I am a dyed in the wool old fashioned 'Man O War' fan.
For my money it is the best game GW staff ever created, well, the basic game and the first gamette (Sea of Blood) anyway, the second gamette (Fleets of Chaos) kind of lost the plot a bit but was still ok.
I was such a fan that I purchased two of every fleet so I could run Man O War tournaments.
I made scenery for it etc.
It was awesome, I preferred to Warhammer.
However, Man o War was taken off the shelves circa 1993/94 and has never made a return.
A real shame for those who like a bit of fantasy piratin' and high seas adventure.
So a while back I came across the new Spartan Games models for their fantasy naval game 'Uncharted Seas' and I was interested but not enthralled by the new models.
I was immediately wondering if I could use my old Man O War models for the game so I could get some more use out of them.
Turns out all the smaller ships are fine but the larger ships are nowhere near big enough compared to the Spartan Games vessels.
I still wasn't sure if i liked the models so I went down to South London Warlords club night and watched a game between the Dragon Lords (essentially they are like Michael Moorcocks classic 'Elric of Melnibone'.) and they were playing regular Elves.
In person I was taken aback at how good the 'Uncharted Seas' ships looked on the tabletop and how well sculpted they were.
The large vessels, like the galleons, greatships etc are up to 3 times the size oif the large vessels in Man o War.
They have a real 'presence' on the sea scape.
For those of you who remember the impressive Dark Elf vessel, the mighty Black Ark?
Know this, the Black ark is less than half the size of the big Battleships in 'Uncharted Seas'.
They are enormous and magnificent on the table top.
The bodies or hulls of the ships are made of resin, nicely sculpted and carefully casted.
The sails are a blessing.
In Man O War GW used plastic masts and spars and they were forever breaking or snapping off in transit, a real pain in the backside.
They were very flimsy even for regular gameplay.
Spartan Games have improved this issue immeasurably by casting the sails out of metal as one piece and it makes all those nightmares disappear.
So I decided to have a go at the game and was kindly offered the use of a human (Empire) fleet to play against a Dwarf fleet and the game was very fun, winning at any time oscillated between the two fleets and we ended up having a tight draw when the magazine in one of the leading ships blew up spectacularly and took out two more small ships in close proximity.
It was a great laugh and I was sold on the simple but elegant game mechanics that allow for tactical thinking and strategy development without getting over complicated but still cater nicely for the smash 'em up approach.
I now have warmed to the models a lot and the game is a winner on the table top.
Spartan Games are a small outfit from south west England and they are a little embarrassed at the overwhelming popularity of their game.
They are virtually sold out of their new releases by pre-order, almost unheard of in the miniatures world.
They simply cannot keep up with demand.
I have played my part in that by purchasing every ship they make for 'Uncharted Seas'.
It's so cheap to buy compared to the old Man O War ships the value is awesome and they do little bulk deals for buying fleets so you can even get a discount.
The rulebook is fantastic, full of sumptuous eye candy pictures and big clear concise writing for players coming into the system for the first time
I'm thoroughly impressed by the game, 100%, by the models 90% but distribution has had it's niggles so I'll only give them 75% on that front.
So far you can buy fleets for Dragon Lords, Elves, Humans (Empire), Dwarves and Orcs, they all come with extra additions and whizzy bits you can but beyond the basic fleets for each race.
In three weeks time the two new fleets enter the game... Undead and Chaos Dwarves (Shroud Mages)
[Spartan are also doing a new Space fleet game (rules not released yet) that looks interesting and the new models look superb on their website gallery.]
Now, in regards to using the Uncharted Seas' fleets for a 'Naval' component for Warhammer, absolutely.
They can cross over in a heartbeat, no problem at all.
They would be a fantastic addition to a warhammer based Campaign where you want to explore the map beyond the constricted aspect of a completely land based campaign.
The human fleet is even called the IMPERIAL HUMAN fleet.
I'm a self confessed fan so maybe there are negatives I'm missing about this game and the small company that makes it but they are very enthusiastic and keen and it comes out in their work.
I've been impressed that although I had misgivings about the models at first (mostly because they didn't resemble my beloved GW Man O War models) when I saw them in person painted on the tabletop I was impressed by the quality and the 'presence' they had on the tabletop.
I was also greatly relieved to see how they had got around the issue GW had with the frail plastic masts and spars by casting them as one piece in metal.
So naturally I wondered about purchasing some ships to have a go at the game with 'my own' fleet.
When I went to see what was available and to check the prices on the Spartan Games website I was absolutely gob smacked to see how CHEAP they were
compared to even the 1992 prices for GW's Man o War.
The price point for the 'Uncharted Seas' fleets just blew me away... I could get the whole Iron Dwarf starter fleet for just £ 13.70 Inc Tax .
Yep, you read that right, just £13.70 including tax.
Now for that paltry sum of money you get one battleship, 3 cruisers, 6 frigates and a deck of 26 race cards for use with the Uncharted Seas naval game. (Each fleet has a race specific deck of cards.
The most expensive fleet is the Imperial Human fleet coming in at just under £26 quid inc tax for their starter fleet.
Same configuration as the Dwarf starter fleet.
The Imperial battleship is MASSIVE.
Anyway, it's a worth a look, I went bananas and bought everything they sell for the game.
Here's the link for a nosey...
http://www.spartangames.co.uk/gallery_2.htm