Red Star Rampant

I've started the writing for the Lard Mag article and scenarios today, with the introduction completed and the historical overview bit slated for tomorrow. I've based the format on Blue Swastika Rampant, the original Bag the Hun article for the Winter War published in the Summer 2009 Special, as there are a lot of common aspects between the two conflicts, albeit on other sides of the world. I'm aiming to get the whole thing written by this time next week, if I can get the time to sit down and bang it out on the laptop.

Bag the Hun Khalkhin Gol Ki-21 Bombers

 

These are now finished and ready for a game or two, so I can officially draw a line under the painting side of the project and tick it off as job done! I do have a few more models that I could paint including five rocket armed I-16's, some extra Ki-27's and some BR-21 bombers, but I think I've done enough for the moment. I rushed the Ki-21's a bit and the canopies are crap but they're finished, so I can now move onto the extra ironclads for the War of the Pacific naval project.

One Hour Wargames on a Budget

One of the Facebook groups that I've joined is for Neil Thomas' One Hour Wargames rules, which I've always thought would make a great solo wargaming on a budget project. The rules themselves don't look like much, being only a couple of pages long, but they are deliberately simplified for fast play and minimal complication. The secret of the rules is in the extensive range of scenarios, which can be used with all of the rules variants in one shape or form, and also in the small size of the armies and space required. 

The author also encourages the use of cheap plastic and paper armies, which is a nice change from the usual highly commercialised sets of rules these days. I have a tentative plan to try out the ECW rules variant with the Billy Bones paper armies that are available on Wargames Vault. I have had this set for years, originally downloaded for use as a teaching aid but otherwise not usefully employed, so I could print off two whole armies at minimal cost for this project. 

The other option would be the ACW variant, again using the Billy Bones paper counters, which I've experimented with before for Longstreet but didn't get beyond gluing together one regiment. I particularly like the look of the ACW units as they are very much in the style of contemporary glass plate sepia photographs and look very atmospheric. It's another project for a rainy weekend but it should be well worth the cost of a printer cartridge or two!

(as this is a print and play project, I'll post any updates on the other blog: Tea and a Wad Wargaming)

Rockets!

I've nearly finished painting the nine Ki-21's for the Khalkhin Gol project so have been looking for an interesting scenario that I can use them in, rather than just a bog standard bomber interception mission. I immediately thought of a game in which the Soviets could use RS-82 air to air rocket equipped I-16's, a five aircraft special assignment unit being on a combat trial toward the end of the war. 

On 20th August at 16.30, the unit took part in an attack on a mixed formation of Ki-27's and Ki-21's, firing the rockets for the first time and downing two Ki-27's which disintegrated in mid-air. The Ki-27's then flew off chased by the rest of the Soviet fighters, leaving the Ki-21's to carry on to their targets but with subsequent losses to both AAA and fighters later on.

'On August 20, 1939, at 4 p.m., Soviet pilots I. Mikhailenko, S. Pimenov, V. Fedosov and T. Tkachenko under the command of Captain N. Zvonarev flew to perform a combat mission to cover our troops. Over the front line, they met Japanese fighters. At the commander's signal, all five fired a simultaneous missile salvo from a distance of about a kilometre and shot down two Japanese aircraft. Soviet fighter-missile carriers participated in fourteen air battles and shot down thirteen Japanese aircraft.' RS-132 (airwar.ru)

Tumbling Dice I-16 with rockets

The Soviets had twenty three I-16's including the five rocket armed ones, together with eleven I-153's, against forty Ki27's and ten Ki-21's, so I'd have to scale the numbers down by only representing part of the battle. It's a bit different and would be an interesting twist on the usual dogfight, so I'll have a go at working something out as an optional extra to my existing scenario writing schedule.

Rising Sun and Red Star

I've got a big Bag the Hun thumbs up from Nick Skinner for a Lard Mag article on the Khalkhin Gol incident, so I now need to actually go ahead and write it, together with the half a dozen or so scenarios that I've already worked up. I'm trying to think of a working title and the best so far is Rising Sun and Red Star, which is a bit clunky but sums it up pretty well. I have a few days spare before being called in for work, so will aim to get it all written up for submission over the next fortnight or so.

Corsairs and Cavaliers News

I had an email from Paul at Tumbling Dice the other day about the Corsairs and Cavaliers variant of Wings at War. He's now bought the rights for the Wings at War series as the author, Chris Russel, unfortunately passed away earlier in the year. Paul is now looking to publish the rules at some point either later this year or in early 2022, with some new aircraft being sculpted to fill some of the gaps. It's early days yet but the Football War ball is rolling again. It also means I'll have to find time to get some more play testing done, although I'm pretty sure it's a fully working set of rules.

Cruel Seas Club Game

There's a multiplayer club game of Cruel Seas next week, so I've signed up for what will be only my fourth game with the rules, but this time I'll be bringing along my own S-Boote flotilla with some air support from my 1/285th scale FW-190's or Bf-109's depending on the theatre and scenario. I'm a bit ambivalent about Cruel Seas to be honest, as I have already got lots of 1/600th scale coastal forces models and much better rules to use them with, but in the interest of getting in some games you can't go against the flow!

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! 

1/3000th Flight Deck Decals First Impressions

Before

After

I picked up the courage to have a go at upgrading my old Navwar 1/3000th scale model of the French aircraft carrier Bearn with a proper flight deck from Fight Deck Decals. This was a bit nerve wracking at first and I had a moment of panic trying to lift the decal onto the model, but it all ended up looking splendid and was surprisingly easy to do, which is a testament to Dan's excellent products. I now want to get some more aircraft carriers to add decals to, so will shortly be putting an order into Navwar for some Royal Navy and Japanese flat tops for the early war. A top quality product that makes my average paint job look so much better!

Oxfam Second Hand Book Bargains

 

We had a day trip to Shaftesbury yesterday which was really nice and made even better by the local Oxfam bookshop, in which I found these three immaculate hardbacks and an equally pristine paperback, all for £2.99 each. I'm not sure where I can squeeze them on to my bookshelves but they are very welcome additions to my reference library, although my wife will almost certainly disagree.