A and A Games Air Combat Operations

This looks like a really interesting and flexible set of rules, with the emphasis firmly on large scale engagements with lots of 1/600th scale planes:

http://www.aandagames.co.uk/Work_in_Progress.htm#Air

I'll definately be getting a download of these rules when they're published, perhaps as another option for the Nonomhan project.

Mig Alley USAF update

I've started on the USAF planes for Mig Alley and managed to get the following cleaned up and magnet based yesterday in the space of a couple of hours:

8 x F86 Sabres (fighters)
6 x F84 Thunderjets (fighter bombers)
2 x F94 Starfires (nightfighters)
2 x T6 Texans (Forward Air Controller)

This lot took longer than I expected due to some flash and casting lines that I hadn't spotted. I also had to fiddle around with the method for sticking the magnets onto the castings as I needed to get the polarity all the same way round.

This doesn't matter for the Wings At War bases as they use steel panel pins but if I'm going to use the planes for Bag The Mig or Clash of Sabres, for example, I'll need to base them on hexes using magnets attached to the flight stands, so the polarity has to be all in the same direction or they'll be pinging off into outer space rather than sticking together.

Anyway, I stuck a master magnet to the flight base I brought with me and used that to align the polarity of the magnets on the planes which worked well and also enabled me to base two planes at a time using the magnet on the base and the panel pin flight stand as temporary mounts.

If I can I'll get the rest of the Sabres plus the Shooting Stars, Twin Mustangs and Invaders done tonight. The B29's will need assembling and will also probably need drilling to make the magnets more secure, so they'll have to wait until I get back to the UK.

Incidentally, I also found an online retailer of tiddly magnets on Ebay so have ordered 100 more at only a marginally higher price than from Dom, who I'd much rather use but whose online shop is closed at the moment. Hopefully, he'll be back up and running soon as I also need some 1/600th scale Japanese hinomaru decals for the Khalkin Gol project.

Interstate 76

You may remember this old PC game from a long time ago when, like me, you had the time to waste playing hours of flight sims, driving games and first person shooters.

Anyway, I had one of those flashback funky five minutes today.

I reckon this would make an excellent Axles and Alloys scenario and/or campaign, although to be honest the exact details of the game are a bit sketchy. I was fairly useless at it as I didn't have a wheel and had to fall back on a mouse and keyboard but, nonetheless, it was a lot of fun and had an excellent storyline.

In gaming terms the possibilties for 1970's and 1980's diecast conversions are very cool. There are also some good storyline ideas to be developed into potential scenarios. There's also the retro funkiness of the whole thing, which would add some flavour to the proceedings.

Cool.

US Navy / Marines for Mig Alley

I've got just over 30 magnets left after the USAF and North Koreans are based so I'm going to use them up on the USN and USMC, leaving any left over for the South Koreans.

Here's what I'm planning to do:

4 x F4U Corsair (Marines)

4 x AD Skyraider (Marines)

2 x F7F Tigercat (Marines)

2 x F3D Skynight (Marines)

4 x F2H Banshee (Navy)

8 x F9F Panther (Navy)

2 x S51 SAR Helicopters (Navy)

This leaves only four spare magnets which I'm probably going to use for four ROK F51 Mustangs or use on four Il10m Sturmoviks or Yak 9's for the North Koreans.

USAF MiG Alley

I've had a look at the contents of the boxes of Tumbling Dice planes I have collected for MiG Alley and have decided to start with the USAF, followed closely by the USN and Marines.

I've already decided on 16 Sabres as a starting point but will also be adding the following to round out the Air Force presence in the skies of North Korea:

8 x B29's

6 x B26 Invaders

6 x F84 Thunderjets (although I'll get some more of these later)

8 x F80 Shooting Stars

2 x F94 Starfire

2 x F82 Twin Mustang

2 x T6 Texan FAC

This should give me plenty of scope for different types of mission and form the basis of most of the games I'll start to play.

MiG Alley Aircraft

I've been planning out what I'm going to do for the MiG Alley project today and will be drawing up a list later on this evening to set out my forces for ther UN, North Koreans and Chinese. I have 100 tiddly magnets to use up so have lots of choices to make when it comes to using them.

I'm going to start with 16 Sabres and 16 MiG 15's.

This should be as good basis for the USAF and North Korean contingents.

After that I'm going to have just under 70 magnets left which I'll split between the USAF, USN / Marines, the South Koreans with perhaps a few Communist and Commonwealth aircraft squeezed in as well.

More on this later when I've checked the contents of the 1/600 scale aircraft boxes to see exactly what's avialable.

AK47 Objective Marker?

I saw this in the paper yesterday and thought it would make a very impressive objective marker for AK47, although you'd need to scale it down a bit. Apparently, President Wade of Senegal plans to rent it out and charge tourists to see it, even though it's visible for miles.

Bonkers.

I'm on the lookout for something in a large scale for the Independent Republic of Nbuto or the neighbouring Democratic Socialist State of Mbote, which is my next AK47 project. I'm sure I can find something suitably African in a charity shop somewhere or perhaps adapt a 54mm Russian figure or two into a socialist-realist monument.

France (again)

Off to the in laws tomorrow (bugger!)

I've decided to leave the paints at home but have packed a box of 1/600th planes for Mig Alley and the 28mm BUF platoon to see if I can get them cleaned up and based over the Easter break.

I've also taken some reference material so I can decide how I'm going to paint up the Korean War stuff when I get back in a couple of weeks time. If I find the time to get all this done I'll be surprised but it's worth a try.

At any rate, I should be able to pick up some decent wargame and military history magazines and, hopefully, some of the BD titles in Le Grand Duc series.

On a more positive note, I picked up some aluminium wire mesh from Halfords today when I was supposed to be buying a car seat for the youngest of the sprogs, so I'll be able to do some more Mad Max style Hotwheels conversions at some point in the not too distant future.

Panel Pins

I managed to find some nice stainless steel panel pins today but only in 40mm, 30mm, 25mm, 20mm and 13mm. Nonethless, I've made some additional flight stand prototypes using each size apart from the 25mm which seemed to be too similar to either 20mm or 30mm to be useful.

I now have 4 flight levels although the 13mm one is very low, even if the MiG29 is quite big, and the 40mm one not particularly high. I think they look fine, so I'm going to make a load more as they are very simple and quick to produce.

I've also had a tip off about 50mm panel pins available from Wickes (thanks Jon) and, if I can get some of them I can use them for level 4 flight stands instead of the 40mm ones, which means the 13mm level 1 stands can be replaced by 20mm ones.

Result!

MiG Alley

If I'm successful in tracking down some panel pins or nails for the Wings At War flight stands, then I'm going to try to get the long overdue MiG Alley planes done over Easter instead of the 28mm BUF. It was one of the six projects on the list in the New Year so it will be a good thing to get done.

I haven't had time to clean up and base the VBCW figures, despite my best laid plans, so I think I'll leave them until after the holidays so that I can do them properly. They won't take long so I'm going to stick my neck out and say that I'll get them done by the end of April, which gives me a couple of weeks after the holidays.

In the meantime, I'm going to crack on with the MiG Alley planes, providing the flight stand idea works out, so that I can at least try out the game mechanics before tackling the Nonomhan project. I can take them to France for painting as they only require a limited range of paint shades and are quick to do on a production line.

More planes...but a different scale!