Exceedingly small irritations

Having taken the plunge, received a flock of minute trieres from Outpost Wargame Services.

The initial impression was that I had given up detailed card models for something that was really a marker rather than a model. Closer inspection proved this to be a false impression.
(Note to card/paper wargaming skeptics : I am still determined to produce the card models for larger scale gaming !)

The whole fleet of 150 trieres cost a satisyingly slight 300 Kr - 28 pounds.

Outpost fleet of 150 trieres.

 Under examination by eye I still thought the detail was slight and these would be little better than counters.

 I undercoated them with a thin wash of acrylic white with a touch of brown. Then looked agian.
This time the details hidden by the metallic sheen were clear. Suprisingly much detail !
 Each ship is  12mm long and so in terms of scale  1/3066 if the miniature is taken from Olympias, which it appears to be , but no problem for the nominal  scale 1/3600.

You can see below how much detail they have managed to put onto this small miniature.

 

I painted them with acrylics and a size 1 brush, using a magnifier. Maybe smaller brushes would allow more detail but I want to paint a load quickly. It is also difficult to see very small details on the finished item - especially with my eyes - so excessive detailing is wasted.

Only 9  passes painted 20 in a couple of hours.

undercoat of light wood
a dark line either side of upper hull.
bow and stern in burnt sienna
deck level in darker wood
ram flecked in with gold
sea base is white with cobalt blue swirled into it.
white oar tracks - not so realistic but give impression of movement and point to rear, helpfully.
whole gloss varnished
washed with black ink diluted 66% with water

The results are fine. Individual ships may not bear close inspection, but not many play a game with magnifying spectacles on !

 En masse they look great. I normally use bases of acetate. Thicker than a photocopy transparency but not as thick as perspex. When the light does not reflect too harshly they look fantastic, he said humbly.

Outpost's little model is great. I will be trying the others for the Hellenistic and Punic Wars battles.
Now I have admitted the scale of 1/3000 is necessary for doing 1:1 battle refights these miniature seem ideal. Others I will try are TUMBLING DICE with 1/2400 ships that may still fit on my bases and allow a more detailed paint job that is more visible.

Column versus Line 1/3000

Finally, 1:1 fleet battles almost at hand!

Wargame blogger STEEL ON SAND also has a review of more of Outpost's galleys.