Masters of the Air

Another second hand hardback from the local charity shop in mint condition and only four quid. I have had various attempts at wargaming daylight bombing missions but never really got beyond the planning stage, partly due to the painting workload but also as it is a logistical nightmare to play solo. I think I'll read this over the holidays and see if I can finally bite the bullet.

Bombers Over Germany

After the lacklustre MiG Alley game yesterday I realised it's probably not the set of rules I'm looking for for a club multiplayer game. It's too confusing in terms of energy management for an enjoyable game, with more time spent clarifying the finer points of the rules than actually having fun. To put it simply, it's fine for solo games at home but not as an evening's entertainment.

Instead, I'm looking again at Bombers Over Germany, a free set of rules based on a simple system from the Junior General website. It's themed around the daylight bomber campaign in 1943-45 but could be adapted for other things, including B-29 missions over North Korea, for example. I discovered this set of rules a couple of years ago and thought it would be ideal for a big club game but didn't do anything further than an initial feasibility study. It's now looking like a very attractive alternative to Wings at War and a potential project for next year. 

http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com/2020/08/bombers-over-germany.html

Aviation Hardback Books

I was walking the dog this morning and passed the local charity shop, popping in while the dog took a breather in the shade. Here's the result, a couple of aviation themed additions to the holiday reading list. I think I've read Tail End Charlies before but there's no harm in reading it again, while the history of the Israeli Air Force is a new one to me. Good finds both!

Reading to Rewind

While I'm taking some time out from painting and modelling I thought I'd do a bit of reading, something I normally only have the time and focus for in the long holidays. I've had this book on the Ipad for ages but never got round to reading it, so will give it a go now that I'm not doing other things. It's obviously relevant to the summer project but also just a chance for me to rewind my metaphorical spring, ready to get back to the workbench in a bit 

A Mighty Fortress

            

I'm planning a Wings at War project for next year, having not managed to get a complete one done yet despite several abortive attempts, apart from MiG Alley. Of the attempts I've made, the Flames Above the Falklands and Duel of Aces are closest to the finishing line, but not quite close enough to be ticked off the 'to do' list, mainly because I run out of steam. 

Next year, however, I'm planning something that will have longer legs and be versatile enough to be used with other air warfare rules including Bag the Hun and Bombers Over Germany. I tried something similar for the Battle of Britain but got bored with painting repetitive camouflage patterns, but I think this one will be a better option.

This is A Mighty Fortress, the set of Wings at War rules covering the bombing campaign in NW Europe. It's up against Thud Ridge for next year's project, so there's some stiff competition. It has the advantage of a cross over with Bag the Hun and lots of interesting aircraft, the Tumbling Dice models being particularly nice and the Flight Deck Decals insignia equally cool, as well as giving me the chance to run some really big multiplayer games at the club. 

What's not to like?

Tally Ho!

Autumn Action Plan

It's back to work next week and I was in today for a briefing, so things are returning to the new normal and wargaming fun may well be in shorter supply. Nonetheless, I've been thinking about my plans for the next three or four months and have some very clear ideas about my projects for the Autumn, most of which continue my Give Us the Ships initiative of the last couple of years

1/2400th ACW Riverine

This came out of nowhere thanks to two weeks of quarantine and some enjoyable play test games of Dahlgren and Columbiad over the holidays. I have almost completed the modular river terrain for this and have painted some of my scratch built ironclads, so only need to paint the remaining gunboats, rams and transports to be able to run a game. I'll also convert the Andy Callan simple ACW rules to 1/2400th scale, as they are spot on for the sort of low key, beer and pretzels flavour game that I'm looking for.

Bombers over Germany

This is my other plan for when the ACW project has been wrapped up, but its still in an early stage of development, with only the aircraft in their bare metal state and nothing actually started beyond a quick skim of the rules. I will use this as a break from my naval themed pursuits and I'm really looking forward to painting the B17's, Thunderbolts and Lightnings in their olive drab mid-war camouflage schemes. The crosshairs will be aimed firmly at a club multiplayer game at some point in 2021.

The Back Up Plan

No plan survives contact with the 'list of things to be done around the house' so, as a back up plan I have several enticing options including the 1/600th scale Steamer Wars WW1 boats, the 1/600th scale Dinassault French Indochina amphibious warfare idea, the 1/2400th scale Late Victorian ironclads and even the 1/600th scale Football War aircraft, assuming my Wings at War rules get published at some point in the near future (watch this space for news about that).

Biting the Bullet with Bombers over Germany

It's almost the end of our time in quarantine and it's not been too bad, although the novelty is definitely wearing off and we're all desperate for a decent bit of fresh air and exercise. I've also got exactly a week before I have to go back to work, so to cheer myself up I have ordered a load of shiny metal things from Tumbling Dice for Bombers Over Germany. 

After some thought, I decided not to do the Battle of Britain despite having all the models required, as I can do that later on. I also rejected the late war Defence of the Reich option, which seems daft given the focus of the rules and all the whacky jet aircraft that the Luftwaffe can deploy, but there is a method to my madness.

Instead, I've opted for the mid-war 8th Air Force daylight bombing campaign over France c1943, partially due to my existing interest in this subject but primarily because I can have a selection of my favourite escort aircraft including P38H Lightnings, birdcage P47B Thunderbolts and even Spitfire Mk IX's for the RAF. The Luftwaffe also get mainly Fw190-A3/4's but also Bf109-G's, Bf110-G's and even a handful of  Me410's as interceptors.

The bombers will be B17F's without the later G model chin turrets, so classic mid-war aircraft in olive drab rather than the slightly boring bare metal finish of the late war period. I already have four of these but have ordered ten more to make up a slightly small but perfectly large enough bomber box formation. There's a opportunity here for some interesting unit markings too, so fun to do if I can pull it off.

I'm also going to recycle a load of hex flight stands that I saved when I switched over to magnet basing for 1/600th scale aircraft. For this project I'm going back to rigid wire stands in mdf hex bases but using longer 100mm wires for the extra height effect. I have a pack of spears that I can use for these, so again a cost cutting option that will look really good and much less stress than all those tiddly magnets.

I'll set this project aside for some point in the next few months, once the 1/2400th scale ironclads have been completed and launched, but I'm looking forward to it already!

Arise to Conquer

I'm reading this at the moment, partly to recharge my air wargaming batteries but also because it's one of the few first hand accounts of the Battle of Britain that I haven't read before, at least as far as I remember. I have an idea for a Bombers over Britain variation, using the 1/600th aircraft I collected for Scramble for Britain and the Bombers over Germany rules, but it's all a bit sketchy at the moment, so some relevant reading might push me in the right direction?

Bombers over Germany

I was browsing through the 1/600 Air Wargaming Groups.io forum, looking for Bag the Hun alternatives, when I found these fast play rules for WW2 bomber missions, aptly titled Bombers Over Germany.

They look really good and although hex based they seem designed for formations of aircraft, with relatively large numbers of bombers and fighters on the table. They are definitely not over complicated but still have plenty of detail including a rather nifty critical hit system. I think they are potentially great and ideal for multiplayer games. 

And they're Free!

The Tumbling Dice models used to illustrate the rulebook are beautifully painted and based on homemade wire and hex base stands, so nothing too complicated to replicate, apart from the paint job. I also already have some suitable models in the lead pile but would need to get some more to run a full game, so another excuse to order some new shiny things. 

An exciting project for 2021!?

https://arsmwargame.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/bombers-over-germany-2-0.pdf

https://arsmwargame.wordpress.com/2016/09/22/bombers-over-germany/