Strength and Honour Armies

I had a very enlightening online chat with Mark Backhouse, author of the soon to be published Strength and Honour small scale, large battle ancient rules today. I got my Antonine Miniatures samples from Warbases a couple of weeks ago but wasn't sure what to use them for, so it was really great to get Mark's help in working out the options. 

I wanted to re-use my 1/2400th scale desert coastal terrain for this project as hills, so it had to fit with a historical campaign either in a Marian Caesarian or an early Imperial time frame. I had a couple of ideas including the Jewish Revolt but have settled on the Parthian Wars, as they offer the most interesting options and the Parthians really gave the Romans a run for their money as well as a bloody nose on more than one occasion!

So, I've ordered some more stuff from Warbases including extra Roman Legion and Auxilliary units, together with some heavy and light cavalry for the Parthians. I will be having a go at an Imperial Legion test base at some point soon to see how they paint up, but the project itself won't kick off until next year, giving me plenty of time to get a grip on the rules once they are made available. A big thanks to Mark for all his help...brilliant!

Arriba España!

I was sorting through my leftover 1/600th Tumbling Dice bits from the Khalkhin Gol project when I realised that I had a stash of I-15 and I-16  fighters, some Fiat CR-32's and a few other odds and sods that would make an excellent starting point for the Spanish Civil War. I remembered that one of the old TFL Specials had an article all about this, so I found it on the hard drive and had a closer look. A visit to the Tumbling Dice website later and I have a Condor Legion starter pack on the way, together with some extras for the Republicans and Nationalists, all for just over twenty quid or so. It's yet another project for some point in the next year or two but, as the models are quick and enjoyable to paint, it wouldn't be difficult to get something up and running relatively easily...perhaps another Bag the Hun scenario article too? In the meantime, I'm going to make a start on those Hurricanes for the Battle of Britain over the weekend...Tally Ho!

Tiny Wargames PVC Terrain Mat

 

My WW1 aerial wargaming PVC mat arrived yesterday from Tiny Wargames and for twenty quid plus postage, that's £20 plus £6 postage, I have to say it's not half bad. I was expecting something a bit wishy washy or flimsy but it's actually quite thick plastic and the printed graphics are nice and bright, although you do get a bit of flare from any overhead lights. The 4' x 4' mat was delivered rolled up around a cardboard tube, so almost inevitably it was a bit crushed in the middle but a quick iron through a tea towel on a low setting sorted that out. The disadvantage of PVC compared to cloth is that you have to roll in up rather than folding it but that's a minor inconvenience given the price tag. I can use this for Wings at War Duel of Aces, if I ever get round to that, as well as Airwar:1918 and, for something to pick up and play, Wings of Glory. A bit of a bargain I think?

Mutt and Jeff

I have had hearing loss for many years on my right hand side, caused by a virus that I caught on a school trip, but was also diagnosed with Meniere's Disease last year which now affects my other ear. A recent hearing test confirmed that I am profoundly deaf in my right ear and will eventually lose much of my hearing in the left ear, although I now have medication that keeps me from falling over all the time. 

Anyway, this means that I find it really difficult to hear anything if there's a lot of background noise or if people are wearing face masks, which makes club wargaming a bit of a non-starter, although I have given it a go. To cut a long ramble short, it looks like much of my future wargaming will inevitably be solo, with only the occasional visit to the club when I can face the music, so to speak. 

I'm sure there are lots of fellow wargamers in the same boat and I know that sight deterioration is also an issue for some of the club members, having a big impact on their painting and a lesser but equally significant impact on reading the small print in some rules. It's lucky that my hearing problems don't affect my painting or modelling, so I'm not too bothered if I can't hear much and will soldier on regardless.

It's great when the wife is banging on about this and that too....

Spanish Civil War Navies

 

I thought this looked interesting, so I pre-ordered a digital copy a few months ago only to find that it had popped up in my library at the weekend. Osprey's books can be a  bit hit and miss, although the air and naval ones tend to be a lot better than the Men at Arms series, and this one is particularly good perhaps due to the fact that it's quite a niche subject and fits the format well as a result. Angus Konstam clearly knows his stuff and has done his research too, while the illustrations are also nicely done and not those awful digital images that Osprey have seemed to use a lot in recent publications. I'm now tempted to have a look at Navwar for the Republican and Nationalist fleets but I will resist! 

Into the Lion's Den - A Scenario for Broadside and Ram?

Here's a really fascinating bit of ironclad naval history and a potential 'what if?' scenario for my Anglo-French War of 1870. In 1866 the US Navy twin turret monitor USS Miantonomoh paid a visit to Portsmouth, where she demonstrated the power of her 15'' smoothbore armament to the British government, the Admiralty and the assembled press. You can read all about the impression this made in this excellent online article:

From Hampton Roads to Spithead | Naval History Magazine - June 2015 Volume 29, Number 3 (usni.org)

Anyway, this gave me an idea for a scenario for Broadside and Ram, in which a strike force of US monitors manages to steam into Spithead and opens fire on the British fleet at anchor, possibly backed up by one of the second hand monitors of their French allies. It sounds a bit ridiculous but it could have been done, assuming Lord Palmerston's forts and gun batteries were still under construction, as they were at the time, and that the Royal Navy is taken by surprise. In fact, I may make this a night action to give the monitors the chance to penetrate the anchorage without being detected until the last minute. 

I quite like this as an idea...time to get planning!

November Hurricanes

I'm back to work tomorrow after what seems like a very short week's holiday, so to cheer myself up I have decided to make a small start on the Finest Hour project by magnet basing and painting twelve Tumbling Dice 1/600th scale Hawker Hurricanes for my semi-fictitious No27 Squadron. This project is slated for next year but I'm keen to get cracking now, at least to chip away at the fifty or so planes I will eventually have to paint up. 

I'm also going to be painting my 1/2400th scale French Napoleonic ships at the same time, with the idea being to switch between the two as I go along, using the dark winter evenings to get them all finished by Xmas. I'm not in a rush, as you can tell, but I'm not planning to start anything else over the next couple of months either, as I really want to get both of these painting jobs wrapped up be the end of term. Tally Ho!

Bag the MiG

I've been thinking about Bag the MiG again, after my MiG Alley game yesterday, and have dusted off the rules for another look. I had always intended to use my 1/600th scale models for both Wings at War and Bag the MiG but just never got round to it for some reason. The idea is to use the first edition of Bag the Hun with the additional rules and scenarios from the Bag the MiG supplement, rather than use the slightly more complicated second edition, in an experiment to see if the old version gives a faster, more streamlined game. I used to play with the first edition rules way back when, so I have a well-thumbed copy that I can re-use for Korea rather than the Battle of Britain, which was my initial Bag the Hun focus about twelve years ago. I'm a bit short on spare time at the moment so who knows when I will be able to give it a spin but I'm sure it will be fun when I do!

PVC Terrain Mat from Tinywargames

I have a couple of nice but expensive cloth wargaming mats from Tinywargames, both for naval gaming, so I was interested to see that they now do PVC mats at a much lower price, roughly half of what you'd pay for a cloth or mouse mat equivalent. Before I splashed out on some new aerial wargaming hex mats, I thought I'd order a 4' x 4' mat of a basic design to see if they are any good. I chose a twenty quid (plus six quid postage) WW1 trench mat for aerial gaming, as it looked rather effective and would fit well on my kitchen table, to use for Wings at War Duel of Aces and Air War:1918 both of which don't require any hexes. If it's any good I may well order a proper 6' x 4' mat with hexes for the Khalkhin Gol Bag the Hun project or for the Battle of Britain Finest Hour solo campaign, assuming I can find a decent one in the range?

MiG Alley F9F Panthers vs MiG-15's

I played a very enjoyable game of MiG Alley this evening, with two flights of two F9F Panthers with regular pilots against one flight of four North Korean MiG-15's with green pilots, once again fitting everything on to the kitchen table. This meant rotating the table layout by 90 degrees and leaving off the sea area but this didn't seem to make much difference to the game itself. The North Koreans deployed three mountain upland templates but I didn't bother with ground targets for the United Nations side, as there were no bombers or attack aircraft involved.

In the game, the four Panthers entered from the south west corner at level three and turned northwards, running up a valley toward the Yalu River. The MiG's entered at level four and crossed over the Yalu in a shallow dive, heading directly for the oncoming USN fighters. In Turn Two, one of the Panther section leaders attempted to pull a tight turn to get on the tail of the MiG's but overcooked it and ended up in a spin, only recovering at level one. The other Panther pilots decided to play it safe and just turned normally, ending up without a shot on the MiG's, which also turned back toward the Yalu to pursue their enemy. 

It wasn't looking good for the US Navy but they were still in the fight and determined to make up for their mistakes and engage the MiG's head on. In Turn Three, one of the F9F Panthers managed to get into position for a head on attack but this ended in disaster when the USN pilot missed his shot, while the targeted MiG made a 'snap shot' attack of its own and shot down the Panther! This was a bad start for the USN but it would soon be time to more than even the score.

In Turn Four the Panther flight leader began his long climb back to altitude in a series of power moves, while his wingman circled above at level three to protect him from the MiG menace. The other lone Panther moved in on the MiG's and managed to pull two consecutive tight turns, putting him right behind one of the MiG-15's. This made all the difference to his chances of a kill and he proceeded to blow the North Korean fighter out of the sky with a D6 roll of 6!

This was followed up with a second attack on the MiG-15 in front, which also disintegrated in a fireball with another roll of 6! In turn five, the Panther pilot now calmly turned onto the tail of a third MiG and pulled off a hat trick, with his victim blasted out of the sky in a hail of cannon shells. The game was now over, as the USN had matched it's Victory Target points total, with three MiG's shot down for the loss of one F9F.

I really enjoyed this game and will be running another one tomorrow if I can squeeze it in. I think this is a great little system with lots of depth and playability, despite being only a very concise set of rules. It is also ideal for solo play, as it has an IGOUGO structure which allows for one side to complete all of its moves an attacks before the other side, with the exception of snap shots. I don't usually like this way of doing things but it works very well here and makes it very easy to manage for one player. I also like the way each set of rules is neatly adjusted to the specific conflict involved, which gives it a lot of historical flavour. Great fun!