Knights of the Sky Nieuport 16c RFC

Eastern Express Nieuport 16c

 

After checking the parts and assembly instructions (!) for the old Merlin Models Halberstadt DII kit, I decided it was too much trouble to try to build it, at least for the moment. Instead, after another rummage in the loft, I have picked out an old Toko / Eastern Express Nieuport 16c kit, complete with Le Prieur rockets but missing the decals. As the Knights of the Sky game is a balloon busting scenario set in September 1916, this looks like an ideal kit to put together. I only have a couple of weeks to build it before I'm off to France, so time is of the essence. I have built the eastern Express Nieuport 11 kit, which was a few years ago but didn't seem too fiddly, so this shouldn't be a big change and certainly much less stressful than the crude limited edition alternative!

Parachutes in Algernon Pulls It Off!

Here's a suggestion for a Bail Out! option for late war German pilots in Algernon Pulls It Off!

On the turn of the 'Springen!' (Bail Out!), Character or Pilot Move card, a pilot / observer may attempt to parachute. 

Roll 1D6 and add / subtract modifiers:

+/- Pilot Luck

Aircraft on Fire - 1

Aircraft in a Spin - 2

Pilot / Observer wounded - 1

Result:

1 or less than 1  = Jumps but parachute tangled / fails to open.

2- 3 = Fails to jump (may try again)

4 - 6 = Parachute opens.

A parachute will not open in time if at Altitude Level 1 or 2.

Example:

A Veteran Pilot decides it's a good idea to jump from his burning Fokker Dr1.

D6 Roll = 3

Luck Modifier +1

Plane on Fire - 1

Result = 3 

Try again next turn of the Move or the 'Springen!' card (luckily, he's at ALT 4 !)

I think this will work?

Algy Facebook Group Update

 

It's just under a week since I set up the Algernon Pulls It Off! Facebook group and there are now fifty five members signed up, which is pretty good going for only six days. It's still getting off the ground but, with some play test after action game reports on the way, I'm hoping it will start to take off over the next month or two. The aim is to get people playing the game again, or trying it out for the first time, so until that starts to happen it's still early days. If you haven't joined already, it would be great to have you along for a dawn patrol or two. Tally Ho!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1389643458696575/?ref=share

Busting The Balloon

I've only got two weeks until I'm off to France for the Easter holiday, during which I'll be okay testing some of the Jasta 18 scenarios, so time is running out to complete the last of the 1/600th scale models. The big thing to do is to assemble and base the resin Tumbling Dice Caquot observation balloon, which I've already glued together, filled and sanded, ready for rigging. I'm busy next weekend with days away, so I really need to get this sorted this weekend, starting tomorrow with the rigging using thin gauge wire and fuse wire. It's going to be fiddly but I'm hoping it will look good when completed?

Eduard 1/72nd Fokker DVII (OAW)

I spotted a very good price Eduard /72nd scale Fokker DVII kit on eBay, so have in and ordered it for Knights of the Sky. It's the weekend edition, so no photo etch or other spangly bits, but it does have some cracking decal options, including the Jasta 18 machines flown by ace Ltn.Karl Monnington in late 1918. I already have a fantastic decal sheet by Blue Rider for Jasta 18 but it doesn't include this one, so it's a great addition to the kit pile. Excellent!

Algernon Pulls His Parachute!

 

I read an interesting online article about the Heinecke parachute, first issued in April 1918 to German pilots, but not entirely popular due to its thirty per cent failure rate. It required the pilot to bail out without tangling up in the static line, so it was both awkward to deploy and required quite a bit of gymnastic ability in order to clear the aircraft. It also weighed a ton and was difficult to put on, not to mention restricting the pilot's space in the cockpit. I was going to just pinch the rules for parachutes from Bag the Hun, probably the first edition as it is similar to Algy in design, but I think I need to work out something more specific for the First World War equivalent. 

Algernon Pulls It Off! in the Clouds

For the last scenario in the Jasta 18 project, I needed some rules for clouds in order to give the R.E.8 crew a chance to hide from the attentions of Junior Ace, Ltn.Mendel, in his far more manoeuvrable Fokker DVII. The R.E.8 flew like a house brick and had a reputation as being a bit of a flying coffin, easy prey for a nimble high performance scout, so it was common tactical doctrine to run for the nearest cloud in order to evade an attacker. Here's what I came up with, designed to be very simple but also realistic in historical terms, while not unbalancing the chances for Ltn.Mendel to score his final victory.

SPECIAL RULES

At the start of the game, roll 1D6 and scatter this number of cloud templates, each the size of a medium blind, on the table. To determine the position of each cloud, divide the table into twenty four squares, and roll a D4 and a D6 for each cloud. The D4 corresponds to the short table edge and the D6 to the long table edge. Place a cloud template in the corresponding grid square. There can be no clouds in horizontally or vertically adjacent squares (re-roll for a different position). To determine the altitude of each cloud, roll 1D6+2 and mark the height on the template.

In this example the player has rolled 5 on the initial D6 and then the following scores for positioning: 1/1, 4/2, 2/3. 3/4, 2/5 and 1/6. If he'd rolled adjacent squares, he would have re-rolled so that there were no 'walls' of cloud. 

Any aircraft entering a cloud template may emerge from the cloud in any direction when subsequently activated for movement. To enter a cloud the aircraft must be at the same alititude. An aircraft may not loiter inside a cloud. Any movement measurement begins and ends at the edge of the cloud template. If an aircraft has been spotted previously, it will emerge from the cloud as a new small blind at the same altitude that it entered. It must be re-spotted before any attacks can be made. Clouds only block line of sight for spotting if both the target and the spotting aircraft are at the same altitude as the cloud.

....I think this will work?

'Cat and Mouse' Algy Bonus Scenario

I'm not entirely happy with one of my scenarios for the Jasta 18 project, 'Baer's Really Bad Day', so I'm going to swap it out for a different one. This has already been written and so just needs to be slotted into the sequence in chronological order. It revolves around Ltn.Karl Albert Mendell, shooting down an R.E.8 of No.4 Squadron on 4th June 1918, for his seventh and final victory. 

In this game, the R.E.8 crew of Lt.Maltby and 2nd Lt.Simms must evade and escape from the Jasta 18 ace, using cloud cover to bugger up his chances of shooting them down. I've included a mechanism for cloud deployment and rules to cover popping in and out of clouds, tying in with the blinds system. It's a simple system and so should work well, hopefully enabling the RAF crew to get away relatively unscathed.

It's great that I can have a 'Harry Tate' in at least one of the games, as it's my favourite aircraft and often gets flown in Knights of the Sky games at the club. I also have one painted up in 1/600th scale and have another pair in 1/300th scale 3D printed form, which are going to be a lot of fun to paint up. At any rate, the scenarios are all completed now, so it's on to the play testing phase of the project.

Pilot Record Sheet for Algernon Pulls It Off!

Fokker DVII Filled In Sheet

Blank Template to Edit

 

Although I really like the nifty record sheets that Alex Sotheran has designed for Algernon Pulls It Off!, which are similar in format to my Bag the Hun ones, I thought I'd work up one of my own, so that I can edit it to fit whatever scenarios I'm playing or umpiring. Here's the current version, although I'm sure it will evolve further as I realise what I've missed off or buggered up. The big blank space at the top is for an illustration of whichever aircraft is involved, the numbers for which I will edit in as required, while the top row will be filled in with the pilot / crew details for each scenario. I think it's looking not too bad so far, but the proof will be when I have to add the numbers! 

Jasta 18 Scenario Seven

The last scenario for the Algernon Pulls It Off! Jasta 18 project is about to be drafted and I've chosen one that I think will be a really good game. This features the famous American ace, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, in a four to one dogfight with a kette of Jasta 18 Fokker DVII scouts. In this action of 14th September 1918, Rickenbacker ambushed the Jasta Raben pilots, claiming to have shot one down before making his escape unharmed. 

He believed that he was fighting against Richthofen's elite 'Flying Circus', being very impressed by the German pilots flying skills and aggressive tactics, but in all probability he was up against Jasta 18, although exactly who is unknown. This should be a bit of a cracker if I can work in the use of blinds and possibly some special characteristics for Rickenbacker, who will otherwise just be classed as a Junior Ace.