S Boats in Action

This is what I'm reading now and it is very interesting as it gives the other side of the coastal forces story, rather than the usual British perspective. The chapter on the East Coast convoys is a case in point, as it shows just how difficult it was for the S Boats to penetrate the destroyer screen and to avoid detection. The chapter on the English Channel and the Western Approaches also looks good but I'm not quite there yet!

I actually have a decent sized force of 1/600 S Boats, MGB's and MTB's that I put together a couple of years ago, just requiring the addition of some merchant shipping to be ready for action. I should get some coasters, tankers and colliers assembled so that I can make use of the coastal forces that I've already got. I'm sure someone at the club would be interested?

A project to pick up and wrap up in the Autumn I think!

The Falcon and the Gladiator

There's a Summer Sale on at Wargame Vault, so when I spotted this campaign and scenario manual for Bag The Hun, I snapped it up. It's written by Chris Stoesen who has several publications under the Too Fat Lardies label, including similar campaign guides for the war in East Africa and Greece, both of which are designed for IABSM but with relevant sections for Bag the Hun. These are both excellent, so I was sure that this dedicated campaign manual would be just as good, if not better, being designed specifically for Bag the Hun and CY6. I really like the way Chris uses historical background to underpin what he writes, which is what I try to do with the scenarios that I create for Bag the Hun as well.

The pdf. manual is packed with numerous scenarios and has a full campaign system for the early desert campaign, if you wanted to run a series of linked games. In fact, you could really go bananas with early war biplane fighters and interwar bombers, although this would be a lot easier if you went for 1/600th scale rather than 1/285th. The extensive Tumbling Dice range now has pretty much all you would need for the Italians and the British, leaving the likes of Scotia Collectair, Museum Miniatures and Raiden Miniatures in the shade. To summarise, it's a really well put together manual and also an excellent basis for developing a campaign system along similar lines for other theatres.

Stringbags

I'm now reading this book as a change from my usual focus on RAF and USAAF operations. I hadn't really thought much about Swordfish scenarios for Bag the Hun but there's a lot of potential here, beyond the obvious of Taranto, Bismarck and the Channel Dash. The use of Swordfish in the narrow fjords of Norway for anti-shipping night strikes is a good example. It's a pity that no one makes a Stringbag in 1/285th scale, at least not yet although there is one in the design queue for Raiden Miniatures. 

Combat Crew

I've just finished reading this autobiographical account written by a flight engineer on B17 missions over occupied Europe in 1943. It was really good and has inspired me to add some B17's to the late war fighters that I already have in the Bag the Hun 2 collection. I have some Scotia Collectair B17G's to paint up and all the decals I need to make them look really impressive, so when I get back to the workbench in September, this will be another project on the 'to do' list.

TFL Summer Special BTH2 Scenarios

The 2016 Summer Special is out and I have a couple of scenarios for Bag the Hun 2 in it, which I only managed to submit at the last minute after remembering to get myself organised. The two scenarios are both for the Westland Whirlwinds of 263 Squadron, although one also features a flight of long range Spitfire IIa's of 66 Squadron. The special rules for the latter were left off the published scenario briefing, so here they are:

SPECIAL RULES

The Spitfire IIa LR is the long range variant and has a 30 gallon fuel tank fitted to the port wing. This may not be jettisoned and causes significant drag. The MAN rating for the Spitfire IIa LR is permanently reduced to 5 and SPD reduced to 6.

There's also a small mistake in the Order of Battle but that is easily spotted if you read through the Game Outline and Cards sections of the scenario briefing. The sub-heading for the 66 Squadron Spitfires is too high up, making it look as though Yellow Section of 263 Squadron is part of the formation. No big deal but it might cause some momentary head scratching!

One Lump or Two?

With the holidays on the horizon and my mainstream miniature gaming on temporary hold, I thought I'd try something a bit less time consuming and easier to manage, with the aim of re-charging my wargaming batteries over the summer break. As a result, I've started another blog, which will run in parallel to this one but will only cover 'beer and pretzels' board and card games. I won't be updating or posting to it as much as I have done for Jim's Wargames Workbench, but there will be some stuff appearing over the next few weeks on a casual basis:

http://teaandawad.blogspot.co.uk/