Victory at Sea: Kriegsmarine - Admiral Graf Spee & Admiral Scheer (Last Chance)

Great looking models and an amazing way to supplement the Kriegsmarine starter set.

Having played a large number of naval miniature games over too many years, there used to be three or four choices of scales/manufacturers with GHQ, C-in-C, and Panzerscheffe being some that we used with the old Sea Kreig rules. Warlord Games started with their Black Seas and Cruel Seas games and if the gamer likes that type of rule set (not super detailed and accepting abstracts and ranges are not exact) then the Victory at Sea system may be a good choice. This box with the Spee and Scheer is 1/1800 scale which is smaller than the GHQ and does result in some small parts which are not the easiest to cut, trim and install. Warlord games provides a card that demonstrates assembly but one has to look very closely to determine direction (front or aft) of some components. Dry fit first and only glue when everything seems to have seated properly. The main gun turrets of 11 an enterprising gamer might figure a way to magnetize if wanting to rotate during a game, but the resin type product was hard to drill and the scale is so small I suspect it would be a tough challenge. So with those cautions, once the ship was assembled they are very striking and the textured base is fantastic if the height does not bother the gamer and the ships are in the water so not like other brands. These ships paint up fantastically and additional on-line resources for camo schemes were easy to paint onto the ships. Use inks as they bring out the detail with a little drybrushing. The bases in this package did not warp so no issues compared to some on-line reviews. Painting the bases and dry brushing with off-white on the wake is stunning. Not all gamers will like the bases because of thickness and how low some ships sit, but the total package is fantastic. But, these are not 1/1200 scale so do not expect that level of detail and appearance. Still, I would rate these top notch and if the rules are to the gamer's liking, would recommend these highly. Just pack your patience when assembling!