“May I trouble you for the salt?”

I had so much fun, I even created this little trailer for the project

Hey! A few years ago, it all began with the Master & Commander set from Warlord Games. A secret love. I don't really know many people who are familiar with this game or are generally interested in historical naval games in 1/700 scale. It's another niche within a niche, much like many of the topics that captivate me. I've only completed six ships so far, but, in my opinion, they are at a pretty good level. I'm currently enhancing their appearance with wonderful ratlines from Atlantic Models and I'm still debating whether the crew models from Eduard (https://www.eduard.com), which also include photo-etching parts, are truly necessary. But I somehow find them cool.

Some time ago, I discovered the YouTube channel Linus Napoleonic Shipyard. Although he has only three videos online, they were so inspiring to me that I'm again now fully immersed in this theme! I find his approach of varrying ship manufacturers and his general modeling skill suits my approach as well. He uses a lot of Turner Miniatures which are a little truer in scale compared to their warlord counterparts as he says. At least with the smaller ships like the frigates, brigs, schooners and so on. He also talks about trying to bring much variation in his ships which is also my absolute goal. This should not be a regimental look at all. Every ship has its own personality. So check his work in the Black Seas group on Facebook and his YouTube channel. Super cool!

What I enjoy almost more than playing Black Seas itself is the somewhat childlike act of staging my small fleet on the table. Especially in naval games, it's not difficult to make things look good due to the vastness of the ocean (which is large and blue). Sailboats, in and of themselves, are already beautiful.

In 2022, I set up my first ship using a blue sweater, a paper base from the starter box, and a bit of wool. It's just an iPhone picture, yet you quickly realize that the ships almost look top-notch on their own with not a lot of effort. Ok, I do have a bit of photography training, but still. If just a few rules are followed, great pictures are possible with absolut minimal effort.

The first ever built and painted ship. 5th rate frigate from Warlordgames.

In the past few evenings, I've dedicated my time to taking even more pictures with simple setups. Not much is needed. Yesterday, I even photographed using candlelight.

A more recent setup from last week.

As I wrote before, the setup is quite easy. Just a bit of creativity needed. And it helps to know how a camera works.

The camera setup. Very professional!

I really like the glittering water effect. Could it be moonlight?

A lighter version of that scene, though I find it less immersive.

I wish you all a very good 2024! More ships to come.

So long and take care.

The Laughing Helmet