We stopped off in Dinan the other day for a coffee and had a quick walk around the town, which is very nice indeed. In the central square there's a rather imposing statue of Betrand du Guesclin, commemorating a duel that he fought and won during the siege of Rennes in 1356-57, when his forces were based in Dinan. We didn't have time to take a look at the town's fourteenth century defences, which are largely intact and quite impressive, so we'll definitely be going back.
I've been getting the stuff ready for play testing the first 'Raben's Ravens' scenario - Digger Dogfight - which is set in May 1918 and involves a clash between Sopwith Camels of 'A' Flight, No.4 Squadron AFC and a kette of Albatros DVa scouts of Jasta 18. This is a fairly straightforward dogfight lasting ten turns, evenly matched and with no complicated rules to juggle with, so I'm not expecting to have too many issues, although you never know!
I read this book years ago but have brought it with me for the holidays to brush up on aerial warfare in the First World War. As with most of the books by Norman Franks, it's an easy read but very well written and packed full of useful, well researched and accurate details. I'm really going to enjoy reading this over the next few days. I'm also going to play test some of the Jasta 18 scenarios for Algernon Pulls It Off!, using my 1/600th scale models, card decks and draft scenario briefings.
An old wargaming friend of mine has been doing some rather splendid things for Rapid Fire Reloaded lately, building opposing late war British and German forces in 20mm, the conventional scale for the rules. I already have a copy of the rulebook, together with previous editions, and a long time ago even had most of a British company almost completed. That went to eBay years ago but I'm now thinking of a reboot in either 15mm or 12mm, so have ordered some of the new rules supplements to see if I can work out options for a future project, once again focussed on the 5th Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in Normandy, or the Breakout into Brittany project which was originally for ISBSM back in the day.
I'm off on holiday for two weeks and have packed some 1/2400th WW1 warships to assemble and base. These include the models for Coronel and the Falklands, together with the French warships for Get the Goeben!. I'm not sure if I'll get them all sorted but it will be an enjoyable way to spend the time in the evenings.
I've discovered a range of superb decals for First and Second World War aircraft in 1/285th - 1/300th scale, from a company called Moorland Scale Model Decals here in the UK. These are resized from individual decal sets in larger scales, so have excellent detail and accuracy. The only downside is that the sheets are not based around specific RFC Squadrons or Jagdstaffel but are for individual pilots, with an emphasis on well-known aces like Billy Bishop or Carl Degelow, for example. I'm thinking of asking Geoff to design some for Jasta 18 but will hang on for the moment and see if Dan Arute at Flight Deck Decals can design a whole sheet of insignia, as he is my 'go to' for decals. They do look fabulous though, and I'm sorely tempted to order the SE5a sheet just for kicks!
https://moorlandscalemodeldecals.co.uk/285th-300th-scale-sets/
One of the great things about wargaming is that it gives you an excuse to collect and read books. I already have a good collection of reference material for the Algernon Pulls It Off! 'Black Flight' scenario project, but there were some specific gaps, so I've filled them with a couple of new books to supplement the existing ones. I was lucky to get a copy of the No.10 Squadron book, which is otherwise really expensive, for a bargain price on eBay, so this will form the core of my reading and note making, with the ubiquitous but very good Sorry titles to flesh out more of the details. I may take this lot on holiday for some leisurely reading but will start on the scenario writing later on after the break.
I got round to finishing the Tumbling Dice 1/600th scale Caquot observation balloon today, so that's a job done. The base is sky blue to match my old Hotz hex cloth but I will probably repaint it to use with my green mouse mat cloth after the play testing is complete. I'm reasonably happy with the end result but think I could have used a lighter shade for the balloon canvas, so will try that on the other model I have in the bits box.
I've narrowed down the focus of my next scenario project for Algernon Pulls It Off! to No.10 Squadron, Royal Naval Air Service, or Naval 10 as it was known at the time. This will revolve around 'B' Flight under the leadership of Flight Commander Raymond Collishaw from May to September 1917. This unit was known for painting the cowlings of its Sopwith Triplanes matt black and for the pilots also marking their individual aircraft with a name beginning with 'Black', for example, Black Maria, Black Death, Black Prince and so on. The pilots were all Canadians, which gives the project a distinctive theme, as well as being very experienced in aerial combat, having flown Sopwith Strutters and Pups beforehand. This set of scenarios will be smaller than the Jasta 18 project but there's plenty of potential for some really good 'dogfight' style games with Albatros DIII's of Jagdgeschwader I, the infamous 'Flying Circus' of von Richthofen, definitely making a regular appearance.
From the club forum....
For those of you who play Cruel Seas, the next club multiplayer weekend will be a coastal forces game set in 1942 off the Hook of Holland. This will be an interception by MTB's of German S boats returning from a patrol off the East Coast convoy lanes.
We will be using 1/72nd scale MTB and E Boat models by Airfix and Revell, which will be provided for players to command, along with the car park area immediately adjacent to the Badger Farm community centre. Sainsbury's has very kindly offered the use of a number of large blue tarpaulins to represent the north sea. Dickie has volunteered to scratch build some islands.
It will be a late start and the game will run over night from Saturday to Sunday morning. No date has been agreed as this depends on availability and the phases of the moon. Please sign up if you are interested. Any assistance with model building and costumes will be gratefully appreciated.
;o)
