Strike Wing

I fancied a change of focus for my next book, so decided to read this account of the Banff Strike Wing c1944-45. This would be great for Bag the Hun, for which there's a scenario in one of the specials, but also for Wings at War with some tweaks to incorporate anti-shipping torpedo attacks and ship movement, which might not be too tricky to work out. I've also been thinking about using the Wings at War system as the basis of a 633 Squadron game, which is another one of my old project ideas that originally revolved around Bag the Hun. 

Bag the Doodlebug 1/144th

Apparently, Revell have re-issued a swathe of their old 1/144th scale kits in a new format aptly titled as Micro Wings. One of the kits that they've included in the initial release is the Hawker Tempest, including a completely new decal sheet. This opens up the possibility of doing a Bag the Doodlebug type game in 1/144th rather than 1/300th, which has been my initial approach.

I had a shot at the Bag the Doodlebug scenario at the club a few weeks ago with Andy as the unfortunate guinea pig, although it was only a quick try out after the main game. We tried out three seperate gun runs on the elusive buzzbomb but only succeeded on the final attempt, even though it meant that Andy's Spitfire XIV ended up in a tree, having flown through the exploding V1 in the process.

Andy's pilot bailed out and survived the encounter. The scenario set up was less successful, however, as it was pretty limited in game terms. I think it's a great concept but it needs a bit of a tweak to be a great game. I think there's a lot of potential for some manipulation of the basic ideas, using some different mechanics and some expanded card options to add legs to the otherwise very short scenario.

As the 1/144th scale kits are very cheap and easy to put together, they offer that extra level of visual impact that the 1/300th scale game lacks. I may well get a few, if only to buid them for fun. If the range expands further to include some of the other 1970's kits, theer would be lots of potential spin offs, especially when combined with the Minicraft, Sweet and F-Toys planes.

...not to mention the old 633 Squadron idea?

Tally Ho!

633 Squadron Update

I got the 1:600th scale Tumbling Dice Mosquito MkIV's in the post a couple of days ago, courtesy of Dom, who apologised very politely for the slight delay in sending them to me. If you haven't ordered anything from him before, I can thoroughly recommend his products and his way of going about things. Anyway, they're ready to be cleaned up and painted as soon as I have an hour or two to spare.

I've also scrounged a whole load of high density insulation foam from work. The roof of my block is being re-clad in 1 metre square sheets of foam, to a depth of 15cm, so I have a couple of sheets and some off cuts to use for terrain which would otherwise have gone in the skip. It smells a bit fishy but apart from that it'll be perfect for sculpting some fjord cliff sections.

This looks like a definate project for the Summer...

1/144 Zvezda Bf109F2

In the original novel, the principal threat to the 633 Squadron attack on the Svartfjord are the Focke Wulf 190's tasked with air defence over the target area. In the film, these were represented by Spanish licence built verisions of the Messerschmidt Bf108. In the proposed club participation game, I was thinking of leaving them out entirely to keep things as simple as possible but, in the interests of veracity, I suppose I should have at least some sort of contingency plan.

So, I've been looking about for a cheap and pre-painted supply of 1/144th scale Focke Wulf 190's or, as an alternative, late war Bf109F's or G's. You can get pre-painted Bf 109 E7's and FW190D9's but these are respectively too early or too late. However, you can also get kits of  Bf109 F4's from Sweet which would do the trick, although they'd need to be painted up and are still a bit pricey even though you get two in a box.

However, it seems that Zvezda have just released a snap together Bf109F2 in 1/144th specifically designed for wargaming. It's only got eight parts and is unpainted but would be ideal for the 633 Squadron project as it's less than three quid per kit. I don't think it matters that it's a bit long in the tooth for 1944. As we'd only need half a dozen or so, this makes it a viable stand in for the far more expensive pre-painted option.

I'll get one and see what the kit is like.

Fjord Terrain Ideas

I've been giving some thought to fjord construction and reckon on a simple approach being the way forward for the 1:600th scale version. I was lucky enough to find some off cuts of high density insulation foam on a trip to France a couple of years ago, each piece being of varying size but mostly about 40mm thick and a metre long.

I think that I could build modular L shaped formers out of thin 5mm  mdf to which a block of foam could be glued. I could then cut to shape with a bread knive or foam cutter, then sand it back to create a vertiginous rockface. If I then coated the foam with filler, I could create a textured surface using a cut down paintbrush to add rock strata.

To finish off, I could glue on sand and fine gravel with PVA to create scree slopes and rockfalls. I could then undercoat and paint the sections, using a drybrushing approach to bring out the details. I could then apply some Woodlands Scenics foliage and vegetation to the end result. 

Each two foot long modular section would fit together with the next one to create the sides of the fjord, including the bends and the head of the fjord where the factory / hydro electric plant is located. This would be modelled seperately and then slotted into the space in the terrain section.

I think this would be a cheap and effective way to create the fjord terrain whilst keeping it easily transportable, tough and impressive to look at.

Corgi Mosquito FBVI

A major part of the original plan for the 633 Squadron project was to use pre-assembled 1/144th scale diecast model aircraft to represent the Mosquito fighter bombers, thus saving the time and effort of building model kits. As there are no 1/144th scale kits of Mossies anyway, this seemed like a good idea, especially as Corgi produce a decent diecast version in their Fighter Collection 'Fits the Box' range.

As the name suggests, these models are scaled to fit the standard packaging rather than to a specific common ratio.  However, the Mosquito FBVI is near enough 1/144th for it to be virtually spot on. For example, the wingspan measures 106mm, so scales out to 2.02mm to the foot, with the real thing being 54.2' in length. This means that the model is perfect for the large scale version of the game, should it ever get off the ground.

I paid a bit over a fiver for one on Ebay and so it's a cheap enough option to be feasible as a club project, especially if they can be discounted for a bulk purchase or at least combined postage. The planes would need to be repainted and new decals added but this wouldn't be too difficult a task to accomplish and could even be skipped if it was too much hassle.

It looks like a definite thumbs up!

633 Squadron DVD

I got my DVD copy of 633 Squadron in the post today so have been zipping through it to extract useful details for the 1:600th scale game. I know it's not exactly the same as the book but, as most players will be familiar with the cheesy big screen version, it's worth mining for details and ideas. 

A bit of hamfisted fiddling with the DVD remote and I already have the following key details:

1. The film version Squadron Code is HT.
2. There are the normal 4 flights in the squadron (Red, White, Green and Blue).
3. The Squadron Leader is Blue Flight leader.
4. The callsign for the attack is Everest.
5. The callsign for successfully bombing the factory is Vesuvius.
6. The mission is flown at 200'
7. There is an island at the mouth of the Swartsfjord.
8. The fjord has a dog leg bend half way along it's course and also narrows at this point.
9. There are 9 flak positions: 1 on the island, 6 on the north side and 2 on the south side of the fjord
10. The target is destroyed after 6 hits (not the 12 that the boffins originally specify)

Not bad for five minutes of fast forwarding, pausing and rewinding, even if I say so myself.

633 Squadron Solo Project

I've decided to bite the proverbial bullet and set off on my own with the 633 Squadron idea. I've thought it through (no, really, I have) and reckon that 1:600th scale is the way to go for a mini-mulitplayer game that I can also play solo.

I have nearly everything I need already but have indulged in some extra Tumbling Dice Mossies from Dom, as the ones I have are rocket armed or have 57mm guns for anti-shipping attacks. I have a whole squadron of twelve on the way, so will be painting them up when they arrive.

I have a bid in on Ebay for a Tamiya harbour set and have also picked up a cheap paperback copy of the book for reference purposes. It's an old 1960's copy as I love the cover art, even if the books are a bit tatty and creased. Very atmospheric and also very useful for the details of the raid.

I'll get everything together for this project before I get started, so there may be a while before you see anything posted here. I also have to finish the Rapid Fire! stuff and, if possible, get the Iron Cow project sorted before the serious business of fjord construction can be tackled.

Don't hold your breath...

633 Squadron in 1:600th

I've been thinking a bit more about the 633 Squadron game and reckon I could do a 'proof of concept' set up by myself in 1:600th scale. This would be feasible for solo development, as it would be a quarter of the size of the the full on version and much, much cheaper.

I already have some Tumbling Dice 1:600 scale Mossies in my coastal warfare box, although I might need another pack or two to make up the numbers. I also have the decals to deck them out with from the excellent Dom's Decals range. The bases would have to be conventional stands rather than telescopic ones but I could adapt the ones I devised for Wings at War MiG Alley! using panel pins and mdf bases, or something similar. 

The flakship I already have in the coastal warfare box too. I have two or three as yet unlaunched Escort Trawlers and VP's by Skytrex, which would be ideal. As a result, I could have several flakships in the fjord instead of just the one. This would look good and make things interesting for the RAF as they tried to knock them out.

The AAA batteries can be found in the Skytrex range too but, to save money and keep it simple, I could strip suitable guns from my stockpile of 1:700 and 1:600 scale model kits. In particular, I have a couple of Z Class destroyers that I got half price in a Modelzone sale but have no use for, so I can take the AAA mounts off them to add to emplacements made out of scrap plastic.

The factory can be scratchbuilt as before but will be easier to do as it's much smaller. I could use some of the Tamiya harbour set for this but I'll have to get hold of one on Ebay. The set includes some warehouses, a crane that could be used for some sort of structure and some oil tanks which would do very well for the V2 fuel storage facilities.

The terrain will also be straightforward and will just need to be scaled down to 2' or 3' long sections with a structure made out of light weight materials. I could even keep them to the original height to add to the effect. It's worth some thought and I reckon I could produce it myself without too much trouble.

For rules I could just go with Bag the Hun, assuming I add hexes to the water surface. Alternatively, I could devise my own set based on the ideas I've already worked out. If I can get it down to two sides of A4, so much the better.

633 Squadron

The club show participation game for 2011 has been raising it's head recently. I had vowed never to get involved in this again, apart from the odd bit of painting or modelling, after last years experience but I have had some ideas for next years game. I've floated these on the club yahoogroup and the response has been quite postive, so it may actually happen for 2012?

Anyway, the plan is to do the attack on the V2 rocket fuel factory in a Norwegian fjord, as in the book and feature film 633 Squadron. This would be a multiplayer game so would be on a large scale. We'd make use of repainted diecast mosquito models by Corgi, keeping the cost and effort down to a minimum. They're somewhere around about 1/160th scale. 

Each crew would have three key ratings (Flying, Gunnery and Bombing) which would be used to resolve outcomes using D10's or D6 rolls. The crews would be the characters from the film / book i.e. Canadians, Sikhs, Aussies, etc. This would add a nice bit of roleplay to the game, which always seems to go down well.

Each crew would have a different set of ratings so would be better or worse at certain things. The players would have to decide the sequence of attack i.e. send in the flak suppression specialists, then the bombers or mix them up randomly. The planes would fly up the fjord in pairs, so they could mix and match roles.

The Germans would be at states of readiness from 'Alarm!' to a full on wall of flak. Each turn they would activate more AAA so that the flak would intensify as the raid goes in. The RAF have to knock out as much flak as possible to redress the balance.

The Flak batteries on the sides of the fjord and on a flakship at the entrance, would have an arc of fire (180 degrees or 360 if the flak ship) and a set range. They would be equipped with 12mm Minifigs or 10mm Pendraken single and quad AA guns.

The flakship would feature in the game for visual effect. It could be scratchbuilt or we could convert a plastic kit. I was thinking that the Revell Goodwin Lightship model would be an option for this, even though it's a bit overscale. With suitable gun platforms and other bits and bobs I reckon it would make a pretty good Vorpostenboot type flakship.

The planes have a set quantity of ammo and restricted arc of fire i.e. straight ahead. They would have to be at the right level to attack the flak batteries which could be at different levels along the side of the fjord (sea level , medium or high). The planes would be mounted on lighweight 'pen type' extendable magnetic pick up tool stands so could go up and down altitude levels.

The factory target would have to be bombed at medium level but the cliff has to be flown over at high level, so the crews will need to time it right and pass a successful bombing skill roll to hit the target and a flying skill roll to avoid crashing. Each plane would have only one earthquake bomb, so they'd need to get a few hits or near misses to make the rock collapse onto the factory.

The terrain, consisting of the sides of the fjord, would be built in 4' long sections, 6'' wide at the base and 3' tall with an L shaped cross section. They can be made of mdf or plywood with a foam or chicken wire / modroc covering, which would make it both transportable and tough. The fjord would be about 12 to 16 feet long. The whole thing would fit on a row of tables.

AAA batteries platforms would be built into the sides using blocks of wood or suchlike. The fjord could be L shaped too so that the planes have to do a turn at the end making it harder to bomb the factory. The factory itself would be scratchbuilt out of N scale model railway bits, plastic card and so on.

I don't think anyone else has done this set up but I may be wrong. Either way, I think it's a bit of a winner, although it'll probably never happen.