A) Lyzard's Grin Products:
While I'm on the subject of ACW naval warfare, I must bring to your attention the very nice new line of 1/1200 scale (1"= 100 feet) miniature naval vessels made by Lyzard's Grin. This large line of some 60 or so different packs of miniatures (including naval vessels, partially sunk hulks, fort batteries complete with guns and crews, torpedoes and obstructions) sure increased the pulse rate of this tabletop admiral. These miniatures are metal, unlike most of the other ACW miniatures, and the detail is quite nice. Some of the models just require you to glue the stack in place to finish the model, but some, on the other hand have tiny guns, lifeboats, gooseneck vents or masts to glue onto their decks.
The completion of my USS Kearsarge has been indefinitely delayed by "impatient shipyard workers" who just have not regained their composure after their first frustrating attempt to complete the steam frigate. One of these days we'll get her finished though, I promise! This most comprehensive line includes mortar rafts, torpedo launches, tugs, cotton barges, sidewheelers and stern wheeler transports, as well as such unusual models as the USS Dunderberg, CSS Stonewall, the triple turret monitor USS Roanoke and HMS Scorpion or Wyvern for those of you who might be intrigued by the age old "what if" question regarding England's entry into the war.
These models really look good when painted up and the work necessary is minimal. I gave my ironclads a initial coat of rust-colored paint followed by a basic black wash, and the results are very nice. One thing is for certain: if you get into ACW naval miniatures you'll spend more time fighting battles with your miniatures than you will painting them. The Lyzard's Grin naval vessels come with a attached cast rectangular base with a rough surface that is to be painted up as water (this rect. base is actually cast as a part of the model and probably could not be sliced off of the hull without causing some damage to the model itself). I would much rather have let the tabletop or playing surface represent the water instead of using this inherent cast base idea, but this is just my personal preference and is not intended in any way to belittle the appearance of the vessels themselves, which are very well detailed considering their small size. Prices in general range from $2.95 per vessel for some of the larger or more complicated vessels, to $2.95 for a pair of vessels, and quite a few are packaged alone for $1.70 each.
Well, in case you're wondering what to do with these naval miniatures that I've been describing, Lyzard's Grin has thought about this as well. They've recently published an ACW naval warfare rules set written by Leo Walsh entitled "Age of Iron". The scale of the rules set is 5-7 minutes per turn and 1 knot = 1 inch of movement on the playing surface. The rules allow play to take place on any flat surface and movement regulators such as squares or hexes are not required. The various guns are classified into types such as light, medium, heavy, very heavy, medium mortars and heavy mortars, but no guidance is given concerning which guns fit into each of the categories. Combat resolution is simpler and quite a bit faster than that of the "Ironclads" system games.
This rules set has been designed with playability in mind, and in this regard Leo Walsh is to be commended for his efforts. The rules also include provisions for land units which in these rules are artillery batteries or infantry or cavalry brigades, and morale classes are green, regular, crack and elite. Some nice scenarios are included, among them Hampton Roads, Sabine River, Battle of Memphis, Fort Morgan and several others. Many examples of tilled out vessel data sheets are shown in the back of the rules, and this is certainly a big help for the gamers. The rules use a ten-sided die roll to resolve combat, but no mention is made as to whether a roll of zero is a 0 or a 10, but this is really a minor point. Mr. Walsh's address is given on the back cover of the rule book, so it is assumed that he would be more than happy to answer any questions that gamers might have regarding his rules. If you have found the "Ironclads" system to be too complex for you, or perhaps too slow, you owe it to yourself to give "Age of Iron" a try. It could be just what you've been looking for in a playable, fast ACW naval miniatures rules set.
To obtain a catalog listing from Lyzard's Grin, send $1.00 (refundable with first order) to: Lyzard's Grin, P.O. Box 14522, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73113. The manager is Mr. Richard T. Houston.
B) Stone Mountain Miniatures Naval Artillery and Crews:
Well as most of you know, the fellows at Stone Mountain are famous for the quality of their fine 15mm ACW field artillery, and now it's nice to be able to say that they've added an exquisite line of big naval guns and sailor crews. The guns offered in the new line are: 6.4, 9, 11 and 15 inch Dahlgrens; 150 pound Parrott; 7 inch Brooke; 12 pound howitzer deck gun and 13 inch gunboat mortars. The available carriages in the line include the four wheel, the two wheel Marsilly, the pivot type and the monitor type, but all of the carriage types are not available for all the various gun types.
To go along with these new guns they've added some very nice packs of US naval and CS naval crews, as well as a pack entitled "US Naval Landing Party" armed with muskets and cutlasses, ideal for re-staging such assaults as the one that took place at Fort Fisher. The detailing for all the above is up to par with Stone Mountain's usual high standards, and I salute them for filling a much needed gap in the available ACW miniatures market with the addition of this line of figures. Some additions that I'd like for Stone Mountain to consider adding to the line include the 8, 10 and 15 inch Columbiads and the 100, 200 and 300 pound Parrotts and other guns that were commonly found in forts and coastal defenses. For a copy of Stone Mountain's latest catalog send $2.00 to: Stone Mountain Miniatures, P.O.Box 594, Dept. Z, Broomfield, CO 80020-0594.
C) Greenfield Garrison's ACW Ironclad Ships:
This company now offers 15mm scale ACW naval vessels of the following types: single turret monitor, twin turret monitor, Confederate casemate type ironclad, and a tinclad riverboat. I have seen all of them except for the twin turret monitor, and I must say that they are quite nice. All come in several pieces: hull, top or turret, and stacks, generally speaking. I took an x-acto knife to my tinclad riverboat model and cut out the gun ports, and then cut pieces of dowels to protrude out of the ports as guns. The effect was very nice and saved my nice Stone Mountain naval guns to possibly be placed in a fort where they will be more visible. The models are generally about eleven inches long and three inches in breadth, which is certainly not in true 15mm scale, but the really important dimension here is the height above the waterline, and the height of the models does make the vessels look reasonably realistic when 15mm figures are placed alongside. The tinclad riverboat is meant to represent the LISS Lexington and similar types. The models are made of some sort of resin which gave me the impression when I was cutting it that my knife was sliding through some sort of dense, firm styrofoam material. The models are scribed with lines to simulate the seams between the armor strips and the impression of riveted construction is very apparent.
The fit-up of the various parts of the models was not perfect, but did not pose too many problems for me. I used white glue to secure the tops of my models to the hull, and I placed about 20-30 pounds of books on top to keep the tops pressed against the hull until the glue was dry. As an extra bit of detail, I used brass pipe and a pipe cutting tool to make hollow stacks for my models as opposed to using the solid dowel pieces included with the kits. Also, a few pieces of anchor chain can be added to enhance a model's appearance a great deal. Overall, these models are very nice and if I had a complaint it would be that Greenfield Garrison did not choose to include a Carondelet Class riverboat model among their initial releases, but I have high hopes that they will someday add this important class of riverboats to their model list. These models are available from Stone Mountain Miniatures at the address quoted in Section B of this article and cost $7.00 to $9.00 each.
It is very encouraging to see the above companies taking such an active role in providing the miniatures that enable interested wargamers to simulate the much neglected naval aspects of the Great War of the Rebellion, and I certainly hope that this period continues to receive the attention it deserves with more new releases in the future.
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