Topside Minis WWI Fleet Ready to Set Sail

Back in February, I ordered from Topside Minis their WWI Falklands set of 16 British and German ships, which sells for only $5.60. These are peel-and-stick counters that need to be cut out and applied to the supplied laser-cut plywood bases. Back in February, I wrote about how good a bargain I feel these ships are. It took a while, but this morning I finally got around to applying the ships to their bases.

First, Experiment on the Free Sample 
Before I worked on my Falklands fleets, I experimented with the free WWII sample they had sent me before I placed my order. (Click on their link to get one for yourself.) This way I didn't risk damaging the "real" ships. I cut out the ship using my steel ruler and sharp hobby knife. I then stuck it on the supplied base. I then realized that I had cut the ship just a wee bit smaller than the base. A thin, light-tan strip of wood showed along one short edge. It was very noticeable.

Coloring the Base
After thinking a bit, I grabbed my large bag of Sharpie markers. I first thought of coloring the top edges of the bases blue to match the color of the water on the ships. No Sharpie really matched it. Then I thought, why not color the edges to match the dark brown of the laser cuts?

In the comments from a previous post, CharlesO had mentioned that leaving the edges natural instead of painting them a different color might look just fine. So I tried some of my brown markers. Voila! It worked and looked great. Thanks, Charles! You were right.

Sharpies Are Meant to be Abused
Use a brown fine point Sharpie. Not all Sharpie brown pens are the same color! The shade of brown in the fine tip pen closely matches the brown from the laser cuts. However, the brown in the ultra-fine tip pen is lighter. Odd, I know, but I realized this when testing the pens.

Ink the Base Edges
Before applying the sticker, rub the Sharpie along the sharp edges of the bases. If you look at the bottom photo, you can see how I run some ink along the sides of the top of the bases and the edges. I didn't marker the actual sides of the bases, leaving them in their natural burned look. Does that make sense? I did the top and bottom of the bases. Inking the bottom also hides any little rough spots or edges that might look tan when the counter is on the cloth. (I noticed this on my test ship.)

Skipped Sanding
Because the bases' wood is a bit fuzzy at times, I was tempted to sand it down with some fine sandpaper, but I didn't bother. I can be a bit retentive when it comes to models and such, but sometimes even I have to draw a line! I set aside the bases to dry, and then tried washing the streaks of brown ink off my hands. You will get ink on your fingers!

Ink the Paper Edges
After cutting out the ships, I ran brown marker along the edges of the paper. Do this! It takes away the bright white edge and blends the ship in with the base. This is a trick I also use when building paper buildings, though often I use colored pencils for that.

Fin
When done, peel the backing away from the ship, line up the ship along a long edge of the base, stick it to the wood, and smooth it out. You have just finished your first Topside Minis ship counter. And it looks good to boot!

Rules?
I'm still looking at rules. I'm hoping to try out a couple this weekend. I'll let you guys know how it goes. Naval Thunder: Clash of Dreadnaughts plus Challenge & Reply II are on the top of the list at the moment. After some poking around online this afternoon and reading the demo rules, I am seriously considering Grand Fleets: 2nd Edition.

As PDF downloads, Naval Thunder would cost $15 to get going to play the Battle of the Falkland Islands. C&RII would cost me $13.29 for the rulebook plus the German and the British fleet lists I would need. Grand Fleets 2 would cost me $20 for the rulebook plus the King & Kaiser scenario book with ship data cards that I would need. From what I've read, the scenario book is generic enough to use with any rules. I also was looking at Fleet Action Imminent, but the $32 price tag for a PDF is a bit off putting for buying a game blind. Choices, choices.

Look at the large photo. You'll notice how I accidentally cut the counters a bit small at times or slightly misaligned them on the base. Inking the edges of the base and counter hides this on the table, making the counters look sharp.

Here is the bottom of the base. I did this on both sides. This little touch adds a lot. I elevated one counter to show how inking its paper edge helps blend the paper into the base as well.

Topside Minis Arrive in Port!

On Saturday night, I placed an order with Topside Minis for their WWI Falklands set of 16 British and German ships. This afternoon, the package arrived in perfect shape. As I opened the box, my college-senior son got excited seeing the peel-and-stick counters for ships. He loves all aspects of WWI, so this made his day. (He dislikes WWII, but ironically he likes WWII planes but not WWI biplanes. Go figure!)

Great Quality
Again, the printing on the peel-and-stick paper is excellent, the designs are crisp and highly detailed, and the layout is spot-on. I like the little touches that make each ship counter unique, such as the smoke from the smoke stacks. The bases are laser cut plywood, one for each ship. You can see this in the photos below

Excellent Value
For only $5.60 this set is a great bargain, allowing us to get into naval gaming quickly while looking attractive on the table. The shipping cost as much as the set, but I was not upset. Since it was flat rate shipping, it would have evened out if I had bought more ships or the WWII sets.

Gaming Plans
Rules are still under consideration. Neither of us wants to play anything like Star Fleet Battles on the High Seas! I'd like to tote these miniatures along to Dice Tower Con this summer, and get the attention of some of those board gamers. So rules should be quick-play and easy.

I'm going to use the blue cloth you see in the photos. I got the cloth several years ago at Wal-Mart for only a few dollars. Looks enough like oceans to me.

I would like to paint the sides of the minis because I'm not fond of exposed wood. I have to rummage through my paints to see what would look good. I'm wondering if I should paint the edges and then apply the stickers to the base, or apply the stickers and then paint the sides. Doing the latter would mask the white edges of the paper. We'll see. I'll experiment on my free WWII sample ship, so I don't accidentally ruin the WWI set. This has top priority as I scrounge up some free time.

Topside Minis' Future Plans
After I placed the order, I dropped a quick note to the fellows at Topside Minis, mentioning the blog and how I liked the sample miniature. I also asked them what their future plans were for the WWI line, which is just starting out. Plus, this is the big anniversary year for WWI. John from Topside got back to me right away: "To answer your question, yes we will be expanding this era greatly to the point of the entire Jutland battle. We will build to this slowly by first introducing a few more smaller battles like the Falklands." Looks like good news to me!

The box after opening. The bases are in the paper.

The British ships in the set. The largest ships are 4" long.

The Germans. Largest is 4" long. See how the effects on each are different?

This is how my sample arrived from USPS. The ship remained untouched. Yep, they care alright. :-/

Free Sample Peel-and-Stick Naval Miniature

Here is a nice free deal I discovered this afternoon while browsing around. Topside Minis is offering a free sample of one of their peel-and-stick naval wargame "miniatures." These look nifty. They're not miniatures but more like boardgame counters that you cut out and then stick to wooden bases. You can then use them with any miniatures rules.

Currently, they have WWII Coral Sea battle set of 131 units (79 ships and 52 aircraft) for $60, a  Midway battle set of 208 units (83 ships and 125 aircraft) for for $100, and a new WWI 1914 Falklands set of 16 ships or $5.60. The also sell ship and planes individually.

I'm a bit confused, however, if the sets come with the wooden bases or if we must buy them from Litko? They really don't say on their website. I'll drop them a line and report back, unless someone already knows and can post the info in the comments section below.

This looks like a nice way to play some miniature-sized naval games without having to spend the time painting all the ships, unless one enjoys painting miniature ships, of course. When you think about it, a miniature is nothing more than a 3D counter. I posted some photos from website, but you should look at their website, which has a lot more information. They also have links to the various WWII naval rules available.

When I get my promo sample, I'll give a hands-on report. If I like what I see, I'd like to get the WWI Falklands set. I'm not into the large Pacific battles, but I do like the smaller WWII naval engagements that don't involve skies full of planes. (I have a thing for scenarios featuring patrols and protecting merchant convoys, no matter if sci-fi or 20th century it seems.) I'm not sure on the WWI rules I'd use. Something easy and fun with a bit of crunch, preferably inexpensive. I already own Mongoose's Victory at Sea rules, but those are for WWII. I don't own Mongoose's WWI rules.

So check out Topside Minis for your free sample. And if you have used any of their miniatures, let us know in the comments section.

Update 1-27-14
I got the free sample today. The post office literally destroyed the envelope, having to put the entire thing in a "We Care" baggie, which I find a bit ironic because if they really cared they would not have allowed their "dogs" to maul the envelope in the first place! Sigh.

The good news is that the ship came out just fine, which amazed me. I need to take a photo of the envelope.The ship also comes with its own 3mm laser cut plywood base along the lines of Litko bases. A good deal.

I just have to paint the base and stick on the ship drawing. I'm not sure what color to paint the edges, though. I doubt I can match the blue water on the counter. So probably better to go with something more contrasting? I don't know. I'm open to suggestions. This week looks to be a bit busy and nerve wracking, so it might take some time until I get to it.


Take care,
BobW (aka CPBelt)