Fire Factors Found for Bag the Hun

A few days ago I posted my ideas about calculating Fire Factors in Bag the Hun, having been unable to find the 'official' method in one of the Too Fat Lardy Specials. Well, I now have found it in the 2006 Summer Special, disguised as an article on aircraft for the Spanish Civil War. It's also available in the Scramble compendium, which is where I should have looked in the first place. Muppet. Anyway, it is bang on what I came up with but with some wiggle room to reflect the firepower of multiple cannon armed aircraft or multiple heavy machine guns. Here's the relevant bit that I've snipped out so you can see for yourself:

It does help explain some of the anomalies in the aircraft listings and use of discordant Fire Factors for aircraft that are armed with similar but slightly different combinations of guns. At least, I was on the right lines and can now work out some of the armament permutations in Bag the Hun terms for aircraft that aren't in the tables. This is really rather handy, as there are a few of these as field modifications in the Continuation War, for example, so it makes it easier to factor them in.

Finest Hour 1/600th

With all the fuss about Cruel Seas, which should be one of my birthday presents on Friday, I expect I'll be tied up with that but, in the longer term, I've been thinking about a 1/600th scale air wargaming project for 2019. I really enjoyed painting the Tumbling Dice models for Bag the MiG, MiG Alley and Target Locked On! last year and now feel much more confident about getting reasonable results in this smaller scale. I also like the idea of being able to paint an entire squadron of fighters or bombers in one go, even if it is at the expense of specific squadron insignia or finer details. 

The focus for my thoughts has turned once again to Finest Hour, the Battle of Britain campaign supplement for the first edition of Bag the Hun. I have always wanted to give this a go but in 1/285th scale the numbers of aircraft to be painted made it unfeasible, with the Luftwaffe bomber formations being a particular stumbling block. However, in 1/600th scale this is less of an issue, especially if I fiddle the system a bit to reduce the maximum numbers of each bomber type to a top limit of twelve rather than a full on eighteen aircraft!

5/6/7 on the 3rd Roll are now 9/6/3 not 15/18/0

I've had a go at editing the relevant table (6.3) in the rules and have come up with this, which I think will keep the numbers manageable for painting and on the table space, whilst also retaining the impression of a bomber formation. This means that if I focussed on just the first campaign phase of the battle, the Kanalkampf, I'd only need to paint up twelve Ju87 Stukas, twelve He111's and twelve Ju88's, in addition to twelve Bf109e's and Bf110's, with a couple of reconnaissance Do17's to round it off. I think this is approaching the limit but would not be impossible by any means...

...and it would double up nicely with Scramble for Britain too!

The Hardest Day

In have read this book a couple of times but found a pristine hard back copy in the local Oxfam bookshop today, so thought I'd get it anyway. It's timely, as I'm thinking of starting a 1/600th scale Battle of Britain project at some point this year, both for Bag the Hun and Wings at War: Scramble For Britain, which means that I can double up on the aircraft. I already have some 1/285th RAF and Luftwaffe aircraft for this but 1/600th scale makes a lot more sense, given the numbers of bombers involved for the Luftwaffe, especially if I set up a campaign using Finest Hour.

I also found a hardback copy of Marked For Death, which I have also read in digital format but thought would sit well with my other books on the First World War in the air. It's really well written and has an interesting approach to the subject matter, with a thematic rather than chronological angle that explores the process and experience rather than just the historical development of the war above the trenches. To round off my shopping trip I have also acquired a new paper trimmer so that I can slice up all the cards for my games nice and quickly, without having to use a pair of scissors, thereby speeding up the whole process and making it far less of a pain in the bum (I hope?)

Bag the Blenheims RAF Aircraft Sheets

I've come down with a stinking head cold but I'm still bashing away at the paperwork for the Lard Day Bag the Hun scenarios, so that they are done sooner rather than later and I can run a few play test games before the event. Here are the aircraft record sheets for both the Hurricane IIb's of 'A' Flight No185 Squadron and the Blenheim IV's of No18 Squadron, which I've modified for bombers and re-organised, three to a laminated A4 sheet. In the scenario there will be six Blenheims operating on a single bomber formation MOVE card but with two AIR GUNNER cards in the pack.

The Blenheims represent a ferry flight of replacement aircraft arriving from an Operational Maintenance Unit in Gibraltar. They have been stripped of all unnecessary weight including most of the machine guns, then packed full of essential spares and supplies for the besieged fortress of Malta. I have reduced the ALT, MAN and SPD by one to reflect their overloaded state and have also given them only the dorsal turret gunner as defensive armament, although this doesn't alter the FIRE FACTOR of 1 in all four arcs.

If this makes it too easy for the Italians, I will just bump the numbers back up again, but I thought it would be fun to see how it changed the game dynamics, especially given the feeble armament of the Mc202's. In previous games, this has been a real pain in the backside for the Italians, who spray bullets all over the place and often hit things but fail to do any significant damage. I'm hoping that by handicapping the bombers it will even the chances of bringing one or more of them down successfully?

More Bag the MiG

A few months ago I had got everything ready for a Bag The MiG game at the club but then had to shelve it indefinitely due to other inconvenient but unavoidable family commitments on club nights. Although there is still a clash with rugby training and ballet lessons, I've managed to wangle at least one Tuesday evening off duty a month, thereby freeing up some nights for club games.

There's a Cruel Seas bandwagon rolling at the moment, which I'm goimg to get involved with, but I'm also planning to run some games myself including the aforementioned Bag the Hun, a potential MiG Alley game when I've finished the bases, targets and terrain, together with a What a Tanker bash at some point too.

The initial aim once the current Bag the Hun playtesting is completed, will be to set up an evening of Bag the MiG, probably for the latter part of March or beginning of April. 

Bag the Blenheims Back to the Drawing Board

I've had yet another re-think about the Bag the Blenheims scenario today, based on some more background research, this time using the Osprey Aviation Jagdgeschwader 53 'Pik As' book. As I already suspected the Bf-109F4's of JG53 retained their Eastern Front temperate camouflage when they were re-deployed to Sicily in December 1941, apart from repainting the theatre band from yellow to white. This means that my desert scheme Bf-109F4 Trop's will stand out like a sore thumb to anyone who has an interest in the air war over Malta, of which there's always bound to be one!

In addition the first combat flight by JG53 didn't occur until the 19th December 1941, which is five full days after the supposed scenario date, largely due to the terrible weather, which just adds yet another complication to the whole set up as it will really mess with the visibility and I was hoping to avoid having to use any bogeys or spotting. At the same time, the Italian pilots of 73 Squadriglia had left Sicily on the 3rd December to re-equip with new Mc202's, which goes some way to explain why the No185 Squadron ORB states that things were 'really quiet' at the time. This clearly makes a nonsense of the semi-historical setting idea, so it's back to the drawing board for an alternative approach.

So, after a bit more thought, it's back to Plan A but with a different twist to pull all the strands into a 'barely historical yet not entirely fictional' scenario which might have happened, still using the real pilot identities for all the factions but setting the action back in November at an unspecified but feasible date. I will use the same flexible set up but with only the Italians flying for the Axis, in a scaleable force of either two or three sections, with the RAF in a similar single flight format or two sections, albeit with the option to fly only one section if needs be. I can always adjust the game to size when I know how many have signed up for it after all.

After all of that curfuffle, the basic scenario and objectives will be the same, Bag the Blenheims! I did think of just using another of my published scenarios off the shelf, Lightning Strike, which is set in October 1941 and did actually happen. It uses the same aircraft and also features No185 Squadron and 73 Squadriglia, but it is just a dogfight without any bombers involved, so wouldn't be so much fun. If I had the time, I'd probably write a new scenario and paint up some new aircraft for it too but, as the clock is ticking, I think I'll stick to my guns and just re-write what I've already got ready to use.

Bag the Blenheims Axis Aircraft Sheets

I already have nine of these painted and based, just 

needing a bit of tarting up to be ready to go.

I've now started on the paperwork for the other Bag the Hun scenario that I'll be running for the Lard Day, which I've decided to make flexible enough to accommodate three to six players. To do this, I'll prepare a card deck and scenario briefings for two versions of the game, which I'm thinking of renaming as 'Bag the Blenheims'. I think this has a better Too Fat Lardies ring to it and also sums up he aim of the game for anyone interested in taking part.

The first smaller scale version will feature the Luftwaffe while the second larger scale game will deploy the Regia Aeronautica, the former as a single schwarm of four Bf-109F-4's of the Stabsschwarm of JG53 and the latter as three sections of three Mc202 Folgore fighters of 73 Squadriglia. The three sections of Mc202's will give me enough aircraft for three Italian players, while the Bf109's can operate as two pairs or as a single four aircraft formation.

Wrong camouflage but they match the models I've already got 

(I don't think anyone will know he difference?)

As it's a 'what if?' scenario I'm not too bothered that neither unit was operational on the exact date but I'll still make the pilot identity and skill ratings as historically accurate as I can. The basic aircraft record sheets for both units have now been filled in, so I need to sort out the RAF ones for the Hurricane Mk IIb's of No185 Squadron and an as yet unidentified squadron of Blenheim Mk IV's. I'm planning to get them done tomorrow and then start on the card deck.

Sails of Glory

I had a very enjoyable game of Sails of Glory at the club this evening, my first game of the year and my first at the club for months. The game was umpired by the ever generous Gary, who did an excellent job of explaining the rules before the French and British fleets sailed into battle, with yours truly as the hapless French admiral. In the end, the French won a decisive victory but not before the admiral was forced to strike his colours due to battle damage and crew casualties. It was great fun and I'm sure will feature as a club multiplayer game again before not too long. Allez les Bleus!

Stacking the Deck

I've now printed off the deck of turn cards for the Bag the Hun Bogeys Over Berlin play test game next week, so will get them laminated to protect them from the player's grubby little fingers, as some of them are particularly grubby. In the past I have either just printed the cards then stuck them onto thin calling cards, so that they are a consistent size, then laminated them or just used those plastic sleeves you can buy for CCG cards. The latter tend to be a bit flimsy and too small to be easily readable on the table top while the former is a bit ad hoc for a participation game.

Neither of these solutions is great, so I decided to try and find some plastic laminating sleeves that are playing card size. I managed to source some 75mm x 105mm laminating sleeves via Amazon which look about right, although I did have to adjust the sizing of my cards slightly to 95mm x 65mm so that they would be a perfect fit. They should arrive in the post today, so I'll get cracking with the laminator later on. I may well do a card back as well with a suitable image to both obscure the identity of the card and to make them look really good.

Tiger, Tiger

One of my as yet undone 'to do' projects over the last couple of years has been a 15mm US army for I Ain't Been Shot Mum, for which I have been collecting Plastic Soldier Company and Battlefront figures and AFV's. I have now got a sizeable pile of kit for this, with the infantry in winter gear for late 1944 and early 1945. The idea is to use my '6 x 4' tundra terrain cloth as a basis for the scenic side of the project, so it made sense to go for the Reichswald or Ardennes rather than Normandy. When I get round to this is another matter entirely, having originally intended to get it underway in 2018, but at least I'll be sorted when I eventually do!

I have, as yet, only got one plastic Jagdpanther for the other lot, however, so I thought I'd start collecting a few more bits and pieces to build a late war German Kampfgruppe. I was really pleased to find that NorthStar were flogging off a Battlefront Flames of War Tiger platoon box set of five plastic tanks, at a 50% discount and a price tag of only £13. I thought this was a really good deal, especially when I got the boxed set today and discovered it included some extra cards for Tanks!, as well as some super decals and other goodies.

That's a Panzer Zug ready to assemble for a start....Panzers Marsch!