Albert Ball VC 1/600th Nieuport 17

I finished off the decals on a Tumbling Dice Nieuport 17 (upper wing pinched from a Nieuport 11) and an Albatros CIII this afternoon, the former based on one of Albert Ball's scouts in mid-1916. This turned out okay but I think was less successful than my earlier Breguet XIV paint job, mainly due to the decals being a bit cramped. Tally Ho! 

Tumbling Dice Nieuport 27

This is one of the latest First World War French models from Paul at Tumbling Dice, originally listed as a Nieuport 28 but now in the catalogue as a Nieuport 24. It's clearly not a Nieuport 28 as the fuselage is too thick and the upper wing isn't rounded, but it's also not quite right as a Nieuport 24, due to the much larger and rounded profile of the tail. It is a much better match for the last variant to see service from late 1917 onward, the Nieuport 27, which is what I'm going to use mine for when my order arrives. These will be painted as Aviation Militaire machines to escort my Breguet XIV light bombers. What a lovely little model it is too! 

Komar Fast Attack Missile Boats

I painted the 1/3000th Komar FAC models that I converted from Navwar Osa missile boats during the week. These are for my Indonesian navy fleet during the Konfrontasi conflict of the early 1960's, as they were quite possibly the most effective units on the Indonesian side. I think they cane out looking pretty good and not too far off the real thing? 

Upgraded Algy Manoeuvre Cheat Sheet

I've been busy over the last week so nothing has been achieved as far as painting goes, but I have been sorting out some resources for Algy games including an improved version of the manoeuvre charts from the rules. I've added a colour coding system for Easy. Hard and Tricky manoeuvres, as well as notes on pilot skill tests, climbing and diving, so a one stop shop for players to refer to. I've also corrected a couple of points and added a missing bit about losing altitude in a hard turn. It's a available to download from the Algy FB group if you are interested. 

Digger Dogfight Card Deck

I did a bit of editing on my card deck for the Digger Dogfight scenario that I ran at the club last night, adding some better graphics and a splash of additional colour. They are sized to fit into standard size card sleeves but you can always laminate them instead. They can be downloaded ftkm the Algernon Pulls It Off! FB group. Tally Ho! 

Digger Dogfight Club Game

A excellent game of Algernon Pulls It Off at the club this evening, with a scenario from the 2025 Lard Mag as the focus, putting the Australians of No.4 Squadron AFC against Jasta 18. The Australians lost one pilot killed but evened the score by shooting down one of the Jasta 18 scouts with catastrophic structural failure, with a second failing to recover from a uncontrollable spin at low level. The game clicked along at a nifty pace, despite starting a bit late which meant we didn't run through to the full ten turns. It was good fun and there was a lot of dogfighting action, which is just what you want for a club game. Tally Ho! 

1/3000th Scale Komar Conversion

After a top tip from David M. I had a crack at converting some Navwar Osa FAC models into something resembling a Komar FAC. This involved chopping off the aft section of the Osa then adding a new plastic card stern and missile rails, so nothing too complicated but still worthy off some colourful language. The end result is passable despite being aittle over length, so I might order some more of the Osa models to expand the Indonesian missile flotilla. 

Konfrontasi!

I downloaded a copy of Long Face Games Konfrontasi! campaign supplement for Find, Fix and Strike this morning. It's a really well thought out campaign system, with an emphasis on the political constraints for both sides which I think is a critical aspect of the conflict. There is well thought out and comprehensive campaign system to play through and a series of stand alone scenarios, most of which involve a small number of warships and aircraft, primarily based on strikes by Indonesian Komar FAC's or interdiction of attempted landings by Indonesian special forces. There are also some higher level scenarios featuring the heavy stuff including anti-shipping strikes by Tu-16's, for example, which allow use of some of the major warships including the carriers and guided missile destroyers. It's given me some ideas for a solo campaign of my own at some point, as I have a lot of what's needed apart from the Komars, a couple of carriers and the aircraft. Very good value too and well worth the price tag. 

Balloon Busting with Algy

I had some time spare this morning to write up a simple system to create balloon busting scenarios for Algernon Pulls It Off! This is based on my earlier dogfight generator but with adaptations for attacks on observation balloons defended by fighters and anti-aircraft batteries. It needs to be play tested but I think it is pretty solid and will result in a set up that will be challenging for both the attacking player and the defender. Tally Ho! 

Tiddly Plane Painting Progress

Despite having a bout of man flu, in June of all months, I've bumped along the 1/600th scale Rolands, Albatros and Nieuport to the ink wash stage, ready to be cleaned up with highlights and detailing. They look pretty grubby at the moment but will be much better after some highlights and touch ups, which don't take long to do but really make a difference. I should get these finished at the weekend.