Here I present a short review of cardboard Hanseatic Cog from Umbum - Clever Peper.
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The finished ship
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During lockdown I ordered some Cardboard scenic from the Russian firm Umbum. The range, including many medieval building, the Cog, a Greek Bireme and an Arabian Dhow and many many other things in different scales was designed by Clever Peper Ltd and is available both from the Russian and the German online shop. Their products are also available through retailers (Amazon and others). I ordered straight from the Russian shop, since I made a massive order and price was very competitive, even with shipping and import taxes added. I thank Eugene for availability and kindness in answering my questions and helping me following my order across half Europe. Their products are designed at approximately scale 1/65 - 1/70 as toys, but RPGgamers started using them as scenics. They also include their miniatures about 28-30 mm in height.
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The front of the Box
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The rear of the box
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The Hanseatic Cog box contains four sprues with numbered pieces, a booklet of instructions, a short rope used for rigging the sails and ...a toothpick! (seems silly, but really useful to remove small cardboard pieces). The set is meant to be assembled without knife/scissors and glue.
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Content
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The toothpick!
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Content/2
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A detail of the booklet
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The kit took about three and half hours to completion and the only real issue was making the knots right and able to be moved to put into tension the sail. The instruction of real sailors' knots help immersing in the nautical atmosphere. After building it, the kit is ready to be placed on the tabletop. It is about 29 cm long, 8 cm width, 3 cm height of the bulwark, 21 cm for the mast.
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Working...in the Arsenale
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Here with both my Catalan crew (Admiral Roger Lauria) and Umbum cardboard miniature.
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Aggressive Marine ready to assail enemy ships!
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In conclusion: the kit is reasonable priced (500 rubles from Russia), and makes surely a nice piece of terrain in any sea city scenario. Maybe it could be also a gaming piece on his own (more to follow).
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Admiral Lauria, almughavar and crossbowmen
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Catalan-Aragonese ready to become the main Power in 13th century Mediterranean!
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