Battle of Elli - Basing Solution

When deciding on how to base ships for the Elli project, I did some searching on various gaming sites, looking for a clear acrylic option. One suggestion was Warbases. Alas, while they offered clear bases, and even etching for ship names, they did not have a size of base that would be suitable for the larger ships. I decided to send them an email to see if they had any options for this issue, as their pricing was so incredibly reasonable. To my great pleasure I received a timely and favorable response - indeed they could create a larger base that would accommodate the larger ships and they could move the etching of the ship names along the long edge. Warbases worked with me to design a larger base, and so I was able to take care of that issue!

The next issue for basing will be painting and gluing the ships to the bases without creating any fogging. I typically mount ships on sheet styrene and prime everything at one time, which obviously defeats the purpose of using clear etched bases.

More on Elli

One of the items I discussed in the first post about the First Balkan War naval Battle of Elli was about a basing system. I really wanted to go with clear acrylic bases, and Warbases offers a 40mm by 20mm base, with etching, for a good price. But 40mm was just a tad too short. An email to Warbases to inquire about getting larger acrylic bases made, with the ship names etched, has already been responded to, and apparently can be done! So, I have sent them the ship names, and awaiting a PayPal invoice and in a few weeks I should have bases for the Navwar ships. Pretty darn cool, but now I have to ensure that I can glue the ships to the bases without causing the bases to fog. Oh, and of course paint the ships before mounting them, as I normally glue the ships, then prime everything at the same time. A bit different direction this time.

The Battle of Lemnos? No, Elli!

Battle of Elli - ships engaged - from Age of Steel and Coal

A few years ago (see HERE) I picked up some Navwar ships from a chap who thought he had organized his purchase for the Battle of Lemnos (First Balkan War). However, in recently reviewing the ships that I purchased from him and the lack of enough destroyers for the Lemnos affair, it appears that really he collected the ships needed for the Battle of Elli. Makes perfect sense considering that at Lemnos the ironclad Asar-i-Tevfik was not present, yet I have a casting for it. Ahhhh, good, now I know what I have to work on for a future game!

Okay, what to do with this project, meaning what sort and size of bases to use, and what rules will offer a simple enough game, yet give that period feel I like? Here is a nice after action report using Majestic Twelve Games' Grand Fleets (never heard of them, although they seem to be available Stateside, and apparently they offer a scenario book that has the ships for Elli already rated). Thinking about some clear acrylic bases, but also worried that the glue might fog the bases, and with the tiny destroyers in this scale it will be difficult to not have excess glue along the waterline. And, my go to base supplier, Litko, does not make rectangular acrylic bases. But I do have some nice splash markers from them, and they also offer some firing arcs that will be useful.

Warbases make custom etched acrylic bases, which could be excellent to have each ship's name already etched on the base, but while nearly all the miniatures would fit on the largest rectangle base they offer, the Georgios Averof is just a tad too large. I think I will send them an email to see if they could make a larger etched base.

The rules and scenario book that covers the First Balkan War have been ordered. The neat thing about the scenario book is if I enjoy the rules I can also use my Spanish-American War fleets for Manila Bay!