AK47 People's Edition.pdf

The PDF version of the new People's Edition of AK-47 is now out and I've got myself a copy to see what it's like. First impressions are that this is definitely not the old 'classic' version with a few more army lists, nor is it the much maligned Reloaded version despite having some definite similarities, but a new set of rules drawing on the best bits of both and a good dollop of other RFCM rules, especially Square Bashing et al. I need to read through the rules properly but I'm thinking that it will be a relatively big job to get everything prepped for an actual game, especially on the terrain front, so I'm going to leave it until next year before getting to grips with the work required. It's even got me thinking about a change of scale to 10mm or even 6mm, both of which are included as options in the rules, just so I can try out the system before I take the plunge from 'Classic' to People's Edition in 15mm.

Tour Vauban

A day trip to Camaret included a return to the Tour Vauban, which I last visited about fifteen years ago. It's an impressive coastal fort built to defend Camaret against the English in the late 1600's. This time I didn't go inside as we had the dog along for the trip but it was worth an hour and a bit drive nonetheless. 

1/300th Dawn Patrol Painting

Ltn.W.Steinhauser (Jasta 11)

Ltn.H.Weiss (Jasta 11)

I'm going to have to have a go at painting some 1/300th 3D printed aircraft for the Dawn Patrol article at some point soon, as I've been asked to provide some good quality photographs to go with the text. I could submit some photos of my 1/600th scale models but I don't think they would do the job, so 1/300th is the better option. The 'B' Flight No.43 Squadron Sopwith Camels are relatively straightforward but the two colourful Jasta 11 Fokker Dr.I's are a bit more of a challenge, especially Ltn.Werner Steinhauser's striking yellow and red striped machine. I haven't painted any 1/300th scale aircraft for a while but at least they will be easier to see while painting than their half size equivalent!

USS President / USS Adams

That's tha last of the American frigates that I brought with me on holiday assembled and based, ready for painting. The 44 gun heavy frigate USS President was originally going to be the USS Chesapeake but was flipped so that I can use her for both the Quasi War and Barbary Wars. The much less powerful 28 gun frigate USS Adams saw extensive service and will be a very useful addition to the fleet. I have ordered some more models from Tumbling Dice to add to the project, with quite a few frigates, sloops and brigs as potential additions. This will obviously be a small action focussed project rather than a fleet level one, so some simple but fast playing rules are in order.

INWarD25

Unfortunately I'm on holiday in France, so no naval wargaming for me today, with an ironclads bash scheduled for next week when I'm back in Blighty. Not sure what yet but I haven't played any War of the Pacific scenarios for ages, so might dig out an old one for a bit of Chilean and Peruvian ironclad action?

USS Essex / USS Philadelphia

I've not had time to get on with the Quasi War project over the last week but have made up the time by assembling two more frigates. These are the USS Essex and USS Philadelphia, both built from the same Tumbling Dice ASN10 5th Rate Frigate 38/40 Guns pack. I only have a couple more of the USN ships to glue together but may well add a few more from the lead pile when I get back from my holidays including the 24 gun sloop USS George Washington, the 14 gun schooner USS Enterprise, the 18 gun brig USS Argus and the 44 gun frigate USS President.

Dawn Patrol Stripped Down Scenario

I played a stripped down version of the Dawn Patrol scenario today, removing the blinds and lengthening the game to twelve turns to compensate. The aim was to test out the scenario for a Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy magazine article, where it would need to be flexible enough to be played with rules other than Algernon Pulls It Off!. 

The game went very well, after a few muck ups on my part when I wasn't paying enough attention. There was plenty of action, with both sides manoeuvring for advantage, firing off rounds, a lot of jamming and some moments of tension. The Sopwith Camel and Fokker Dr.I are evenly matched, so it really came down to pilot skill and luck, or in some cases bad luck.

The RAF lost one pilot to engine damage, wounds and black out, but he did put up a good fight. The other two pilots only suffered minor damage and returned to their airfield intact, give or take a few bullet holes and a fuel line leak. The Jasta 11 ace pilot got away without a scratch but with no ammunition left, while his wingman only suffered minor damage. 

A good game and I think it will work well for the magazine article, being neither too complicated nor too simplistic. However, it's probably my last game of Algernon for a week or so, as I have other things on the go. 

Local Lard Day 2026

I've been invited to run an air wargame at a local Lard day in January next year, which is a nice surprise. I've set up and umpired a couple of Bag the Hun games for Come and Have a Go if you think you're Lard Enough? a few years ago, but this time I'm thinking of offering an Algernon Pulls It Off! scenario instead, as it will be a bit of a change. This will almost certainly be a Jasta 18 themed game, for which I'll need to paint up some 1/300th scale aircraft, as the 1/600th scale models are just a bit too small for participation type games. I will also look into getting a new WW1 wargaming cloth or mat, as well as some making some new flight stands to match. All a long way off yet but these things have a habit of catching up with you if you don't get ahead of them sooner rather than later! 

Algernon Pulls It Off! August Competition

I've launched a new competition on the Algernon Pulls It Off! Facebook group for this month, this time focussed on painting rather than wargaming. The aim is to get more people painting aircraft which they can subsequently use for playing games, so two birds with one stone. The competition is to paint a model aircraft in a scale and material of your choice, chosen from one flown by a First World War ace pilot, either famous or preferably forgotten. 

This gives people a very wide range of options and, hopefully, will cater for painting 'experten' like Steve Dean, a regular contributor to the group, as well as those just starting out. I'm thinking of a prize for the most popular paint job as well, perhaps a starter pack of choice from the Tumbling Dice range? If you want to join in, and why not, the deadline is the end of month. All you need to do is sign up to the group if not already a member, paint your plane and post a photo or two, together with a brief biography of your chosen ace pilot. 

Chocks Away!

Dawn Patrol Replay

I'm all set up for a re-play of the Dawn Patrol scenario, which I'm planning to use as the basis of an article for WSS. I've decided to tweak the balance a bit by replacing the Jasta 11 Junior Ace, Vfzw.Edgar Scholtz with a Veteran pilot, Lt.Werner Steinhauser, who had four victories under his belt by April 1918. The last time I played the scenario, the combination of a Top and Junior Ace on the German side was too effective against the RAF flight of a Junior Ace and two Veterans, so I'm going to try out a different set up. As the Jasta 11 pilots are unknown it seems reasonable to swap things about without losing the historical aspect of the scenario. I'll try and play the game tomorrow, which shouldn't take too long as it has a relatively small card deck and a simple set of objectives.

Biggles and the Black Ravens Game

I had a cracking game of Algernon Pulls It Off! today, play testing the 'Biggles and the Black Ravens' scenario. This ended in an unexpected victory for the RAF even though they took a pasting, with four out of five DH4 bombers making a getaway. The Jasta 18 boys lost one pilot, the Junior Ace Vfzw.Kuhne, and another badly wounded, but did blow up a bomber in the process, whilst also managing to severely damage two others.

Funnily enough, in the actual event, the same Jasta 18 pilot was shot down and the RAF suffered similar losses, if you assume the two very badly damaged DH4 bombers that left the table at tree top height  probably would not have made it back over the front lines. Nevertheless, I am going to change the victory objectives in light of the game, making it a simple contest to see which side can shoot down the most enemy aircraft before the RAF can escape to fight another day.

Good fun!

Dawn Patrol WSS Article

I was contacted by Guy Bowers, editor of Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy magazine, asking if I'd be interested in contributing a 1918 themed article on air wargaming. This was down to Mark Backhouse, who suggested to Guy that I might be helpful, which was very nice of him. Anyway, the plan is to write a piece based around the Dawn Patrol scenario I have written and play tested for Algernon Pulls It Off! with some suggestions for adapting it to other rules, specifically Wings of Glory. This isn't too much too difficult but I will also have to write some historical background and get some decent photos organised, the latter being not so easy to do. I have a month or so to get it sorted, so no pressure as yet, but it would be good to get it done sooner rather than later.

Sandbox Skirmish

Nick Jones, author of the excellent Bloody Betancourt blog, has just bowled a bit of a googly in my general direction and is thinking of putting together an African imaginations skirmish project in 15mm. As you may recall, this has been a slow burning project of mine for years now, under the working title of Sandbox Skirmish, primarily as I originally designed it around Nordic Weasel's No End In Sight rules and the Skirmish Sandbox patrol system. 

I've not visited this for ages but am now feeling itchy, so will dig out what I've done thus far for a timely review. The original project was set in an alternative post-colonial Aden style location but I have considered shifting it to East Africa and even bigging it up to 28mm, using the outstanding terrain modules that I was gifted by wargaming chum Jon Ward. This would use either Commando Miniatures or Eureka Miniatures but it's a bit of a jump up and very much a peripheral option....

...off in another tangent again but at least it's one I've charted before!

https://bloodybetancourt.wordpress.com/

The Duellist Returns

The final Algernon Pulls It Off! game of the month for the Facebook group July Challenge....a replay of The Duellist. The RFC Top Ace, Capt.Higgins won the day with veterans Oblt.Schmidt and Lt Becker being shot down, the first due to structural damage and a Total Loss of Control, the second due to a black out at low level as a result of wounds sustained. I think I might tweak the set up in future to prevent Top Aces being rolled up...a simple re-roll if a 1 is rolled should do it - as they are flipping lethal.

Shortcut to Lake Tanganyika

I had one of those very rare moments of inspiration the other day, while thinking about adapting some old river terrain modular sections for 1/600th scale ironclad wargaming. I realised that I could probably use these for Lake Tanganyika for the Steamer Wars project, and a quick Google to check the geography backed this up. In fact, in some ways it's a better use of the old river terrain, as the foliage and static grass I've used is a pretty good match for the East Africa, perhaps with a bit of additional foam foliage added and some beaches modelled along the shore. Bingo!

Steamer Wars Surprise

I mentioned to David Manley the other day that some additional models would be really handy for Lake Tanganyika, as he is the author of Steamer Wars and also a prolific 3D sculpting expert, with an extensive range of STL files available from his Long Face Games range. He replied with a thumbs up and then, much to my surprise, arranged with North Head Miniatures to re-release their range of 1/600th scale models in the Long Face Games range. This is excellent news even if I don't yet own a 3D printer myself, as the Lake Tanganyika models and the extra ones will eventually be available from Big Jim Prints, if it all turns out as usual. In the meantime, I will carry on with the Tumbling Dice range, which is pretty good and almost complete, then eventually supplement or replace selected vessels with the North Head ones. Happy Days!

Holiday Reading

I thought I'd give this a read through to tie in with my ongoing early United States Navy project, which is focussed on the Quasi War of 1799-1800, but could easily be stretched to cover the Barbary Wars too. It's a subject I'm a bit sketchy about, to say the least, but has potential for a range of historical scenarios and even some counterfactual 'what-iffery'?

USS Boston 1799

We have a guest staying at the moment so I haven't had time to get any Algy games played or make much progress with the 1/2400th scale United States Navy models. I have assembled one frigate, the 32 gun HMS Boston, which was launched in 1799 and saw action in the Quasi War and against the Barbary pirates. Hopefully, I'll get a few more of these ships built and based in the next couple of days?

United States Navy Underway

A few summer showers today so time to get started on the 1/2400th United States Navy ships. Here we have USS Enterprise, USS Delaware, USS Constitution and the previously assembled USS Constellation, using the Tumbling Dice codes most appropriate for each ship. I have plenty more to glue together but the weather's looking up this afternoon, so they'll have to wait!

Fly Flight Win: Honcho First Game

I tried out Fly Fight Win: Honcho today, which was interesting and a bit unusual in terms of game mechanics. It's different in that you plot speed and altitude at the start of a turn, then perform movement and manoeuvres in the next phase, most of which have no effect on speed or altitude, all in initiative order based on standard playing cards (very much like the Fistful of Lead approach). 

I enjoyed the game but there were some question marks over exactly when you can make a manoeuvre following forward movement, how hits stack or not when criticals are involved and what happens when two aircraft end up on the same hex at the same height? The rules are a bit ambiguous on these points but I'm sure there is an obvious answer, not that I want to wing it and get it wrong.

In the game I played two of the pilots went at it and caused each other four damage points each, one short of the five required for a shoot down, while the other two more experienced pilots didn't do much at all. In the end, the two MiG's collided in mid-air after a fluffed jet move, which brought the game to an early end after about six or seven turns. I'll give it another go later in the holidays when I have the answers to the questions and a better idea of what I'm doing!