Sunday, August 17, 2008

F.M. Reich Duke Wilhelm von Beerstein accompanies Empress Maria Theresa to Trieste

From the Bell Tower of the Cathedral of Trieste, Empress Maria Theresa and F.M. Reich Duke Wilhelm review naval maneuvers of her newest squadron. The Flag Ship EMPRESS boasts 100 guns and is commanded by Rear Admiral Graf Rupert von Hopstadt. The REICH DUKE, a stately 74 gunner is commanded by Capt Needa Morebier, and the agile 64 gun GRENZER is commanded by Capt Karl von Grapp. From a distance, the British inshore squadron is also monitoring the Empress's entry into naval warfare.

After a triumphant dining in celebration aboard her Flag Ship, Empress Maria Theresa gave Rear Admiral Graf Rupert von Hopstadt his secret orders to be opened once at sea. F.M. Reich Duke Wilhelm told the Empress if he had the fire power of the naval squadron, he could conquer all of Europe in her name. As the Empress's squadron takes to sea on it's first mission, the British inshore squadron can be seen on the horizon.

7 comments:

MurdocK said...

Georgeous looking ships there!

old-tidders said...

Lovely model ships.

What scale are they and where do you buy them from ?

-- Allan

Frankfurter said...

I've heard of drinking enough to float a ship ... but a 100 gunner?

Nice work ... I assume there's more details on the Saxe-Beerstein site?

A

Capt Bill said...

Tidders,
The ships are 1:1200 made by MicroNauts and Langton. I bought the kits about 10 years ago when my eyes were still good enough to build them. Micro Nauts can be obtained from GQH in Minnespolis, Minnesota and Langton is a British company witha website.

tradgardmastare said...

What naval rules do you use. I have lways fancied the period but never found a set that gets the balance betwixt playability and accurary right.
Alan

Capt Bill said...

Tradgardmastare,

You are right I never found a set of rules I liked either, that's why I haven't used these ship since building them over ten years ago. However, recently our club found a WWI Air combat game named Wings of War that uses cards for each plane to measure movement and cause damage. The concept is so simple and elegant that I adopted for my ships and it plays beautifully.
Best regards...Bill

MurdocK said...

Wings of War eh?

Perchance you have a document file that covers your 'amendments' that you use for tabletop ships?

I have been examining a number of different systems, I still keep coming back to a version of Wooden Ships & Iron Men.