Bag The Doodlebug [4]

I've been doing some background research into the aircraft used in Operation Diver, the V1 interception campaign in 1944, and have come up with some quite surprising findings. I knew about the Meteors I's, Tempest V's and Spitfire XIV's that were used as interceptors during the V1 attacks but had no idea that Mosquitoes and Mustangs were also used by the RAF for the same purpose.

I'm not surprised about the Mossies as their speed and armament would have been ideal, especially in the night interceptor role, but the Mustangs were not what I would have expected given their relatively lower performance. However, it appears that they were very successful, particularly in the hands of the Polish No315 Squadron, who flew Mustang III's both in the malcolm hood and birdcage versions.

The trick was to gain a higher altitude, around 1000 feet or so,  then swoop on the V1 in a shallow high speed dive. After that it was down to concentrated fire from the two Mustangs in a flight in order to blow the thing out of the sky. They also tried supercharging the engines above their specified level but this wasn't too popular with the pilots as it made the engines virtually fall apart with vibration.

There's an excellent first hand account of just such a V1 interception here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20091020095402/geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/9431/44/jul_24_44.html

So, I think I'll be adding a couple of Raiden Mustang III's with bubble canopies to the Tempests and Spitfires for this little mini-project.

Bag The Doodlebug [3]

I received the Raiden planes for the V1 wingtipping game through the post today. I have to say that the 3D CAD generated models for the Spitfire XIV has to be the most detailed 1/285th scale model that I have ever seen.

If you flip it over and have a look at the panel lines on the underwing surfaces you will be knocked sideways by the detail. I'll take some close up pictures tomorrow so that you can see what I mean.

Anyway, I'm sorely tempted to squeeze the Tempests and Spitfires into the painting equation this month, although the Rapid Fire!  5th DCLI also need to be cleaned up, based and painted at the same time.

I've decided to leave the Meteors to one side for the moment as they're not quite right for 1944, but the V1's will need to be included in the schedule if I'm going to get a game in before Xmas.

The amazing artwork is from here: http://www.luijken.com/

Pirate Ship Skirmish

I launched the pirate ship onto the ocean waves this evening in a game against Jon's rather splendid scratchbuilt galleon. We played the Sail on the Horizon scenario from the Legends of the High Seas book, learning the rules as we went along with one or two inevitable mistakes along the way.

There were a few highpoints including a ramming attempt by Jon which damaged his own ship and a broadside fired by my guncrew in which the cannon shot rolled out of the barrel and fell into the sea. The end result of these nautical shenanigans was a narrow win by Jon, after a well aimed raking shot at point blank range reduced my hull points to the required 33% for victory.

The rules for ship to ship games are a little bizarre and had some outcomes that required a bit of collective head scratching to work out. However, that was partly due to the fact that we hadn't played them before, although I get the impression that the rules as a whole could be better laid out and self explanatory.

Anyway, we followed up the first game with a Steal that Ship! scenario which ended up in the usual close quarters hack and slash. I came off much the worse and ended up with half my crew wiped out, whilst the remainder ran for the hills. It was a quick game but very bloody, so I think we'll try one of the cloak and dagger type games next time in an attempt to limit the carnage.

Pirate Gun Crew [7]

 

I finished off the bases on the extra crew figures this evening. It took longer than expected as the PVA glue decided not to dry very quickly due to the cold temperature in the garage. Nevertheless, they're now ready to join the rest of Black Jack Trelawney's shipmates and to play their part in the Legends of the High Seas game at the club tomorrow night.

As you can see I now have nineteen figures and a treausure chest, so plenty for the moment. I've just won a couple of Foundry pirate characters on ebay, including one with a rather fetching parrot, so they'll be painted up as and when. Now, however, it's on to the Valiant Tommies for Rapid Fire! I'm planning to get them cleaned up and based by the end of the week.

Warmaster Ancients Age of Arthur

After a bit of discussion with a couple of the guys at the club, we've decided to go for a Romano-British theme for Warmaster Ancients, using the army lists from the Ancient Armies supplement and the additional lists from Rick Priestley's Warmaster site. To a large extent, we'll be using the Warhammer Ancients Age of Arthur supplement as a rough guide.

The other two are keen on producing an the Arthurian army of some sort whilst, for the sake of balance, I've opted for an Early Saxon force. We are in the process of working out a regional campaign setting which, at this stage, may be in the West Country or up North. As a result, my army might be early West Saxon or Deiran / Bernician.

I have little choice in the composition of the army either way as it basically consists of four units of Thegns, eight of Ceorls and two units of skirmishers to make up the numbers to a round 500 points. The Early Saxon army list can be found on the Warmaster site: http://www.rickpriestley.com/

We've decided that 500 points plus a General is the most affordable and manageable way to get an army on the table. If we end up with a good set of games we can easily expand the armies up to the full 1000 points or alternatively build additional forces at the 500 points level for a bit of variety or to use as allies.

I now have to hunt around for suitable figures in the Pendraken catalogue, using the early Saxons from the late Roman range together with the late Saxons and Norse from the Dark Ages range. They're not quite right but will have to do. I may even try a little conversion work to make them a little less late Saxon, if I can manage to do so in such a tiddly scale.

Anyway, this is scheduled for next month at the earliest so there's plenty of time to work things out.

Pirate Gun Crew [6]

I got some serious painting time in this afternoon, as the sprogs were transfixed by the wonders of the telebox and the wife was having a constitutional snooze. As a consequence, I was able to sneak in some sureptitious painting without the need for:

a) child related info-taintment, or

b) tedious spouse related DIY odd jobs.

Not that the spouse is tedious, I hasten to add.

The walls have ears, you know.

Anyway, the result is an almost complete piratical gun crew, bar a little basing for the extras. I'll get the sand scatter on the bases of the extra crew figures done tonight, so that I can paint them up tomorrow and add some static grass ready for the game on Tuesday.

Pirate Gun Crew [5]

As you can see I've been working away on the pirates tonight and gradually moving them towards the finishing stages. I should get the bulk of the work done by the end of the weekend, with the metal bits plus the hair, belts and bandoliers being the main areas for completion. After that, it's the final detailing and the bases to be tackled.

Axles and Alloys Law Enforcement

I did the usual weekend shopping trip to Sainsburys today and spotted this diecast Transformers police car in the toy section for a quid. It doesn't transform (?) so no doubt didn't appeal to the sprogs and ended up in the bargain bin as a result. I'm going to give it a quick wash and paint up the windscreen but, other than that, it's perfect as a law enforcement interceptor.

Bag the Doodlebug [2]

I had a rummage in the box of 1/285th planes and found that I already have two Gloster Meteor F3's and a couple of V1 Flying Bombs that came with a 1946 Battle Pack that I bought from Raiden ages ago. I'd completely forgotten about them, so will add them to the new Raiden planes that I've ordered when they arrive.

Although the F3 is a bit late for the V1 interception role it's close enough to an F1 for me, the only real difference being in the shape of the canopy. If I can be bothered, I'll have a crack at re-shaping the bubble canopy into a side door type one but I think I'll probably just keep it as it is.

I'm hoping the other planes will arrive soon so that i can squeeze them in alongside the Rapid Fire! project which should be kicking off next week, once the pirates are finished. I'm planning to get them done over the weekend so that I can use them in the game against Jon's new pirate galleon on Tuesday.