Hey Tall Paul,
Well, I don’t detail and paint my pieces like you do. Just don’t have the time or patience for it and I’m just fine with the molded color.
Yeah, you are probably right that 12 is more than enough for your battleships. I allow for 20 each for capital ships in my gaming sets. The main reason I order so many sets is to get more of the troops, tanks, planes and such. It gives me more capital ships than I need, so I usually will sell the excess on eBay. There always seems to be someone out there that will want them and it helps make back a little of the money I spend on the sets.
For anyone that is interested, here is a listing of pieces in my gaming sets that I have replaced the OOB with HBG units.
SOVIET UNION
T-34 > T-34/76
ZIS-42 Halftrack > GAZ-60 Halftrack
Petlyakov PE-8 Heavy Bomber > Ilyushin IL-4 Medium Bomber
GERMANY
Panther > Panzer III
SdKfz 251 Halftrack > SdKfz 251 Halftrack
JAPAN
Type 95 > Type 97 Shinhoto Medium Tank
Type 1 Halftrack > Type 1 Halftrack
Type 92 Howitzer > Type 89 Artillery
A6M2 Zero > KI-43 Oscar
D3A Val > D3A Val
Fubuki DD > Kagero DD
Takao CA > Mogami CA
Yamato BB > Nagato BB
Shinano CV > Kaga CV
UNITED STATES
Sherman > M4A1 Sherman (from Marines Set)
P-38 Lightning > P-51 Mustang
SBD Dauntless > Avenger Torpedo Bomber
B-17 Heavy Bomber > B-25 Mitchell Medium Bomber
Iowa BB > Nevada BB
UNITED KINGDOM
Matilda II > Valentine
Priest > Ram Kangaroo
25 pounder artillery > 25 pounder Artillery
Mosquito > Barracuda
Royal Oak BB > King George V BB
Illustrious CV > Ark Royal CV
I thought that I had replaced more German pieces, but most of the German pieces we have gotten so far have not really been replacements for OOB but more like additions to the current game (SP Artillery, Heavy Bombers, Jet Fighters, etc.) I imagine this will change once the Axis Minors 2 set gets here. I imagine there will be more changes for the US when we get the US Expansion sets as well.