Algernon Pulls It Off! Again

I deactivated my Facebook account a couple of months ago as it was sapping all my time, energy and motivation. I was particularly tired of all the nasty politics and rage baiting that seemed to dominate my FB feed, so a break was a really good idea. Almost by accident I'm now back on FB but only in a limited way, with just the one group to focus on as an admin, in the shape of Algernon Pulls It Off! 

The group has been drifting along quite happily in my absence, but I'm going to try to give it a bit of a boost with some new content focusing on the 1/600th additions to the Tumbling Dice WW1 French range. I might even have a go at a solo campaign based on a fictitious French escadrille in late 1917 or early 1918. This is something I've been thinking about for a while but haven't done any work on, so it would kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. 

Tally Ho!

The Greatest Raid

The next book on my holiday reading list is this fairly recent one on Operation Chariot, which I have in good old fashioned hardback. I've read several books on the St.Nazaire raid before so this will be interesting in comparison. It has an obvious but tenuous link to my current coastal warfare project too, although I very much doubt I'll be wargaming it any time soon!

2mm Hundred Years War Base Painting Technique

Step 6

Step 5

Step 4

Step 3

Step 2

Step 1

I was asked to explain how I go about painting my 2mm Hundred Years War bases, so here is the sequence of paint steps starting with the bases undercoated in Halfords Ultra Matt Camo Brown and finishing with a dry brush of very old Humbrol Lime Green. The first two or three steps are wet brushed, the rest either dry brushed or washed, followed by a coat of spray matt varnish to seal it all in. After painting the figures, over a matt black undercoat, I also then add a brush coat of gloss varnish if they are wearing armour, otherwise they lose a bit of shine.

Search and Rescue or a False Nose Job?

Fairmile B ASR M/L and Fairmile A M/L

For the next Torpedoes and Tides game I thought I'd try one of the generic scenarios, either Search and Rescue or the clandestine False Nose Job set up. The ASR scenario would be a good one as I have a Fairmile B ASR motor launch that would be ideal, accompanied by a Fairmile B M/L or C MGB. I also have an Denny SGB that I'm itching to deploy but that would probably be a bit too powerful for the opposition to deal with.

Denny SGB HMS Grey Wolf

However, I also have a Fairmile A minelayer motor launch, some of which were used to land or pick up agents or special forces teams in occupied territory, so that would also be an option for the False Nose Job scenario. The problem with that is the set up conditions which require two players, one who knows which counter is the landing point and the other who is in the dark, so to speak.

Fairmile A minelayer

Either way, the opposition will have to be S-Boote again, as I don't have anything else unless I use an RN trawler as a stand in for a VP boat or pretend the S-boote are actually Raumboote instead. It's a busy weekend which means any games will have to be bumped over to next week but at least that gives me some time to brush up on the rules and perhaps even decide a scenario or two of my own to play later on?

Torpedoes and Tides Trial Game

I played an initial game of Torpedoes and Tides today based on one of the historical scenarios in the rulebook. The game clicking along at a good pace and, unusually for me, I didn't cock anything up in the process. The action went for a full six turns, at which point the Kriegsmarine were defeated, with one S-boat wrecked and the other evading to fight another day. The Royal Navy were left with a severely damaged MGB but two M/L's virtually unscathed, so a clear victory for the senior service. I really enjoyed the game and it definitely captured the cut and thrust of coastal warfare actions, even though I was learning the system. I'm looking forward to more games but will need to paint up some more models to expand my scenario options, not to mention some 'tracer' style measuring sticks for visual effect.

Airfix Convoy Escort Destroyers

HMS Lewes

Up in the loft somewhere I have a set of four 1/600th scale destroyers that Airfix used to have in their naval range. These kits have been around since the 1970's but are perfect for coastal forces wargaming once water lined. I've been doing some research into potential options for Easy Coast convoy escorts, with an eye on the Town Class lend lease four stacker, HMS Campbeltown, as a starting point. The plan is to convert the model into one of the Rosyth Escort Force destroyers, HMS Lewes ex-USS Conway being the template. This would involve cutting down three of the stacks, remodeling the bridge, replacing the forward 4" guns, removing the torpedo launchers and adding pedestal mounts for the AA armament, so quite a bit of fiddling about but nothing too complicated. It will definitely be a bit different and will be great as an anti-E-boat asset, albeit with the speed and turning circle of a brick.

Tumbling Dice Convoy Escort Trawler

This is the Tumbling Dice ISA908 model of an Admiralty Drifter, HMS Arcady, but representative of a wife range of similar trawlers that were used for ASW and convoy escort duties in both world wars. I painted this model way back in 2014 as the ASW requisitioned trawler HMS Pearl, which was based in Plymouth for convoy escort in the Western Approaches. In reality, HMS Pearl was more heavily armed with twin Oerlikens on the bridge, numerous machine guns, depth charges and even rockets, but the model is a good match nonetheless. 

I like this model a lot so have ordered a couple more from Tumbling Dice to add to the convoy escort flotilla, with a bit of conversion work to make them look different being the plan of action. At only four quid a pop they're a steal. In Torpedoes and Tides I will give them the same profile as Kriegsfischkutters but with depth charges and the option to be over-gunned. It will be interesting to see how they match up against marauding S-Boote!

https://tumblingdiceuk.com/products/isa908-hms-arcady-admiralty-drifter-x1

Torpedoes and Tides - Making a Beginning

I'm putting together the things I need for a first Torpedoes and Tides game, based on the 'Making a Beginning' historical scenario from the rulebook. Unfortunately, I don't have the actual models required, at least for the British, so I'm using the scenario as a template and moving the actions forward to early 1942.

This game will feature two East Coast convoy escort M/L and an MGB sweeping the convoy lane perimeter for E-boats, two of which are attempting to penetrate the defences to attack the merchant ships. The Royal Navy forces will consist of two Fairmile B M/L and one Fairmile C MGB, with the Kriegsmarine deploying two S-29 class S-boote.

There are stats for the Fairmile B and C boats in the rules, but I've worked out the following for this game to reflect combat experience and training, with the MGB given a Swift trait as they were comparatively handy:

Fairmile B M/L

Q2 / C3

Traits: Small / Smoke (2) / Under-gunned

Fairmile C MGB

Q2 / C3

Traits: Small / Smoke (2) / Swift

I've uprated the Q rating due to the later timeframe and consequent experience of the RN crews. The German crews will also be uprated to C2 for the same reason, being veterans rather than inexperienced.

I'm hoping this will balance out but, if not, I can always replay the scenario with adjusted ratings for the crews and possibly tweak the traits for the Fairmile M/L if they are two weak.

New French WW1 Aircraft from Tumbling Dice

Some excellent news from Paul at Tumbling Dice today...

"..have just completed the design work on the French WW1 aircraft. The 8 designs will be moulded this week and should be in production next week.

They are

ISA 306 Morane-Saulnier N

ISA 307 Nieuport 17

ISA 308 Nieuport 28

ISA 309 Voisin Type 8

ISA 311 Spad VII/XIII

ISA 312 Breguet Br14

ISA 313 Caudron RII

ISA 315 Salmson 2

A French starter pack will also appear next week."

This opens up all sorts of potential scenarios and brings the French, Belgian, Italian and American air forces into the picture too. I'll definitely be ordering a lot of these, starting with the Starter Pack, no doubt adding some more aircraft to the basket to fill out complete late war squadrons of scouts and bombers.

Zut Alors!

Coastal Forces Classic

I used to have an original 1945 hard back edition of this but it literally fell apart, so I'm now reduced to reading a digital copy for my initial holiday project inspiration. I read this years ago but it's a bit of a classic and well worth the time spent re-reading it, especially for scenario ideas. A lot of the actions described in the book have already been turned into game outlines, Mighty Midgets being an obvious source of off the shelf scenarios, but it's always worth rethinking them in relation to specific rules such as Torpedoes and Tides.