Aussie Aircraft Adaptations

An addition to the research material I've accumulated for the Algy Flies Down Under project, after finding a reference to it in another source. I'm hoping the book will help fill in some details on the early phase of the Palestine campaign, during which the AFC deployed a variety of obsolete or obsolescent aircraft, primarily for photography, observation, bombing and escort duties. I'm particularly interested in field adaptations to the BE2c in an attempt to turn it into an effective escort machine...not without some success, as well as retro fitting rearwards firing Lewis guns to Martynside G100 scouts. You've got to admire their enthusiasm!

https://3sqnraafasn.net/subpages/WackettFirstCombat.htm

Aussie Aircraft for Algy Flies Down Under

 

Be2 / Be12a

Be2c

RE8

Martynside G100

HP O/400

For the Algy Flies Down Under scenario play testing I'm using the tried and tested option of 1/600th scale models from Tumbling Dice. I did think about using some very nice Oddzial Osmy 3mm models that I have in the lead pile but the earlier aircraft are missing, so Tumbling Dice it is again. There are most of the types that I need in the range but I'm going to have to do some adaptation and conversion work to cover the line up required, especially for the Germans.

Here we have the two seater observation machines, with the single seater escorts and a single but very big bomber. The Be2e and Be12a models use the top wing from the RE8 on the fuselage of the Be2c, otherwise being interchangable as they looked very similar. The Be2c is straight out of the pack but on its own as there were only four of them in the squadron line up. The RE8 is also a standard model but the two Martynside G100 single seaters were adapted from an Airco DH4 model by  the simple addition of a wing mounted Lewis gun.

I added rear guns to the RE8 and exhaust stacks to all of the BE2 type aircraft, which was a fiddle but worth it for aesthetic reasons, even if they are a bit too tall. I tried shorter brass wire stacks but they weren't very visible, so the longer ones are visually better. The HP O/400 is a bit over the top but may actually feature in one ahistorical scenario that I'm thinking of including, just for kicks.

Next up will be the Brisfits...

Small Footprint Solo Skirmish Down Mexico Way

The Warbases free postage offer at the weekend got me thinking about a small scale solo skirmish project again. The last iteration of this was the Ravenfeast Viking era rules bounced back to the eighth century, using the exceptional Wiglaf Miniatures 18mm figures for West Saxon and Mercian raiding forces. I really love the scale and scope of the rules, while the figures are packed full of character, some of Mark Copplestone's best work I think. 

This is very much still on the cards but I'm also tinkering with a Wild West alternative, again using free rules , a small figure count and a minimal footprint. The rules are Ruthless from Little Wars TV and are just two sides of A4, so definitely concise and fast play enough. The figures would be from Peter Pig, of which I have a small stash, or from Check Point Miniatures, which have a small but very characterful range...

...as always, it's just an idea at the moment but there's an order in with Warbases for some Wild West buildings, so watch this space. The idea is to fit everything into a single 4 or 5 litre RUB for portability and storage, terrain, figures, rules, the lot. I have a whole stack of Wild West terrain in 28mm but it takes up the boot of the car when I use it at the club, not to mention the figures and rules. In 15mm and with some careful organisation, it should all fit in one box that I can easily carry under one arm. Result!

Over The Front Back Issue Bargain

The back issues of the Over the Front journal are available as Amazon print on demand or in pdf digital format, the latter costing only $9.99 for four issues. This is an absolute bargain and gives you access to some invaluable information for air wargaming projects, including my Algernon Pulls It Off! article, where Volume XIII includes an issue on The Forgotten Fronts. This should help to fill in the details I need for the German units on the Palestine Front, which would otherwise be very difficult to track down. Talky Ho!

Algy Flies Down Under

I was planning to go to the Colours wargaming show up the road in Newbury yesterday but, unfortunately for me, my daughter decided she was going to move in to her new student accommodation in Exeter, so I was down there shifting boxes instead. I like Colours as a show and a venue and I'm a bit miffed to have missed it for a second year in a row, but needs must. At least it saves me from spending pocket money on things I don't really need!

In more positive news, I've had a thumbs up from Nick for the Lard Mag Palestine article, which is great as I can now crack on, the next couple of days being a good time to get stuck into the scenario short list. In a turn up for the books, the Facebook group poll has also bowled a googly and my original title for the project came out as the popular choice. I've tweaked it a little to match the previous Lard Mag content, so it's now officially going to be Algy Flies Down Under.

...that's going to need some explaining!

A 'Bloody Paralyzer' in Palestine

I've discovered that No.1 Squadron AFC operated a single Handley Page 0/400 bomber from September 1918 to the end of the campaign in Palestine. I'd like to feature it in a fictional action and have some ideas for a potential scenario, with it used as in the transport role with an escort of a couple of  Brisfits. 

According to Aeropedia:

"Although used for bombing operations by No 1 Squadron AFC, it seems after arriving in Heliopolis, in Egypt, as well as attacking Turkish means of communications between the Turkish Headquarters and the 7th and 8th Armies, one of the principal tasks of C9681 in the Middle East was to transport supplies to the advanced airstrip at Azrak in Jordan to assist Lawrence of Arabia in his activities, these including fuel, oil and spare parts for the Bristol Fighters operating in the area. It seems a number of flights were made carrying supplies'

A bit different and hopefully good fun.

Algy Goes Out in the Midday Sun

I wasn't particularly happy with the title for the Lard Mag article, 'Algy Goes Down Under', as it caused no end of confusion about the focus of the project. After a bit of head scratching I came up with half a dozen alternatives and put them to the popular vote on the FB group in a none too serious poll. 

'At 12 noon, the natives swoon and no further work is done. But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.'

The top option was 'Algy Goes Out in the Midday Sun' to paraphrase Noel Coward, so that's what I'm going with from here on. I did consider 'Algy and the Flying A***holes', which is what observers were nicknamed by the Aussie pilots on account of their insignia, but I thought that might be a bit too risqué, even for the Toofatlardies readership!

Sabotag3d Aircraft for Algy Goes Down Under

We've had friends staying over the weekend so I've not been at the workbench at all. Before they arrived, however, I cleaned up,q magnet based and undercoated some 1/300th scale Sabotag3d aircraft for the Algy Goes Down Under Lard Mag project. I was a bit miffed to have to get the polarity right for the magnets, as I don't usually have to bother, but apart from that it wasn't too much of a faff. There are six F2B Bristol Fighters and a single RE8 to paint up over the undercoat of Army Painter German Field Grey, which was all I had in the rattle can collection. Next, will be the PC10 for which I'll use the usual Foundry Phlegm Green Shade, perhaps lightened a touch with some Phlegm Green. 

Farting about with Firing Arcs for Algernon Pulls It Off!

Revised Firing Arc Diagram 

Ring and Rail Mount Flexible Gun Arcs

Fe2b/d Observer Pintle Mount Gun Arcs

Oblique Left or Right Fixed Pilot Gun Arcs

Be2c/d Bar Mounted Observer Gun Arcs 

Something that has caused quite a lot of confusion for players of Algy are the firing arcs for different aircraft, mainly because the diagram in the rules was lifted straight from Bag the Hun and doesn't correspond to the real thing or the aircraft data tables. I've been tinkering about with it and have modified the diagram by adding the blind spot for observers due to the tail, as well as rewriting the descriptors. The latter needs some tweaking but makes more sense than the existing text. I've also been experimenting with arcs of fire for particular aircraft and armament, using the diagram to mark out what can be targeted in each case. 

It seems to work with the caveat that the aircraft data tables for the RFC / RAF have to be ammended to match (they didn't make sense in the first place and don't correspond to the German equivalent either). I've posted some illustrative diagrams on the FB group but, this far, no one has made any comments, no doubt because it's a bit abstract and boring, unless you have actually uky tried to use the rules as they are for a game. Anyway, it's all useful stuff and I may well incorporate it into the Lard Mag article as a rules option.

1/300th 3D Printed Brisfits and a Harry Tate

                  

On the work bench now are some very nice but also scarily fragile 3D printed F2b Bristol Fighters and a single RE8, destined for the skies over Palestine in 1918. These were printed for me by Paul Edwards at Sabotag3d and they're super models but give me the fear as they're a little delicate. I've already snapped an RE8 so I'll have to be extra careful with the others. The paint scheme for the Brisfits is also a challenge as they were often given white panels to keep the crew from overheating, so some careful brush work will be needed I think!