Rapid Fire 5th Battalion DCLI Reboot

I've been thinking about rebooting my very old Rapid Fire project from fifteen or more years ago, a late war British force representing the 5th Battalion Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. This was originally a 20mm or 1/72nd scale project using Valiant Miniatures and Ready to Roll vehicles, but it fizzled out and the stuff I had painted went to eBay. I've dug out my old notes and this was what I had sorted back in the day:

This requires the following:

1 x HQ (7 figures)

4 x Infantry Companies (32 figures)

1 x Support Company (9 figures)

1 x FO team (2 figures)

There are four carriers plus a six pounder and mortar to equip the battalion as well, but I've decided to leave the attached 8th Middlesex Vickers platoon out of the painting schedule for the moment.

Finally, for armour support I will add a squadron of the Sherwood Foresters or the 4/7th Dragoon Guards, both of which will be equipped with a Firefly and two Shermans. 

This time round I'll be using Rapid Fire Reloaded and the Plastic Soldier Company 15mm figures and vehicles, some of which I already have, but with the infantry and heavy weapons being a new outlay. I do have some Peter Pig figures I could use but I'm saving those for other things. 

The other option will be to build opposing US 29th Infantry Division and Fallschirmjager battalions for the campaign in Brittany. This is a really interesting campaign and I have the Plastic Soldier Company Fallschirmjager figures already, as well as plenty of armour for the Americans. I'll just need to add the US infantry figures, for which the Flames of War range is the best option, the PSC figures being a bit rubbish. 

This is all a long way off but no harm in planning and preparing the ground for a later time.

Betrand du Guesclin

We stopped off in Dinan the other day for a coffee and had a quick walk around the town, which is very nice indeed. In the central square there's a rather imposing statue of Betrand du Guesclin, commemorating a duel that he fought and won during the siege of Rennes in 1356-57, when his forces were based in Dinan. We didn't have time to take a look at the town's fourteenth century defences, which are largely intact and quite impressive, so we'll definitely be going back. 

Digger Dogfight Play Test

I've been getting the stuff ready for play testing the first 'Raben's Ravens' scenario - Digger Dogfight - which is set in May 1918 and involves a clash between Sopwith Camels of 'A' Flight, No.4 Squadron AFC and a kette of Albatros DVa scouts of Jasta 18. This is a fairly straightforward dogfight lasting ten turns, evenly matched and with no complicated rules to juggle with, so I'm not expecting to have too many issues, although you never know!

Holiday Reading

I read this book years ago but have brought it with me for the holidays to brush up on aerial warfare in the First World War. As with most of the books by Norman Franks, it's an easy read but very well written and packed full of useful, well researched and accurate details. I'm really going to enjoy reading this over the next few days. I'm also going to play test some of the Jasta 18 scenarios for Algernon Pulls It Off!, using my 1/600th scale models, card decks and draft scenario briefings. 

Rapid Fire Reloaded Revisited

An old wargaming friend of mine has been doing some rather splendid things for Rapid Fire Reloaded lately, building opposing late war British and German forces in 20mm, the conventional scale for the rules. I already have a copy of the rulebook, together with previous editions, and a long time ago even had most of a British company almost completed. That went to eBay years ago but I'm now thinking of a reboot in either 15mm or 12mm, so have ordered some of the new rules supplements to see if I can work out options for a future project, once again focussed on the 5th Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in Normandy, or the Breakout into Brittany project which was originally for ISBSM back in the day.

Holiday WW1 Naval Project

I'm off on holiday for two weeks and have packed some 1/2400th WW1 warships to assemble and base. These include the models for Coronel and the Falklands, together with the French warships for Get the Goeben!. I'm not sure if I'll get them all sorted but it will be an enjoyable way to spend the time in the evenings. 

Moorland Scale Model Decals

 

I've discovered a range of superb decals for First and Second World War aircraft in 1/285th - 1/300th scale, from a company called Moorland Scale Model Decals here in the UK. These are resized from individual decal sets in larger scales, so have excellent detail and accuracy. The only downside is that the sheets are not based around specific RFC Squadrons or Jagdstaffel but are for individual pilots, with an emphasis on well-known aces like Billy Bishop or Carl Degelow, for example. I'm thinking of asking Geoff to design some for Jasta 18 but will hang on for the moment and see if Dan Arute at Flight Deck Decals can design a whole sheet of insignia, as he is my 'go to' for decals. They do look fabulous though, and I'm sorely tempted to order the SE5a sheet just for kicks!

https://moorlandscalemodeldecals.co.uk/285th-300th-scale-sets/

Books for the 'Black Flight' Scenario Project

One of the great things about wargaming is that it gives you an excuse to collect and read books. I already have a good collection of reference material for the Algernon Pulls It Off! 'Black Flight' scenario project, but there were some specific gaps, so I've filled them with a couple of new books to supplement the existing ones. I was lucky to get a copy of the No.10 Squadron book, which is otherwise really expensive, for a bargain price on eBay, so this will form the core of my reading and note making, with the ubiquitous but very good Sorry titles to flesh out more of the details. I may take this lot on holiday for some leisurely reading but will start on the scenario writing later on after the break.

1/600th Caquot Balloon Finished

I got round to finishing the Tumbling Dice 1/600th scale Caquot observation balloon today, so that's a job done. The base is sky blue to match my old Hotz hex cloth but I will probably repaint it to use with my green mouse mat cloth after the play testing is complete. I'm reasonably happy with the end result but think I could have used a lighter shade for the balloon canvas, so will try that on the other model I have in the bits box. 

'Black Flight'

 

I've narrowed down the focus of my next scenario project for Algernon Pulls It Off! to No.10 Squadron, Royal Naval Air Service, or Naval 10 as it was known at the time. This will revolve around 'B' Flight under the leadership of Flight Commander Raymond Collishaw from May to September 1917. This unit was known for painting the cowlings of its Sopwith Triplanes matt black and for the pilots also marking their individual aircraft with a name beginning with 'Black', for example, Black Maria, Black Death, Black Prince and so on. The pilots were all Canadians, which gives the project a distinctive theme, as well as being very experienced in aerial combat, having flown Sopwith Strutters and Pups beforehand. This set of scenarios will be smaller than the Jasta 18 project but there's plenty of potential for some really good 'dogfight' style games with Albatros DIII's of Jagdgeschwader I, the infamous  'Flying Circus' of von Richthofen, definitely making a regular appearance.

Cruel Seas Coastal Forces Club Game

From the club forum....

For those of you who play Cruel Seas, the next club multiplayer weekend will be a coastal forces game set in 1942 off the Hook of Holland. This will be an interception by MTB's of German S boats returning from a patrol off the East Coast convoy lanes. 

We will be using 1/72nd scale MTB and E Boat models by Airfix and Revell, which will be provided for players to command, along with the car park area immediately adjacent to the Badger Farm community centre. Sainsbury's has very kindly offered the use of a number of large blue tarpaulins to represent the north sea. Dickie has volunteered to scratch build some islands.

It will be a late start and the game will run over night from Saturday to Sunday morning. No date has been agreed as this depends on availability and the  phases of the moon. Please sign up if you are interested. Any assistance with model building and costumes will be gratefully appreciated.

;o)

Bloody April for Algernon Pulls It Off!

 

For my next sortie with Algernon Pulls It Off! I'm going back to the first half of 1917, leading up to the period known as 'Bloody April' during which the Albatros DIII and the newly formed Jastas, cut a swathe through the RFC and RNAS ranks. I've played a lot of games based on this period using other rules, so I know that it's a really good basis for some exciting scenarios.

I've already painted the required Tumbling Dice models for 1/1600th games, but have now just enquired with Paul at Sabotage3D about a selection of 1/300th scale prints including Albatros DIII's, Sopwith Pups, Sopwith Triplanes, Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutters, Nieuport 17's and a couple of aerial reconnaissance / artillery spotting types for both sides. 

This is quite a lot of models but will allow me to write some really good scenarios and set up some classic 'dogfight' games, for my own solo wargaming but also for the club. when I get round to running some games. I'm thinking of writing a follow on article for the Lard Mag based on this different timeframe, to complement the later Jasta 18 scenario project, but it all depends on getting the ply testing done for that one first.

Caquot Balloon Painting Progress

It's been a hectic weekend, with a full day spent taking my daughter up and down to a university open day, followed by Mother's Day, so painting has been pushed to the margins. All I've managed to do is the Caquot balloon dry brushing, which has turned out looking not too bad, using Foundry Drab and a final touch of War Paints Skeleton Bone. It actually looks a lot lighter in real life compared to the photos on my dodgy no-name phone. The next thing will be to paint the ropes and cables, followed by the basket, although when I can find the time is a bit of an obstacle.

Airco DH.2 Aircraft Record Sheet

 

I was asked to create an aircraft record sheet for the Airco DH2 for Algernon Pulls It Off! so here it is. I have a bit of a soft spot for pushers, especially this one, so will have to put my mind into writing some scenarios for late 1916 - early 1917 at some point. The Tumbling Dice 1/600th DH2 is very nifty and I've also got some superb 3D printed models in 1/300th scale, so there's really no excuse!

Hurricats and Catafighters

I've decided to write a Lard Mag article for Bag the Hun focussing on FCS and CAM ship 'Hurricats' or 'Catafighters' on the Arctic and North Atlantic convoys. I've already done some research online, as you do these days, but have also bought a handful of second hand hard back books on the subject including Ralph Barker's 'The Hurricats' to replace my digital copy with something sniffable. 

I've got a few ideas for solo scenario mechanics, to handle both launching and ditching but also intercepting enemy aircraft, so it's looking like a feasible solo themed project already. I have also considered a two player scenario, but that's very sketchy. As usual, I will play test whatever I come up with using 1/600th scale Tumbling Dice aircraft and 1/3000th scale ships, although I'm also tempted by 1/1200th if I can find some suitable models. 

Balloon Busting

I'm really busy this weekend but determined to crack on with the balloon busting, painting the British Caquot balloon and building a Drachen for the Germans. There's a bit of an historical debate, so it would seem, about the exact colour of observation balloons, with various possible shades from khaki, to canvas, olive green and even silver dope. I've gone for Foundry Drab in three layers for the Caquot balloon but will paint the Drachen in a shade of faded green, which seems to have been aone of the colours used at the time.

Rocketeers over the Reich Redux

Now that I've nearly finished writing the Jasta 18 scenarios for Algernon Pulls It Off! I'm turning my attention back to at least one Lard Mag article for Bag the Hun. I have some ideas for this, including the Hurricat games, but it won't be Arctic Eagles as originally planned because that's a really big project to do on top of Raben's Ravens. As very few articles seem to be submitted for Bag the Hun, it is incumbent on me to put together at least one each year, in order to keep the flag flying for the rules.

As a fall back, in case I don't get my act together, I have a couple of scenarios I devised and played several years ago, featuring the 336th Fighter Squadron, USAAF, in late 1944 to early 1945. There are two scenarios already written but they need some tweaking and balancing to make them more effective, so I'm going to have a think about that, as well as writing an introduction for the article. I may even write a third scenario to bundle in with the other two, as that would round things off nicely.

Algy Aircraft Multiple Record Sheet

 

I've reformatted the aircraft record sheets that I designed over the last couple of days to produce sheets with multiples of each card, the aim being to cut down on photocopying and to make it easier to manage scenarios with multiple aircraft on either side. This is the approach I have taken for Bag the Hun using squadron sheets, but those don't really work for Algernon Pulls It Off! due to the individual pilot move / fire cards, so this is the next best option. They are now smaller but still perfectly legible and can be cut out and laminated or kept as a single sheet with four aircraft. Very handy!

Algy Aircraft Record Sheets Sorted

I have now wrapped up the paperwork part of the Jasta 18 - Raben's Ravens - project, with the aircraft record sheets filled in and saved in both .doc and .pdf format. In the end, I decided to use the stats from the Expanded Aircraft Charts, which I'm not quite sure about but which include some types that are not in the original rules book. I did leave off the Rate of Dive numbers, however, as they are not referenced in either version of the rules. 

I really think that the original stats from from the rules are a bit wonky but I'm also not convinced by some of the numbers in the revised lists. What's really needed is a mechanism to convert actual performance into game data, something I may have a go at myself. There is a system of sorts for the first edition of Bag the Hun which might be adaptable for Algy, so that would be a good place to start.