Off The Shelf Scenarios

 

One of the problems when working up a series of scenarios for Bag the Hun in the Pacific, is that it's all been done to death for other rule systems, specifically for Check Your Six. A good example is Guadalcanal, which is covered in part by the supplement on the Cactus Airforce, although this in itself is just a snap shot over a couple of months in 1942. To avoid covering the same ground but also to give me the option of converting a scenario or two from CY6 to Bag the Hun as a quick fix, I've ordered a copy of the scenario book to dip into. I'll definitely be devising my own scenarios, however, with a view to submission for the 2023 Lard Magazine.

Tumbling Dice 1/600 Interwar Aircraft

I noticed that Paul of Tumbling Dice has added a whole load of new codes to the 1/600 scale Vapour Trails catalogue, most of which are for interwar US and Japanese aircraft. He's also added discount starter packs for the US Army, US Navy, Japanese and the Chinese Civil War, which is a fascinating period in itself. Not only that but these new codes open up the possibility of other theatres such as the Dutch East Indies and possibly even the Chaco War. You could even try a counterfactual US versus Japanese war in the Pacific in the mid 1930's, using the 1/600th scale planes with 1/3000th scale ships. Now there's an idea!

Back Garden Bag the Hun

It was a lovely morning, so I set up a game of Bag the Hun in the back garden against my daughter, using the Deadly Pairs scenario as a starting point. She took on the role of the RAF with two 129 Squadron Spitfire Vb's flown by F/Lt Robinson and F/Sgt Blanchard, while I had two FW-190A2's of III/JG2 flown by Lt.Berchmanns and Fdw.Tomas. The sun was in the South East, both in the scenario and in real life, so it was also very hot. As a result, we played for about an hour before escaping into the shade for a cool drink.

It was an enjoyable game but not as much fun as the others we have played recently. There was a lot of manoeuvring for position and some really good tactical play by the sprog, but she found the gameplay slower and the card deck turn sequence frustrating, as she couldn't just do what she wanted. We both had a chance to fire at each other but missed, so there wasn't any turning point in the game that we could use as a way to determine a winner. A bit hit and miss in more than one sense.

It's a shame, as I really like Bag the Hun for multiplayer games, but that's just the way the rules work. I've been thinking of trying an alternative set of rules at some point, perhaps the old Blue Sky / Luftwaffe 46 series, which are similar but not turn card based, or even the free Sturmovik Commander rules which are very straightforward but still quite comprehensive. I might even try Check Your Six! again, even though I didn't warm to it when I've played it before, a long time ago.

Air War Korea

I've been flicking through this Check Your Six! supplement again, looking for scenarios that I can adapt for Bag the MiG, as I'm not a fan of CY6! and prefer the historical emphasis on tactical formations that Bag the Hun has at its core. It's not that I don't like CY6! as it's a fine set of detailed rules but I just prefer the card based turns and skill emphasis taken in the Bag the Hun rules, which I am far more familiar with and really enjoy. Anyway, there's a gold mine of potential scenarios spanning the entire Korean War in the air, so it should be very easy to port them over to Bag the MiG making it possible to set up a few games at the club with minimal hassle.  

1/144th Scale WW2 Russian Front

I've had some long term plans to scale up my WW2 air wargaming from 1/285th to double size at 1/144th scale, in order to set up some sort of multiplayer participation style game. Although I really like 1/285th as a wargaming scale it doesn't have the visual impact of 1/144th and can be fiddly to paint. I'd also like to try out another set of rules other than Bag The Hun, focussed more on individual aircraft dogfighting rather than larger formations, although Bag the Hun Two is still my top ruleset for air wargaming. For example, Check Your Six! has always seemed to me to be more of a one on one, pilot vs pilot level game, so would be more suitable for that level of detailed manoeuvring and combat.

http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/bag-hun-gets-bigger.html

To cut a long story short, I 've been gradually collecting 1/144th scale model aircraft kits for the Russian Front, made easier by the release of the Zvezda range of kits and the re-release of the old Revell Micro Wings range. I already have a fair few kits of early to mid-war Soviet aircraft including Lagg 3's, Il-2's and some lend lease Hurricane MkII's, together with some Bf109F's and a Henschel HS126B for the Luftwaffe. Yesterday, I stumbled across a sale offer at Cornwall Model Boats of the Revell P39Q Airacobra and P40E Warhawk kits, which worked out at just £1.39 each plus a reasonable postage, so I've added some of both to the kit pile too.

http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/CMB-Clearance-Deals.html

I think this might be on the cards for later in the year, especially if I can get some interest going at the club, using the club collection of Hexon tiles for the terrain and some 1/300th scale tanks, trucks and armoured vehicles for ground attack targets. I still haven't worked out the rules that I could use but the aforementioned Check Your Six! may well work as they are, give or take a few minor modifications. For instance, I'd like to incorporate adjustable flight stands made from magnetic pick up tools, just like the WW1 multiplayer club system that we use, but this might require quite a bit of experimenting to get right. Still, another air wargaming venture to think about and one which I think has a lot of potential?