The following are a selection of pictures from the game. The one above shows the Me110s at the start of the action.
Battle had been joined at this point - aircraft screaming around all over the place.
A Hurricane overshoots a 110
The general consensus of opinion is that going nose to nose with a 110 is usually never a wise move….in this case though, honours were even!
A wider view of the previous picture
An earlier shot, showing the fast approaching Hurricanes.
Angels 20 and Bandits High were the two collectible miniatures WW2 aerial games produced by Wizards of the Coast. Along with the two starter sets, additional aircraft could be purchased in booster packs. There were two sets, each of 31 aircraft but the actual number of models produced was far smaller as many of the aircraft were represented by more than one data card. For example, there were two Typhoon cards, three FW 190A cards, three Wildcats and so on. Models are available on eBay and similar but prices are starting to get higher and higher for the official models although with the increasing use of 3D printers, it is possible to source suitably scaled aircraft from there. The scale of the models is 1:100th or 15mm if you prefer.
The rules are very straightforward and it is fair to say quite gamey. That is not a criticism but any dyed in the wool aerial wargamer would probably want something with a little more meat. Luckily there is a whole raft of fan made add-ons that can be used which not only add to the core rules but that also increase the range of aircraft that could be used.
I took the decision sometime ago to put my own spin on the rules but all the while remaining as true as I could to the spirit and complexity of the original. Luckily my two trusty wingmen - Messrs Huband and Fox - managed to rein in some of my more extreme ideas for which I am thankful!
This system we have been using has changed the game in the following ways.
1. Aircraft, pilot and tactical abilities (found on the aircraft data cards) have been dispensed with. This takes out the gimmicky effects that some of the cards had and also eliminates the points value driven system in use to raise ones forces.
2. For some reason climbing and diving were treated as being difficult manoeuvres. The feeling is that gravity may well have something to say about this! Seriously though, climbing and diving are natural parts of an aircraft’s job so I have scrapped the designation of a difficult manoeuvre but have retained the required dice roll (difficult manoeuvres require a successful dice roll to execute that depends on the type of aircraft being used and the quality of the pilot flying it). The dice roll is now used to see if a climbing aircraft manages to control the climb, thereby not losing any speed or, in the case of diving, if they manage to gain extra speed. Aeronautical experts may take a dim view of this apparent simplicity but within the context of the rules it works very nicely.
3. Gun ranges are set at three which seemed to be very close so they have been extended to four hexes with the aircraft attack value from the data cards being used for range one and two. Also, the ‘beaten zone’ area effect has been removed - fire is now straight down the row of hexes off the aircraft’s nose rather than the six hex circle.
4. Counting a roll of 6 as two successes has been reserved for fire solely at a range of one hex.
5. Pilot quality is now decided by referring to the modified table based on that from the Air Force Expansion kit. Pilots roll a D6 based on their nationality and on the year and which half of the year the action is set in.
6. Aircraft manoeuvre scores are based on the quality of the pilot with Veteran and Ace pilots using the same score. For example a tight turn score of 3/4/5 means that a Poor pilot adds 3, an Average 4 whilst the Veteran and Ace add a 5.
Rather than relying on points driven games, the aim now is to move towards something more scenario based. Both the rulebooks for Angels High and Bandits High contain some scenarios which are useful and can be readily ported under the new regime so to speak.
Mention of scenarios leads me quite nicely into the game of last night, set over Southern England during the late summer of 1940. A flight of Me110s were bounced by a flight of four Hurricanes. The combat very quickly descended into fur ball territory with planes turning, climbing and diving, all desperate to get on the tail of an opponent. There was one firing pass, with honours even - both planes taking a point of damage - and then the Germans were busily trying to form a defensive circle. Sadly at this point we had to call a halt due to time being our greatest adversary.
For all that it was a lot of fun and I am really pleased with how it played out - it felt, dare I say it?
Believable.
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