Battle of Cape Spartel 1782

The battle of Cape Spartel in 1782 was an indecive battle between a British fleet & a combined French & Spanish fleet suggested as a scenario by Peter in Canberra.  The British had already suceeded in escorting transports to supply Gibraltar which was under seige so neither side was very intersted in a serious fight.  We scaled the number of ships down to make a scenario we could do in an evening.
The battle took place in the straits of Gibraltar so the far long table edge is Spain & the near one Africa.

The British fleet is in the foreground with 2 1st rates & 6 3rd rates.  
The French lead the allies with 2 1st rates & 6 3rd rates with the Spanish behind with 1 1st rate & 4 3rd rates. 
The wind is blowing from the north across the table so the allies have the weather gauge.

The Brits have tacked & turned back close hauled to close with the the enemy.

The Brits & Spanish exchange long range fire as they pass on opposite tacks as the French turn around the British rear.

The lead Spanish ship is seriously damaged, but the rear British ship is being raked by the French & even though at long range is being really pounded.  The 2nd Brit squadron has passed the Spanish & is tacking again

The 1st British squadron has got away from the French apart from the rear ship which struck it colours & drifting waiting for a prize crew to board.  The rest of the 1st squdron is now tacking as the Spanish break up to concentrate fire on the now end ship.    The original lead Spanish ship has a lot of hull damage, but the sails are still good & it has broken off & is sailing to the left towards Cadiz.

The 2nd British squadron is masked from the action by the 1st which is taking a lot of punishment but also dishing a bit out to the Spanish.
The French are in typical fashion lurking in the rear with minimal damage.
The Spanish & Brits are about to pass out of each other's fire & the will Brits continue on into the Atlantic rather than go into action with the mostly undamaged French.

Resin 3D printers

 Jim has been having problems with the blog, so I am creating a test post.  But while I'm at it I thought I would talk about my 3D printers, specifically my resin printer!

In summary, it is fantastic, and the biggest pain in the bum!

Why is it fantastic?

- I can print figures off with ease.  I have printed 6mm figures (napoleonics), 15mm figures (Egyptians and Hittites) and 42mm figures (Arkham Horror).  All have been beautiful!

- If you use the right resin, the figures are tough.  After some playing around I settled on Siryatech Build resin -- but there are other equivalent brands.  This is a reasonably tough and flexible resin.  It costs twice as much as other resins.  But the cost per figure is still measured in cents.  And you lose more when a brittle figure breaks after you have painted it.

Why is it a pain in the bum?

- the resin is toxic, so you need to wear gloves until it is cured.

- you need to clean up with methylated spirits.  You can get water washable resin, but all my stuff printed with water washable resin has warped over time as it absorbs humidity.

- you need a heated setup.  Cold resin doesn't cure properly, and the miniature will eventually crumble.

- the combination of printer, washing station, chemicals etc. takes a LOT of space.  Its like an old darkroom setup.

So how do I use my printer?  I pick a subject, print the figures I need one day on a weekend, and then pack everything up and put the printer away.  I can print in a weekend what will take me several months to paint.

My printer is an Elegoo Mars 5.  But in truth all cheaper resin printers are much the same.  If you want some good reviews of printers, try https://www.youtube.com/@FauxHammer

Here is a picture of my 3D printed Gauls.

WWII Mech War

Germans v. US Mech War 15mm using house rules. US: Mark.  Germans: Jim

The Germans are on the near side.  They have deployed with their MkIVs on their tight, Tigers on the hill in the centre.  Half their inf in the centre, the rest on their right.  The US vae their armour in the centre & their infantry on their left. 

The Germans have attacked with armour on their right. The US attacked with infnatry on theri right.. The Tigers are exchchanging long range shots with M10s accross the cente.

In the centre 2 Stuarts circled & attacked the Tiger not hit by the M10s, distracting them from the M10s.  The Tiger got both Stuarts, but was taken out itself in the final exchange (we have simultaneous movement & fire).The US infantry overwelmed the German infantry in the centre.

In the tank fight, Germans partially offset the US deplyment hull down by flanking, but the tank fight became a dice fest that the US won.  The Germand conceded with just one MKIV making agettaway with half the infantry.

The blog has been unresponsive to the point of driving me crazy for a about 3 weeks.  The problem occurs both on my new PC & the old one I keep as backup.  I have found a solution in that my laptop works fine.  So how come I have a problem on 2 machines, one Win 10 & one Win 11 but not on my Win 11 laptop, all using the same wifi?  Anyone got any clues?
 

 

Bolt Action 1250 pts

Germans: Jim
US: Mark

The Germans are on the near side of the table.

The US gave up after 4 turns having lost 5 units to none.
The Marder took out a Super Sherman. While their mortars & MMGs provided long distance support the German infantry used the bocage to get in close to the GI's & use their smgs .