The Spad XII for Algernon Pulls It Off!

I've been playing around with ideas to make it possible to use the 37mm cannon armed Spad XII in Algernon Pulls It Off! over the last couple of days. This was a development of the Spad VII but in many respects was a very different machine, armed with an engine mounted Puteaux 37mm Semi Automatique Moteur Canon and a single Vickers machine gun. It was much heavier than the Spad VII, making it a tricky aircraft to fly, especially as there was no control column, while aiming was particularly difficult:

"The machine I mention is the only one of its kind in the American service, so I am very anxious to try it out. They gave it to me when Putnam was killed. Guynemer had one and Fonck and Deullin each have one, and have used the with fair success. . . This special gun is difficult to use, but if a shot ever hits a Hun he might just as well say his prayers and give up, if he has time to think about anything at all." 

Charles Biddle, 13th Aero Squadron

The cannon breech was located between the pilot's knees and was loaded and fired one round at a time, producing a cloud of smoke in the cockpit with each shot. Only twenty were produced and these were allocated to experienced pilots only, most of whom were already aces, including Guynemer, Fonck and Biddle. It's a real beast of an aircraft and the armament requires some adaptation of the firing and damage rules in order to work. The Vickers was often dismounted to save weight but I will also need to factor it in to the firing options.

I've worked out what I think is needed to make the steps in the firing and damage procedure fit the 37mm single shot armament. This includes a change to the length of burst modifier mechanism and a revision of the process for critical hits, the latter borrowed in part from Bag the Hun. I also need to adapt the numbers for Rate of Climb, Speed and Manoeuvre ability, which is relatively simple. Finally, I am considering some one off rules for having a smoke filled cockpit, which caused real problems for pilots trying to retain situational awareness, to to mention control of their aircraft!

...more on all of this in a later post.

Battle of Pacocha Ships Finished

I'm calling these finished, give or take a flag or two, so will start working on a scenario draft for Dahlgren and Columbiad over the next few days. I also need to devise the ship record sheets for HMS Shah and HMS Amethyst, for which I've already done some preliminary scribbling. I'm looking forward to a game at some point fairly soon.

Big Cats for Armoured Storm

Despite the long wait for the order to arrive from Heroics and Ros, I was impressed with the ex-Skytrex 3mm tanks, so have put in a follow on order for some Tigers, StuG III's and Churchills for the Russian Front. I will have enough Panthers and Tigers for a company of both, but will wait a while until the Tigers turn up before I paint them up in one go. I also have some super Oddzial Ozmy T34/76 Model 1943 tanks enough for two or three platoons, which I will paint up to use as an alternative to the Tumbling Dice T34/85 company.

Algernon Pulls It Off! in 1916

 

It's been a bit quiet on the Algernon Pulls It Off! Facebook group of late so, in a change of plan but sticking to the 'finishing off loose ends' motif, I'm going to switch over to painting some Tumbling Dice 1/600th stuff for mid-1916, rather than the Winter War Finnish aircraft for Bag the Hun. I started on some DH2's, Albatros DII's, Roland CII's and a single Be2c back in April but then got side tracked off to 1918. I'm also going to add a few French Nieuport 17's to the set up, using the Tumbling Dice Nieuport 11 model with some minor tweaks, as I don't yet have any French aircraft for scenarios. Tally Ho!

H&R 1/600th Tanks for Armoured Storm

TD T34 vs H&R Panther and Tiger 

H&R Tiger vs O8 T34/76

H&R line up vs TD Panzer IV

In an attempt to expand my meagre 1/600th Soviet and German tank forces for Armoured Storm, without having to order stuff from the EU, I took a punt on the old Skytrex range of AFV models, available from Heroics and Ros. I have matched these up against both Oddzial Ozmy and Tumbling Dice models and think they look compatible with both, give or take. I'm particularly pleased that the Tiger, Panther and Churchill seem to look in scale with the Tumbling Dice T34 and Panzer IV models, which means I can paint them up as reinforcements for my existing tank companies. Not too expensive but delivery took a couple of weeks, so not fast either. 

Battle of Pacocha Painting Finished

I was looking forward to a game of Armoured Storm at the club this evening but unfortunately I've had to postpone it due to a family upset, as my son was taken ill today at work. It's nothing serious but it knocked him for six and meant that we had to tie up some loose ends, making club night a non starter. 

To make up for this in part, I finished painting HMS Shah, HMS Amethyst and the Huascar for the Battle of Pacocha in 1979. I will add base labels and magnetic strip later but they are now ready for action to all intents and purposes. I'm going to work out some ship data for the Royal Navy warships and write up a scenario for Dahlgren and Columbiad.

Arctic Eagles

The Jasta 18 article and scenarios for Algernon Pulls It Off! have now landed safe and sound on Lard Island, hopefully destined for the 2025 Lard Mag. In the meantime, I'm thinking of writing something small for Bag the Hun to submit, with the Arctic Eagles JG5 theme a possible focus, although I've yet to decide exactly what it will be. The idea would be to have a brief introduction then perhaps two or three scenarios, but it all depends on whether I have the time. 

Blocking and Washing

The blocking in is now complete and a wash applied, so I just have to wait for it to fully dry then start on the highlights and details. I had to mix up a new batch of what I call my ironclad wash and I'm not sure if it's quite right, but will have to wait and see what happens. Hopefully any screw ups will be sorted out when I apply the highlights on top.

Blocking In Bang On!

Slow progress today on the Battle of Pacocha ships but they are well underway, with the white blocking in and tan earth decking basecoat applied to all three models. The fun bit is next, adding a base layer of shades for the masts, funnels, ratlines and sails, which should take too long now that the white layer has been done. It's worth it to make the colours pop and to make it easier to cover over the black undercoat.

Picking Up Loose Ends

Now that the Jasta 18 scenario project has been put to bed, I am able to spend a couple of months wrapping up loose ends, rather than starting anything brand new. I have the 1/2400th ships for the Battle of Pacocha on the workbench at the moment, but I'm also going to start painting the other half of my Bag the Hun Continuation War project. I've already painted the 1/600th scale Soviet aircraft, so now it's the turn of the Finnish, specifically the Curtiss Hawk 75 fighters of Llv32. It's a simple camouflage scheme but the yellow bands and other details make it not as straightforward as you'd think. Once completed, I can run some solo games at home then potentially take them to the club for some multiplayer games as well?