Flying Circus

Just back from the WW1 aerial game at the club which was as much fun as ever, despite the Roland DII living up (or should that be down) to my expectations. Actually, compared to some of the unluckier pilots, Leutnant Freiherr Ritter von Popenfahrt didn't do too badly, getting several shots in on various enemy aircraft and surviving to fly another day.

The unwieldy Roland has seen better days though, with three engine hits, two wing hits and a couple of large holes in the fuselage. In the end I was forced to dive out of the dogfight with a shot up engine which, after a couple of turns kicked back into life, leaving me stranded at low altitude. I had no way to get back into the melee above, due to an earlier engine hit power loss that had rendered my flying machine unable to climb, so decided to fly off into the sunset.

This would be a bad idea as it would have been the wrong direction in February 1917, assuming I didn't fancy being a POW.

Still, a good game was had by all, so I'm thinking of adding a few more aircraft to the collection in order to set up another multiplayer mission later in the year. It will be something in 1917 as this gives the greatest scope for scenarios. I have a very nice Eduard Junkers J1 kit that would be great for a ground attack game, together with a few escorting Dr1's, or I could build a few Airfix DH4's for an allied bombing mission.

I've got lots to choose from whatever I decide to do.

WW1 Knights of the Sky

We've got a WW1 aerial game at the club tomorrow night using a set of club rules called Knights of the Sky. It's a neat system which uses hex movement and a set of order codes similar to Blue Max or Check Your Six. The author, Richard, has fine tuned the rules to be simple but very flexible, so that individual aircraft can be manoevered with accurate flight characteristics. It's fast and furious, always resulting in some frenetic action and some very funny moments.

I thought I'd post some pictures of the planes I'm going to take along to the club to lend to other players or to fly myself. They're all 1/72nd scale Airfix, Revell or Esci kits, with the exception of the Roland DII which is an old Merlin Models limited run injection kit. I think it's going to be my plane of choice tomorrow, assuming I fly for the Fatherland, as I built it last year but never used in action. It's built like a brick and will probably fly like one too but at least it'll be a bit different from the standard Albatros or Roland CII's.

I have a lot more aircraft in my collection including several flights of three or four planes, but as the game tomorrow is set in February 1917, only the ones here will be taking to the skies.

Bag The Hun 2

As Bag the Hun 2 is about to be released at last, I thought I'd get myself re-focussed on aerial warfare in 1:285th scale by posting some pictures of my RAF and Luftwaffe planes, most of which are from the excellent Raiden Miniatures range.

The RAF are grounded as I recently discovered that the squadron codes I used, which are supposed to be for Hurricanes are actually for a squadron equipped with Spitfires. I guess I should have checked but it's the manufacturers mistake and you sort of assume they'd get it right? Oh well, at least the Luftwaffe have generic insignia so I didn't screw that up!

I've got quite a few more planes including a formation of Dornier 17's, some Defiants, Blenheims and Beaufighters, which I'll post here when I get the time. I'll also try to get my Italian stuff for North Africa posted up as well (that reminds me, I should have another game against Andy's Desert Air Force sometime).

Diecasts Done and Dusted

I've managed to finish off the four diecast cars for Axles and Alloys today, although a few minor details could be added if I was being picky. I'm not too happy about the windows but they'll have to do in the interest of getting them done and dusted.

The stand in Lamborghini came out looking the best of the bunch despite it's rather boring grey paintscheme, whilst the two base sand cars turned out not quite up to scratch, although perfectly presentable in game terms. The odd one out of the pack, the brown country club thingy, isn't too bad and has some neat passive weapon drop pods on the back end that look quite effective (although you can't see them in the pictures).

I might get a couple more done during the week as they don't take too long to convert or paint up. I also have to make the various markers for Axles and Alloys, which we're trying out at the end of the month, so the ARVN will be taking a back seat for a couple of days. It's looking unlikely that I'll finish the ARVN by the end of the week but I'll hopefully get most of the battlegroup done by the end of February, any extra time I spend having to come off the next project.

Axles and Alloys Upgunned

I've run out of the old Dark Future turret and heavy weapons that I'd stockpiled from ebay, although I still have a few of the silly ones left for conversions, so I've been looking for some suitable replacements. I thought about the Stan Johannsen packs of weapons and bits but, like Jon, I'm not keen on buying from the US having been stung by customs once when ordering some resin MTB's from PT Dockyard.

So, I was looking around the EM4 site ths morning for some plastic Space Marines for my son when I spotted some add on metal weapons for their 28mm Future Wars plastic figures. There are two sets, one for military troopers and one for gangers, both of which consist of five heavy weapons including what look like autoguns, chain guns, missile launchers, flamethrowers and the like.

They may be completely useless, in which case the boy will get them for his Space Marines, but they do look like they might fit nicely onto the Hotwheels as turret, roof or side mounted heavy weapons. I've ordered a pack of each and will see what they're like when they arrive. If they are useable they'd be pretty good value at £2 per pack or 40p per gun.

Painting Up

I've started painting up the diecast cars for Axles and Alloys this afternoon, in between all the usual family related stuff I have to contend with. I've gone for the 'quick drybrush then tidy it all up later approach' as haven't got a lot of time to spend if I'm going to get the ARVN armour done this weekend too (unlikely, but it's worth a try).

Anyway, I've gone for two cars in Foundry three stage Base Sand, one in GW Greys of various shades and one in GW browns. They look OK so far and I'm hoping to finish them off to a pre-detailing standard this evening.

The fourth car is one I bashed together yesterday to replace the one I didn't like the look of. It's a very old Maisto Lamborghini something or other, with the spoiler removed and replaced by grills made from a couple of bits of N gauge pallet, together with the last of my Dark Future turrets as a roof mounted machine gun. Sounds a bit dodgy, but actually looks pretty good!

I'll post some photos as soon as I've got them all to a decent level of finish, if possible with bases to match the sort of thing that Jon has done for his stuff.

Crusader Late War British

I've blown the birthday dosh on a full platoon worth of Late War British infantry for Rate of Fire from Crusader, plus a hard copy of the rules.

With a box set plus an extra pack of a command team, a kneeling command and bren team, 2'' mortar team, PIAT team and a couple of packs of kneeling riflemen, I've got all I need to build three sections and a platoon HQ with mortar section attached. I also splashed out on a Vickers as it looked good and could easily have been attached to a platoon from the support company.

This is what I'm going to replicate, a platoon of the 5th Battalion Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, assuming it fits with the rules:

Platoon HQ

1 x Officer (Sten)

1 Sergeant (Rifle)

1 x Signaller (Rifle)

1 x Runner (Rifle)

Light Mortar Section

1 x 2'' mortar (sten)

2 x loaders / ammo carrier (rifle)

2 x Rifle Platoons each:

1 x Corporal (sten)

1 x Lance Corporal (bren)

2 x loaders / ammo carriers (rifle)

6 x riflemen (rifles)

1 x Rifle Platoon (the PIAT could be assigned to the HQ section instead)

1 x Corporal (sten)

1 x Lance Corporal (bren)

2 x loaders / ammo carriers (rifle)

1 x PIAT (sten)

1 x PIAT loader / ammo carrier (rifle)

4 x riflemen (rifle)

This should be more than enough for a decent size game, with a total of 47 figures plus the HMG I'll have plenty to deal with any situation that Jon can throw at me. Northstar are usually pretty quick on delivery so I should have the figures and rules next week. I can then start cleaning, basing and undercoating them after half term (The 10mm option for this is therefore off the radar but may resurface next year, as it's still something I'd like to do using the Pithead range of figures).

Battlecars

I found my box game of Battlecars and the extension set of Battlebikes in the loft this evening. It's a really great 'beer and pretzels' type one braincell game, which naturally suits me down to the ground.

I spent many PE and A level Public Affairs lessons in the Sixth Form at school playing this with my fellow skivers, as it was quick to set up, quick to play and often very funny. The rest of the time we played a lot of Squad Leader, Panzer Leader, TTG micro games and Cry Havoc, the old Standard Games medieval skirmish boardgame (we also played quite a lot of MERP, Laserburn and Call of Cthulhu but that's another story).

Anyway, I picked up my current copy of Battlecars on Ebay a couple of years ago and had a few games with the boys before shelving it when the wife complained. I'm now going to dust it off and set up a few games with the kids while the other half isn't looking.

Dangerous I know, but worth the risk.

If you can find a decent copy on Ebay, then it's worth getting hold of for a few quid, especially if you want to get your kids interested in gaming. Check out this review and you'll see what I mean: http://www.headlesshollow.com/archives/2004/11/boardgame_revie_2.html

Grunge Washing

I tried out the grungy wash that I mixed up yesterday on the ARVN armour this evening. It's not quite the right shade I was looking for but will do well enough.

I subsequently found the recipe for the original batch that I used on the CO stands, 50:50 GW Black / Scorched Brown plus a top up of Future. I may well mix up a small batch of this formula and slosh it over the engine grills and hatches of the APC's and tanks just to add a little definition. After that it's onto a light highlight with GW Dheneb Stone and they're three quarters done.

I'm looking foward to finishing the ARVN so I can change the picture at the top of the blog and so I can start the next project. Mark from Raiden hasn't sent me the Ju88's yet so I might have a breathing space in which to paint up the Axles and Alloys cars over the weekend (except for the snail which has been consigned to the unfinished dustbin of doom).

I'm also deciding which of the next big projects to start alongside the stuff for the participation game. Current front runners are the AK47 dictatorship army or the DCLI in 10mm for BKC2 or 28mm for Rate of Fire. I may even tackle the Norwegians despite the lack of suitable opposition at the moment. Who knows?

Rate of Fire

These look like an interesting set of skirmish level rules for WW2, perhaps as a potential alternative to Disposable Heroes, which is the other commercial ruleset I've considered for this level of gaming.

Although they don't seem to include rules for tanks, from the blurb on the webpage at least, they do cover most of the things I'd expect to see in a WW2 tactical squad level set and some extra bits that sometimes get left out.

The sample pages look good too, with clearly laid out content and some high quality graphics which, while not affecting the gameplay at all, certainly go some way to justify the price tag...why have rules all become so bloody expensive?. At £18 plus postage they don't represent fantastic value for money but I may well get a copy for 'research purposes' anyway, possibly the download version which is only £6 (bargain!).

I've already got some Artizan late war US troops in greatcoats that I could paint up for WW2 skirmish level games, so the N.Y.R. rule won't be infringed by a 'new' project.

On the other hand, I might be able to justify one of the Crusader box sets of British late war infantry, especially if they do some sort of deal over at North Star. They seem like good value for money and I really like the Crusader style of sculpting, having already got some of their Normans for WAB Shieldwall.