Cruel Seas starter box

[Battle Brush Sigur]

Heyhey, I got to paint the boats from the Cruel Seas starter box!

6 British (3x Vosper MTB I and 3x MTB II):

full size image: https://www.tabletopwelt.de/uploads/monthly_2025_02/brits.JPG.20b2cc32802790e6ab71958f39881da8.JPG

4 German (2x S-38, 2x S-100):

full size image: https://www.tabletopwelt.de/uploads/monthly_2025_02/ger1s.JPG.90d7d5c01dcb0bae8513bae59b368351.JPG

I was lucky to get hold of a pack of Kriegsmarine and Royal Navy crew from a German vendor too, so I snipped the crewmen apart (they're cast three to a group shoulder to shoulder) and arranged them across the boats. Not too many, but just so there's some humans visible doing all sorts of nautical things.

In general I think that the whole torpedo boat thing is very interesting indeed; never played Cruel Seas myself, but I hear it's pretty OK. The boat models are in 1/300, probably a bit too big for gaming on a smaller table, but they look charming. Hope you like them!

[FifteensAway]

Those look great, nice work.

[Freddy]

They are great, what did you use for the rigging?

[carlos marighela]

Fantastic work!

[Battle Brush Sigur]

@FifteensAway: Thanks very much!

@Freddy: Cheers! Just some black string I had lying around and some superglue. What I like to do with anything that's supposed to represent ropes on models is soak the string in PVA glue beforehand and let it dry. Makes working with it so much easier.

@carlos marighela: Thank you, Sir!

[HerbertTarkel]

Well aren’t those posh. Love the rigging work - really adds to them!

[Freddy]

@Freddy: Cheers! Just some black string I had lying around and some superglue. What I like to do with anything that's supposed to represent ropes on models is soak the string in PVA glue beforehand and let it dry. Makes working with it so much easier.

Thanks! An idea worth to try

[Battle Brush Sigur]

@Herbert Tarkel: Cheers! It also kinda justifies the presence of these seriously thick masts on the British boat kits while taking a bit of attention away from them.

@Freddy: Absolutely. Trying to do anything with a piece of string in its natural state is just frustrating as heck. Once it's slightly stiffened with some PVA it's great. Still flexible, but you can also shape it, make knots much more easily, etc. I also make ropes for larger scales by twisting string together and soaking it in PVA.

[FifteensAway]

On the strings in super glue, do you suspend the string somehow and drop on the superglue or do you 'bathe' the string in the glue and then hang it to dry? 

One thing I know for sure in working with superglue is this: I will get some on my fingers!   

[Battle Brush Sigur]

Sorry, I think I was a bit unclear there: I use PVA glue to sightly stiffen the string (just put some on your thumb, run string between thumb and index finger, , wipe off excess, hang string over the desk lamp or something so the PVA can dry a little). Superglue I use for the actual gluing to the masts and so on (applied with a toothpick or what ever pointy implement is at hand).

[FifteensAway]

Oh, d'oh!  PVA, not super glue.  So much easier to work with.