Tactical: Torricelli is not sunk and at least two Italian ships are sunk or crippled for every French ship sunk or crippled.
Setup: The 10th Destroyer Division is enroute from Valencia to rendezvous with Miguel de Cervantes and provide additional escort. Course 100° at 20 knots. Jean de Vienne and the 6th, 7th and 13th Destroyer Divisions are enroute to the latest reported position of Cervantes at 15 knots on course 200°. Formations are at the French player’s discretion, but ships in formation must be within visual signaling distance.
Spanish Republican Player
Tactical Situation: Torricelli was captured yesterday by French destroyers and turned over late in the day to this Spanish Republican force, which is attempting to tow the sub into Valencia. It will provide a field day for the international press and prove what the Italians have been up to.
Care must be taken to avoid loss of the Torricelli by other Italian raiders.
Spanish Republican Forces: Miguel de Cervantes (Alfonso Principe class CL) First Division Lepanto, Sanchez Barcaiztegui (Churruca 1st Group DD) Almirante Antequera, Gravina (Churruca 2nd Group DD) Capo Roja (Wismanesco class tug) Torricelli (Archimede class SS)
Note: Capo Roja is towing Torricelli. Torricelli has a prize crew on board, with the Italian crew kept prisoner in the crew quarters. Due to earlier damage, Torricelli cannot submerge, but is capable of moving independently on the surface at 10 knots. Torricelli is under tow so that the prize crew does not need to worry about having to navigate or run the ship. Her diesel engines are running to provide electricity for radio communications to Miguel de Cervantes.
Spanish Republican Orders: Prevent the Italians from retaking Torricelli. Arrive safely in port with Torricelli. Do not initiate action against the Italians, but if fired on, return fire to defend yourself.
Spanish Republican Victory Conditions: Decisive: Torricelli reaches the safe zone with no Republican ships being sunk or crippled (greater than 50% damage). Tactical: Torricelli is not sunk and more damage is inflicted on Italian ships than on Republican ships.
Setup: Miguel de Cervantes and the First Division are on course 290° with Torricelli being towed by Capo Roja at 5 knots. The formation and speed of the Spanish
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warships is at the player’s discretion, but ships in formation must be within visual signaling distance.
Italian Player
Tactical Situation: A Republican force is attempting to tow the disabled submarine into a Republican-held port. An Italian battle group is moving west to seize or sink the submarine and punish the Spanish. A French battle group is moving south to interpose themselves between the Italians and the Republicans.
Intelligence Update: The submarine is the Torricelli. Before her capture by the French yesterday, Torricelli reported being under fire by an unidentified vessel which was responsible for sinking the merchant. There has been no radio communications with Torricelli since then.
Italian Forces: 7th Cruiser Division Eugenio di Savoia, Duca d’Aosta (both Condottieri 4th Group CL) 9th Destroyer Division Alfieri, Oriani, Carduccci, Gioberti (all Oriani class DD) 10th Destroyer Division Maestrale, Libreccio, Grecale, Scirocco (all Maestrale class DD) 12th Destroyer Division Lanciere, Ascari, Carabiniere, Corazziere (all Soldati class DD) 16th Destroyer Division Da Recco, Pessagno, Usodimare, Tarigo (all Navigatori class DD)
Italian Orders: Use every effort to retake Torricelli. If the sub cannot be retaken, then as a last resort it must be sunk to prevent being taken into port. If Torricelli must be sunk and the crew lost, then inflict the severest damage possible on the Spanish Republican ships. Deal with French interference as needed.
Italian Victory Conditions: Decisive: Torricelli is retaken and enemy ships are sunk or crippled (greater than 50% damage) at a 2:1 ratio. Tactical: Torricelli is sunk and enemy ships suffer more damage than Italian ships.
Referee’s Setup: The Spanish are on course 290° at 5 knots enroute to Valencia. Tug Capo Roja is towing the Italian submarine Torricelli. Spanish ships are in formation around Torricelli. Formation is at player discretion, but ships to be within visual signaling distance. The main body of French ships is on course 200° at 15 kts. The lead French ship bears 035° at 12 kyds from Torricelli. Destroyers must deploy by division. The French 10th division is enroute from Valencia on course 100° at 20 knots. The lead destroyer bears 090° at 14 kyds from Torricelli. The Italians are on course 300° at 15 knots. The lead Italian ship bears 140° at 15 kyds from Torricelli. Destroyers must deploy by division. The Italians have an air patrol of two Fiat CR.32 fighters from Majorca that arrive to provide real time detection information for the Italians, so they can change orders on the first turn. These aircraft have no gunfire spotting ability.
BT
Note: The excellent line drawings of Miguel de Cervantes and Almirante Antequera, along with many other illustrations and information, can be found at www.kbismarck.com/mgl/spanishcivwar.htm, Warships of the Spanish Civil War, by M.P. González López.
Web AlertsIt’s not In Harm’s Way, but it’s fun....From: T. Henkle <[email protected]>Subject: WW II Naval Miniatures MovieTo: [email protected]: Sunday, January 18, 2009, 12:04 AM
Hey Guys: This is a link to a movie I just uploaded onto YouTube. It’s a WW II naval campaign I started playing solitaire and is based on “Operation Pedestal”-- the convoy to Malta. Enjoy!www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGeylF9MnCI
Ted Ted sent a note to Ed Wimble that he used Supermarina as a reference. He’s working on some other movies.
Mike Harris sent in this link:The Probert Encyclopaedia of Ships athttp://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/comptrasmed.html. Great for finding information.
Ed Kettler sent this information on a treasure chest of excellent photos (just after we sent Gruppe Nord to the printers, sigh):
http://commons.wikimedia.org:80/wiki/Category:Images_from_the_German_Federal_Archive_by_year has thousands of photos online classified by year. Don’t blame me if you lose a lot of time browsing these photos!!!
Ed Kettler
Word about an important resource: Naval History and Heritage Command unveiled a new homepage for its Web site Tuesday, and some of its historical photographs are back online. The upgrades are part of an ongoing project to rebuild the online presence of the former Naval Historical Center, which became so overwhelmed by user traffic last year that officials took down their entire collection of high-resolution historical images. Many of them are back up again, although their pages have not yet been updated to match the style of History Command’s new homepage. Spokesman Bill Hendrix said in an announcement Tuesday that the Website’s background structure had undergone “extensive repairs,” and that upgrades would continue. http://www.history.navy.mil/
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SPAIN
Principe Alfonso CLDisplacement: 7475 std In Class: 3Size Class: B/Medium In Service: 1925Propulsion: Steam Turbine Crew: 564Weapons: Armor Rtng: 5/32F/P&S/2A(1)1 Vickers-Carraca BL 6 in/50 CP/S(1)4 MkV 4 in/45 C/GBP/S(3)4 533mm TT w/MkV torp F/GBMidships Catapult --Floatplane BArea AA: (1)4 MkV 4 in/45 (0.9)Light AA: 2 Vickers 47mm/50 (0.1)Remarks:Principe Alfonso (renamed Libertad in 1931, and Galicia in 1939), Almirante Cervera, Miguel de Cervantes. Patterned after the British ‘E’ class. Almirante Cervera went over to the Nationalist cause. All survived into the 1960s. Laid down before 1925, special damage modifier of -15%.Damage & Speed Breakdown:Dam Pts: 0 47 95 142 170 189Surf Speed: 33 25 17 8 0 Sinks
Churruca DDDisplacement: 1536 std In Class: 7Size Class: C/Small In Service: 1929Propulsion: Steam Turbine Crew: 175Weapons: Armor Rtng: 02F/P&S/2A(1)5 Vickers-Carraca LA 4.7 in/45 CP&S(1)1 MkI 12 pdr/20 cwt C/GBP&S(3)2 533mm TT w/MkV torp F/GBDC Throwers w/2 MkVII E/GBArea AA: 1 MkI 12 pdr/20 cwt (0.7)Sensors:Type 128 K/GBRemarks:Churruca, Alcala Galiano, Sanchez Barcaiztegui, Almirante Ferrandiz, Jose Luis Diez, Lepanto, Almirante Valdes. First two units are replacements for others of the same name sold to Argentina. Same design as British Scott-class flotilla leaders. All stayed loyal to the Republican government.• 28-29 Sep 36: Almirante Ferrandiz surprised and destroyed the national-ist heavy cruiser Baleares by torpedo attack.Damage & Speed Breakdown:Dam Pts: 0 16 32 47 57 63Surf Speed: 36 27 18 9 0 Sinks
Churruca 2nd Group DDDisplacement: 1536 std In Class: 7Size Class: C/Small In Service: 1929Propulsion: Steam Turbine Crew: 175Weapons: Armor Rtng: 02F/P&S/2A(1)5 Vickers-Carraca LA 4.7 in/45 CP&S(1)1 MkI 12 pdr/20 cwt C/GBP&S(3)2 533mm TT w/3 MkV torp F/GB2 DC Throwers w/2 MkVII E/GBArea AA: 1 MkI 12 pdr/20 cwt (0.7)Light AA: 4 mg (0.1)Sensors:Type 128 K/GBRemarks:Almirante Antequera, Almirante Miranda, Gravina, Escano, Ulloa, Jorge Juan, Ciscar. The success of the Churruca class led to a further seven units being ordered, differing only by a rounded bridge and a tripod fore-mast. This group was completed by the Republican government during the war and served in various capacities. All served in the postwar Spanish navy until the 1950-60s.Damage & Speed Breakdown:Dam Pts: 0 16 32 47 57 63Surf Speed: 36 27 18 9 0 Sinks
Capo Roja TugDisplacement: 760 fl In Class: 1Size Class: D/Small In Service: 1910Propulsion: Coal Recip Crew: 12Weapons: Armor Rtng: 0Light AA: (1)2 7.62mm mg (0.1)Remarks:Civilian construction, special damage modifier of -50%.Damage & Speed Breakdown:Dam Pts: 0 3 6 9 10 11Surf Speed: 13 10 7 3 0 Sinks
The French and the rest of the Italian ships needed for this scenario are listed in the new supplement La Guerre Navale. This booklet can be purchased as part of Atlantic Navies, or separately.
I am happy to inform you that my website, www.toshachminiatures.com, is open for business. Please stop by for a visit. Now that the site is up, I will be able to devote more time to product development, so my product line will grow quickly. So if you don’t see something you like now, please visit again in a few weeks. Thanks for your interest.
Regards,Tom
Tom’s products include downloadable deck decals for the Figurehead line of 1:6000 naval miniatures. His latest announcement adds two more sets to the Figurehead Deck Art line: Shoho, Zuiho, and Ryuho CVLs, and Yamato & Ise class battleships.
BT
New Miniatures Accessory
1/6000 Lexington-class carriers with Toshach decals
Annex A Ships for Escalation
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By Chris Carlson Harmonizing the three rule sets within the Admiralty Trilogy, which spans over 100 years of naval technical developments, has been a daunting task. Accurately describing the essential features of each technological advance, while at the same retaining a playable system, drove us to group different systems according to key technological developments. Where the capability of a weapon or sensor radically changed, we called that a “generation.” While there is a rough correlation of generations to calendar years, it more accurately describes the performance of a particular system with respect to other similar systems, as well as countermeasures. The time aspect merely defines when a particular technology, with its improved
Sensor Technology Development in the Twentieth Centurycapability, reached its initial operating capability (IOC). There is also no correlation in time or level of development between generations of different types of sensors. The technology generation concept was first adopted in Harpoon4 to better model the complex and often mysterious interactions between missile seekers and electronic countermeasures. Player feedback on this design feature has been overwhelmingly positive and with this encouragement, we have expanded the approach to cover a number of other areas. This article, the first of a series, covers sensors, and will address radar, sonar, infrared detectors, and electronic support measures (ESM), now simply referred to as just “electronic support” or ES.
Radar While Heinrich Hertz’s experiments in 1886 showed that electromagnetic energy reflected off objects, it would be another 50 years before the first functional radar systems were introduced by Great Britain, Germany, and the United States. As World War II progressed, there was rapid development in both radar system capabilities and radar countermeasures. In evaluating the technical breakpoints that distinguish radar generations, we focused on the general type of radar, the type of display, and clutter rejection capability. Interestingly, the early enhancements were driven more by ancillary equipment, such as the introduction of the Planned Position Indicator or PPI display, than changes to the actual radar system itself.
Radar Clutter RejectionGeneration Radar Type Display Type Clutter Rejection Value IOCFirst Simple Pulse A-Scope Gain control 2 Mid-1930sSecond Simple Pulse PPI Gain control 5 Mid-1940sThird Variable Simple Pulse PPI Moving Target Indicator (MTI) 8 Mid-1950sFourth Early Digital PPI Digital MTI (DMTI) 12 Early 1970sFifth Multifunction Processed DMTI 15 Mid-1980sSixth AESA Multifunction Processed DMTI 18 Late 1990s
SonarGeneration Signal Processing Beam Forming Display Type IOCFirst Aural None/Manual Train Headphones Mid-1910sSecond Analog Manual Train Bearing repeater/Paper Trace Mid-1930sThird Analog Mechanical Circular Cathode Ray Tube Mid-1940sFourth Hybrid Analog/Digital Mechanical Circular Cathode Ray Tube Mid-1960sFifth Early Digital Digital Waterfall Mid-1970sSixth Microprocessor Digital Waterfall Mid-1980sSeventh Adv Microprocessor Digital Multi-color Waterfall Late 1990s
IR SensorGeneration Infrared Detector Technology Base Range IOCFirst Cooled single line photoconductive sensor 4 nm Early 1970sSecond Cooled 2-dimension photovoltaic sensor 6 nm Late 1980sThird Infrared Charged Coupled Device Staring Array 9 nm Mid-1990sFourth Solid-State Cooled Focal Planar Array (FPA) 11 nm Late 1990sFifth Uncooled Solid-State FPA 14 nm Late 2000s
ES SensorGeneration Sensitivity (dBm) Radar Line of Sight IOCFirst -40 to -45 x1.0 Early 1940sSecond -46 to -50 x1.15 Early 1960sThird -51 to -58 x1.25 Mid-1970sFourth -59 to -68 x1.35 Mid-1980sFifth -69 to -78 x1.45 Mid-1990sSixth -79 to -88 x1.55 Mid-2000s
Note: dBm = decibels referenced to 1 milliwatt.
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With the introduction of digital technology in the mid-1970s, improvements in system performance have accelerated at a rapid pace. The sixth generation, active electronically steered arrays, or AESA radars, are übersystems capable of multiple radar functions, ES, jamming, and may even be able to serve as radio frequency weapons. Although detection range is an impor-tant measure of performance for any radar, and improves as the technological level increases, this is covered in the annexes. The ability of a radar system to reduce the effects of clutter, either natural or man-made, is just as important. The clutter rejection value represents the radar’s ability to ignore the false echoes from land or sea clutter, as well as jamming.
Sonar At the turn of the 20th century, early sonar systems were purely passive, little more than stethoscopes in the water, and not far removed from the tube Leonardo da Vinci used in 1490 to listen to distant shipping. Sonar arrays have since grown in both size and power, but it has been the significant advances in signal processing, to include digital beam forming, that has really defined the differences between generations. While most of these differences are accounted for in the sonar model, target classification stands out as key generation parameter. In evaluating the technical breakpoints that distinguish the various sonar generations from each other, we focused on the technology level of the signal processing, mode of beam forming, and type of display. As with radar, the detection range of a sonar is listed in the annexes along with its convergence zone capability, if it has one. Another important feature of a modern sonar system is its ability to identify a target. The classification function is very generation dependent and the more advanced systems provide a quicker response; always a good thing if one is trying to figure out if that tar-get on a constant bearing is a noisy trawler or a torpedo.
Infrared Sensors The infrared (IR) sensor is a relative newcomer to warfare, having its origins in the late 1960s. Unlike radar and sonar, IR sensors come in two different flavors: Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) and Infrared Search and Track (IRST) systems. FLIRs are typically cued or directed sensors
with a limited field of view, developed to allow operators to see and identify previously detected targets. By contrast, IRSTs are a true search sensor and perform a similar function to radar. While their functions are different, both FLIRs and IRSTs use similar detector technology, which is the key distinguishing feature between IR sensor generations. Since there is far less variation in detection range between individual systems, each generation has a base range associated with it.
Electronic Support Although the first radars showed up in the mid-1930s, it wasn’t until early 1942 that tactical sensors specifically designed to detect radar emissions were fielded. The first ES systems were crude and only alerted the operator that a particular type of radar was operating. Most provided warning before a radar could detect the platform, but some were very short-ranged and amounted to little more than an alarm bell. These ES sensors are described as Generation 0 systems, because their performance is so different and limited compared to other ES systems. The two driving aspects of ES are sensitivity and their direction-finding (DF) ability. Unfortunately, these two features are not linked, as there are examples of highly sensitive but very crude DF sensors. Therefore, sensitivity was chosen as the distinguishing featureof each generation, as it determines detection range. The DF capability of an ES sensor will be noted separately. The importance of DF accuracy comes into play when a ship attempts to use organic (own ship only) passive sensors to perform over the horizon targeting on a hostile emitting platform.
From this very cursory overview it should be obvious that a lot of ground had to be covered to derive these very basic sensor technology development breakpoints. Will all sensors neatly fall into these different categories? Unlikely. There are always exceptions. However, the technology generations concept does allow designers and players the ability to make a reasonable first approximations with the available information. Finally, this design concept is still under construction and we are open to your comments and suggestions. Together we can refine it and make the upcoming Harpoon V an even better game.
BT
I recently received several review copies of 1/1200 fast attack craft from North Head Miniatures (www.nhminiatures.com). Their line includes twelve modern FACs suitable for the 1973 Arab-Israel War, thirty 1/1200 Latin American, Turkish, Russian ironclads, and a set of 1/600 WW I gunboats for battles on Lake Tanganyika. These are the first miniatures I have seen made using “3D printer” technology. The pieces are a translucent blue plastic (?), maybe resin (?) and are crisp, well-molded, and so pretty I almost hate to prime them. They paint up nicely, though, as shown by the illustrations taken from their web site:
North HeadMiniatures
1/1200 Sa’ar 4 from North Head.
1/1200 Komar from North Head.
North Head has also just released a series of 1/3000 naval miniatures designed for player who want to fight North Atlantic convoy battles. These include many types of British warships and merchant vessels. A complete list of miniatures in the 1/3000th range is provided on page 14.
