Valiant 6 pounder AT gun!

Someone forgot to tell me that Valiant have released their new metal AT gun range as individual models. I was following a thread on TMP and found out that the 6 Pounder is now available in a compatible scale to the Valiant infantry figures.

Woo hoo!

I've ordered one to replace the underscale SHQ version that I was going to use. As I have a crew for this already, I may well keep the metal figures as spares or re-use them for other purposes. It's a bit pricey at eight quid but worth it for something that looks right next to the Valiant foot sloggers.

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.

Rapid Fire 5th Battalion DCLI [28]

I added the decals to the two Shermans that I painted and weathered yesterday, using 15mm waterslide  transfers from Dom's Decals and a few bits and bobs from the spares box. I also did a bit of toming down on the tarp and wooden box with a light drybrush of GW Rotting Flesh.

I finished off with an overspray of Army Painter Matt Varnish, after sealing the decals with some Decalfix.So, overall, not a lot of progress this weekend but better than nothing. I'm hoping to finish the last of the tanks tomorrow and then crack on to the carriers.

Rapid Fire 5th Battalion DCLI [27]

I finished the painting on two of the tanks this evening, give or take a bit of detailing and a matt varnish to tone things down. I painted the road wheels in GW Codex Grey to start with, then weathered the tracks and hull with three stages of Foundry Rawhide. I'm still not entirely happy with the tracks but they'll do.

The tarp was painted in three stage Foundry Drab with a wash of GW Devlan Mud to finish off. The wooden box was painted in three stage Foundry Chestnut with another Devlan Mud wash to blend it it. Finally, the hull machine gun was painted in GW Boltgun Metal then given a gunge wash to add some definition.

Next, I'll tackle the last of the tanks using the same approach, before adding some decals and giving the whole lot a spray with Army Painter matt varnish. I may even have a go at texturing the bases and painting them in Foundry Rawhide if I have the time.

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.

Rapid Fire 5th Battalion DCLI [26]

I had a crack at painting the tracks on the Shermans tonight but ran into a bit of a dead end. I highlighted the tracks with Vallejo Track Primer which, in retrospect wasn't the best shade to use, then washed over them with the usual Future based gunge wash mixture.

I'm not happy with the end result, hence the absence of a photo, so will return to it tomorrow once the dust has settled to see what I can do to achieve the end result I'm after. I think that a darker wash is needed after I've tried a bit of drybrushing and weathering. A process of trial and error rather than a definite plan but it'll all work out in the end.

In the Heart of Africa Revisited

I finished reading Chris Peer's The African Wars yesterday and jolly good it was too. It has certainly given me a far better appreciation of the historical background of the whole Darkest Africa gaming thing, which I had some ideas about before but of a fairly sketchy nature. What I particularly liked about the book was its focus on the military tactics and strategies used by the various factions, tribes and societies in their wars with each other and the European colonialists.

Anyway, it's got me thinking (again) about my long planned 28mm In the Heart of Africa project, which has been nagging at me for the last four or five years, during which time I have amassed a considerable collection of figures, resin terrain and other such stuff. I have boxes and boxes of really nice Copplestone, Dixon and Foundry figures, with enough manpower to fully equip a British naval landing party, seperate British, German and French expeditionary forces, a column of Arab slavers and at least two 'native' armies with musketeers, bowmen, ruga ruga, spearmen, warriors and various hangers on.

I'd like to do all of these but that's a bit over the top, so I have top start somewhere sensible. I had planned to do a German DOAG force but everyone seems to have one of these, so something a little different has greater appeal. A small number of figures would be good to get me off the ground fast but, equally, the large tribal units that I have would be very quick to paint up anyway, given their minimalist clothing and simple paint work. I'd also really like to make a gunboat so some sort of colonial expedition seems to be the way forward. I have a stack of Foundry Belgians that I could use as French, not being too keen on the whole Force Publique thing, so that might be the best option along with some tribal allies of some sort.

I'll have to dig out the boxes and have a rummage....