Naval Gazing: Thoughts on Salamis

Along with the 15mm land aspect of the DBA "Greeks in Peril 480 BC" campaign there is the inescapable fact that there was also a very important naval aspect to it, some could argue the most important aspect. Athens in particular was strong at sea, they either fielded hoplites on land or marines at sea, but not both. Thoughts turn to toys: 'currently' I am thinking either the Navwar 1/1200 triremes or their smaller Outpost Wargame Sevice1/3600 alternatives (see below):

The Navwar models were borrowed from a friend who had acquired a few unpainted from an eBay.sake. The Navwar model is basic but then again so was the shape of the trireme (shown below with sail stowed away in battle mode, though the model looks so much better with it up). Hmm, even with a bit of filler applied to the mast hole it's just a basic "brown" model (I don't think the trireme was really ever inspiring painted as any paint would soon come off - please correct me if I am wrong) apart from the bronze ram and the Greek "eyes" which my eyes couldn't do in 1/1200.

One model looked lonely so I started an experiment with two of these models but then it just looked too cramped for my taste on the 30mm square sea bases I was hoping to use (see below):

This left the initial outsiders Outpost Wargames Service in the miniature 1/3600 (no real detail just paintbrush highlights which has a certain appeal to it) a chance to show their worth (see below). Another plus was that these chaps originally sent me a free sample or their wares when I originally asked what their range was like. (Note: "Other" albeit larger scale manufacturers scoffed at the thought of a 'sample', I even returned their email explaining I would have paid for a sample but I was also seeking a sense of the viability of the project as couldn't just buy a Salamis fleet on a mere whim). The results are quite pleasing (see below), two unmasted ships with a third masted to denote an Admiral's stand:

I am torn, the Outpost offering seems the best (certainly not cheap based on the need for "80-120 (depending on scaling)" bases, 240-360 models doing by the David Manley "Greek Fire and Roman Fury" ruleset I intend to use ) but part of me thinks I could do equally well with printed ships on card stock. Can you hear the model lover inside me "scream" out loud at the thought? ;)