Bag the Hun Franco Thai War Ki-30 Ann

I'll be working on a series of scenarios for the Franco Thai War for Bag the Hun later this year, probably as a holiday project, so I have been collecting together the aircraft I need in 1/600th scale. There are a couple of gaps that I need to fill, one of which is the Mitsubishi Ki-30 Ann flown by the Royal Thai Airforce, which isn't available in the Tumbling Dice range. I only need a few so don't want to go down the 3D printed route, so I have decided to use a proxy model, either a radial re-engined conversion of the Kawasaki Ki-32 Mary model or the off the shelf Kawasaki Ki-51 Sonia, which is similar enough to get away with it. This means I can write up a couple of scenarios that are dependent on the Ki-30, which was the most modern aircraft in the Thai arsenal and widely deployed for light bombing missions.

The Franco Thai War with Bag the Hun

After some reading around the various options I have narrowed down the next Bag the Hun scenario project to the Norwegian Campaign and the Franco Thai War. The Norwegian option looked good on paper but had less going for it once I dug a little deeper, with the Norwegian Gladiators wiped out in a single day of fighting and the RAF really only engaged in the air defence of Narvik and some attacks on shipping, with a distinct lack of much dogfighting. 

It's still worth a look, perhaps as a basis for two or three scenarios on the 'Last Stand of the Gladiators', so I'll save that one for later and push on to research the Franco Thai option instead, at least for the moment. I haven't abandoned the other ideas either but need to find a lot more background material for Syria, for example, before making any scenario outline sketches. Thanks to everyone who has offered their ideas, as it's always useful to have a second opinion.

Tumbling Dice Mitsubishi Ki-30

I had an email from Paul at Tumbling Dice today with the news that he will be producing a Mitsubishi Ki-30 Ann light bomber model later this year, or as he put it 'a tubby Kate', which made me laugh. It's good news for the Khakhin Gol project as it opens up a couple of scenarios that I didn't include in the article, mainly due to the lack of a suitable model. It also fits in nicely with the Franco Thai Bag the Hun project, as the Japanese equipped the Royal Thai Air Force with the Ki-30 as its principal light bomber. It'll save me the hassle of converting some Kates too!

Bag the Hun Scenario Projects 2022

I've been looking ahead to next year and have some ideas in mind for another Bag the Hun scenario writing project, to be combined with some 1/600th scale model painting so that I can run some more, very enjoyable solo games and club multiplayer sessions. So far, I've come up with four potential themes, some of which cross over with Wings at War as an added bonus.

First up is the Franco Thai War in 1941, which is limited in scope but features some really unusual and interesting aircraft, with the added bonus that you don't need very many of them! I've mentioned this before on the blog and have at least four or five scenarios already sketched out in rough, with all the models in the lead pile ready to go.

The second option is the Norwegian campaign in 1940, with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and Norwegian Air Force taking on the might of the Luftwaffe and the Kriegsmarine. This would have loads of potential, with lots of 'derring do' and some classic early war aircraft types to paint up. I'm keen on this idea in particular, as I don't know much about it and I think it would be a popular choice.

The third option is the campaign in Syria in 1941, again with the RAF and FAA but this time fighting the Vichy French, who put up a stiff fight by all accounts. This has the advantage that any aircraft I paint up can also be deployed in North Africa, where they can take on the Regia Aeronautica as well as the Luftwaffe.

The last theme that I've been considering is the 1948 War of Independence or 'Al Nakbah' depending on your point of view. I started on a Wings at War Desert Spitfires project before so have all the aircraft with some even painted, albeit in a half finished state, so this would be an easy option with lots of dogfighting thrown in for good measure.

What do you think?

What's on the Workbench?

The workbench is looking pretty busy at the moment but I'm making inroads into a number of projects and plan to clear the decks of at least one of them in the next few days. I'm really looking forward to moving these projects along and hopefully finishing them this Autumn, if it all goes according to the plan? 

The 1/3000th early war Italian fleet is now under coated and ready for painting, so that will be my big project for September and October. I've also been busy painting the Ki-21 bombers for the Bag the Hun Khalkhin Gol project, with only the canopies and engines left to do before I can add the decals. 

The air component of the naval project is also underway, starting with some 1/600th scale French fighters and dive bombers for the newly uptarted Bearn, the former having radial engines added to make them into Dewoitine 373's. There are a couple of Italian float planes sneaking onto the painting table as well, as they were just too cool to leave in the box. 

The 1/600th Tumbling Dice aircraft for the Franco Thai War have also arrived along with some cracking roundels from Flight Deck Decals, so that's another project for later in the Autumn. Finally, there's the 1/2400th extras for the War of the Pacific, which I'm going to focus on for my solo naval wargaming fun over the next couple of months.

Lots to do! 

Bag the Hun Thai Aircraft Characteristics

I've worked out the aircraft characteristics for the Royal Thai Air Force aircraft that aren't listed on the data tables in the rules. The Vichy French aircraft are listed, so there's no need for any number crunching, but the Thai ones are not, so here are the ratings that I've devised based on the guidelines, some reading and comparison with similar aircraft in the tables.

Curtiss Hawk 75N

SPD 5 / MAN 5 / ALT 6 / ROC 2 / ROB 1 / SIZ 1 / FF F:6 / AMMO 12

Curtiss Goshawk (Hawk III)

SPD 4 / MAN 5 / ALT 5 / ROC 2 / ROB 2 / SIZ 1 / FF F:2 / AMMO 12

Vought V93S Corsair

SPD 3 / MAN 4 / ALT 4 / ROC 2 / ROB 1 / SIZ 1 / FF F:1 R:0 L:0 R:2  / AMMO 12

Martin B10 (139WSM)

SPD 4 / MAN 3 / ALT 5 / ROC 1 / ROB 3 / SIZ 3 / FF F:1 R:1 L:1 R:1 / AMMO n/a

Mitsubishi Ki-30 'Nagoya'

SPD 5 / MAN 4 / ALT 6 / ROC 2 / ROB 1 / SIZ 2 / FF F:1 R:0 L:0 R:1 / AMMO 12

Dan is The Man

A big shout out to Dan at Flight Deck Decals.

I asked if he could scale down his 1/300th Thai roundels to 1/600th and less than twenty four hours later, they're available in his web shop thingy.

It now means I can start (and finish) my Franco Thai war project...outstanding!

Thanks Dan.

Top bloke!

(and his decals are pretty good too)

Flight Deck Decals (flightdeckdecals2400.com)

Franco Thai War Project Plane Packs

I've just put in an order with Tumbling Dice to supplement the models that I already have for the French and Thai aircraft. I have raided various boxes to find enough Fokker DXXI's, Morane Saulnier MS406 and Nakajima B5N Kates to equip each side. I've now ordered a pack each of Curtiss Hawk III Goshawks and Vought V93 Corsairs, as well as three packs of Martin B-10 bombers, which should be enough to cover most potential scenarios. I have also got a couple of Bristol Fighters from my WW1 stash which will possibly do as Potez 25's with a bit of reshaping and trimming, so it's looking like a very feasible project. The only thing I now need are some decals for the Thai aircraft?

Tumbling Dice Franco Thai War Aircraft

I've worked out what is feasible using the Tumbling Dice 1/600th scale range of aircraft and the options are pretty good, although the French are a little short on some types: 

Thai Air Force (RTAF)

Curtiss Hawk 75N - Fokker DXXI (ISA546) as it's almost identical in 1/600th scale.

Curtiss Hawk III Goshawk -  Curtiss BF2-C1 Goshawk III-IV (ISA223)

Vought V93 Corsair - Vought O3U-3 Corsair (ISA227)

Martin 139WSM - Martin B10 (ISA236)

Mitsubishi Ki-30 - Nakajima B5n Kate (ISA423) with added wheel struts

Vichy French Air Force

Morane Saulnier MS406 - same (ISA322)

Potez 25 - possible conversion job 

Potez 542 - N/A

Farman 221 - Farman 222 (ISA326)

I've left out any seaplanes or floatplanes but they're not available anyway. The absence of the Potez 542 isn't a big problem as it wouldn't feature in any scenarios but the Potez 25 would be required for at least one scenario, so I'd need to try a conversion of some sort based on a similar model, possibly one of the interwar Japanese or British aircraft?

Bag the Hun Franco Thai War 1941

I have a new Bag The Hun project to follow on from my very enjoyable foray into the Khalkhin Gol incident, this time a similarly obscure but very interesting excursion to Indochina. This time, I'm planning to write a series of scenarios for the Franco Thai War in 1941, which has some really interesting aircraft and a number of potential dogfights that would be excellent as the basis for games. I'm only just starting on the background reading and research for this but have already located a number of very good sources online, including these:

 The Franco-Thai War - Pacific Eagles

Warfare History Blog: Franco-Thai War: The Indochina Micro Campaign, 1940-1941 (warfarehistorian.blogspot.com)

It's looking like a project with a lot of potential, with most if not all of the aircraft available in 1/600th scale from Tumbling Dice, although there's only limited options in 1/300th scale from Collectair, Heroics and Ros and Raiden Miniatures. The scenarios would also only involve a relatively small number of aircraft, so more than manageable for solo play. Excellent!