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.

Magasin de Presse

There are some excellent magazines published in France including these new series that have replaced the defunct magazines previously published by Caractere. They're very much in the same style as Los! or Aerojournal, with an interesting mix of contents, some excellent art work and fascinating text. I'm really looking forward to reading the Coastal Command article and P-47 article, both of which will be great as source material for Bag the Hun. 

Wargaming Campaigns

A long ferry crossing today so a cheeky download for 99p to pass the time on the journey over to France. I'm a big fan of campaigns and have run several at the local club over the years. I've never run a map based campaign, however, and really fancy having a go at a solo effort, perhaps for the One Hour Wargames Hundred Years War project or perhaps the dormant 2mm English Civil War project that I fiddled about with a couple of years ago?

Torpedoes and Tides Markers

I've quickly bashed together some Torpedoes and Tides measuring sticks and blinds for the holidays, using some spare bases, sticky labels and wooden dowel from the local craft shop. In the longer term I'll replace these with something more sophisticated but they'll be good for the first few games, while I get to learn the rules. I'm thinking of asking Warbases if they could make a set of markers, range rulers and turning templates in acrylic but will need to try out the rules first to see what is required, I'll also have to ask the author first, of course, but it would be nifty to have a set of markers ready to go!

Coastal Forces Kriegsmarine Reinforcements

Some mid to late war reinforcements for the Kriegsmarine over the last couple of days. These are all the old Skytrex castings, now available from Heroics and Ros, but perhaps a little long in the tooth. They're nice models nonetheless and paint up well once cleaned up and undercoated. I've run out of grey primer so these are in white primer, which I actually prefer as it shows up all the bits you miss when you assemble the buggers! As you can see, there are two Raumboote, four S-100 S-Boote with armoured 'kapotte' and two of the ubiquitous but very versatile M-class minesweeper escorts. Very handy!