Warlord Games’ Black Seas rules system caters for the Age of Sail period from 1770 up until 1830. The first releases were for the British, French and Spanish navies, mostly in the form of generic plastic model kits, but some of the ‘named’ ships have their own resin and metal models. One of these is the USS Constitution, a frigate which fought in the War of 1812, and is actually still preserved today.
Upon opening the box, the first thing you come across is a ‘bobbin’, a spool of cotton, designed for creating rigging on the ship. This useful approach to the kit is complimented by other items, including an acetate cut-out sheet of ratlines, card sails and US Navy flags and pennants.
In addition to these model making supplies, there are gaming related items, a datacard for the ship within the game rules, and the all-important ‘wake’ card which is used for denoting the speed of a vessel.
A double-sided assembly sheet shows how to put the kit together on one side, whilst providing a guide to the parts of the kit and how to treat the materials to get the best results.
The kit itself consists of a highly detailed resin hull, with obvious guns, capstans, planking and more. The metal parts are the masts and spars for the vessels, including jolly boats and launches. The metal cast masts are complete, with no need to attach each of the parts of the masts together. There are also detailing parts like anchors, ladders and more.
This is a detailed kit, a fitting tribute to the original and the first of a whole number of kits that already exists or are to come in the future. The quality is evident from the outset, and the attention to detail is excellent.
For more information, visit https://store.warlordgames.com/collections/black-seas
