17 sierpnia 2025

Spanish and American navies for the Spanish-American War.

In my last post, I discussed a game I played using the Gods of War: Togo rules. I mentioned that the new ships would be revealed later because some of them still needed painting. Now, I’m excited to share everything I’ve completed for this game. In this post, you’ll find painted squadron sets for both the American and Spanish fleets, along with a few items I received for backing last year's English-language edition of the game's Kickstarter.





Before I begin the presentation, I want to note that all the models featured in this post are participating in the Strategie forum painting competition as non-competitive works. I am honoured to be serving on the competition jury once again. You will find links to the entire thread in the links section. Although the thread is in Polish, modern translation tools should make it easy to understand, even if you're not familiar with the language.





This time, I expanded my ship collection by adding two squadron sets for the US and Spanish navies. Overall, everything went smoothly, but there was a small hiccup. Since Brexit, we have had to deal with some inconveniences here in the UK, including additional paperwork and customs requirements. What bothered me, however, was that the courier company (which I won't name) charged an extra £10 fee for a smooth customs process without asking for my consent. While I understand and appreciate the convenience, such an option should be offered to the customer rather than charged upfront without prior agreement. Okay, I've vented enough—now it's time for the presentation.






The first item is the Spanish Navy squadron, along with an expansion for it. This set includes the following ships: the armoured cruiser Cristóbal Colón, the Infanta María Teresa-class armoured cruiser (which I painted as Vizcaya), the Reina Cristina-class cruiser, the Aragón-class cruiser, and four Furor-class destroyers (I painted Furor, Plutón, Terror, and Audaz). Additionally, I've included the auxiliary cruiser Rápido in this set, which is sold separately.


















The Americans also received reinforcements. I purchased a squadron for the US Navy fleet, which includes the battleship USS Iowa, the battleship USS Texas, and the armoured cruiser USS Brooklyn—arguably the most beautiful ship I've painted for this war. Additionally, I included the armed yachts USS Gloucester and USS Vixen, along with two Ericsson-class torpedo boats, which I named USS Stevens and USS Fulton for fun. To complete the set, I added two transport ships: the Arizona and the Clan MacKay.




















As part of my Kickstarter support, I received models of two sinking ships: one destroyer painted in American colours and one cruiser painted in Spanish colours. Additionally, I painted a set of small torpedo pinases in neutral colours, allowing them to be used by both fleets, depending on the scenario. I'm not entirely sure, but I believe all the models are either already available for sale or will be soon.








The final piece of the puzzle is the buildings, forts, Martello towers, lighthouses, and fort cannons. I received these pieces through Kickstarter support as well.






Links

Thread on Strategie forum:

https://www.strategie.net.pl/viewtopic.php?f=231&t=23185

Progress photos on Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720327884347/


14 sierpnia 2025

Gods of War: Togo. Ram 'Em All!

Last Thursday was my birthday, and what better way to celebrate than with a fun game? I've been working on new ships for the Spanish-American War of 1898, and I plan to reveal them later, as not everything is yet finished. We used the Gods of War: Togo rules for the game, and it turned out to be very exciting. By the way, you are reading my 1,000th post on this blog. Enjoy!






SCENARIO: Scenario 2: Clash on the counter-courses
UMPIRING
Bartek Żynda
SCENERY: SESWC
FIGURES & MODELSBartek Żynda


1. Forces.




US NAVY

1st Squadron (Alasdair)

USS Iowa
USS Indiana

2nd Squadron (Andy)

USS Brooklyn
USS Texas





ARMADA ESPANOLA

1st Squadron (Jimmy)

Pelayo
Infanta Maria Teresa

2nd Squadron (Gordon)

Cristobal Colon
Vizcaya

3rd Squadron (Bartek)

Reina Regente
Aragon
Velasco





2. The Game.

In our game, Jimmy and Gordon's squadrons were set to face the Americans. I, on the other hand, planned to manoeuvre my weaker vessels around the side of the table to evade the powerful guns of the American ships. Unfortunately for me, Andy had placed the island in the direct path of my ships, forcing them into low-speed manoeuvres. I'll provide more details on that later.





Alasdair's and Gordon's squadrons were the first to engage in battle, and it quickly became evident that the Spanish ships were outmatched. However, the Americans decided to intervene unusually. Instead of keeping their distance, they ended up causing a significant mishap. The USS Brooklyn sailed in front of the USS Indiana, which subsequently rammed into her. Unfortunately for the Americans, the USS Brooklyn sank as a result. But that was not the end of the complications…





The captain of the USS Indiana must have received orders to ram ships instead of sinking them with guns. The next ship to be sunk was the Spanish cruiser Vizcaya, which the USS Indiana rammed.




The next ship to sink was the Infanta Maria Teresa, which was sent to the bottom by cannon fire from all the American ships.





In response, the Spanish returned fire, igniting fires on the American ships. An unsuccessful attempt to extinguish the flames led to the explosion of the ammunition chambers on the USS Indiana, which resulted in the sinking of another American ship.





Meanwhile, my ships were attempting to navigate around the island. Not all of them managed to do so without taking damage. The Aragon barely grazed the island, resulting in only minor damage. The Reina Regente, the first ship to successfully bypass the island, raced at full speed toward the exit from the battlefield. Unfortunately, she found herself directly in front of the USS Iowa's guns. One salvo struck her ammunition chambers, causing the ship to sink. The rest of my squadron chose not to engage the more powerful enemy vessel and sailed off the battlefield instead.





Shortly after the sinking of the USS Indiana, the captain of the USS Texas broke down and raised a white flag on the ship. The USS Iowa remained alone on the battlefield, engaging in a fierce exchange of fire with the Pelayo. Fires broke out on both ships. While the Spanish vessel managed to extinguish all the flames, the American ship was less fortunate. The fire reached the ammunition chambers and caused a devastating explosion. As a result, the US Navy suffered another defeat.






I wanted to let you know that there will be a temporary pause in my game reports. I had a minor surgery last Monday, and I'm still in the process of recovering. For now, I'll be staying at home, which means I won’t be playing any games this week, and likely not next week either if things don’t change. However, this gives me more time for painting, so I plan to fill the gap in my blog posts with that.


3. Links.

SESWC:

FLICKR:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720328388084