I've made some more progress on the 1/3000th scale modern warships for the Chilean Navy, with the decks blocked in using Vallejo London Grey and the black bits painted in Army Painter Black. The next thing to do will be some highlighting with Vallejo Sky Grey before I decide how to go about some pin washing or lining out to add some shading?
I'm planning to run a couple more games of MiG Alley over the weekend, as I've only just scratched the surface of the rules and really enjoyed the previous games I played a few weeks ago. This time, I thought I'd try some US Navy jets and piston fighter bombers against the North Korean MiG-15's, which should be an interesting variation on my earlier games. I haven't sorted out any sea terrain yet but that doesn't really affect the set up that much, so I'll just crack on regardless. If I have time, I may also try to get another playtest game of Corsairs and Cavaliers as well, now that I have some civilian bombers to deploy.
I'm taking a break from reading air warfare books and instead have dipped into this classic account of the war in North Africa, through the lens of a Crusader Mk III tank commander in 1942. It is a very evocative and revealing autobiographical narrative, which doesn't pull its punches or shy away from the ugly side of the conflict, yet always seems to have an informal, almost conversational tone which makes it all the more readable. It really is a great book and well worth a few hours of your time.
I've started on the 1/3000th scale warships for the Chilean Navy, with an overall basecoat of Vallejo Light Grey. I farted about with this for a bit, using it as an undercoat instead of spray primer, which didn't really work, then doing an overall ink wash, which also didn't work, before slapping on a top coat to cover up the mess. They are now a little less crisp in detail under a couple of coats of paint but they are definitely base coated! I'm not too fussed about the end result, as this project is focussed on getting them on the table and into action, but it's not a great start and I'll have to do some remedial paint work to make them presentable.
I've finally completed the Corsairs and Cavaliers project, with the final aircraft painted up for the Honduran and Salvadoran Air Forces. The last things to be completed were four, reduced to three due to a mid-painting muck up, C-47 Dakotas for the FAS and FAH. These were a total and utter pain in the bum to paint and came out okay but not nearly as tidy as I'd have liked. I ended up rushing them a bit to get them shifted and I think you can see the end result. I'm really pleased to have wrapped up the project in less than a month, however, and it means I can now tick it off the to 'do list' to move on to other, less obscure and more exciting things. Just remind me never to paint civilian aircraft ever again!
I've just finished the civilian C47's and Cessnas for the Football War project and fancy a change from painting 1/600th scale aircraft, now that the Corsairs and Cavaliers project is finally done and dusted. I'm supposed to be focussing on naval projects this year, so my next job will be the 1/3000th scale modern Chilean warships that I prepared for painting a few weeks ago.
There are about twenty or so of these to do, along with some helicopters and aircraft, so I'm hoping they won't take too long. After that, I'll be painting an opposing naval force which will either be Peruvian or Argentinian, which would make for some good Naval Command games set in the early 2000's. I've also begun to explore the options for an Anglo Dutch War naval project, using the Mad for War rules, based on the Royalist privateers in the Isles of Scilly in 1648-51, but that's in a very early stage of development indeed. I haven't even decided on the scale yet!
I'm off work today so set up a quick playtest game of Corsairs and Cavaliers, using my old and very wrinkled GW grass mat on the confines of the kitchen table. To make things interesting the FAS had a section of two Mustang Cavaliers at Altitude 4 / Energy 5 for top cover, plus a flight of three Corsair FG1-D's at Altitude 3 / Energy 4, the latter loaded with bombs for ground attack and with Green pilots. The FAH had a flight of three F4U-N cannon armed Corsairs with Green pilots, again loaded with bombs for ground attack.
The targets were rolled for and the FAS placed three on the Honduran side of the table, while the FAH placed two in the Salvadoran side, spaced out according to the rules.
The Salvadorans decided to enter the Mustangs opposite the Honduran Corsairs on the left hand side of the table, while the Salvadoran Corsairs lined up on the closest target over to the right. As the Salvadorans always move first in the rules, it looked like they would have the upper hand throughout the game, with two more aircraft and some better pilots. However, the Victory Point system in Wings of War helps to balance this out, with the FAS needing 4 VP's to the FAH target of only 2 VP's.
The initial turn of the game brought both sides aircraft on to the table. In Turn Two, the FAS Mustangs cut their speed, dived and moved forward to intercept the FAH Corsairs in a head on attack at Level 3. The Mustang pilots rolled a 1 and a 3, resulting in Low Ammo and a Miss, so it was now the turn of the Corsairs to fire back using the Snap Shot rule. The two Honduran pilots both rolled a 6, which meant that the Mustangs were both shot down in flames, handing the FAH an immediate and decisive win with 6 VP's, three times more than their VP target!
I decided to play on and allowed the FAH and FAS Corsairs to begin their respective bombing runs. In Turn Three the FAS Corsairs dived down to Level 2 and proceeded to bomb their target, a truck convoy on the Honduran side of the border. This involved a dive to Level 2, moving forward to bomb, then a zoom climb out back up to Level 3. The first Corsair swooped down and released its bombs, hitting the target with a roll of 4. The second and third Corsairs were committed to the bomb run, so they followed on but both were shot down by AAA, each rolling a 1 on the D6!
I finished the FAH bomb run to wrap up the game, with the three Corsairs performing a scissors manoeuvre to confuse the enemy AAA. This worked for two of them, with two direct hits on the target, but wasn't so successful for the first Corsair pilot who was unlucky enough to be shot down, again as a result of the dreaded 1 on his D6. This was the end of the game, as the FAH had already won and the FAS had been reduced to a single Corsair, whose pilot decided that enough was enough and flew off the table.
The Victory Points for the FAH when added up came to a grand total of 14, with two enemy Mustangs and two Corsairs shot down, together with two hits on one of the targets, so only seven times more than they actually needed to win! The FAS didn't go home empty handed, however, scoring 4 VP's, three for the Corsair being shot down and one for the bomb hit on the trucks, achieving their Victory Target but at far too steep a cost and far too late to make a difference. It was a fun game but luck played a big role for both sides, so a rematch with some different aircraft and some new dice (!) is definitely on the cards.
Here's the last of the aircraft for the Wings at War Corsairs and Cavaliers project, with four Douglas C-47's and three Cessna U-17 light aircraft, once again using the Tumbling Dice Stinson Sentinel model as a stand in. The C-47's will be split evenly between the Honduran and Salvadoran air forces as make shift bombers, with the bombs rolled out through the side cargo doors. They actually did this and had some success, although I suspect it was very little hit and mostly miss!
The Cessna flight can be used for either side, as nuisance raiders and very light bombers, using mortar rounds strapped to the passenger seat, then thrown out by hand over the target. This will complete the project but I'm going to run a few play testing solo games beforehand anyway, using the fighters and fighter bombers I've already finished. I've also had another look at the core rules and have edited them a bit more in line with Chris Russell's feedback, which should make them easier to navigate due to far less 'alphabet soup'.
I think I may just have found the focus for my INWarD 2021 games, with a copy of Barry Hilton's Mad for War Essentials late seventeenth century Age of Sail rules.
I have enjoyed immensely Barry's ship painting, terrain making and naval wargaming on the League of Augsburg blog, which have featured the lovely Tumbling Dice 1/2400th scale range of ships. In fact, I have already had some ideas for my own Anglo-Dutch solo naval wargaming, based on the Isles of Scilly in 1650-1651, so it made a lot of sense to get hold of a copy of the rules, rather than just go with Galleys and Galleons, which was my initial choice.
I have to say I am gobsmacked by the quality of this rulebook, which even in its nuts and bolts .pdf edition is beautifully designed and presented in full colour. Not only that, its all for only a fiver! There's a set of starter scenarios as well as some cut out and play ship counters, not to mention a free set of additional scenarios bundled with the download. It's a very slick and most enticing product, with a solid set of rules and loads of support including videos of games to watch as a learning tool. I can't wait to have a go, once I've cleared the decks of other things!
It's International Naval Wargaming Day on the 6th August this year, which as David Manley has astutely pointed out is a Friday, opening up the possibility of more than one game over the weekend or even a mini-campaign of some description. In the past four years, I've focussed the day on ironclad actions but I fancy something a bit different this time around, although I haven't made up my mind as to what it might be.
Jim's Wargames Workbench: International Naval Wargaming Day (jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com)
