Sabre Rattling Migs

I think that the technical term for this is “KABOOM!!” Or “Read ‘em and weep!” The D6 rolls above equal 7 successes which equals the target Vital Armour meaning an instant kill. 

Yesterday evening saw your truly taking to the skies against Mr Fox, using Mr Huband’s quite lovely looking Warlord Games Blood Red Skies 1:200th scale Sabres and Mig15s. We were also using Mr Huband’s Korean War variant for Axis and Allies: Angels 20 - so he was wearing his umpiring hat for the occasion - along with Mr Fox’s rather lovely gaming mat.

We each had a pair of aircraft - Mr Fox was driving the Migs while I took the Sabres. We rolled for pilot quality with the result that Mr Fox had a veteran and a rookie whilst my two were both plain vanilla, beige and average. As is usual for this type of action - the aerial equivalent of a ‘meeting engagment’, it was, after all, a bit of a try out - we set up on opposite sides of the board, rolled for altitude (Migs at 6 and the Sabres at 5), rolled for initiative and set about the serious business of trying to shoot each out of the sky.

I am unable to give a turn by turn account of the action but suffice to say it was at high speed and largely fought more or less ‘on the flat’ - no great ‘boom and zoom’ climbing and diving - so plenty of turning was the order of the day. One of the Sabres took a point of damage, as did the veteran Mig but the rookie Mig pilot’s day was ended in no uncertain terms by virtue of a pretty emphatic set of dice rolls. To be honest, Mr Fox was singularly unfortunate throughout the action - he maintains that his dice hate him - in that aside from the point of damage he inflicted on one of the Sabres, he was on the wrong end of the initiative rolls throughout. In any type of aerial game having the initiative can be a crucial advantage - ever was it thus as far as the Sabres were concerned! 

At the end of the action the remaining Mig ‘bugged out’, leaving the skies to the Sabres.

It was great fun to play and the scale of the models used seemed more appropriate for the jets rather than the larger 1:100th models from the Angels 20 base game. It is certainly a period I would be keen to revisit but for now I cannot see myself building up a Korean War collection - too many other aerial things on the go! Mention of which leads me nicely into one of the aerial projects I am looking to tackle - the Battle of Britain.

A new book for the collection, courtesy of the fantastic Mr. Fox and with my grateful thanks! 

Mr Fox was having a sort out at Maison Renaud when he came across a duplicate copy of the title you see above. He very generously passed this over to me and as this is my first Osprey Air Campaign title I was delighted to welcome it to the library. It has opened a bit of a rabbit hole as a quick look at the other titles in the series (how on earth did I miss these?) has thrown up several that would be of interest….

The Nakajima Ki-44 “Tojo” fighter/interceptor. 

It was no all one way traffic in that I presented Mr Fox with a Japanese ‘Tojo’ fighter - if you recall he passed over a surplus P51B/C so it was the least I could do to return the favour. He now has a brace of these and I am quite sure we may be seeing them in action at some point. I also confidently predict that Mr Fox will gain a measure of revenge in due course, when we next take to the air!

My thanks to Mr Fox for his generosity and for supplying the mat and a cheeky beer (to be repaid soonest) and to Mr Huband for his inspired set up and those rather lovely aircraft - methinks that other models may well follow into his collection for this period but of course, he couldn’t possibly comment….

Game Number 80….Missenhitti, I’ll Remember You….*

 *With apologies to the Pussycats from 1976….

The initial positions. The U.S.S. Admonisher is at the bottom of the picture whilst the C.S.S. Missenhitti approaches from the top. 

I can do no better than to quote, verbatim, the words used by Bob Cordery to describe the background to this action, taken from his book Gridded Naval Wargames.

U.S.S. Admonisher

“For some months the Union government’s spy system had known that the Confederates had been building a Casemate Ironclad at Pratt’s Landing on the Missenhitti River. To ensure that this threat to Union army transport ships using the lower reaches of the river negated, the Union had stationed the newly-built Turreted Monitor - the U.S.S. Admonisher - on the Missenhitti. She had been patrolling the area for some weeks and expected to be in action as soon as the Casemate Ironclad appeared.

C.S.S. Missenhitti

Unknown to the Union forces, the C.S.S. Missenhitti had already been launched and her crew of sailors, riverboat men, and transferred artilleryman had been getting her ready for her maiden voyage down the Missenhitti River. One cold and misty morning she set sail downriver….”

Turn 1. The Confederate ship won the initiative (3-1) and as the range between the two ships was still some 13 hexes, opted to move first. Both ships moved at a speed of two and so moved a single hex forward and turned towards each other before moving a further hex.

End of Turn 1. Both vessels decided to move into midstream so as to have some room to manoeuvre.

Turn 2. Again the Confederate ship won the initiative (6-4) and again, as the ships were out of range opted to move first. The C.S.S. Missenhitti continued on her new heading so as to ensure that she could bring as much of artillery to bear as possible - she would be able to bring two heavy rifles into action against the two smoothbores the Union ship carried. The U.S.S. Admonisher turned directly towards her adversary, no doubt to close the range as quickly as possible, thus helping to negate the range advantage possessed by the Confederates. 

End of Turn 2. No firing as yet but you can be sure that the Confederate ship is ready to do so by virtue of her longer ranged artillery.

Turn 3. Yet again the Confederates win the initiative (5-4)! This time though, they allow the Union to move first. The Union ship slows down and turns to face the opposite bank of the river whilst the Confederate maintains her speed and course, mindful of keeping her guns facing towards the enemy. At a range of four hexes, both ships open fire. The C.S.S. Missenhitti is able to roll 1D6 with a plus 1 due to her weight of artillery (heavy rifle) against the medium armour of the U.S.S. Admonisher. She rolls a 5 which goes to 6 which inflicts a single flotation point and either a secondary or tertiary gun. Since she has neither the hit is classed as another flotation point making two in all. The U.S.S. Admonisher fires back at the same chance - overall plus 1 to the single D6 roll - and rolls a miserable 2 meaning she has missed the target.

End of Turn 3. Fortune thus far favours the South as the C.S.S. Missenhitti scores two hits on the Union ship. The return fire was ineffective, presumably due to range being at the maximum distance for her smoothbore artillery.

Turn 4. Finally the Union win the initiative (5-2)! Given the relative closeness of the Confederate ship the Union allow them to move first. Conscious of the fast approaching river bank the Confederate ship maintains her speed but turns hard to starboard so she is now facing the Union monitors. Unfortunately, her turn did not allow for the slow moving Union ship and so she now is unable to fire as her forward gun has insufficient traverse to reach. Not so the Union ship and so maximum range she opens fire again. She rolls a 4 which, with the plus 1 for the gun/armour modifier makes 5 - a flotation point.

End of Turn 4. Both ships have sustained minor damage with the Union ship getting the worst of the exchange. The Confederate ship now faces a tactical dilemma. Does she try to get the Union ship within a firing arc, thereby exposing herself to more fire, or does she go ‘hell for leather’ and attempts to position herself for a ram attack? The next initiative roll will be crucial.

Turn 5. The Confederates resume their winning ways with a 6-1 initiative roll victory! The Union ship moves first. The U.S.S. Admonisher moves forward one hex and turns to starboard, thereby ensuring that her turret is able to fire (she cannot fire directly ahead). The C.S.S Missenhitti surges forward and turns to face the Union ship and is able to make use of her forward firing artillery. The Confederate ship opens fire and rolls an abysmal 1!. The U.S.S. Admonisher is able to fire with both her heavy guns, each at plus 1. She rolls a 4 and a 1. The 4 goes to five so the C.S.S. Missenhitti suffers another flotation point of damage.

End of Turn 5. Both ships have suffered the same amount of damage - 2 flotation points - and from the perspective of the C.S.S. Missenhitti the next initiative roll will be crucial. Has the U.S.S. Admonisher made an error in keeping her speed down and occupying the centre of the river?

Turn 6. The Union win the initiative 6-2! Seeing the imminent threat of a ram attack the Union monitor accelerates and crosses the bows of the fast approaching Confederate Ironclad.At the last second she throws her helm over hard to starboard. The C.S.S. Missenhitti follows the Union ship and by cutting the corner comes up on her aft starboard quarter - close enough to fire but not for a ram attack! The U.S.S. Admonisher opens fire at a range of one hex with both her heavy smoothbores. She rolls 2D6 each with a plus 1 gun/armour modifier. She rolls a 4 and 5 which go to 5 and 6. The C.S.S. Missenhitti suffers another flotation point for the 5 and another for the 6, along with a further flotation point as she does not have any secondary or tertiary guns, making three in total. This is sufficient to require a Critical Hit roll which comes up as a 6! The Confederate ship now has a fire to deal with, as well as losing a gun factor - in this case her forward heavy rifle. As damage is considered to be simultaneous she is still able to fire this turn. For the final shot from her forward rifle the C.S.S. Missenhitti replies with a roll of 3 that goes to 4, thus giving the Union ship a further point of flotation damage.

End of Turn 6. With a devastating point blank salvo the U.S.S. Admonisher batters the onrushing C.S.S. Missenhitti and is rewarded by seeing great gouts of flame pouring out of her forward gunport. The Union ship did not escape the return fire though and sustained a further point of flotation damage.

Turn 7. The C.S.S. Missenhitti rolls a D6 to determine the state of the fire. She rolls a 4 which means that it still blazes and so a further flotation point of damage is sustained. To add to the chagrin of her captain, the initiative roll goes against them with the Union winning handsomely, 6-1! The Union ship moves first, hoping to shake off the blazing Confederate ship. Not so, as the C.S.S. Missenhitti continues to doggedly follow the Union vessel. Only the U.S.S. Admonisher can fire as the Confederate ship has lost her forward artillery. The range is one hex and she rolls 2D6, again with each being at plus 1. A majestic 5 and 6 are rolled! The 5 goes to 6 and the 6 to 7. In total this equals a further four flotation points and a Critical Hit roll. The Critical hit roll is a 5 which is flood. Straightaway a further flotation point is lost meaning that the Confederate ship has suffered 6 in total this turn - one from the fire, four from shooting and one from the flood. As this is a further multiple of her hull size of 3 this requires a further Critical Hit roll. This roll is a 2 which is hull/armour. The C.S.S. Missenhitti opts to take a further 2 flotation points rather than weakening her hull or armour. She is in a bad way and needs to think about getting away.

End of Turn 7. With her hull leaking like a sieve and the fire continuing to blaze, the C.S.S. Missenhitti must seriously think about breaking off the action if she can. She is positioned nicely to ram the Union monitor assuming she can win the initiative but will this be enough to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat?

Turn 8. The C.S.S. Missenhitti fails both her recovery rolls scoring a 3 and 4 which in turn means two more points of flotation damage. More importantly she has now passed her critical point having sustained 16 points of damage out of 18. Reaching the Critical point also triggers a further Critical Hit roll and this comes up as a 6 - another fire (and a further flotation point of damage)! The Union win the initiative 5-2 and opt to move first. The U.S.S. Admonisher pulls away at best speed from the blazing and sinking Confederate ironclad that appears to be attempting to get away. Not wishing to risk his own ship the captain of the Union vessel is content to fire a final broadside at point blank range rolling a 5 and a 2 which go to 6 and 3. The resulting two floatation points inflicted on the battered C.S.S. Missenhitti are enough to sink her.

End of Turn 8. With a flood, two fires and more point blank battering from the Union monitor, the C.S.S. Missenhitti settles by the bow and sinks slowly in the shallows.

Overview

Now that was a lot of fun and no mistake! The rules worked very smoothly with no major issues to tell of. The damage levels felt suitably paced and with sufficient impact. I am quite pleased with how this is now working.

How should the ram equipped C.S.S. Missenhitti fought this action? Well, the mistake was in not pursuing either a standoff at range shooting or going full tilt for a ram attack. She appeared to have chopped and changed her mind during the action and crucially was often at a disadvantage in terms of gunnery - mainly due to not having a usable firing arc. Losing her forward heavy rifle was definitely a handicap as every time she was able to get in close she was unable to ‘shoot her way in’. All the U.S.S Admonisher needed to do was to stay out of way and make sure that she could get her turret to bear. The rolls of the dice during the game swayed first one way and then the other which I have no problem with as it all evened out. Early in the action I really thought that the Confederates had the measure of the Union ship but it soon went the other way.

It was tremendous fun to refight a wargaming classic action - once again thanks to Bob for the inspiration - and even though the outcome was different to the original it should not take away from the fact that it is possible to have a rewarding and entertaining game with but a single ship on each side.

Loved it!

Back to the Missenhitti (Again!)

One of my favourite books on naval wargames

The Missenhitti River is of course the fictional waterway used by Bob Cordery in his excellent book, Gridded Naval Wargames, and that I then ‘borrowed’ to use in The Portable Ironclads Wargame and then Developing the Portable Ironclads Wargame: The American Civil War. 

Although I have been less than productive on the writing front for the new book over recent weeks - aerial shenanigans have been the order of the day - I have been getting slowly back into the groove with it. So much so that I plan to fight an ACW action tomorrow. 

The Peter Pig Hammerin’ Iron gaming mat - as used for an earlier action

The game will be limited in scope - one ship a side - and so I thought it would be nice to refight the action from Bob’s book using my scratch built ships and the Hammerin’ Iron gaming mat. I will even use the same ship names - the monitor U.S.S. Admonisher and the casemate ironclad the C.S.S. Missenhitti.

I shall be using the definitive version of the firing arcs and at this stage the only decision I need to make is what actual ships to base the two protagonists on. Methinks a quick dive into my ACW library will be in order - I can think of worse ways to spend an couple of hours!

On Repeat - Bot’s Goin’ On?

4,000,000? Really? I would be delighted if that was the case but suspect that something else has a Bot to do with it…..;-)

So the page views for the blog have busted the four million mark! It cannot possibly be real - bots gotta bot and all that - but I will extend a qualified thank you to all those that continue to read my posts and comment as the mood takes. 

I will also extend a thank you to the Bots - wherever they are coming from…..

As a thought it would good to be able to isolate Bot views in some way so you actually see what is real but such a thing would be beyond my technical ability!

Aerial Reinforcements

A pair of FW190As - near as I can tell the model has been used for the A2 and the A4 variant. The latter had the option of a methanol boost for a surge of speed when needed. I now have six of these and the plan is to repaint a pair for use on the Eastern Front.

A Japanese “Oscar” on the left and a “Tony” on the right. The “Oscar” was incredibly manoeuvrable, more so than the famous Zero, but it came at a cost as it was very lightly built. The “Tony” was a tougher proposition. I now have a brace of “Oscars” and four of the “Tony”

Another P51 B/C (they are the same aircraft) to add to the other three I own. Along with the brace of P38Js already in situ, my USAAF collection just needs a couple of P47D Razorbacks to be complete. These will have to be sourced from elsewhere though, as the Axis and Allies range does not include the ‘Jug”.

By virtue of some selective Google-Fu and a dash of ducking and diving, I have been able to add to my Axis and Allies Angels 20/Bandits High collection. The aircraft you see in the pictures will round out their  respective formations - I prefer to operate in twos or ideally fours - and are most welcome additions.

15mm or 1:100th if you prefer, looks really great on the tabletop but would not really work for massed dogfights as they are on the large side. Once you start including multi-engined types, bombers especially, the playing area can get a little congested, not to mention the problem of models overhanging hexes by quite a margin.

1:200th and smaller would be better for large actions involving lots of aircraft, but for straight up dogfights, the 15mm models look really good.

I still have a few holes in the collection from the Axis and Allies range and suspect that I may need to use alternatives for some of the rarer types. Certainly something to think about but for now I shall press on with the ‘official’ models and some selective repaints.

For now….

Boot Sale Bargains - For a Change!

A couple of useful paperbacks for the collection - £1 each - and I may look to acquire hardback versions in due course. 

Yesterday, Laurel and I braved the cold wind and threat of rain to visit our local boot sale. We were both shivering in fairly short order and it appeared that a number of sellers were looking to head home for the same reason. Before Laurel had her surgery we usually did I one boot sale a year as sellers and one of worst Robles you can have in expect of weather (except for rain) is the wind as it can wreak havoc with any clothes rails or rickety table displays of one’s wares. Yesterdays we saw a couple of stalls were this has happened with the result that the sellers either gainfully put everything back as it was and soldiered on or decided that enough was enough and started to refill the car, van or whatever!

Anyways, we had a pretty good day acquiring bits and pieces - Laurel did especially well - and so the picture at the head of this post shows part of my haul, at least the part of the haul of interest that is!

Operation Market Garden is an old favourite of mine and I have gamed it many times over the years. It has never failed to disappoint in terms of dramatic actions and nail-biting finishes. Can the British hang on to Arnhem for long enough? Can the 82nd and 101st ‘grab the bridges with thunderclap surprise’? Are 30 Corps able to make the long drive in time? “What about the Germans!?” As a wise Polish commander once said. Somewhere on the project list is the intention to tackle the Memoir ‘44 scenario that covers the campaign again at some point. I may even moot it as a club game perhaps. 

Arnhem Black Tuesday (19th September 1944, two days after the start of Operation Market Garden) has been described as the day it all went wrong for the British Airborne. Al ‘The Pub Landlord’ Murray’s book traces the events of that critical day from the perspectives of the Bridge itself, Arnhem, Oosterbeek and the surrounding woods. I shall certainly enjoy reading this.

The second book by Nick Lloyd covers the Great War on the Eastern Front, a theatre of that global conflict I know little about so it will be a useful introduction. 

Both of these books cost me £1 each and whilst they are paperbacks they are in ‘only read the once’ condition. The Arnhem book I may try to source a hardback version in due course.

My pickings at boot sales this year have been rather slim so I am pleased to have at las bucked the trend of coming home empty handed!

The Battle of Britain and other Aerial Adventures

Very inspiring as a ten year old - 64 pages and still useful, even today!

As a 65 year old member of the Airfix generation, the film of The Battle of Britain was hugely inspiring to my ten year old self ‘back in the day’. To coincide with the launch of the film in 1969 there was a plethora of Battle of Britain merchandise available including the rather modest tome you see above. I remember buying a copy of this from a bookshop and paying 25p for the privilege and it has stayed with me ever since. That in itself is quite remarkable given the number of house moves since my days on the Isle of Sheppey! With only 64 pages you could be forgiven for thinking that this is a relatively lightweight tome but what it lacks in pages it more than makes up in terms of what I would call, succinct writing, The main types involved in the battle are described so for the RAF we the Spitfire, Hurricane, Defiant and the Blenheim. The Luftwaffe feature the Bf109, Bf110, Ju87, Ju88, Do17P and Z and the He111 P and H. It includes technical specifications, line drawings, side profiles (sadly in black and white) and plenty of photographs. I remember being thrilled by this book and even now, it is a very tidy piece of work.

This is a cracking read and I am delighted to have a copy in my library at long last. This edition is revamped version released in 1990 to mark the 50th anniversary. Needless to say, there is a tale behind the acquisition of this book….

The next book is altogether rather more detailed. The Narrow Margin, written by Derek Wood with Derek Dempster, was described as “One of the most carefully researched and authoritative accounts of the whole circumstances surrounding the Battle of Britain, and recognised as such by RAF historians.’ High praise indeed and in fact, this was the book that supplied much of the data for the film the Battle of Britain.

I saw this book listed on eBay from a seller that had five copies. Unfortunately, the picture used was of a pristine version - not the copy you see above. Now I know that this book only cost £5.80 but that is not the point. I challenged the seller and would have been quite happy for an exchange to have taken place for a better looking version but instead, and without any fuss, he immediately refunded me in full and said to keep the book anyway. Being rather particular about my books I will probably get a copy in better condition at some point but it is not urgent. It is a wonderful book though, full of all the information an aspiring Battle of Britain aerial gamer would want and with a marvellous selection of period photographs.

Other Aerial Adventures

I have been expanding on my Axis and Allies: Angels 20/Bandits High collection with some additional aircraft beyond my planned Battle of Britain collection, which has now changed quite dramatically. I have reconfigured my collection on a two or four basis meaning that the models will be organised in, you’ve guessed it - twos or fours. For the Battle of Britain I shall be fielding four each of Spitfire, Hurricane and Bf109E with a pair of Bf110Cs. I will also acquire a pair of resin Stukas at some point, not sure about bombers yet but I can fall off that bridge when I get to it.

I have sufficient models for three other theatres - Eastern Front 1941, Pacific 1942 and over the Reich 1943/44. The Eastern Front collection will have four Bf109Es, a pair of Bf110Cs, a pair of FW190As and for the Russians there are presently four lend lease Hurricanes. I am looking to add to these to balance out the Germans but am unsure as to what models to get, maybe Yak1s if I can get them.

For the Pacific I have four Zeros (two A6M2 and two A6M3), a pair of Ki 43 Oscars and four Ki 61 Tony. The Americans have four Wildcats, and two each of P39 and P40.

The final part is the ‘Over the Reich’ selection consisting of a pair of  Bf109Gs, four FW190As, two each of P38J, P51B and P51B and something a little out of the ordinary, two Fleet Air Arm Martlet Mk.IV (used over Norway).

The number of models is quite modest but remember they are 15mm scale. The original models are pre painted but I reckon there will be a fair amount of repainting or adding specific decals to ‘pimp’ them up.

On top of all this I have been feverishly beavering away typing up additional rules and generally tinkering with the base game, supported by and collaborating with fellow aviators, Messrs Fox and Huband (Mr Huband has the Korean War in his sights using 1:200th Blood Red Skies models). 

For now though, my blizzard of aerial activity needs to be parked, albeit temporarily, so that work can resume on the new book.

In closing though, I have to say that taking time out for a couple of distractions -aerial and the coastal wars stuff - has really given me a mental boost. A change is as good as a rest or so they say!

A Touching Comment

The book….

….and the dedication.

Several posts ago I wrote about my recent acquisition of what was very much a ‘grail’ book for me. North of Gallipoli by the late George Nekrasov (Cmdr, RAN Retd) has the distinction of being probably the only easily available account of the operations of the Russian Black Sea fleet during WW1. The copy I acquired was from an estate sale in Australia and was not signed by the author but was also dedicated to another sadly departed naval historian - Gary Staff, an author of whom I have a couple of titles in my own collection. the book was embossed with the stamp “Library of Gary Staff”.

One of the titles in my collection by Gary Staff. It is a cracking read with plenty of ideas for scenarios

As previously mentioned I was delighted to have acquired North of Gallipoli - and at a very reasonable price - and was even more pleased to receive the following comment to my previous post.

“Hi David. I'm very happy to hear that this copy of Dad's book is in good hands and appreciated. Gary Staff was a close friend to him. All the best.

Alex Nekrasov.”

Call me a sentimental old fool, but I was touched by that post and am now even more determined to do something that would honour both the memory of George Nekrasov and of Gary Staff. 

Now, where did I put my copy of the Navwar catalogue?….

A Lightbulb Moment and the Importance of a Well Placed Comma….

Rough and ready looking I know but this is the final version of the firing arcs. There are port and starboard shown in the left hand diagram whilst forward and aft wide are centre and right respectively. Forward and aft wide overlap with port and starboard and they can be further divided into forward and aft - straight off the bow or stern - and with the option for forward or aft wide solely on the port or starboard beam.

I am often guilty of over-thinking a given situation. This is especially true when it comes to writing wargame rules! A case in point has been the eternal soul-searching, hand-wringing and quite frankly torturous evolution of the firing arcs for the new book. I think I finally have it dialled in though, and, thanks to a valuable brainstorming session at the club last night with Messrs. Fox and Huband, I am even more certain!

I have been looking at this all wrong. I should have learned from the Portable Ironclads Wargame (more accurately Developing the Portable Ironclads Wargame) but unfortunately I repeated the same mistake. I will not bore you with the tedious details but suffice it to say, there are four main firing arcs - port, starboard, forward wide and aft wide. The latter overlap the port and starboard arcs and both can, if required, be further subdivided into forward or aft - the row of hexes directly off the bow or stern respectively - or with port or starboard option. This equates to ten arcs if all were used. Where a gun or guns can bear in multiple arcs this is noted on the ship record chart and guess what? This is where the comma comes in. For example, a forward turret that can cover the forward wide arc (which includes the forward and the port and starboard parts) could also cover the port and starboard arcs. Previously this would have had its own diagram and would use the notation FWPS. No longer, as this is now described as FW, P, S. It is the same as FWPS but it better reflects the simpler arc convention and more importantly, can be seen in one of three diagrams rather than twenty! The eagle eyed will also note that I have made the overall Forward or Aft Wide arcs rather more generous in their coverage than previously - this was the mistake I made previously with the Portable Ironclads Wargame. Again, this can be seen in the series of diagrams above.

The plan is to test this at the club in a couple of weeks but in the meantime I will need to tweak the ship specs and change a fair amount of text to reflect the new system. Mea Culpa and all that.

Aside from the brainstorm session there was the small matter of presenting both Messrs Fox and Huband with some Axis and Allies goodies, acquisitions due to some eBay stalking and a bespoke solution now in the collection of Mr Huband. I have added to my own collection by virtue of some boardgame disposals so the Imperial coffers have not taken a hit - just as well as the car has cost a total of just under £600 for a variety of reasons - a new battery, a full service and a replacement pressure sensor!

An interesting set for use with a hypothetical war involving Sweden, Norway and Denmark. I will take a look at the rules and have a look at the ships - maybe a scratchbuilding project?

1:900th scale counters for use until the models are available, along with the turning circle.

Mr Fox presented me with a copy of the rules you see above. I had never seen these although the name Phil Dunn is well known to naval gamers. The rules look to be very much of their time - not that that is a bad thing - but by jingo there is a whole heap of potential! This is something I will take a good look at and then add it to the project list. Probably….

Another set of rules for WW2 naval. Heard good things about this set so will have a look and see what all the fuss is about!

The final piece of naval related news is that I was able to score a copy of Nimitz, the WW2 naval rules by Sam Mustafa from Mr Roche at the club. I have had my eye on these for a while but had not gotten around to getting a copy. More naval related reading material is never a bad thing in my experience!

Pimping an Age of Sail Warship

One of the ships deployed on the game board from Fighters of the Pacific. I have a cloth with slightly larger hexes (50mm across the flat sides) that would better suit them in due course.

Actually there are 9 colours available - missing from the above is the blue version

Painted examples (sadly not by me) I found on the net but for the life of me I cannot remember where from. Apologies to whomever these belong to for not asking permission but they were too lovely to remain hidden from view!

Sometime Ago I acquired a selection of hard plastic generic and stylised looking age of sail two decked warships. The first batch came courtesy of Mr Cordone (with eternal thanks!) and the second were sourced directly from the designer. For the record I have over an under of these and in seven colours! 

I was able to file the hull down to make a single decker and had some plans in raising the hull slightly for the odd three decker but the one thing that was a bit of a niggles was the lack of a ‘spanker’ off the mizzen mast. Well, after an exchange of messages with the indefatigable Mr Manley, writer of rules, 3D printer of things and all round good chap, I now have a large quantity of the said ‘spankers’ with which I can improve the basic casting with. 

The top left is the base model with an added ‘spanker’ whilst the bottom left is the single deck version I converted. On the right you can see the sail, fresh from the printer in its un trimmed state.

I met up in (London) town with him on Monday evening just gone for beers, a bite to eat and a chat and to handover some bits and pieces. He duly presented me with a container full of ‘spankers’ that are very easily attached to the base models and they improve the look immeasurably. Great chap that he is he also gave me some quick and easy painting tips so that getting these to the table should not be an overly labour intensive experience - once I can get the time that is!

Many thanks to Mr Manley once again - now I have to think about what to do with them!

At Long Last - A ‘Grail’ Book with a Bonus!

WW1 in the Black Sea, Russian against the Turks - what’s not to like?

Many years ago, when I owned a rather nice 1:3000th WW1 Black Sea collection of both Russian and Turkish ships, the indefatigable Mr Manley mentioned a book that would be of interest called North of Gallipoli and written by George Nekrasov. This is account of the First World War as fought in the Black Sea between the Russian and Turks. Try as I might I was never able to get a copy and even when I saw it for sale it was usually eye-wateringly expensive. The 1:3000th collection has long gone - another decision that with the benefit of hindsight was a huge mistake - but I still wanted to get a copy of this modest but elusive title. 

The contents.

Lo and behold, I finally secured a copy from Australia for the princely sum of AU$10 plus another AU$20 for shipping or in GBP around £16 in all. I am really pleased to get a copy of this book and an additional suprise can be seen in the picture below.

Signed by the author and dedicated to another author - Gary Staff d.2017 - of whom I own a couple of their titles - what are the odds of that?

The book itself has an embossed stamp (bottom right of the picture) that says ‘Library of Gary Staff’. I since discovered that this book was from an estate sale, presumably that of Mr Staff although it seems to be rather a long time since his death. Normally I am not keen on books with signatures or dedications therein but I will happily make an exception in this case!

Really delighted to have scored this at last!

Putting the Arc in Firing Arc

OK, I know it looks hellishly complicated but this is the draft version - the final copy will be a model of clarity….

After a pretty hectic couple of weeks and with little time to do anything meaningful gaming wise, I was able to spend a big chunk of today grappling with the ever thorny subject of firing arcs for my new naval rules. Well, after much deliberation I think that I may have finally gotten on the right track. To be more accurate, I am probably now at least at the right station so the right track would be a welcome bonus! 

I seem to have managed to have both over and under thought the whole subject of firing arcs - a legacy from The Portable Ironclads Wargame perhaps - but am now cautiously optimistic that they are where they should be.

I mentioned previously that there are six core arcs with an additional fourteen added for extra detail if required. Well, that has now changed a little in that I now have eight core arcs and am hoping to dispense with the extras! 

In the short term this will require testing so I will need to (re)spec some ships to the above template. I want this to work and so decisions will need to be made as to what guns can shoot where on all of the ship charts I have prepared thus far. Not to mention all the appropriate chapters that reference the older version.

Frustrating but needed so there is little point in dwelling on the subject - onwards and upwards and all that….

Vietnam: Squad Leader Style?

That really is the box art - taking minimalism to the extreme methinks - and yes, that is a M18 Claymore command detonated mine. 

During this minor bout of  ‘L'angoisse de la page blanche’ - writer’s block or ‘the anxiety of the blank page’ sounds far more impressive in French - I have been poking and prodding the project pile of shame from various directions and, it has to be said, with varying levels of enthusiasm. It has given me much to think about going forwards though and has served to reinforce ideas about what I will be doing when I can get to do it!

Anyways, as part of my meanderings I made a point of tidying up my board game collection and was pleasantly reminded of a recent acquisition that has been, unsurprisingly, languishing on the shelf of shame.

Front Toward Enemy is a tactical level game of combat during the Vietnam War published by MMP Games. Units are fire teams or specialists - commanders, snipers, medics and such like - with support weapons ‘crewed’ within the counter. There are a of course, helicopters a-plenty - Medevac, Hogs, Slicks, Observation and Cobra attack types. The NV gain the arms and the inevitable black pyjama types along with civilians and plenty of dummy counters. It has two map sheets printed with a suitable Vietnamese landscape complete with rice paddies and jungle which are very nice but printed on paper so their longevity will not be great methinks - off to be laminated I suspect at some point. I have yet to play Front Toward Enemy due to it only being partially punched. This however, will not be a problem as I have discovered a new type of board game therapy - the gentle art of clipping, more of which later.

I had a hankering to tackle Vietnam using a Memoir ‘44 based system and 20mm plastic figures some years ago. Then came a brief flirtation with the game Nam ‘65 which very good but it never really did it for me. I had often thought that the period would work with a Squad Leader style approach which is why I think that this latest acquisition may tick that particular box for me. Time will tell.

The counter clippers I own. More expensive versions include the facility to be able to control the size of the cut. These do not but as they did not cost me anything I can hardly complain!

I mentioned ‘clipping’ earlier and for the uninitiated this is rounding off the corners of cardboard counters to make them more aesthetically pleasing as well as making them less likely to ‘lift’ with excessive use. Essentially you use a tool something like a large pair of nail clippers and carefully trim each corner. It is mind numbingly simple to do and soothingly therapeutic. Of course if you had to tackle such a game as ‘Drach Nach Osten or even Flat Top it may get a little tedious. I have clipped around two thirds of the counters from Front Toward Enemy and I have to say that the effort is certainly worth it. It saves all that careful cutting with a scalpel, thereby reducing the risk to one’s fingers.  

Before and after (actually that should after and before but you know what I mean!). Counters that have a lot of information on them run the risk of having some of the detail removed but luckily in this case all was well. They definitely look tidier in my opinion.

Will I clip the counters from all my boardgames? To be honest probably not, simply because a typical half inch square counter may lose too much when clipped - those above are 5/8th of an inch - but I shall worry about that when I need to. There are some games I own that I would certainly clip the corners of but again, it will be when I need to. Or if I need to do something that will take my mind off things for an hour or so!

Hitting a Speedbump

Speed bump, writer’s block, call it what you will but whatever it is it has slowed me down quite a bit as well as giving me pause for thought. Taking stock is the order of the day at present, that and looking at other things in the hope that I will be sufficiently guilt-tripped back into the right direction!

I had planned to be slightly further along with the new book than I am currently. There, I said it. In truth I am just over 50K words to the good but I have really hit a brick wall. It is not that I have run out of ideas or things to write - more like I am second and third thoughts about what I have written thus far. I am happy with the rules but feel as though I am missing a trick with something. 

The rules as written cope very nicely with around half a dozen or so ships a side. For the ACW this works well enough but I am fast coming to the conclusion that for larger actions the rules will seem a little ponderous - especially when looking at the thorny topic of firing arcs. 

At the time of writing there are six main arcs and then some fourteen others making twenty in all. Bear in mind though, that the additional fourteen are in fact seven arcs mirrored so, for example, a forward turret with an arc of FWPS (forward wide, port or starboard) is reflected as AWPS (aft wide, port or starboard). I am quite happy with using all the arcs and play testing with them has thrown up only a singe issue that was quickly addressed. My feeling is though, that for larger actions this may be a little clumsy. 

Now this point may seem like a modest one but for me it has been seismic in its implications. I wanted to write a set of rules that would appeal to both the naval novice and the seasoned tabletop admiral and indeed, I believe I have but with the focus slightly off target. I am leaning towards using the six arc default for most battles of a dozen or so models a side at least with the additional fourteen as an option for smaller engagements. That in itself is simple enough but it has generated a lot of extra work as the emphasis of the book has been very much towards using the full suite of firing arcs.

It is extra work as changing the emphasis means redrafting a table, changing the text in a few chapters - none of this is hugely challenging to be honest - and then revisiting the ship specifications. That in itself is a big undertaking and to be honest, I think that is why I have been allowing myself to be distracted by other projects! It is not difficult to do but it will be time consuming. Still, it is the job that isn’t started that takes the longest to do - as a wise hobbit once said. 

High Flying Fun

A straightforward game to play although I was certainly a little rusty as this was my first game for about five years or so!

Yesterday evening at the club I was lucky enough to be able to take part in an Axis and Allies: Angels 20 game. I have some history with this game in that I used to play it a lot but for one reason or another I lost the enthusiasm for it. I offloaded my original collection but revisited the game a couple of years ago when I acquired a pile of Battle of Britain types as part of a transaction. This was a good beginning but I added to it to round out the numbers so there are now six each of Spitfires and Hurricanes, four Me110s and eight Bf109s. I then acquired some bespoke decals and had every intention of repainting the aircraft to a uniform standard and then rebadging them accordingly. Naturally this idea went absolutely nowhere and in fact, I explored the possibility of offloading them, mainly due to the arrival of Fighters of Europe.

To cut a long story short, and in truth due to lack of interest on the part of any potential buyers, I kept hold of the models and after last night I am very pleased that I did! Mr Fox organised the game - a brace of Zeros against a pair of P39s, somewhere over New Guinea in 1942. I had forgotten just how much fun this game is! I had also forgotten just how nimble a Zero is! 

Somewhere over rural Kent, sorry New Guinea….

The Zeros started at level 6 whilst the P39s were at level 1. In truth it was over relatively quickly as the Zeros dived to meet the climbing P39s head on. There was a brief exchange of fire in which the P39s took some damage - they are quite tough and need to be approached with caution - whilst the leading Zero (piloted by yours truly) went hammering past at maximum speed followed by a split S to head back in the right direction. Meanwhile the rest of the aircraft were desperately trying to get into firing positions - considerably easier for the other agile Zero (Mr Huband at the controls) - with the result that first one P39 succumbed, piloted by Nigel, shot down from behind and then the second fell. This was at point blank range but in what could best be described as a ‘high angle off’ shot (for those of you that remember the SPI game Air War). It was a fairly dramatic end for this particular P39 as I managed to roll four sixes, a five and two threes from seven D6. Mr Fox, the unfortunate pilot of the said P39, is confident that he will be avenged in due course….

“Dakka, dakka, dakka!” The unfortunate demise of a P39.

In fairness to the P39s this was always going to be an uphill battle for them against the Zeros but, given the right circumstances, they can give a good account of themselves. They are quite ruggedly built - the Soviets were very fond of the type - and of course, the firepower from the nose mounted cannon was guaranteed to keep any self-respecting Zero honest.

My thanks to Mr Fox for organising the action - it was tremendous fun and made me realise that hanging on to the Battle of Britain was definitely a good move!

Torpedoes and Tides

Torpedoes and Tides - the new WW2 Coastal Warfare rules inspired by Galleys and Galleons and  written by Thomas Brandstetter, along with a couple of books for research and inspiration. There are a few others en route to Maison Crook….

WW2 Coastal Warfare using MTBs, S Boots and the like is an enormous amount of fun but for some reason I have only dabbled in it infrequently. I flirted briefly with Warlord Games Cruel Seas but, at 1:300th, the models were a little on the large side for my taste and so the sprues I had acquired for this were quietly disposed of. I had never really looked at the ex Skytrex now Heroics and Ros range of 1:600th scale ships etc but this has now been happily rectified.

A really fun set of rules that for me have been woefully underused! (Note to self: I must get something done with these and the ‘Pirates of’ ships at some point)

Winding back a little, one of my favourite fun naval rule sets for pretty much everything prior to dreadnoughts etc, is Nic Wright’s Galleys and Galleons rules published by Ganesha Games. I have used these rules not nearly as much as I should have - a criminal oversight that I hope to address at some point by using the ‘Pirates of’ ships formerly available from Wizkids. 

I digress. 

Torpedoes and Tides by Thomas Brandstetter is a WW2 coastal warfare variant that uses a similar rule system to the aforementioned Galleys and Galleons but obviously with all important period tweaks. They look really good fun and I note that the esteemed Kaptain Kobold, who was involved in the play-testing of the rules, as well as being enormously fond of Galleys and Galleons, has already been gaming with them and you can read about it here, along with the developmental back story, which is also on his rather splendid blog.

The rules include specifications for ships from a number of nations including Great Britain, Germany, USA, Japan, Italy, USSR, Norway, Poland and even the Yugoslavian Partisans - some 160 profiles. As most coastal actions took place at night there are full rules for limited visibility with the use of counters for hidden movement. This encourages careful manoeuvring and when someone gets spotted or opens fire it all gets very frantic, very quickly and with the possibility of ‘blue on blue’ friendly fire for good measure! At first glance are they super detailed? No, but they have all the right things in the right places, plenty of ships to use and a set of rules for running a campaign, along with some scenarios to try out. In my opinion these would make a great set of rules for a club night or for use with non naval gamers. I am looking forward to giving them a run out as soon as I can get some models ready.

For a more detailed coastal warfare experience then of course, the indefatigable Mr Manley has a set available called Narrow Seas and available from his Longface Games label on Wargames Vault. There is even a grid based version available as an expansion to the old Battleline/Avalon Hill game Submarine. This means that in the short term I have immediate access to the aforementioned Torpedoes and Tides, Narrow Seas and a rather more limited submarine based boardgame expansion. That should do nicely methinks, at least for the rules.

Another title for the coastal wars section of the library. This really is a lovely book, full of photos and plans etc.

The former Skytrex 1:600th range, now available from Heroics and Ros, was my first port of call, simply because the Reaction Games models were initially only available in 1:500th. They are now available in 1:600th and 1:300th along with the original size. The range is quite small and thus far is very UK centric which is a shame. 1:600th it is then, from Heroics and Ros. I have opted for an early war 1940/41set up rather than later (needless to say I will get to the late war period in due course!) so two tube 70ft Vospers, Fairmile Bs, S38 type S Bootes and R Bootes will be the weapons of choice. I have also added a trawler to each side and finally three generic merchantmen - two tramps and a tanker - as targets.

In the meantime though, I need to crack on with the book and so the next post will feature the plan for the first of three battles that will appear in it.

The occasional distraction is good for the soul, or so they say…. ;-)