RSS FeedAngus Konstam is an author and historian - visit his website at
www.anguskonstam.com or e-mail him at anguskonstam@aol.com
He's a member of the Orkney Wargames Club, which meets in Kirkwall on Thursday evenings.
See their Facebook page for more info.
Ironclads, Dahlgren & Columbiad, 1/600 scale About seven years ago, I refought the Battle of Helgoland, the premier naval clash of the Prusso-Danish War of 1864. The battle actually involved the Austrians too, as allies of the Prussians, but the name of this little war sidestepped the awkwardness of a three-cornered title. Anyway, after being
The Age of Fighting Sail, Far Distant Ships, 1/1200 scale When I was south last week I picked up two battle-ready French ships-of-the-line. My friend Jack Glanville had kindly painted and rigged them for me. So, we decided to stage another fleet action, with the 74s Pluton and Duguay-Trouin reinforcing the French contingent. In this
The Ironclad Era, Dahlgren & Columbiad, 1/600 scale About ten years ago, during a trip to the States, I bought a load of Thoroughbred Models – lovely 1/600 scale metal kits. They were a mix of American Civil War ironclads and wooden-hulled steam-powered ships. On a whim though, I painted up the latter as Danish,
The Age of Fighting Sail, Far Distant Ships, 1/1200 scale Last Trafalgar Day we played a Napoleonic era fleet action using Osprey’s Fighting Sail rules. I thought they were quite fun and fast to play, but I had quite a few reservations about them. The amendments posted on the rules’ Facebook page helped, but they
The Age of Fighting Sail, Post Captain, 1/1200 scale Two naval games back to back is a rarity. To be fair, in between, during the whole Christmas and New Year period, the wargame club here has been closed. In fact its still shut, thanks to Covid, although with luck that’ll change soon. So, this game
The Cod War, Cod War! , 1/1200 scale With just two of us available for a game this week – the last game of the year – we decided to play something entertaining, indulgent and involving ships. The Cod War seemed a perfect fit. After all, in this season of peace and goodwill, what could
The Age of Sail, Fighting Sail, 1/1200 scale As it was 21st October – Trafalgar Day – there was only one type of game we could play. So, I dug out my Age of Sail ships, and Gyles, Mally, Sean and I took to the high seas. In theory this clash was set amid the
WWII Coastal Forces, Narrow Seas, 1/600 scale We were all at sea this week, a mile or so off the Suffolk coast. Yes, back by popular demand, we staged a small Coastal Forces game this week. The idea was, a group of four E-Boats were lurking off Orford Ness – not far from the Sutton
WW2 Naval, General Quarters (3rd edition), 1/2400 scale Following our theme of virtual games, this week my chum Gyles and I decided to play a simple naval game via Skype. As it was up to me to choose, I opted for part of the Battle of the Barents Sea, fought on 31 December 1942 off
The Age of Fighting Sail, Kiss Me, Hardy, 1/1200 scale This was another lockdown game, played with my near neighbour Gyles. He fancied something nautical this time, so we opted for the Age of Fighting Sail, and Kiss Me, Hardy. The idea was that a small squadron of five French ships-of-the-line had broken out from
