The Future of Pre-Dreadnought Miniatures

The future of Pre-Dreadnought Naval Miniatures has well and truly arrived in the form of the new ship line just released by War Times Journal.

http://www.wtj.com/store/

Jim at WTJ has been working for some time on presenting a range of CAD designed, Rapid Prototype Plastic miniatures, and not to overstate it, has in one fell swoop moved the world of naval miniatures one giant leap into the future.

I was lucky enough to be given access to a preview in the form of a 1/1800th scale Sissoi Veliki, as can be seen in the photos here, and boy, was I impressed - these new miniatures have an unparalleled level of clean and clear incised detail, and are designed with beautiful proportions and shape - these have gone from gaming pieces to scale-models overnight.

The miniatures come in a hard plastic that has none of the unsightly lines of Shapeways-style printing processes, nor the odd granular surfaces of the likes of 'White Strong and Flexible' and similar mediums; WTJ has an explanation of what was involved in their creation here:

http://www.wtj.com/store/index_about.html

Now as ever, my basic photography skills do these new ships little justice, although given that they are transparent, I suppose I can plead some mitigation in my defence - you definitely need to see them in the flesh to appreciate their overall quality.

http://www.wtj.com/store/index_paint_guide_hist-photo.html

What is even more exciting about this newly innovated line is that it is not limited to a single scale, WTJ will be producing the same miniatures in four different scales! - Yes, that's the classic 1/3000th, alongside 1/2400th, 1/1800th and even 1/1500th ships - enough to cover the needs of most of us Naval enthusiasts out there, and a few others besides.......

The ships are available for order now, although it has to be stressed that their is some lead-in time as they have to be sent away to be processed, so are definitely a 'bespoke' product, although I am very happy to report that the prices of the line are in no way excessive, given their quality, and are in my opinion, definitely cheap at the price, even in the larger scales.

I really can't praise these models highly enough, and as you can probably tell, am pretty excited as to how the range will be developed - I know that things like all four international variants of the Garibaldi Class being available is cool enough, but then knowing WTJ are about to produce an expanding range of South American ships of the era just about blows my mind........  ;-)

What more can I say, but get yourself over to WTJ as fast as possible and feast your eyes - and moreover give Jim all the support he so richly deserves in pushing the boundaries of what is available to the Pre-Dreadnoughter, and spoiling us all with such an excellent product!

1/3000th Naval from War Times Journal

Unable to leave well enough alone following the conclusion of the collecting and painting phase of the '55 Days at Sea' Boxer Rebellion Naval project, I have found myself hankering after ways of expanding the scope of my use of 1/3000th pre-dreadnought minis.

Jim over at War Times Journal was kind enough to send me some samples of his always excellent output, and so this post will see me looking in some detail at these example vessels with a view to pinning down which direction I might take in the future, and most importantly, what minis I might employ.

http://www.wtj.com/store/gameshop/shop1/

Broadly speaking, I suppose things would break down into three main areas:

Firstly, of course, the Russo-Japanese War: everybody, of course, does this, and for quite understandable reasons - who could resist wanting to re-create the gallant last stand of the Varyag and Korietz, or the clash of monsters at the Battle of Tsushima?

Next could be a foray somewhat back in time for the Spanish-American War, this time with a 'what-if aspect' involving the Hapsburg allies of the Spanish, namely Austro-Hungary (might level the playing field somewhat....).

Finally another possibility would be a fictional war between the greatest of historical rivals, to whit the English and the French; a titanic struggle between ironclad dreadnought turret-ship types with all the bells and whistles from an even earlier epoch.....decisions, decisions!

With these ideas in mind then, let's turn to look at the samples so kindly provided by WTJ. First up, that incomparable example of turret 'en echelon' design, HMS Inflexible:

(All minis appearing in this post are in their natural state, no clearing up of flash, etc, - straight from the packet.)

This is WTJ0055117, a very nicely proportioned sculpt which captures in great detail the layout of the amidship turrets, as well as displaying some nicely engraved ships boats; the floating bridge so clearly delineated across the top of the turrets being a particular high point, of what is more in the way of a scale model, rather than a mere playing piece.

Clocking in at just shy of 33mm, she reflects accurately the 320ft of the original. Launched in 1876 and completed in 1881, she was the first battleship to have submerged torpedo tubes and compound armour, and took part in the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882; an excellent summary of her exploits can be found here:

http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/hms_inflexible.htm

The WTJ sculpt is equipped with their customary mast attachment points/holes, so 'rigging' her out would be a relatively easy undertaking, and the satin texture on the deck surfaces should paint up well to represent decking planks, again a charcteristic of these premier sculpts. Certainly the lure of a seascape full of these turreted monsters exchanging blows mid-Channel would be hard to resist....

Next we have the sleek lines of the five-funnelled protected cruiser, WTJ0022210 Askold, or the "Packet of Woodbines" as she was known to British sailors. This mini goes even further in the direction of scale-model, with brilliant attention to historical detail including the foremost funnel being more slender than the other four, the upward sweep of the bow-section, and some beautifully delineated turrets and ship's boats.

The offerings from WTJ are to a UK based gamer somewhat on the expensive side, but this vessel in particular is a tempting lure to move away from the safe and familiar represented by the characterful sculpts available from Navwar; its detail, finesse, and overall appearance far outdistancing the best that the UK firm has to offer.

To quote "quantity over quality" would be perhaps be a bit too harsh, particularly from someone, like me, who is a big fan of the output of latter company, but what would normally be put down to the necessary limitations of sculpting something as small as 1/3000th, is here effectivley undermined by this superlative model from WTJ.

A somewhat unfair comparison, but it is the only unpainted multi-funnelled Cruiser I had to hand: Navwar's HMS Powerful lies beside the WTJ Askold:

This is where the quality of the WTJ sculpting really hits home - the all too-visible central mould line on the Powerful, the lack of visible deck planking, and the slightly lop-sided proportions versus complete balance, and some detailed touches.

I suppose the reality is that I can't really praise the WTJ minis too highly, yet if you do a direct price comparison for a UK consumer, this is expensive territory; 2 x Powerful class from Navwar for £1.60, whereas a single one from WTJ is $3.75, perhaps £2.28 at today's exchange rates.

The Askold herself would be $3.25 from WTJ, her Navwar equivalent only £1.20 in the company of the Varyag. Yet to be clear, I don't think that in a paper exercise to work out the likely expense, you're really comparing like-for-like, so depending on the scale of the future project, a compromise might have to be made; a flotilla or so, and I could spoil myself with the Rolls-Royces from WTJ, opposing fleets and it's the Vauxhall Vectras from Navwar.

If further proof were needed for my typically indecisive mind, we move on to the WTJ0078210 Kaiser Franz Josef, again a masterful representation of proportion, with obvious detailing, as before:

Again, perhaps somewhat unkindly, next to an erstwhile ally from Navwar, namely the Almirante Oquendo/Vizcaya/Infanta M. Theresa sculpt; the bravura of one matching the finesse of the other:

All these ships would make an excellent addition to any collection, and give many opportunities to enhance the scope of any tabletop conflict, and yes, you've guessed it, I'm no nearer to deciding on which era to go with - I suppose the real proof of the pudding will be when I've put a coat of paint on the above, and see if this makes things any clearer - my only concern is that the Navwar sculpts will be more fun to paint, whilst I shall fret that I won't be doing the WTJ ones justice - more to come on all this I fear......!

55 Days at Sea: 1st Scenario: Ship Stats and OOB

Ship statistics and order of battle now, for the first scenario in the 55 Days at Sea Campaign: "Surprise Attack", using Mr Barker's 'Damn Battleships Again' rules.

I thought I would lay out the details of the various contenders here, as well as make some notes on certain points specific to this scenario; I've provided some general statistics that might be useful, and included the ship classification in line with my interpretation of the definitions according to the rules.

First off, the Fleet of the Great Powers, gathered at anchor off the Taku Bar:

Great Britain:

HMS Centurion and Barfleur (Centurion Class)

10,500 tons, Weapons: 4 x 10", 10 x 4.7", 8 x 6pdr, 12 x 3 pdr, Torpedo Tubes: 7 x 18"

Armour: 12' Belt, 2.5" Deck

Speed: 17 knots

Damn Battleships Again Ship Classification: Battleship

Endymion (Edgar Class)

7,700t, 2 x 9.2", 10 x 6", 12 x 6pdr, TT: 2 x 18"

5" Deck

19kt

DBSA Class: 1st Class Cruiser

Aurora and Orlando (Orlando Class)

5,600t, 2 x 9.2", 10 x 6", 10 x 3pdr

10' Compound Belt, 3" Deck

16kt

DBSA Class: 1st Class Cruiser

Austro-Hungary:

Zenta (Zenta Class)

2,300 tons, 8 x 4.7", 10 x 3pdr, TT: 2 x 17.7"

2" Deck

20kt

DBSA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser

United States of America:

Newark (own class)

4, 083t, 12 x 6", 4 x 6pdr

3" Deck

18kt

DBSA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser

Italy:

Calabria (own class)

2,453t, 4 x 6", 4 x 4.7", 8x 57mm, TT: 2 x 17.7"

2" Deck

17kt

DBSA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser

Elba (Lombardia or Regions Class)

2,245t, 4 x 6", 6 x 4.7', 10 x 57mm, TT: 2 x 17.7"

2" Deck

18kt

DBSA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser

Japan:

Kasagi (Chitose Class)

4,760t, 2 x 8", 10 x 4.7", 12 x 12pdr, TT: 4 x 18"

2.5" Deck

22kt

DBSA Class: 1st Class Cruiser

Suma (own class)

2,657t, 2 x 6", 6 x 4.7", 10 x 3pdr, TT: 2 x 15"

2" Deck

20kt

DBSA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser

Germany:

Kaiserin Augusta (own class)

6,218t, 12 x 5.9", 8 x 3.4", TT: 5 x 13.8"

2.75" Deck

21kt

DBSA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser

Hansa and Hertha (Victoria Luise Class)

5,660t, 2 x 8.2", 8 x 5.9", 10 x 12pdr, TT: 3 x 17.7"

4" Deck

19kt

DBSA Class: 1st Class Cruiser

Gefion (own class)

4,275t, 10 x 6", 6 x 4.8", TT: 2 x 17.7"

Armour: unknown

20kt

DBSA Class: 3rd Class Cruiser

Russia:

Rossiya (own class)

12,500t, 4 x 8", 16 x 5.5", 12 x 3pdr, TT: 6 x 18"

10" Belt, 2.5" Deck

19kt

DBSA Class: Battleship

(Given her size, weapon complement, and armour, this seems the best designation under the DBA rules, although she was actually a large armoured cruiser.)

Sissoi Veliki (own class)

9,000t, 4 x 12", 6 x 6", 12 x 57mm, 24 x 37mm, TT: 6 x 18:

16" Belt, 3" Deck

16kt

DBSA Class: Battleship

Gaidamak (Kazarski Class)

400t approx, 6 x 3pdr, 3 x 1pdr, TT: 2 x 15"

Unarmoured

17kt

DBSA Class: Torpedo Boat Destroyer

(DBSA actually calls for TBDs to operate/be depicted in pairs, but as these are historical, named ships, I'm foregoing this rule)

France:

D'Entrecasteaux (own class)

8,114t, 2 x 9.4", 12 x 5.5", 12 x 3pdr, TT: 6 x 18"

2.2" Deck

19kt

DBSA Class: 1st Class Cruiser

Descartes, Pascal (Descartes Class)

4,000t, 4 x 6.4", 10 x 4", 8 x 3pdr, TT: 2 x 18"

2" Deck

19kt

DBSA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser

Now for the Chinese Navy:

Anchored at the rear of the Great Power's Fleet:

Hai Yung (own class)

2,680t, 3 x 5.9", 8 x 4", TT: 3 x 14"

Armour unknown

19kt

DBSA Class: 3rd Class Cruiser

Flotilla approaching from the South:

Hai Tien (own class, based on Elswick built Argentinian Buenos Aires Class Cruiser)

4,500t, 2 x 8", 10 x 4.7", 16 x 2", TT: 5 x 18"

Armour unknown

24kt

DBSA Class: 1st Class Cruiser

Fei Ting (own class, officially a 'torpedo cruiser')

400t, 2 x 4", 4 x 2", TT: 5 x 18"

Armour unknown

20kt

DBSA Class: 3rd Class Cruiser

Fei Ying (own class)

Tonnage unknown, 2 x 47mm, TT: 3 x 13.7"

Armour unknown

25kt

DBSA Class: Torpedo Boat Destroyer

Kuang Ting (own class, 'torpedo gunboat')

Tonnage unknown, 3 x 5.9", 4 x 47mm, TT: 4 x 18"

Armour unknown

16kt

DBSA Class: 3rd Class Cruiser

The 'surprise package' emerging from the mouth of the Pei Ho river, obscured by the two Kwantung Junks:

Hai Hola, Hai Lung, Hai Nju, Hai Ying (Hai Hola Class)

Tonnage unknown, 6 x 47mm, TT: 2 x 18"

Unarmoured

30kt

DBSA Class: Torpedo Boat Destroyer

The two Kwantung Junks themselves are of course classed as Merchant shipping, although they could reveal themselves as 'Raiders / Armed Merchant Cruisers' in the sense that they mount 6 obsolete muzzle-loading 24pdr guns, and are crewed by fanatical Boxers. An attempt to board and inspect these ships by one of the Great Powers could result in a nasty surprise!

The Time of Day for the start of the scenario is decided at 6 spells before sunrise, therefore dawn.

You might like to depict the Taku Bar itself as a shoal under the rules, this is a hazard to navigation and blocks line of sight for Torpedo Boat Destroyers.

The Russian Rossiya is the Flagship of the Fleet.

The positions of the various ships are as depicted in the Russian diagram on the Taku Bombardment Webpage: (Scroll down...)

http://www.fortunecity.com/olympia/ince/698/rurik/taku.html

The Chinese TBDs and junks approach from the top of the diagram, the Hai Yung is at position in the rear, and she will be joined by the flotilla moving from Wu-Sung after the first few spells of play.

As this is a surprise attack, I would award by default the initiative to the Chinese, and might hamper the Great Powers further by imposing a spell limit before they could either return fire or begin to move; this would obviously depict their unpreparedness and time needed to get up a head of steam.

Furthermore, it would give some advantage to the Chinese, who are, after all, outnumbered 2:1 by more capable ships!

Victory conditions should also reflect the strategic impact of interdicting the landing of troops by the Great Powers, and each loss to them, whether damaged or sunk, should be judged greater than one on the Chinese side, their likely losses being relatively immaterial in the sense of achieving the aim of closing the mouth of the Pei Ho to Western ships.

A further bit of fun might be to introduce a 'Confusion' dice roll, whereby if a ship of a certain nation receives fire from the Chinese in the near vicinity of another, competing nation, then they may mistakenly assume they are under attack by their rival power, and react accordingly.

Candidates for this that spring to mind would be mutually the Russians and Japanese, the Austro-Hungarians and Italians, and the British and the French; if the HMS Centurion receives fire within 5 cable lengths of the D'Entrcasteaux, she might think that it came from the French!

Phew!, quite an exhaustive list of things there, but should shape up into an interesting game....

55 Days at Sea: First Scenario: Surprise Attack

It is the 9th of June 1900. The upsurge in violence associated with the rise of the Boxer Movement in China has meant a gradual build up of forces by the various Powers who wish to gain influence at the expense of the ailing Manchu Regime.

At the point of entry at the mouth of the Pei Ho River, it has been a tense standoff; gunboats, transports and shallow draught vessels have gingerly threaded their way under the guns of the Taku Forts, wary of the private sympathies of the Chinese Imperial Troops who man them.

Luckily, in line with the public stance of their government, they have remained aloof, and the landing of troops bound for Tientsin and beyond, has so far gone on unhindered. The Boxers are to all intents and purposes still regarded as 'rebels'.

However, the tide may very well be turning against the Allied Powers, with the notoriously anti-foreign Prince Tuan having replaced the moderate Prince Chi'ing as Foreign Secretary, the noose has been tightening around the Foreign Legations at Peking.

300 or so reinforcements, both marines and sailors, have arrived there by rail on the 31st may, bolstering any likely defence, but perhaps this show of strength has done as much to heighten the tension as to calm it:

"The arrogance of these barbarians, trying to threaten the Imperial Court itself!".

Insistent messages, sent by the local Commander at Taku to the Imperial government, stating that he could prevent further Foreign intrusions by closing the mouth of the Pei-Ho, have finally received the following enigmatic reply:

"The Fox, when barred from the Hen House, is no longer a Fox...."

The Commander knows that the large ships of the Fleet cannot pass the barrier of the sandbank formed by the Taku Bar, and although the foreign navies posses some heavy calibre guns, if he can dissuade them from closing with the Forts, then landings up the Pei-Ho at Tangku will become impossible, and Tientsin and the Legations will be effectively cut off.

A strike force is assembled, made up of the four modern Torpedo Boat Destroyers, so kindly provided by the shipyards of Germany, of the Hai-Hola class, in addition to two Kwantung Junks to act as a deceptive screen on the approach:

From Wu Sung, to the South, a further group, led by the Protected Cruiser the Hai Tien, will be in position by dawn:

Finally, already a wolf amongst the flock, the Hai Yung lays at anchor a few cable lengths to the rear of the Allied Fleet, ostensibly to protect the interests of the central government, she will lead the surprise attack on the unsuspecting Foreign Devils:

At 05:00 hours, HMS Aurora, an Orlando Class Cruiser, reports the approach of two apparently friendly Junks, traders perhaps? The surprise attack has begun!

So that is the set up for the first part for the 55 Days at Sea campaign, a 'what if' scenario to mirror the actual historical combats that took place on land, with a spotlight on the naval elements that were in place in 1900. As you can see in the photos, the trusty old blue nylon tarpaulin is yet to be replaced by a nice sea scape mat, but once its replacement has arrived, I intend to do a run through using the Damn Battleships Again! ruleset. So stay tuned for an After Action Report in the near future.

Now just a quick look at some of the WTJ Naval ships seen in their unpainted state in my last post on this subject: The German Gefion:

The Russian Bobre:

And just for fun, the Spanish WTJ Lepanto in the company of Navwar's battleship Pelayo:

55 Days at Sea: War Times Journal Ships

Yes, I finally gave in, having more or less topped off the collection of Navwar ships for the 55 Days project, I couldn't shake the feeling of being bereft of certain key ships. I'd originally sworn off buying vessels from the excellent War Times Journal Miniatures due to the exchange rate between the £ and the $, but just a handful of ships wouldn't hurt - would it?

I can therefore, having received a large box from the good ole US of A the other day, wax lyrical for the first time about a comparison between the two manufacturers, and detail the ships that will be filling the gaps in my collection so far.

http://www.wtj.com/store/gameshop/shop1/

My order from the U.S. arrived promptly, around ten days or so after despatch, and came in a large box with plenty of cushioning material inside; in fact this more or less filled the whole box, given that I had only ordered eight ships! Each vessel was individually placed in a small plastic baggie, although with none of the information/specs that you receive with a Navwar purchase. On first examination, the casts were extremely clean, and flash was minimal to non-existent, unlike the models of some other manufacturers!

You can see all the vessels in their natural, untouched state here. Of course, WTJ has done the wargamer/collector the great service of having some close up, detailed photos of their products on their website, so I don't intend to duplicate their efforts here, rather merely relate what I bought to the 55 Days project.

First up we have a view of the Chinese Torpedo Gunboat Fei Ting, (WTJ 0012302) a very nice sculpt with her unusual twin-funneled layout; what is immediately apparent is the clean detailed lines of the model, and the detail visible on the ship's boats, a feature of all of WTJ's products.

I simply couldn't resist augmenting my Chinese Navy, and as I discussed in a previous post, short of buying the special, large scale packs from Navwar, I couldn't source these vessels from anywhere else. Only the funnels themselves might need a bit of shaping up with a small file; significantly, the base is entirely clear of flash, and has a deeply inscribed and therefore easily legible code number on the bottom.

Next we see the Torpedo Boat Destroyer Fei Ying, (WTJ 0012304) which was present in the Pei-Ho river during the capture of the Taku Forts. Another nice model with good details; the indented funnel tops are a nice touch, and the forward gun is clearly visible, if a little slight.

Moving over to the Russians, we have the Grozyashchi Class Gunboat, (WTJ 0022602) a number of which were present in 1900; beautiful detail on the ship's boats here, and great proportions overall; I'm actually going to use this as the Bobre, which took part in the assault on the Taku Forts. She was of a different class, but the Navwar version from the Khabry/Abrek pack has an unhistorical bow section, and is better suited as a model of the Mandjur class, so this model will be used to take advantage of the better depiction of the instantly recognisable revetted gun above the bow, a characteristic of many of these Russian boats.

The Chinese riposte with a contender of their own, augmenting the various TBDs with an actual Protected Cruiser, the Hai Yung (WTJ 0012211), which was recorded as being in attendance on the Allied Flotilla off the Taku Bar in 1900. No belligerent action on her part was historically recorded, but her anchor point, at the sternmost area of the fleet there, suggests intriguing possibilities for any surprise attack!

I must now confess that we are suffering from 'mission creep' somewhat on this project, in that having picked up the Don Juan de Austria to use in her American re-incarnation, I was attracted by the Reina Regente Class of Protected Cruiser (WTJ 0033230), with a view to allying her, in the form of the Lepanto, to Navwar's version of the Battleship Pelayo as a mini-squadron that might represent the fictional interests of Spain in the Far East.

With the Philippines lost after the Span-Am War, I was 'imagineering' that a good scenario would see the Spanish try to take advantage of the focus on China, and independence agitations in the Philippines themselves, to retake a measure of control: the Battle of Manila Bay Part II perhaps?

I had been disciplined in not widening the net too much with my Navwar purchases, but couldn't resist the detail and proportion of this excellent sculpt:

Next we visit Germany, and the sleekly designed Protected Cruiser the Gefion, (WTJ 0077215),

a notable absence from the Navwar catalogue, especially given her unique nature and long service in the Far Eastern theatre:

Hopping back to the Chinese once more, we introduce the 'big guns', which will make their fleet more competitive in any scenarios involving conflict with Allied Powers. Below we see the Protected Cruiser Hai Tien (WTJ 0012210), a sculpt noticeable for the visible deck planking, a characteristic of the WTJ minis, and the lack of any casting line, which can often disfigure the foredecks of some Navwar ships:

Sailing under the U.S. stars and bars, we have the war prize Don Juan de Austria (WTJ 0033231) an Unarmoured Cruiser that has a likeable 'tubby' look to her amidships:

Finally, a group of comparison shots that will go some way to represent the differences between the two manufacturers; overall, the WTJ examples are crisper and cleaner than Navwar, if perhaps a bit more delicate looking, the actual castings are definitely lighter.

The Grozyyashchi up against Navwar's U.S. 'Gunboat' Helena; note the casting/mould line so visible on the latter:

Navwar's Cissoi Veliki dwarfs the greyhound-like proportions of the Hai Yung, are perhaps WTJ's minis, although looking a nicely accurate and balanced 1/3000th scale, a tad larger than similar ones from Navwar? the Battleship was historically 106 metres overall in length, with the Chinese cruiser at 99 metres, so perhaps it is just to my eyes; certainly, on the tabletop, there will be no trouble mixing the two manufacturer's output.

Navwar's Navarin next to WTJ's Reina Regente class; although the former has great character, the mould line along her length is immediately apparent, and the detailing on the latter is obviously much clearer:

Finally, we see the Navarin straddled by the Chinese Cruisers; the detailed deck planking on WTJ's vessels jumps right out at you here, and of note are the dimples or nipples which the sculptor has added to indicate the proper position for masts, should you wish to scratch-build and include them.

Overall, I was very impressed with the WTJ ships, a lot of care and attention to detail has gone into their manufacture, although it might be said that in their unpainted state, they look perhaps a little to clean and sterile, lacking the gusto of some of Navwar's 'broad brush' approach. Being UK based, cost is a factor in deciding to invest in these ships, and of course no-one can yet compete with the sheer width and breadth of the British company's catalogue.

Yet if you are looking for those hard to get ships, or want a particular, special model, then I cannot recommend them highly enough; efficient, internet based purchasing, and quick service coupled with excellent little models is a hard to beat combination.

Certainly, I was very glad to have had the choice available to augment my variety of vessels for this somewhat under-exposed historical period (at least in Naval terms), and I understand that WTJ are looking to expand and update their ranges in the near future, alongside the "Battlefleet 1900" rules system that they have developed; furthermore, their website is a mine of useful information, research, tips and advice, which therefore offers you the whole package.

I'm looking forward to painting up these new additions, and adding them to my 'characterful' Navwar flotillas, and then finally getting down to the serious business of playing out my 'What-If?' campaigns, so stay tuned!