Independent Force

This arrived in the post yesterday and I've already been dipping in to find additional detail for the two Jasta 18 scenarios featuring the Independent Air Force. The first scenario doesn't really correlate with the account in the book, with a different date and aircrew, which is a bit weird but not something that I can't resolve. I may go back and rewrite it, at the risk of having to fix something that isn't actually broken as a scenario.

The second scenario, however, is pretty much spot on with only slight discrepancies and minor details requiring a bit of fettling. not that anyone will notice. In fact, I may well just go with the information from the Osprey book on Jasta 18, as that's a consistent source and a more recent publication, as well as being the basis for the scenarios I've devised. 

Regardless, it's a good book and has loads of potential as a source of scenarios involving the RAF bombing campaign of 1918. 

Udet's Fokker Dr.1 Jasta 11 March 1918

I painted up a Tumbling Dice Fokker Triplane in Jasta 11 colours for the latest Algernon Pulls It Off! scenario, 'A Test of Nerve', over that last couple of days. This was flown by Ernst Udet while briefly with the 'Flying Circus' but there's no record of it's exact markings or insignia, so a generic Jasta 11 scheme will do, even though it's a bit boring. I'm hoping to find time before the weekend to a replay of the scenario, so this will come in handy instead of a proxy model.

Danger Zone Alto Cenepa

I'm thinking of taking the Fly Fight Win - Danger Zone rules with me in holiday next week, as a step up from the Korean War rules once I've got a grip on the system. I have a couple of options here, either my Falklands War aircraft or my Alto Cenepa collection, the latter one of my favourite projects from way back in the past. It will be very interesting to see if I can get my head around the air to air missile rules, which add another layer of complexity to air wargaming, but I'm pretty hopeful having played other modern rules before without too much head scratching!

Summer Holidays Air Wargaming

 

This summer I'm off to Brittany again for the annual holiday during which I always play some solo miniature wargames, either naval or air depending on my current projects. This year I'm going to use the time to complete the play testing of the Jasta 18 'Raben's Ravens' scenarios for Algernon Pulls It Off!, of which only three remain to be taken for a spin, although I may also replay a couple of the solo friendly smaller ones just for fun. As I will have my hex cloth, flight stands and dice with me, I also thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and have a crack at Fly Fight Win - Honcho, the Korean War variant of the rules, using my pretty comprehensive collection of 1/600th scale models. I won't be taking the whole lot with me, however, just the USAF, RN and North Korean stuff, as I'll already have a lot of kit to pack for the trip over to France. Tally Ho!

A Test of Nerve Scenario Play Test Report

A Test of Nerve

A very fast game this morning, played al fresco on the garden table, no less.

Turn 1

Both pilots made their frontal attacks, Ltn.Udet firing first to no effect, shortly followed by Lt.Maasdorp with equally useless results. 

Turn 2

Ltn.Udet made a snap turn to try to get behind his opponent, but Lt Maasdorp then pulled a nifty brake turn to get a rear deflection shot on the Jasta 11 machine at close range, narrowly failing to hit due to ropey dice rolls.

Ltn.Udet swiftly pulled another snap turn left to get behind the South African but not enough for his guns to bear. Lt.Maasdorp now did a swift wing over to line up a front deflection shot at range two.

Turn 3

Lt.Maasdorp's Fire card came up on the initial turn of the deck. Once again, however, his dice rolling let him down, even though he had a two second bonus for firing, scoring only one 5/6 against Ltn.Udets two. 

Ltn.Udet now hacked a hard left turn to place him at dead close range for a rear deflection shot on the Sopwith Camel. With eleven D6 for firing, the Junior Ace scored 6 hits, while Lt.Maasdorp rolled only 1 save on his 8D6 roll.

Five hits against the Sopwith Camel's robustness of two gave a 2C critical hit. Now, Ltn.Udet pulled a blinder, rolling an 11 on the 2D6 critical chart. 

Boom!

The Sopwith Camel exploded in mid-air, the pilot being thrown clear to fall to his death below. 

Victory number 22 for the Ace!

Good fun and a fairly historical outcome. Lt.Maasdorp was very unlucky with his dice rolling compared to Ltn.Udet, so I'm going to re-run the scenario to see if he can last longer and even shoot down the Jasta 11 pilot before being shot down himself. 

Steamer Wars Summer Project?

 

I am once again thinking of tackling a Lake Tanganyika mini-project for my holidays, based on the Steamer Wars campaign system and Tumbling Dice 1/600th scale models. These have been stockpiled for a couple of years and would be assembled over the holidays while I am in Brittany, including some conversions to make models that are required but not included in the range.

This idea has been floating around for a few years now but, as my overall focus this year is the First World War, it makes a lot of sense as a holiday project, so much so that I've been in touch with David Manley to ask if he'd design some of the missing boats. 

In fact, it turns out he's already been working on STL files for the Belgian armed barge Dix Tonnes and the launch Netta, not to mention some shore batteries in the distinctive armoured covers, which may or may not appear in the range at some point. It would be great to see some dhows and even the Baron Dhanis added to his 'to do' list as well. 

I even suggested that these might scale up to 1/300th, to appeal to the Cruel Seas fan base, or even 1/200th to complement Rod Langton's excellent coastal forces range but I think that might be a big ask, as it would require all of the other vessels involved to be modelled too. 

Algernon's Patent Manoeuvre Handbook QRS

I bodged up a cut and paste quick reference sheet version of Algernon's Patent Manoeuvre Handbook, to make it easier to choose movement options when playing the game. There's a similar version available but this one is easier to navigate and read, with colour coding and the pilot control test built in, so a bit of a step up. It's available to download from the Facebook group.

A Test of Nerve Play Test

I was planning to play test the Test of Nerve scenario today but, as usual was distracted by jobs around the house, gardening and other things on the list, so I'll have to find time at the weekend. The card deck is now printed, trimmed and sleeved, the aircraft sheets cut out and the models set up, although I'm painting a Fokker Dr.1 in Jasta 11 for Udet, with the current one a proxy.  I'm hoping I won't have to do any tweaking for this scenario and that it will play through quickly enough to allow for some replaying to tighten it up.

Independent Force

 

I spotted this on eBay today and put in an offer which was accepted, so will hopefully have it delivered in time for the holidays. It's obviously relevant for my Jasta 18 project and there's even Ltn.Kurt Monnigton's OAW Fokker DVII on the front cover, so it will be very useful. It's actually a signed copy as well which is a rather nice thing.

A Test of Nerve

 

I have been putting the finishing touches to a 'fast play' scenario for Algernon Pulls Its Off! that I've been working on over the last couple of days. This is a historical scenario based on Ernst Udet's 22nd victory in March 1918, designed for quick play with minimal preparation. I'll be play testing the game tomorrow if it all goes according to plan, with the idea being to encourage other people to give it a go as well. This month's challenge on the Algy Facebook group is to play a game and post an after action report, so I'd better set a good example myself and get a game sorted. I just need to work up the very small card deck and I'm good to go!

INWarD 2025

I'm planning ahead for this year's International Naval Wargaming Day on the 6th August, when I'll be on holiday in Brittany. Last year I prepared a Napoleonic naval scenario for Far Distant Ships but wasn't able to actually play it due to a clash with guests staying with us. I'm probably going to reboot this one but may do something different depending on what I can get organised over the next couple of weeks and then take with me on holiday. 

Argentinian Inshore Squadron Finished

It was too hot to do much today, so I finished off the Argentinian Inshore Squadron for my on going 'What If?' pre-dreadnought solo campaign. These are all Tumbling Dice 1/2400th scale models from either the Victorian range or the Age of Battleships range. The Chileans are now looking a bit feeble so I'm going to paint up the protected cruiser Chacabuco and the old central battery ironclad Almirante Cochrane to beef up the fleet.

'The Sportsman' Scenario Research

This extract from the Australian Official History is the inspiration for a scenario I'm going to write for Algernon Pulls It Off! It's a bit different as it involves at least four different types of aircraft all with very different performance and armament, as well as a range of pilot abilities. 

I have another source which identifies that the two German aircraft were an Albatros D.III and a Rumpler C.I type two seater in a fighter role, with the AFC flight being a real mish mash. The Germans definitely have the edge in this one but the Aussies will have objectives to even the odds.

The models for this will be 1/600th scale as I can  modify a Tumbling Dice BE2c and a Brisfit into the BE2e, BE12 and Martynside G100 Elephant, while the Rumpler can be converted from an Albatros C type. 

Jasta 18 Flight Deck Decals

I asked Dan Arute at Flight Deck Decals if he could produce a set of insignia for Jasta 18 in both 1/300th and 1/144th scale. He has now confirmed that he can do this, subject to a bit of research and design work, with the beginning of August as a likely date. This is fantastic news, as Dan's stuff is top notch and will be perfect for decking out my 1/300th printed aircraft models, once I get round to painting them of course. Tally Ho!

Early Aces for Algernon Pulls It Off!

I've been doing some research for some more scenarios today, this time focussing on the early victories of the Eindecker aces in 1915. The idea is to write a trio of scenarios that would focus on some of the famous German aces, as they develop their tactics and experience, featuring a range of different opponents and aircraft. It's early days yet but this could be a really good basis for another article or just for a series of enjoyable 'duel' type games using a variety of interesting early war aircraft.

Play Up, Play Up and Play the Game

The Algernon Pulls It Off! Facebook group is going very well and picking up new players on a regular basis, but there is still a lack of games being played and posted as after action reports. To remedy this, I've set up a challenge for next month, so that the number of games increases, which should in turn attract even more interest and involvement. Of course, this also means that I'll be playing some more of my scenarios, which can't be a bad thing either!

Fly Fight Win Suez

This expansion for Fly Fight Win Honcho is now available as a download from Board Game Geek, including some scenarios and data for aircraft not covered in the Korean War version. It opens up a whole other conflict for air wargaming in the pre-missile era, so worth a look. It's a shame that the system is hex based otherwise I could deploy my severely underused desert aerial mat, which would be perfect for 1/600th and 1/285th scale models.

Argentinian Inshore Squadron Blocked In

I spent a relaxing hour or so this afternoon blocking in the Argentinian coastal and riverine models, ready for an overall ink wash. They look a bit bland at the moment but will be highlighted and detailed once the ink wash has been applied. I've also blocking in the decks of the Chilean ships and will move onto those once the Argentinian models are finished.

Dawn Patrol Scenario Play Test Game

A very enjoyable game today, played 'al fresco' on the garden table, in which the boys of Jasta 11 well and truly pasted the RAF. In the first turn both sides spotted the opposition blinds and decloaked, followed by a single turn of formation flying before splitting up into a dogfight. The RAF flight leader, Capt.King, was an early casualty, killed by a burst of fire from Vzfw.Scholtz. 

A few turns later, Ltn.Weiss forced Lt.O'Niell to lose control, following him down so that when he recovered he could be finished off, going down in flames after a devastating burst of fire 'on the tail'. By this time Ltn,Weiss was out of ammunition, so he decided to fly off leaving Scholtz to tangle with Capt.Loudon, no doubt expecting another easy victory over the last remaining RAF pilot. 

The plucky Capt.Loudon ran rings around him, however, and managed to stick it out to the end of turn ten, when the scenario finished due to lack of fuel. A good game but I've bumped up Lt..O'Niell to a veteran and reduced the time limit to ten turns, so that it balances things out a bit more and to give the No.43 Squadron pilots more of a fighting chance.