1/2400th Scale WW1 RN Destroyers

I needed some 1/2400th scale destroyers for my 'Get The Goeben!' naval project, ideally Beagle or 'G' class DD's to be based in Malta for the solo campaign, but Tumbling Dice don't have any and GHQ are not available any more in the UK (I don't think they have any either). I have found some 3D printed 'L' Class destroyer models on eBay, which are three to a pack for four quid, so took a punt and ordered some. They are nicely detailed and could even pass for 'G' class DD's with a bit of light surgery but, as with most 3D printed ships in smaller scales, they do suffer from bendy hulls and are a bit fragile if you try to un-banana them with too much enthusiasm. They'll do for the moment but I think I might scratch build some ships out of plastic card in the long run.

Cat and Mouse Scenario Play Test

I solo play tested the 'Cat and Mouse' scenario from the Jasta 18 project this afternoon and it turned out to be a good game, after a bit of a false start. The initial scenario set up had both aircraft deployed as blinds but I soon realised that this would make it too easy for the RE8 to make a get away, so changed it to a blind for Lt.Mendel alone. The first couple of turns ended with Lt.Mendel's Albatros sneaking up behind the unexpecting RE8 crew, only to be spotted by Lt.Simms, the observer at the last turn of the card deck. 

Luckily for Lt.Mendel, in the following turn the card deck was in his favour, allowing him to close to within three hexes of the RE8, get on the tail and open fire twice. The first burst caused structural damage and killed Lt.Simms, leaving Lt.Maltby with no rear gunner and unable to hard manoeuvre or dive more than three levels at a time. The second burst resulted in a sideslip but otherwise gave Lt.Maltby a chance to make a getaway, a slim chance but better than none at all.

In the last two turns, Lt.Mendel was able to maintain his tailing position as Lt.Malby was unable to throw him off due to the damage to his machine. Another burst of fire hit the pilot but only gave him a light wound, with no affect on his ability to fly the RE8 to safety. Lt.Mendel poured in another eight second burst, his last before he was almost out of ammunition, and this time Lt.Maltby lost control of the RE8 and it went into a spin. Despite his desperate efforts to regain control, his wounds, the damage to the airframe and his low altitude meant that the RE8 smashed into the ground in No Man's Land. A historical outcome which is always a good thing when writing scenarios based on actual events.

This was a very fast moving and enjoyable game. Lt.Mendel almost jammed his guns at one point, which would have allowed the RAF crew to get across the line, while the final burst left Lt.Mendel with only three seconds of ammunition left, not enough to stop the RE8 if it hadn't gone into a spin. Also, Lt.Maltby could have evaded into a nearby cloud but it was at low altitude and he was unable to dive fast enough to make it into cover, largely due to the damage the RE8 had sustained. I tried this out as a 'What If?' after the game and it did actually end up with the RE8 getting away from the Albatros, albeit it only for a turn or so before Lt.Mendel caught up.

That's another scenario play test ticked off...good fun and I reckon I'll give it at least one more go when I get the time, as I really enjoyed it. 

Diminutive Decal Detailing

I had a half hour time out yesterday, so added some decals to a couple of 1/600th Tumbling Dice models, to upgrade them for some play test games tomorrow. I initially thought these tiny decals would be a pain in the backside to apply, but they went on very smoothly without any swearing involved. 

The 50 gun ship

This pristine hardback was only six quid in a National Trust second hand bookshop yesterday, which made up for the place being absolutely heaving and not very enjoyable. I don't have any 50 gun ships in my Napoleonic fleets, for fairly obvious reasons, but I quite like the idea of an earlier project, perhaps the War of American Independence or Anglo Dutch Wars, so there's a good excuse for adding it to my reference collection.

Jasta 11 Colourful Triplanes

I finished off the Tumbling Dice 1/600th scale Jasta 11 Fokker DrI triplanes this afternoon, so that project is now a wrap, at least for the next couple of months or so. The three aircraft are as accurate as I can get them in this scale, so I'm relatively happy with the end result. I have more Jasta 11 triplanes to paint but need a break from tiddly WW1 aircraft, so have now moved on to tiddly WW1 Turkish ships instead!

WW1 Turkish Black Sea Fleet

I've almost finished the Jasta 11 Flying Circus triplanes, so I'm moving straight on to the WW1 'Get the Goeben!' naval project for the rest of the month. Here's the Turkish Black Sea fleet all ready for painting, with the two torpedo gunboats and a U-Boat added for good measure. I'll get cracking on the bases tomorrow, when I'm also planning to add the decals to the Fokker Dr.1 models to wrap up the Algernon Pulls It Off! project, at least for the Summer.

Hande Hoch! Aircraft Record Sheets

I've got a Friday off for a change but haven't really had any time for wargaming pursuits, as I've had lots of little jobs to do. One thing I did scrape together are the aircraft record sheets for the Hande Hoch! scenario, which I've uploaded as a .pdf to the Facebook group files. It was a relatively straightforward job for the No.3 Squadron R.E.8 but the Schlasta 13 Halberstadt CL.II had to be worked up from scratch, taking longer than I expected to get everything into place. If you want to try out the scenario, you now have everything you need apart from your own models and a hex cloth of some sort. Chocks Away!

Hande Hoch! Card Deck

I worked up a card deck for the Hande Hoch! scenario yesterday. It's only nine cards so should give a quick turnover of the deck each turn, hopefully resulting in a fast moving game. The German crew are represented with genetic photos of actual Halberstadt crews but the Aussies are the real pilot and observer, which is a nice touch. The deck can be downloaded from the Facebook group files.

Arctic Eagles Lard Mag Material

I've just ordered a copy of the latest Helion Publishing title on Soviet Curtiss Kittyhawks, as it's spot on for my Arctic Eagles Bag the Hun scenario article, which I'm planning to write up in the Autumn for the Lard Mag. The review pages look really intriguing and potentially very useful for combat reports, maps, photos and painting reference material. It's not out for a week or two so I'll have to wait and see!

Summer Naval Project WW1

After thinking through the problems caused by Navwar probably shutting down, I've decided that the South American interwar naval project is not really feasible, at least until Navwar finds a new owner. So, to cut a long story short, my Summer focus will be the 'Get the Goeben' project from last year, or at least the Ottoman Black Sea fleet which I have already assembled, based and undercoated, ready for painting. I will also be assembling some opposing naval forces, with some Royal Navy battle cruisers top of the list but potentially also some of the Russian Black Sea fleet as well.