Biting the Bag the Hun Re-basing Bullet

I've been thinking of re-basing my hex based 1/300th scale aircraft with magnets, both for storage reasons and to make them flexible enough to use hex and square bases. I magnet based my 1/300th scale Soviet aircraft for the Continuation War project and was really pleased with the result, so I'm going to remove the Raiden Miniatures stands from my other models to match. This will be a bit hair raising as they're glued on tight but I think I can do it without damaging the models. It's a big job so will be one of my new projects for 2025. 

Lacquered Coffins Conundrum

I've had a positive response from some of the club to my Lacquered Coffins proposal, so it's definitely worth pursuing further if only in a planning sense.  I have located my stash of 1/144th scale models and have ordered some 40mm square, 3mm thick bases from Warbases, the suggested base dimensions in the rules being 1 1/2 inches. 

This seemed a bit big for 1/600th scale aircraft, which is what is recommended in the rules, so I'm going to use 1/144th scale models instead, the Zvezda I-16 being pictured next to a 40mm base from my MiG Alley B-29 set up. I'm also obviously considering using my 1/300th scale stuff, as it is quite an extensive collection and just needs re-basing with magnets in order to be deployed. 

It also looks good on a 40mm base, as shown by an unfinished Scotia I-16 model once again mounted on a 40mm square. The actual stands will be higher on the Lacquered Coffins bases and there will be a double dice frame instead of a single one. I think the 1/300th scale option looks very promising, so I now need to decide which scale to use for the project, or even if I could do both?!

Peyk-i Şevket Class Torpedo Cruisers

These are 1/2400th scale Tumbling Dice models of the Chilean Almirante Lynch class torpedo gunboat, which I've repurposed as the two Peyk-i Şevket class torpedo cruisers. These were both obsolete in 1914 but carried on in service during WWI as convoy escorts, both suffering damage from mines and torpedoes as a result. I added fore and aft gun mountings, as well as simplified masts from wire, but otherwise there was very little to do. While not identical to the loan model, they are close enough to do the job.

Lacquered Coffins in 1/144th

I was doing some googling for after action reports of Lacquered Coffins games today, having printed out and read through the rules, when I bumped into this article from Miniature Wargames back in March 2024. I haven't read the whole thing but I noticed that the author decided to use 1/144th scale aircraft models for his games, which reminded me of my plans ages ago to convert Knights of the Sky for WWII air combat. This plan didn't happen in the end but I did amass quite a lot of 1/144th scale kits from Zvezda, Revell and Minicraft for the Russian Front, as well as a couple of pre-painted diecast bombers. The article also rings some bells when it comes to the scope and focus of the games, the aim being to encourage club players to take up aerial wargaming without complicating things with complex rules, hexes, maths or book keeping (or turn cards...the big issue I've had with Bag the Hun as a club set of rules). I am now having some interesting ideas for my own project for next year, using the model kits I have already stockpiled and the Lacquered Coffin rules for club multiplayer games....Tally Ho!

2mm ECW Royalist Army Roadblock

I've had a partial delivery of my 2mm Renaissance order from Irregular Miniatures, some baggage and artillery, but none of the pike blocks I need to start on the Devon Parliamentary forces or to finish the last couple of Cornish Royalist regiments. 

I have managed to make a base of pike and shot from some leftover blocks, representing Sir Thomas Bassett's regiment of foot, but Lord Hopton's regiment will have to wait a while longer. In the meanwhile, I've made a command base so that he can make a personal appearance, together with another artillery base, this time of two sakers or drakes as deployed at Braddock Down.

It's a shame about the Irregular Miniatures delay, as I am almost in a position to field the Royalist forces for the Battle of Stratton, at least in a simplified format. I'm hoping the rest of the order will arrive sooner rather than later?

Air War:C21 2025

In my thus far futile attempt to find a set of air wargaming rules that doesn't either confuse or frustrate club gamers, while simultaneously not ending up too gamey or ahistorical, I've decided to give AirWar:C21 a spin. I've had a copy of these modern air combat rules for years but have never tried them out. After reading some excellent after action reports on Facebook recently, I think it will be worth taking another look, with the Alto Cenepa war offering an option for play testing the system in 1/600th scale, followed by the Angolan Border War as a direction of travel. This will be for next year, as one of my potential projects, so plenty of time to plan ahead 

Ground Loops

It's been a frustrating weekend, partly due to the terrible weather but also as my car has broken down and is now waiting to be repaired, no doubt at an extortionate cost to the wallet. This means that I'm going to miss the Knights of the Sky club game tomorrow, as the other car is being used by the wife all evening and I'm not insured on it anyway. Fortunately, I was able to fore warn the umpire and some replacement pilots have been recruited to fill the ranks. On top of that, I'm now having to get up at 5am to get a lift into work, so I'll be knackered as well. To top if off I have a new mobile phone that's driving me nuts and refuses to let me access my blog, so it's all going a bit tits up at the moment. It could be a lot worse  but it's a bit of a pain in the arse all round!

Flames Above the Falklands Flight Stands

I have a game of Flames Above the Falklands next month so will get on with making some flight stands, previous games having used my naval wargame aircraft bases. I was supposed to have done this ages ago but didn't get round to it, so I have enough bits to make a set of eight bases in three levels. It's not a very exciting job but will be better than using dice for altitude.

Aeroclub Bristol Scout Finished

That's a wrap for the old Aeroclub Bristol Scout kit, which I have to say I'm glad to have finished as it's not been an easy job and has dragged on a bit. It came out okay in the end and doesn't look too bad, considering how many short cuts and quick fixes I had to do. I don't doubt it will go down in flames at the club game, so I'm taking along a spare DH2 just in case! Tally Ho!

2mm ECW Rules

I asked around on various forums about rules that would work with 2mm regiment bases for the English Civil War and several people recommended this set. It's a step up or two from One Hour Wargames, which is what I'm going to use for my own solo campaign games, but will give the project some further directions to go off in, assuming I like them and they are not too complicated or clunky.

Sea Wars Fleet Actions

I've been hunting for a copy of these rules for years, as they are out of print and usually quite over priced, but I've tracked down a copy in good nick for a reasonable price tag. I played a game with these rules many years ago and really liked them, as they played at pace but without a loss of detail and historical depth, and with the potential to handle scenarios involving a significant number of ships. I'm looking forward to reading them through and perhaps trying them out for a play test game or two over the holidays. 

2mm ECW Royalist Cornish Regiments

Now that I'm in the final stretch with the Aeroclub Bristol Scout, I've organised the remaining bases of the Cornish Royalist army into something more specific. I've been itching to get on with this project, as I want to complete the Royalist forces for the solo OHW campaign before the holidays in about four weeks time.

These include three stands with large pike and shot blocks to represent the larger regiments of Sir Bevil Grenville, Lord Mohun and Colonel William Godolphin. A base with three smaller pike and shot stands is also included to represent the smaller, under strength regiment of Colonel John Trevanion. 

To complete the infantry there's a final base of four smaller size pike and shot stands to represent a regiment of the Cornish Trained Bands, although I'm thinking of changing that to something that looks a bit more pike heavy. The cavalry base is Colonel John Digby's Horse, for which I've used figures in helmets for a change. 

I've also glued up a base of artillery, which is a bit of overkill as there were limited use of ordnance in the 1642-43 campaign, but I thought 'why not?'. I could add a couple more infantry bases but, together with the ones I've already painted, this will give me ten bases in total, so more than enough for a One Hour Wargame battle.

Aeroclub Bristol Scout Update

I'm slowly getting there with the Aeroclub Bristol Scout kit, with the upper wing now glued in position to prevent the fragile interplane struts from getting damaged, which has happened a couple of times during the building stages. I am now going to attempt the cabane struts, which will be a very tricky job, so I'll need to tackle them when I have some time. If that goes according to plan it's just the rudder, wheels and propeller to glue in place and it will be sorted. Fingers crossed.

Bag the Hun Stalin's Eagles club game

2mm ECW Project Reading

This should be a really useful guide for the regiments of the Cornish Royalist army in 1642-43, which is very much the focus of my 2mm One Hour Wargame project. It was reduced by 33% which meant that my pocket money could stretch to cover the cost, without taking too much of a dent to the wallet. 

2mm ECW Royalist Artillery

I've been up to other things this weekend as far as painting goes but squeezed in this test base of artillery for the One Hour Wargame solo project late this afternoon. It's difficult to make much of the castings as the figures are blobs, even though the guns are nicely sculpted. I debated about labelling these as sakers or drakes but just went with artillery as a catch all title. I'm going to crack on with some more pike and shot regiments next as the core of the Royalist Cornish army.

Aeroclub Bristol Scout Kit Update

I've made good progress with the old limited run Aeroclub Bristol Scout kit over the last couple of days, with the fuselage and upper wing painted, ready for the final assembly stage. I've learned not to count my chickens when it comes to this last bit, which has a tendency to go horribly wrong if you're not careful, so I won't tempt fate and say it's nearly completed. I've had enough of it today, so will leave the kit until mid-week when I will have time to glue it all together.

Bag the Hun Nonomhan Flight Stands

I got round to scratch building a load of flight stands for Bag the Hun today, designed to complement the hex mat that I got for Xmas last year, which gives you some idea of how long that job has been hanging around. They're nothing special and not quite right but will do the job, with a double dice frame to show altitude in blue and aircraft identity in red, green, yellow or white. It's a simple and cheap way to make it easier to track which aircraft is which  and to keep a handle on positioning. Tally Ho!

Bag the Hun Club Game?

It looks like I 'might' have a two player game of Bag the Hun to run at the club next week. If so, I'm going to set up the Stalin's Eagles scenario from the Red Star Rampant article in the 2021 Lard Mag. This is a good one as it has evenly matched Japanese and Soviet forces and lots of character cards for added fun. It's also one that I have all the cards, sheets and models ready to use, so minimal effort required. I might even get to use my nice new hex mat. Banzai!

Knights of the Sky BE2c Sheet

The Knights of the Sky game in a couple of weeks features two or three BE2c aircraft so I thought it would be handy to modify a generic two seater record sheet to fit. About five minutes work so no big deal, although it does add a bit of historical detail for the players piloting the much maligned 'Fokker Fodder". 

Aeroclub Bristol Scout Kit Bash

Much to my surprise the kit assembly of the Aeroclub Bristol Scout has gone fairly smoothly today, although the really tricky bit is yet to come when I have to attach the upper wing. Before that I will need to paint the fuselage and wing sections that I've constructed, as well as the small parts which include an offset Lewis Gun mounting, the propeller and the wheels. I've had enough of it today, however, so will do that all at the weekend.

Knights of the Sky Bristol Scout Sheet

I spent half a hour yesterday working up a record sheet for the Bristol Scout in Knights of the Sky, using the Airco DH2 as a template, given its comparable performance and armament. The end result looks like it will do the job after a few tweaks and the addition of some background blurb, so I now need to crack on and build the old Aeroclub kit. It will be a bit hairy raising, being fairly basic and mixed media, but I am thinking of a few shortcuts to make it less problematic, including using a surplus Sopwith Camel for various useful bits. Tally Ho!

2mm ECW Royalist Regiment of Horse

I painted a 2mm English Civil War regiment of horse today for the One Hour Wargame project. This was a bit more fiddly than the pike and shot regiment I painted at the weekend but I think it came out looking okay. This was very much a test piece, which is why it took me longer than I'd expect, but I think I'm getting my method sorted so will be able to speed up when I tackle the rest of the Cornish Royalist army.