I don’t have any naval stuff in 1/1200th, apart from some Langton Napoleonic ships that I haven’t done anything with for years, so thought it was about time I explored this long established wargaming scale. I am a big fan of 1/2400th scale and 1/600th scale but, for various reasons have never splashed out on the scale in between, one of which being all the scary rigging and the other the cost factor.

However, the new range of 1/1200th scale Anglo Dutch warships from Ark Royal Miniatures caught my eye, as they are ideal for the small scale privateering games that I’m interested in, rather than the fleet actions that I’d use 1/2400th scale Tumbling Dice models for (I have some of these but the small ones are very, very small). 

I am back at work now and can afford to splash out a little bit, so have ordered a pack of three generic frigates plus etched ratlines to deck them out with, as this seemed the most obvious place to start. There are also packs of smaller ships and boats but I wanted to try out some rigging on larger vessels, as it might be a bit easier than on a tiddly brig or pinnace. 

The rules I have in mind for this are Mad for War Essentials, which look perfect for small ship to ship duels around the Isles of Scilly. Incidentally, the spur for moving up to 1/1200th scale is the latest release from Brigade Games in their Small Scale Scenery range of Star Castle, which sits above Hugh Town on St Marys, so I’m hoping they might make a model of Cromwell’s Castle on St Martins too?