Wings at War South Pacific

One of the chaps on the Facebook Wings at War group has developed a really interesting variant of the rules for the South Pacific theatre, specifically Papua New Guinea and Guadalcanal. 

The nuts and bolts are built around Scramble for Britain but there are some very original mechanisms that have been decided for things like air sea rescue, torpedo strikes and ground targets. 

I've offered to do some play testing so will need to get some models painted up at some point, which I've already got in the lead pile. It's a diversion from my First World War focus but will be worth it if the rules end up being published. 

It still needs a suitable title, however, so answers on a postcard!

Steamer Wars WW1 Africa Project

It's a couple of weeks until the holidays and we'll be off to Brittany as usual. I always take some models to assemble, base and occasionally paint, so have been thinking about what to do this year, given that the focus is the First World War. I fancy something nautical, so my first port of call was Coronel and the Falklands, but I haven't made up my mind about the scale as yet, having both 1/2400 and 1/4800 as options. 

Instead, I'm going to revive a project from a few years ago that didn't get beyond the planning stage, assembling the ships and boats for the campaign on Lake Tanganyika, using the Tumbling Dice 1/600th scale range and some extra bits. This has the advantage of being a bit different and with potential for some conversion or scratch building, as well as being ready to go. 

I'll be using Long Face Games Steamer Wars for this project, perhaps even dabbling with the hex based version of the rules, and will be looking to make some bespoke coastal terrain too. It's a good fit with my First World War theme for this year and I'm looking forward to some games at the end of it, perhaps even a solo campaign over the summer holidays later this year.

Jasta 18 Play Test Card Decks Completed

I've finished the last set of play test cards - this one for the 'Biggles and the Black Raven's scenario - so I'm almost ready to begin the actual play testing. There's no urgency for this to be done soon, so I'm thinking of leaving it for a couple of weeks time, when I'll be on holiday. If I've thought things through properly, it should go according to plan but there are always little gremlins to iron out, so I expect to have to make a few changes here and there. Tally Ho!

1/600th Caquot observation balloon WIP

I've started to assemble and rig the Tumbling Dice Caquot observation balloon for the Jasta 18 balloon busting scenario, adding fuse wire to dangle the observer basket below the balloon itself. It's not quite there yet and I think it needs a bit more rigging to look right, but I'm fairly pleased with the progress so far. I'll aim to finish it by midweek if I can find the time. 

1/600th WW1 1918 Aircraft Done

I finished off the last of the 1/600th Tumbling Dice aircraft for the Jasta 18 project today. These include No.4 Squadron AAF Camels, No.55 Squadron RAF DH4's and a couple of Jasta 18 Albatros DV's, one of which I painted up with tail stripes and white upper wing insignia bands, just for fun. I just need to finish an observation balloon and I'm good to go.

Knights of the Sky Nieuport 16c RFC

Eastern Express Nieuport 16c

 

After checking the parts and assembly instructions (!) for the old Merlin Models Halberstadt DII kit, I decided it was too much trouble to try to build it, at least for the moment. Instead, after another rummage in the loft, I have picked out an old Toko / Eastern Express Nieuport 16c kit, complete with Le Prieur rockets but missing the decals. As the Knights of the Sky game is a balloon busting scenario set in September 1916, this looks like an ideal kit to put together. I only have a couple of weeks to build it before I'm off to France, so time is of the essence. I have built the eastern Express Nieuport 11 kit, which was a few years ago but didn't seem too fiddly, so this shouldn't be a big change and certainly much less stressful than the crude limited edition alternative!

Parachutes in Algernon Pulls It Off!

Here's a suggestion for a Bail Out! option for late war German pilots in Algernon Pulls It Off!

On the turn of the 'Springen!' (Bail Out!), or Character card, a pilot / observer may attempt to parachute. 

Roll 1D6 and add / subtract modifiers:

+/- Pilot Luck

Aircraft on Fire - 1

Aircraft in a Spin - 2

Pilot / Observer wounded - 1

Result:

1 or less than 1  = Jumps but parachute tangled / fails to open.

2- 3 = Fails to jump (may try again)

4 - 6 = Parachute opens.

A parachute will not open in time if at Altitude Level 1 or 2.

Example:

A Veteran Pilot decides it's a good idea to jump from his burning Fokker Dr1.

D6 Roll = 3

Luck Modifier +1

Plane on Fire - 1

Result = 3 

Try again next turn of the Move or the 'Springen!' card (luckily, he's at ALT 4 !)

I think this will work?

Algy Facebook Group Update

 

It's just under a week since I set up the Algernon Pulls It Off! Facebook group and there are now fifty five members signed up, which is pretty good going for only six days. It's still getting off the ground but, with some play test after action game reports on the way, I'm hoping it will start to take off over the next month or two. The aim is to get people playing the game again, or trying it out for the first time, so until that starts to happen it's still early days. If you haven't joined already, it would be great to have you along for a dawn patrol or two. Tally Ho!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1389643458696575/?ref=share

Busting The Balloon

I've only got two weeks until I'm off to France for the Easter holiday, during which I'll be okay testing some of the Jasta 18 scenarios, so time is running out to complete the last of the 1/600th scale models. The big thing to do is to assemble and base the resin Tumbling Dice Caquot observation balloon, which I've already glued together, filled and sanded, ready for rigging. I'm busy next weekend with days away, so I really need to get this sorted this weekend, starting tomorrow with the rigging using thin gauge wire and fuse wire. It's going to be fiddly but I'm hoping it will look good when completed?

Eduard 1/72nd Fokker DVII (OAW)

I spotted a very good price Eduard /72nd scale Fokker DVII kit on eBay, so have in and ordered it for Knights of the Sky. It's the weekend edition, so no photo etch or other spangly bits, but it does have some cracking decal options, including the Jasta 18 machines flown by ace Ltn.Karl Monnington in late 1918. I already have a fantastic decal sheet by Blue Rider for Jasta 18 but it doesn't include this one, so it's a great addition to the kit pile. Excellent!

Algernon Pulls His Parachute!

 

I read an interesting online article about the Heinecke parachute, first issued in April 1918 to German pilots, but not entirely popular due to its thirty per cent failure rate. It required the pilot to bail out without tangling up in the static line, so it was both awkward to deploy and required quite a bit of gymnastic ability in order to clear the aircraft. It also weighed a ton and was difficult to put on, not to mention restricting the pilot's space in the cockpit. I was going to just pinch the rules for parachutes from Bag the Hun, probably the first edition as it is similar to Algy in design, but I think I need to work out something more specific for the First World War equivalent. 

Algernon Pulls It Off! in the Clouds

For the last scenario in the Jasta 18 project, I needed some rules for clouds in order to give the R.E.8 crew a chance to hide from the attentions of Junior Ace, Ltn.Mendel, in his far more manoeuvrable Fokker DVII. The R.E.8 flew like a house brick and had a reputation as being a bit of a flying coffin, easy prey for a nimble high performance scout, so it was common tactical doctrine to run for the nearest cloud in order to evade an attacker. Here's what I came up with, designed to be very simple but also realistic in historical terms, while not unbalancing the chances for Ltn.Mendel to score his final victory.

SPECIAL RULES

At the start of the game, roll 1D6 and scatter this number of cloud templates, each the size of a medium blind, on the table. To determine the position of each cloud, divide the table into twenty four squares, and roll a D4 and a D6 for each cloud. The D4 corresponds to the short table edge and the D6 to the long table edge. Place a cloud template in the corresponding grid square. There can be no clouds in horizontally or vertically adjacent squares (re-roll for a different position). To determine the altitude of each cloud, roll 1D6+2 and mark the height on the template.

In this example the player has rolled 5 on the initial D6 and then the following scores for positioning: 1/1, 4/2, 2/3. 3/4, 2/5 and 1/6. If he'd rolled adjacent squares, he would have re-rolled so that there were no 'walls' of cloud. 

Any aircraft entering a cloud template may emerge from the cloud in any direction when subsequently activated for movement. To enter a cloud the aircraft must be at the same alititude. An aircraft may not loiter inside a cloud. Any movement measurement begins and ends at the edge of the cloud template. If an aircraft has been spotted previously, it will emerge from the cloud as a new small blind at the same altitude that it entered. It must be re-spotted before any attacks can be made. Clouds only block line of sight for spotting if both the target and the spotting aircraft are at the same altitude as the cloud.

....I think this will work?

'Cat and Mouse' Algy Bonus Scenario

I'm not entirely happy with one of my scenarios for the Jasta 18 project, 'Baer's Really Bad Day', so I'm going to swap it out for a different one. This has already been written and so just needs to be slotted into the sequence in chronological order. It revolves around Ltn.Karl Albert Mendell, shooting down an R.E.8 of No.4 Squadron on 4th June 1918, for his seventh and final victory. 

In this game, the R.E.8 crew of Lt.Maltby and 2nd Lt.Simms must evade and escape from the Jasta 18 ace, using cloud cover to bugger up his chances of shooting them down. I've included a mechanism for cloud deployment and rules to cover popping in and out of clouds, tying in with the blinds system. It's a simple system and so should work well, hopefully enabling the RAF crew to get away relatively unscathed.

It's great that I can have a 'Harry Tate' in at least one of the games, as it's my favourite aircraft and often gets flown in Knights of the Sky games at the club. I also have one painted up in 1/600th scale and have another pair in 1/300th scale 3D printed form, which are going to be a lot of fun to paint up. At any rate, the scenarios are all completed now, so it's on to the play testing phase of the project.

Pilot Record Sheet for Algernon Pulls It Off!

Fokker DVII Filled In Sheet

Blank Template to Edit

 

Although I really like the nifty record sheets that Alex Sotheran has designed for Algernon Pulls It Off!, which are similar in format to my Bag the Hun ones, I thought I'd work up one of my own, so that I can edit it to fit whatever scenarios I'm playing or umpiring. Here's the current version, although I'm sure it will evolve further as I realise what I've missed off or buggered up. The big blank space at the top is for an illustration of whichever aircraft is involved, the numbers for which I will edit in as required, while the top row will be filled in with the pilot / crew details for each scenario. I think it's looking not too bad so far, but the proof will be when I have to add the numbers! 

Jasta 18 Scenario Seven

The last scenario for the Algernon Pulls It Off! Jasta 18 project is about to be drafted and I've chosen one that I think will be a really good game. This features the famous American ace, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, in a four to one dogfight with a kette of Jasta 18 Fokker DVII scouts. In this action of 14th September 1918, Rickenbacker ambushed the Jasta Raben pilots, claiming to have shot one down before making his escape unharmed. 

He believed that he was fighting against Richthofen's elite 'Flying Circus', being very impressed by the German pilots flying skills and aggressive tactics, but in all probability he was up against Jasta 18, although exactly who is unknown. This should be a bit of a cracker if I can work in the use of blinds and possibly some special characteristics for Rickenbacker, who will otherwise just be classed as a Junior Ace. 

Epic Black Powder Waterloo Club Multiplayer Game

It was the Battle of Waterloo using the Epic Black Powder rules today, involving ten players and a massive 18' x 6' table for the whole day. I was in command of the French far right flank and, very much to my surprise, did a pretty good job of it, even after the Prussians turned up. It was a resounding victory for the French in the end too. A cracking day of wargaming, despite not really knowing what I was doing! Vive La France!

Algernon Pulls It Off! Facebook Group

Here's a link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1389643458696575/?ref=share

'Biggles and the Black Ravens' Scenario

 

I have just finished writing the penultimate scenario for the Algernon Pulls It Off! Jasta 18 project, which is one I initially rejected as being too similar to an earlier scenario. This one features the crew of No.55 Squadron, Independent Air Force, battling the pilots of  Jasta 18 amongst others, on a return flight from a bombing raid on Thionville in August 1918. There are a number of differences to the earlier scenario in the set up, most notably the lack of a formation and randomised battle damage for the Airco DH4 bombers, which make it a challenging game for the British but equally, far from a push over for the Germans. 

The scenario title comes from the interesting side note that 2nd Lt.W.E.Johns, author of the famous 'Biggles' stories, was not on the raid but might well have been, had he been assigned to the mission:

"The previous evening I was one of a poker school of six. By lunch time the next day I was the only survivor, and that because I wasn't on the show. 

Bell took a formation of six machines over and came back alone after fighting twenty-seven EA for the best part of an hour. Dowswell brought his machine back over the lines, but force-landed at Pont St Vincent. Gompertz was his gunner. He got two EA, but what a mess he was in when the tender brought him home! 

This was due to the fact that Dowswell had an aileron shot off and could only fly dead straight. Gompertz's Sidcot hung on him in ribbons; it had literally been shot off his back....one bullet only hit him in the shoulder. He didn't seem in the least upset. He just sat in the door of his hut, with the rags still hanging on him, and laughed." 

When Bell climbed from his solitary and shattered DH4 back at Azelot, he faced Major Gray. It was a grim exchange between two 'men of few words'. "Where are the others?" "They are all gone." Bell had a bullet score across the top of his flying helmet. The little top button had vanished''

Algernon Pulls It Off! Facebook Group

I feel like I'm sort of stepping on the toes of other Facebook groups, especially Bag the Hun, with the stuff I'm writing for Algernon Pulls It Off! I was wondering if there would be enough interest in a separate FB group for Algy? 

The idea would be to get more people to try out the rules, contribute game reports and general posts of interest in terms of modelling, painting, scenarios etc. Other groups exist for aerial wargaming and WW1 wargaming, but this would be a specific group. 

Also potential development of a new version of the rules bringing in elements of Bag the Hun 2 and a campaign system of some sort, as well as related TFL rules that might be connected to WW1 air wargaming. I've put out some feelers and will wait and see.

Bombs Away Biggles!

I was doing some online research for the next Jasta 18 scenario when I found an article originally written by Captain W.E.Johns, the author of the Biggles series of stories, based on a sortie that he had flown in the Summer of 1918 as a pilot in No.55 Squadron. The illustrations caught my eye, especially the one with the rear gunner chucking empty ammo drums at the enemy Fokkers! I really should try to include that in the scenario....?