Sci-Fi Wet Navies?

[Mr. Average]

So about a year or two ago, I stocked up on some starship minis that were on sale for about half price.  They were resin casts, and truth be told, not really of the first quality, and they’ve been in my “For Future Projects” drawer ever since.  However, this week on my fifty-mile train ride home, I had the bizarre idea that maybe… just MAYBE, they would make good wet navy forces for an actual sea-based sci fi set.  I don’t yet know how this might play out – I have two options: first, cut down the undersides and make waterline models, or second, set them in some kind of plastic water-line piece (a flat bit of clear plastic, for example) and have them represent “surface” combatants while others are “submarines.”  I lean towards the first option, although I’m naturally reluctant to kill half the model.

Anyway, just a thought.  Has anyone else ever tried this or thought about it?  And if so, what rules might there be for such a thing?

[DM]

Short answer “yes”, very similar to what you are doing, although I’m never got very far with it. I started to work up a set of rules based in Man o War

[Mr. Average]

Well, conceptually, it works.  Some careful work with a rigid razor saw worked beautifully, and I’m now looking at a model in progress of the U.S.S. Cunningham, a DDF or Destroyer, Fusion-Powered, part of the American contribution to the ENSPUN Atlantic Reaction Force.

Starmada is a definite possibility rules-wise – it has conversions for “wet” naval actions.  Strike Legion is also possible but probably more of a stretch.

[Spurious]

I was thinking sci-fi wet navy stuff was a weird idea and I’d never seen it until it hit me that no, I’ve had plenty of experience with them, just never in miniatures form. Rather in RTS games, specifically Total Annihilation/Spring/Supreme Commander.

There’s certainly some legs in the idea if you decide to play around with it.

[Mr. Average]

I was thinking of Supreme Commander myself! I think it has some mileage to it. Chances are these ships will sit indefinitely otherwise – starship combat is pretty much anathema around the club, except for X-Wing.

[Mr. Average]

I was just looking at the two parts of this model and realized that the lower half will make an excellent conning tower for a surfaced submarine.  So it looks like the H.M.S. Active will be joining the Cunningham on maneuvers very shortly.  Doubled my fleet right there – waste not, want not.

[Alvin Molethrottler]

This looks like a fascinating project, looking forward to watching it develop.

[Mr. Average]

Most appropriately, the BBC ran this article today: What Will Royal Navy Warships Look Like in 2050?

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-34077719

Lasers, railguns, and drones manufactured on board. I might well be on target after all!

[Alvin Molethrottler]

The US navy already has a drone cannon. So instead of aircraft carriers sending planes to attack targets it will be warships sending drones.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3040891/Watch-Navy-s-drone-CANNON-Weapon-shoot-30-swarm-bots-minute-new-era-warfare.html

[David Stuckey]

That was my thought when I first saw the Terran ships from Cold Navy – Ideal as submersible future Wet Navy ships as well 🙂

I’ve seen modifications of Full Thrust for steam and sail age periods of standard naval gaming, so a near-future set could be adapted. Then again, you could even adapt Dirtside 2 heavily for it to take weapons like Lasers and railguns into account.

[Trencher]

Have you ever taken a look at these Eylau Sequence miatures?

IMHO, they look interesting…

http://www.wtj.com/store/index_paint_guide_sci-fi-photo.html

Tank Polo? God, how our gardener hated that game!

[Author]

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