US Fleet for Midway and beyond


Well, 20 years later and another project is complete.  (I painted the destroyers back in 2015...)  This is the US Battle of Midway fleet from Figurehead miniatures.  I also picked up a few extra packs of ships I like, such as the Iowa, Missouri, New Jersey and Wisconsin above. 

I considered trying to do the camouflage patterns worn by many of these ships during the war, but frankly it seemed a fools errand at this scale.  The hulls only protrude a few millimetres above the waterline at this scale, so  I opted to go with grey hulls and weatherdeck blue decks. (for the most part)

I have painted all of the modernized Battleships for this collection, with the Iowa, South Dakota and North Carolina classes all fully present.  I only have three of the older BBs however, though with the lack of real WWII naval gaming for me in the 21st century that will probably remain constant for the foreseeable future. 
North Carolina and Washington

South Dakota, Massachusetts, Alabama and Indiana

USS Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Nevada
 For the carriers I am sticking with plan flight decks for now.  I saw some printable decals, but they look a little too fiddly for my purposes.  The collection includes all the big names:  Enterprise, Hornet, Yorktown, Lexington, Saratoga (early and late war)  as well as four Essex class carriers.  I still have Wasp and Ranger in the package, so the lead pile is not completely bare yet. 


Lastly a vast array of Heavy and Light cruisers to fill out the battlegroup.  I put all the hull numbers down on their tabs, but otherwise the details just kind of wash away at this scale. 

and lest I forget, I also painted a few liberty ships.


I still have a few Royal navy destroyers and cruisers to paint, but otherwise I am merely waiting to find a decent background to do a group shot. My blue/white running shirt not withstanding. Thanks for looking!

Comments

  1. More impressive additions to your fleet. Have you had this project out on the gaming table?

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    1. The 1/6000 scale collection has never made it to the table. I bought it to replace my ecclectic mix of 1/2400 scale models I collected from about 1997-2000. Lots of GHQ and CinC models. I really enjoyed shipbase III back then and switched to 1/6000 in the hopes of larger/less crowded battles. Time, and other obligations sank those aspirations.

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  2. Those look great. I have a few WWI fleets myself from Figurehead. I've used the tried and true Victory at Sea rules with them which always deliver a very entertaining game.

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    1. I may give those a whirl at some point. My DOS based Shipbase III is no longer accessible with the technology I have here at home.

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  3. A real pleasure to look at...Gorgeous!

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  4. A very impressive fleet, Jake. With all that painting, they need a turn on the tabletop!

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    1. Agreed, I just need to convince my son to take a crack at it I suppose.

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