Chilean Pre-dreadnought Progress

I've re-booted the South American pre-dreadnought project today with the Chilean 'What If?' battleships, Libertad and Constitucion, the armoured cruiser Chacabuco, the obsolete central battery ironclad Almirante Lynch and, last but not least, four Capitan Orella class TBD's. The latter are actually Arab class TBD models with the funnels cut down, so not exactly a match but good enough, as I suspect no one will know the difference? I'm going to paint all of these in the same black, white and yellow ochre scheme as my existing Chilean squadron, so that there is a consistent look to the Chilean naval forces. 

Tying Up Some Nautical Loose Ends

I was on a long road trip yesterday down to Plymouth and back, so had time to reflect on my lack of progress this far this year. I've started two or three projects with the best of intentions but these have all fizzled out due to a lack of focus and a failure on my part to get over my perennial painters' block. I'm also lacking the drive to play any actual games, perhaps due to having played a lot last year for the Algy scenario project. 

To rectify this but keep up some forward momentum and get some useful stuff done, I'm going to do what I've done before in this situation and finish off some loose ends. These are all nautical and include my Argentinian and Chilean 'What If?' pre dreadnoughts, the re basing of my War of the Pacific Chilean and Peruvian fleets to match my sea cloth properly, and possibly the ships for my very old 1864 Second Schleswig War naval project, which are all assembled, based and basecoated.

I think this will be both productive and also a way to dust off a couple of old but much loved naval wargaming projects for a few small solo games before the summer holidays in three months time. 

Baer's Really Bad Day

 

I unearthed a scenario that I wrote fur the Rabens Ravens Lard Mag article today, one that didn't make it into the selection as I didn't have a chance to play test it. This is set in May 1918 and involves a 'bounce' by two highly experienced Jasta 18 pilots on three SPAD scouts of the American 103rd Aero Squadron, led by Junior Ace 1st Lt. Paul Baer. The outcome of the actual dogfight was a walkover for the Jasta 18 'experten', shooting down Baer and one of his wingmen for no loss. It's a good scenario for a quick game and ideal for beginners, as there are no formations, blinds or other distractions, with clear objectives for both sides and some aces thrown in for added fun! It's available to download from the Algy Facebook group.

Napoleonic Naval Summer Project Box Fillers

HMS Brittania 

I was sorting through my box of 1/2400th Tumbling Dice models, ready for the Summer Project, when I discovered a small stash of ships that I had set aside as box fillers for my French and British fleets. These include HMS Victory or Brittania (100), HMS Neptune (98) and HMS Agamemnon (64) for the Royal Navy. For La Royale there's Mont Blanc (74), Argonaute (74), Indivisible (80) and L'Insurgente (36), as well as an unrated Xebec for dispatch duties. The plan is to assemble and paint these first, before moving on to the Spanish, which I've cleared a whole section of the box to fill up with!

1/285th JG2 Fw 190 Decals

I spotted a set of 1/200th scale decals for JG2 Fw190-A3 fighters on the Sieben Schwaben Facebook page yesterday. I thought to myself that this sheet would be fantastic as a way to start up my 1/300th scale Fw190 models for Bag the Hun, if I could get them rescaled. These models have been used in scenarios that I've either written, like Sinker Saves the Day, or worked on as part of the Westland Whirlwind project, including S-Boote Strike and Itching to Mix It!. I sent a cheeky request to Bernhard and he immediately jumped on it! He's rescaled the sheet to 1/285th and I've ordered it, ready to start up the otherwise vanilla fighters, which will look so much better with the added details. A big thumbs up to Bernard, who I'm now going to pester for some No.263  Squadron Whirlwind and No.129 Squadron Spitfire VB decals! 

Load and Return

I've been doing some proof reading for a set of innovative and very interesting air wargaming rules recently. The rules are called Load and Return and, unlike most aerial rules, are focussed on fire fighting rather than actual aerial combat, which makes a very refreshing change, especially in this day and age. The author knows his stuff and has created a really thorough yet dynamic system, with some really creative mechanics and even a campaign system. I'm looking forward to play testing in the not too distant future but, for the moment, I'm simply casting an eye over syntax, grammar and clarity. I think this is a very promising concept and will be an excellent, highly engaging game to play.

Motor Gunboat Blocking In

A good start on the BPB Motor Gun Boats and RAF Rescue Launch today, blocking in the bases and giving the models a matt black basecoat, ready for blocking in the principal hull and topside colours. I've left the Kriegsmarine escorts to one side for the moment, so that I can concentrate on getting these painted first. I'm hoping that it won't take too long to get these finished, as I also have a convoy of merchant shipping to paint up, not to mention re-basing and tarting up my existing kit.

IAK47WD 2026

I'd forgotten about this but was kindly reminded by Jimmy James over in the AK-47 FB group the other day, so have pimped up the poster for the occasion. It's a way off yet but that means plenty of time to get organised for a game, which should be feasible as it's a bank holiday here in the sunny UK. I'll have to see what I can get organised at the club, which meets on a Tuesday, or possibly at home with the boy, as he'll be off work too. I haven't played a game in ages, so what better than International AK-47 Wargaming Day to dust off some technicals and take them for a test drive!

Coastal Forces Bases and Basecoats

I decided to change the painting method for the coastal forces project, adopting the same approach I have used in the past for my pre-dreadnoughts. Instead of painting then basing the models, I'm doing the basing first and the painting afterwards. The models are glued on to the textured bases and then will have a basecoat of Halfords matt black spray paint, after which I can start painting them in situ. The focus here is on filling gaps in my line up, so there are various Kriegsmarine escort craft and Royal Navy MGB's to be painted up, rather than more torpedo boats or merchant shipping. I'll also be re-basing my existing models to match the new ones, specially texturing the bases and re-painting them in my usual deep sea blue shades. 

New Tumbling Dice 1/600th French WW1 Aircraft

Voisin 8

Caudron RII 

Breguet XIV 

Nieuport 28 

Salmson 2 

SPAD VII 

Morane Saulnier N 

Nieuport 17 

Paul Sulley from Tumbling Dice was kind enough to send me some samples of the new 1/600th French aircraft he has just produced, although not yet available on the website. These fill some big gaps in the existing range, which is primarily early war, which means that the French, Italian, American, Belgian and Russian air forces are now feasible, give or take a couple of types. The Russian Civil War and Russo Polish War are also possible, so not just the First World War. I'm particularly impressed by the Breguet XIV, which is a lovely model and really looks like the real thing. Excellent!