Nightmoss
08-09-2013, 12:27
Having just finished my fourth ship I decided it was time to think about how to transport them if/when I ever get the chance to engage in some Age of Sail combat. Following up on the idea I got on the Maine Wargamer's site I made a trip to Michael's to see what kind of inexpensive wooden boxes they might have. I found a smallish box ready to be stained and finished for less that $20. Then it was off to the local hardware store to get some brass latches, handles and something called magnetic paint. I wanted to try the paint instead of using a sheet of metal in hopes to keep the weight down. All my ships have small rare earth magnets in the wooden base to hold them on a metal surface. Rustoleum sells pints of this stuff, also for around $20, but don't believe their claims that 3 coats of the paint creates a good magnetic surface; try six coats before the ships hold strongly in place. A top coat of latex interior paint helps detract from the utility of the magnetic paint (which is black), but I may still try lining the box bottom with thin felt? I also want to put tabs on the corners of the box so the top lines up more easily when latching.
I'm satisfied with the way it turned out, but some additional adds will make it even better. I'm also going to look for a large wooden box for carrying more ships. I think ten is the maximum I'd want to put in the box and I'll need room for 15 if I'm going to build every Spanish ship that took part in Trafalgar. :happy:
I threw in a couple photos of the San Leandro primarily to show how I'm going to color code my bases in future; red for Spanish, blue for the French, black for the British and maybe white for the US?
Cheers!
P.S. I don't know if you can see the detail or not, but I used Rory's idea of a darker tan for the lower deck area on the San Leandro. It turned out really slick!
I'm satisfied with the way it turned out, but some additional adds will make it even better. I'm also going to look for a large wooden box for carrying more ships. I think ten is the maximum I'd want to put in the box and I'll need room for 15 if I'm going to build every Spanish ship that took part in Trafalgar. :happy:
I threw in a couple photos of the San Leandro primarily to show how I'm going to color code my bases in future; red for Spanish, blue for the French, black for the British and maybe white for the US?
Cheers!
P.S. I don't know if you can see the detail or not, but I used Rory's idea of a darker tan for the lower deck area on the San Leandro. It turned out really slick!