Black Ops, Swashbuckler & the Battle of San Juan de Ulua

[ichwillauch]

My newest Project...

My newest Project was started, when my girlfrind found a cheap but damaged ship model in a local antique dealer.



The Battle of San Juan de Ulua (taken from Wiki)

The Battle of San Juan de Ulúa anno 1568 was a battle between English privateers and Spanish forces at San Juan de Ulúa (near Veracruz). It marked the end of the campaign carried out by an English flotilla of six ships that had systematically conducted illegal trade in the Caribbean Sea, including the slave trade, imposing it even by force.

It's a very interesting setting, because two sides were locked in a stalemate, secretly building up their forces and finally started a battle including landforces, naval forces, fire ships, an island and a fort.

Black Ops (Osprey)

Black Ops is a Ultra modern ruleset written by Guy Bowers. It includes special rules for stealth missions that will be a vital part in a campaign gaming the events at San Juan de Ulua like for example:

-   Rescue the hostages
-   Guard the cables and anchors of your ships or cut enemy ships out
-   Try to capture as many leaders as possible
-   Try to get / destroy as much supply as possible
-   Try to block the transfer of Spanish soldiers between Vera Cruz and the fort
-   Try to transfer the treasure from the Jesus of Luebeck to the Judith

Now I only need a lot of models, more ships, a fort...

[ichwillauch]

Meanwhile the first ship is waterlined and awaits some minor repais and refitting

[ichwillauch]

The Maritime Museum at San Diego (https://sdmaritime.org/visit/the-ships/san-salvador/) provides a very good paper model of the San Salvador, a spanish ship around 1542. This paper model is scaled 1:100.

So I started my second ship, changing material from paper to wood and scaling up to around 1:69.

[tomrommel1]

nice start

[warrenpeace]

Great project! Looking forward to seeing more of this. Do you have all the 1500's style troops that you need?

[Bushbaby]

Exiting! Looking forward to see where this is going.

[ichwillauch]

Great project! Looking forward to seeing more of this. Do you have all the 1500's style troops that you need?

Many thanks for the comment. For the troops I have ordered some wargames foundry elisabethian and the box war of Religion from Warlord Games. Some pirates from Foundry were hired, too

[ichwillauch]

Ship Number 2, first Update



The lower part of the hull is now ready. Its made of old newspapers and wallpaper clue. Meanwhile first steps on ship Number 3, the same plan, but this time a little bit larger, now the scale is roughly 1:60.

[dijit]

Foundrys swashbucklers are ideal for this project, both as spainiards and as the english. Ive also mixed in some Hoka Hey border reivers (though some will say they're too big). Also look at foundrys sister company

http://www.castingroomminiatures.com/collections/collection-2

Ospreys book 'Elizabethan sea dogs' and also their two books on tudor warships are very useful too.

There is so much going on in this period and its often overlooked. Theres little to distinguish the looks of different nations from each other, so the same models can easily present many different nations and groups. Ideal for many a collector.

[ichwillauch]

a small update on my fleet:


The San Antonio a small galleon / pinnace

The San Bernadino a standard galleon

The San Cristobal second small galleon

[ichwillauch]

This Project is now at a hold because I will move at the end of the year into a new house and a new hobby room, but today the first cards arrive.

The first set is for ship to ship combat. A player can choose between six different actions: Load guns, fire guns, boarding action, Chance direction, Chance Speed and special actions.


The second set is the activation set for the black ops rules. This modified Black ops set uses five different classes, the leaders, those how can command troops, specialists, civilians and common soldiers


The last set are treasure cards.

[dinohunterpoa]

ichwillauch, it is a very nice project!

I personally don't like Black Ops' combat rules - specially for swashbuckling action, where I think that personal combat must be more cinematic and detailed, IMHO - but their stealth rules are perfect for this kind of games, as you've said, and can be easily adapted for any ruleset as well!

Please keep us posted on your progress! 

[tomrommel1]

this is getting better and better indeed

[ichwillauch]

This project has stopped long ago, because there was no time to do anything for it. But meanwhile I had organised a school project with a pirate theme and  these are some results...

[traveller]

Wow! You turned the hobby into an industry!