Napoleonic Naval Rules Review

I've brought a couple of sets of Age of Sail fleet level naval rules along for the holidays, only one of which I've played previously, to use with my 1/2400th scale ships. I really like the A&A Grand Fleet Actions rules, having played in a number of games at the local club, including Trafalgar a few years ago. They are ideal for 1/2400th and straight forward enough to work well for solo games. The other set is from Long Face Games and is a system I've been intending to try out for a long time, as it is also designed for fleet actions using smaller scale models. Finally, I've been asked by David Manley to play test a new set of rules he's working on for frigate actions, designed for 1/700th scale Black Seas models, but easily adapted to 1/2400th by swapping inches for centimetres (I hope!). They look ideal for the Quasi War amongst other things, so I'm looking forward to giving them a go! With the Full Nelson from Toofatlardies on the horizon, I'm even considering building some plastic frigates, sloops and brigs in 1/700th, as I have a second hand stash set aside but don't really like the Black Seas rules...another project for the second half of the year methinks?

JG5 'Eismeer'

The latest additiin to my research library for the Arctic Eagles project is this Kagero Publishing book, designed for scale modellers but with lots of photographs, profiles and useful historical details, so a great source of information to back up why I've already gathered together. It is usually quite pricey but I got hold of a brand new copy for under a tenner, so a bit of a bargain.!

Napoleonic Naval Summer Holiday

It's been a bit quiet here lately, as I've been at work then on the road, but I'm now on holiday for the summer in sunny Brittany. To keep myself occupied I've brought along my 1/2400th French and British Napoleonic fleets for a few solo wargames, as well as an entire Spanish fleet to assemble and base, with a few additional ships for La Royale and the Royal Navy. It's very hot at the moment so I might wait a bit before unpacking this lot but I'll get started as soon as it cools off a bit! 

Arctic Eagles Project

I ran a poll on the Bag the Hun group last week to see which option the members were most interested in as a submissi7on for the 2026 Lard Mag. I was pleasantly surprised that the Jagdeswchwader 5 - Arctic Eagles - project emerged as the front runner, which means it's time to start putting together the scenarios as my summer holiday project. I'm aiming for no more than three or four scenarios this time, otherwise painting, card decks and play testing start to become a bit too much to bite off and chew through. 

I already have some notes sketched out for this and plenty of ideas but I will be going back to this book, the definitive work on JG5, for more information. I have the translated version, of course, so no need to brush up on my non-existent German. As always, this will be backed up by the relevant Osprey and Helion publishing titles, as well as the Internet for additional references. It's about time I cracked on with this project as it's been hanging about for three years or so! 

'Mersu'

While I finish off the last four Curtiss Hawks for LeLv32, I'll be getting started on four Bf-109G fighters for HLeLv34, which was formed in early 1943 with the transfer of several of the leading aces from LeLv32 including the new squadron commander, Major Ehrnrooth. The model I'm going to use is the Bf-109K (ISA141b) from Tumbling Dice, as it's a better sculpt and a more detailed casting than the actual Gustav in the range. As such, the models have the cannon blisters so are a good match for the G-6 rather than the earlier G-2 variant. If I turn these out looking half way decent, I may well add some more later on, but at the very least it's good painting practice for the Arctic Eagles project.

LLv32 Curtiss Hawk 75-A Fighters

These four are now ready for action, with a final four to be painted and detailed over the next couple of days. I will have enough models to cover all of the scenarios from the Lard Mag, with the Soviets already completed, so some games over the summer are potentially on the cards. Tally Ho! 

Detachment Kalaja

Tumbling Dice 1/600th scale Hawker Hurricane Mk.1 fighters of Detachment Kalaja, LeLv32, Summer 1941. These will be deployed for a game of Bag the Hun as soon as I can get it organised! 

Winter War Research

I've always liked the idea of wargaming the Winter War air campaign both with Bag the Hun and the Wings at War rules, the latter being a slow burning project for several years, but my knowledge of the conflict is a bit patchy. This Osprey Air Campaign title passed me by when it came out but it's now been added to my summer holiday reading list. I'm hoping it will give me some ideas for scenarios and potential directions for a Wings at War rules variant, assuming that it is feasible. Tally Ho! 

Detachment Kalaja Bag the Hun Scenario

I thought that I hadn't written this scenario for Bag the Hun, only drafting a few ideas on the back of a fag packet, but it turns out I actually typed them up into a proper format for Bag the Hun. This wasnt included in the 2024 Lard Mag article as that focused on the Curtiss Hawk but LeLv32 did have five Huuricanes attached to the Squadron in 1942, so it's all historically accurate. I know aot of players just want to play the game and aren't bothered about the historical aspect, but for me that's what makes it enjoyable - playing the period, not the rules. Anyway, I have some Hurricanes to finish painting today, then I can set up this scenario for a play test. Tally Ho! 

Finish Fighters Paint Test Result

I thought it would be sensible to try out the painting method on a couple of sample models, so here are the results. I think they turned out okay, if a little rough around the edges, so I'll carry on with the rest of the models for LeLv32 using the same approach. I do need to tidy up the theatre bands a bit first though, as they are a little on the wonky side!