More about 1/144 Decals

I finished the decaling for those six JU88As that we used during CY6! the other night. (Note that the seventh plane is a search and rescue aircraft, with black undersides; I used F-Toys' original decals on that one.)

For the six bombers I used 1/144 Junkers JU88A decals for Kampfgeschwader 51 "Edelweiss" (KG 51; "Battle Wing 51"). I obtained them from eBay seller hurricane2plane. Included were enough decals for all twelve aircraft in KG 51.

The decals conformed well to fuselage and panel lines, using the MicroScale system.

Dallas and I had discussed the Supermarine Spitfire models used. They are all Bandai gashapon kits. The inadequate Bandai propellers and spinners were replaced with Rotol propeller/spinner combos from Sweet Hurricane I model kits (there are extra props supplied in those kits). The Spitfires were partially repainted using Testors Acryl paints, and detailed and slightly weathered with washes of oil paint.

The RAF squadron letters, using the codes for 64 Squadron, were on a decal sheet obtained from eBay seller mehusla, mentioned by KevinH in recent posts. Again, the decals responded well to decal setting and solvent solutions.

All my 1/144 aircraft for CY6! are affixed to their flying stands using rare earth magnets. These flat magnets do not allow yaw or pitch, unless youalso used a ball magnet on the stand post. However, the magnets give a very strong bond, which is why I prefer them to some other solutions, such as the common round-pin-and-rubber-tubing.

I want to get another three JU88s. I also have enough Bandai Spitfires and decals to complete the rest of 64 Squadron.

Return to "Check Your 6!" - "Initial Encounter"

Yesterday I hosted, after too long a wait, another "Check Your 6!" game. After distributing several bottles of Sleeman's beer around, and then pouring myself a mug of Croatian "Ozujsko" (drunk from my 40Kegger "Mug of Victory"), we played the first scenario from the CY6! campaign book Over the Channel: Battle of Britain.

Date: October 16, 1939, early afternoon

Location: Over the Firth of Forth

History: The Supermarine Spitfire received its baptism of fire on this date when aircraft from 602 and 603 Squadrons intercepted nine Junkers JU88As of KG 30, who were bombing Royal Navy warships in the Firth of Forth.

Objective: Victory points. The RAF scored vp's for enemy aircraft shot down, as usual. In addition, the Germans received 3 vp's for every plane reaching the British fleet.

Below is a photo of the nine KG 30 JU88As. These are all F-Toys kits, from the collections of conscript KevinH and myself. The kits are pre-painted and easily assembled. I obtained a squadron code decal sheet for 12 aircraft from a fellow on eBay (no, I didn't fully decal all of mine before the game), and Kevin had his squadron codes made up by Paul at Spare Time Hobbies, a local brick and mortar hobby store.



I remember fondly our first Conscript game of CY6! back in 2007, when all we had for bombers among us was a single HE-111. Good times.

Up-scaling the scenario to 1/144 scale, I used a technique started by BillC wherein the bomber formation stayed stationary; during the putative bomber movement phase, everything else would move relative to the bombers max formation speed. Bomber aircraft that were damaged would thus slow down and drop back out of formation...

Below is half of the RAF forces present, a flight of three Spitfire I's, run by Kevin, Brian and Dallas. Kevin and Frederick ran the planes in the second flight, for a total of six Spitfires.



Below, after random setup of the RAF aircraft, this is the initial position of all forces, looking towards the northern table edge.



KG 30 was led by a +2 aircrew, and had 6 more +1 crews, and a couple of +0's; no doubt a lot of these fellows had seen service in the Condor Legion. Conversely, each flight of Spits was led by a +1 pilot, and their 4 wingmen were all +0's.

We rolled for the optional scenario rules. The Germans got to use an extra hex of movement for one plane, up to three times during the game. I figured I would try and save these extra bursts of speed for the end run to the British fleet. The RAF had a single plane (code SH_V) with such a good crew chief that its speed was increased to 5.

Instead of a head on attack, the two flights of RAF planes circled around, respectively, to the west and east of the bomber formation. The western flight had a harder time, since they were trying to climb from TAL 2 up to the bombers' altitude, TAL 4.

Below, the eastern flight of Spits swarms over a kette of JU88s.



Closing the range, the Spitfires' firepower soon started to take effect. Below, one JU88 can be seen to take an engine hit, and another was hit in the airframe.



However, one of Kevin's planes tried to make a tough manouevre and lost control. The rookie pilot never regained control, flying (tumbling) off the table to to south, never to be seen nor heard from again.



The bombers' defensive firepower wasn't to be denied. Below, Spitfire SH_V takes an engine hit. However, due to its superior ground crew, the engine's top speed was only reduced to 3. Nearby, another German bomber can be seen to have taken an airframe hit by Frederick's flight leader, flying SH_T.



The German formation started to break up. In the photo below, the German squadron leader has nosed ahead, seeing the British fleet in the distance; one of his wingman had taken engine damage and is seen falling back. The formation leader of the farthest kette (in the upper part of the photo) has just received an engine hit from a damaged Spitfire. A wingman will soon have to take over leadership of the flight. The nose of another JU88 can be seen to the south (right); its damaged engines could not keep up with the rest of its mates.



The turning point in the game arrived. The two rearmost German planes dropped out of formation and, failing their aircrew checks, they jettisoned their bombs with the intent of turning around and flying home.



During the same turn, Kevin's remaining plane splashed a bomber, seen in the photo below.



Frederick's +0 wingman poured fire into another bomber, hitting its engine. The bombers' return fire shot down the Spitfire, but the pilot managed to bail out OK, and was subsequently rescued by a ship from the nearby Royal Navy.



Below, Kevin's Spitfire shoots down another damaged JU88. Off to the east (left), Fredrick's SH_T can be seen breaking off from the dogfight. His aircraft had just run out of ammo, after damaging five(!) of the German planes. Meanwhile, the German squadron commander is about to fly over the closest elements of the Royal Navy, represented notionally by the model ship at the bottom of the photo.



Below, Brian futiley pours fire into the lead German bomber. Although taking fire from at least four different RAF aircraft, the German squadron leader's plane remained undamaged.



Below, another German straggler was shot down, after it had prematurely dropped its stick of bombs.



Here's a panorama view of the last of the action.



At game's end, the Germans were able to put only three planes over the Royal Navy's ships, and they had shot down a single RAF Spitfire. The British had shot down or driven off six bombers, making it a decisive RAF victory.

The "Man of the Match" was surely Frederick's flight leader. Though he didn't actually shoot down a single enemy plane, his effect on the engagement was indisputable. By damaging so many enemy planes, he forced some to drop out of formation, and set up kill shots for the other, less skilled Spitfire pilots, ensuring the British victory.

Several players remarked about how much fun they had playing CY6! again. This makes me want to run more Battle of Britain games, and strengthens my desire to write some more Mediterranean scenarios for the Italian SM.79's and MC.202's that I have.

Thanks to everybody who came out to kibbitz and to play.

After Action Report - Secret Agent "Lands" Successfully

One of the top secret OSS pilots in action last night

Last night Kevin H, Brian, Bill and myself successfully fought a "Check Your Six" mission where Kevin's pilot, an OSS secret agent, was succesfully inserted into Nazi Germany using the ruse of getting shotdown in a dogfight. Dallas, Cam and Dave, playing the pilots of a top German protection squadron escorting an experimental Luftwaffe aircraft, were the unwitting dupes to our brilliant ploy.

Using brilliant advanced flying tactics, Brian, Bill and I were able to leave Kevin isolated on one part of the board, so Cam could "shoot down" Kevin. Of course, by counting on Cam, we were taking a big risk, and it was close run thing, as Cam, despite being armed with two cannons and two heavy MGs, did nearly no damage to Kevin's plane through an initial round of firing.

The Luftwaffe side, convinced the dogfight was legitimate and that it was critical to "protect" the Luftwaffe prototype that would have zero outcome on the war, didn't suspect a thing!

We were awesomely successful in the end. We also managed to avoid shooting down any of the Luftwaffe pilots, who would have suspected something when they bailed out and landed close to Kevin....

Thunderbolts over the Med batrep - "Enemy fleet located, sir!"

SETTING
Date: 13 August, 1942, morning
Location: West of Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea
History: Operation Pedestal started on 9 August 1942, when a convoy of 14 merchant ships sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar, heading for Malta. On the 13th, the Regia Aeronautica sent Tenente Adriano Visconti and a wingman on an armed photo recce patrol, each flying an MC.202 Folgore ("Thunderbolt").

Last Thursday Bill, Kevin, and Brian came over to play the Check Your 6! scenario "Thunderbolts over the Med" - the second scenario I've written set during Operation Pedestal, Aug. 9-15, 1942.

As the scenario started, the Italian pilots have just made visual contact with the merchant ships when they are "bounced" by four RAF Spitfires escorting the convoy.

Below are the 1/144 scale model Italian fighter aircraft run by Bill and myself - Bill graciously allowed me to play the lead ship. The Folgore in tan and green camo represented the aircraft flown by the flight leader, Adriano Visconti. Bill ran the wing man, in the green plane. The Regia Aeronautica Italia started by the northern table edge, the RAF from the south.

(Note: Click on the pictures for larger images.)



The Malta-based Spitfires started at a higher altitude than the Italian planes. The latter, due to the rules of the scenario, had to plot their first move as forward, level flight. Below, Ken and Brian can be seen plotting their first moves. The RAF hoped to capitalize on their altitude advantage and the element of surpise.



The Regia Aeronautica planes moved in a southeast direction to engage the easternmost pair of aircraft first, hoping to whittle down the RAF's 2-1 advantage in numbers.



The Italians traded speed for altitude, climbing to meet the RAF fighters. In the ensuing exchange of gunfire, Bill's green Folgore inflicted airframe damage upon one of Kevin's Spitfires.



Things started to get interesting as the furball escalated. Bill's plane stayed high and banked west. The damaged Spitfire gently turned east. The other planes spiralled down to mix it up. The Italian ace and one of Brian's planes narrowly avoided a collision as they passed each other in the same hex, at the same altitude.



The ace squeezed off some shots, hitting the damaged Spitfire, but the Folgore's light armament failed to inflict any damage.

Kevin sensed an opportunity to put fire on the Italian ace. He pulled his plane around in a much tighter turn, but the Spitfire's damaged airframe couldn't stand the strain and the plane crashed into the sea.



As the dogfight continued, one of Brian's planes managed to get on the "six" of Bill's MC.202, damaging its engine. In the photo below, Bill can be seen contemplating the CY6! quick reference card.



Brian's second Spitfire managed to stay on Bill's tail. This Spitfire, due to the scenario's variable rules, had an all-machine gun armament. This came in handy later. Brian rolled to hit for that plane such that it would have run out of cannon ammo but, not having any cannons, its offensive capability remained undiminished.

In the photo below, Spitfires run by Kevin and Brian avoid another collision as their pilots concentrated on their Italian targets. Brian's Spitfire got in a close range burst that sent Bill's Folgore falling into the Mediterranean. The ace's Folgore maneuvered away from the Spitfires which, factoring in deflection, prevented a hit from Kevin's cannons.



The remaining Italian plane banked right and dove, picking up a lot of speed. A quick burst put an airframe hit on Kevin's remaining Spitfire.



Seeing an opportunity to get some revenge for his wingman, the Italian ace pushed his throttle wide open and dived at Brian's all-MG Spitfire. In a head-on exchange of gunfire at point-blank range, Brian damaged the airframe of the ace's plane. The Italian's machine guns also struck true, luckily shooting down the Spitfire in a long burst.



With his plane damaged, the Italian ace decided that honour had been served and so dived out of the fight. The remaining Spitfires were unable to prevent the Folgore from escaping.

With one plane damaged and one plane lost, the Regia Aeronautica manged to squeeze out a win, since the RAF lost two planes and had had a further Spitfire damaged.

[Historically, one Spitfire and its pilot was lost in the engagement.]

"Buzz" Beurling over the Med

Sorry for the late post. I finally got around to writing up the Check Your 6! game held in honour of the visit of Conscript Sean, who now lives in Ottawa. We played the "Operation Pedestal" scenario again, minus the Stukas and a pair of Spits.

Note: click on the photos for larger images.

Here's Sean, who ran a pair of Spitfires, led by the Canadian ace, George "Buzz" Beurling. Kev ran the other pair of Maltese based fighters.



Brian ran a flight of JU-88s, in a bombing run on three merchant ships. I ran a pair of Bf-109s.



The three ships all had light AA, which shot indiscriminately at the closest plane. Very historical.



Things went wrong from the beginning, due to the Luftwaffe's setup. In hindsight, the bombers and escorting fighters should have swapped places.



As it was, the Spitfires were able to get good positions on the bombers, shooting down two bombers in rapid succession. The Bf-109s tried a head-on pass, losing one fighter for their trouble. The lead bomber is getting shot at by the ships, hence the splashes.



The trailing Spitfire, damaged by the lead Bf-109, failed to shoot down the bomber. The JU-88 managed to drop its stick of bombs (more splashes) but missed:



In the end, Buzz Buerling merely damaged a plane. However, his wing man was credited with downing two bombers.

The final tally was two splashed JU-88s and a Bf-109, in return for a couple of damaged Spitfires. This is in direct opposition to the result the last time this scenario was run, which was a clear Luftwaffe victory. Maybe the scenario is balanced after all...

"Check Your 6!" - Operation Pedestal : Can Malta be Saved?

Operation Pedestal was a British operation to get desperately needed supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War.

Malta was the base from which surface ships, submarines and aircraft attacked Axis convoys carrying essential supplies to the Italian and German armies in North Africa. In 1941 and 1942, Malta was effectively under siege, blockaded by Axis air and naval forces. To sustain Malta, Britain had to get convoys through at all costs.

Operation Pedestal started on 9 August 1942, when a convoy of 14 merchant ships sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar, protected by two large forces of British naval vessels.

The game at Dallas' last Thursday night, June 11, recreated a portion of the action that occurred on the afternoon of August 13, 1942. All the model aircraft used were 1/144 scale.

Three JU88s were controlled by Kevin, a +2 aircrew leading two +1's:



Kevin's bomber flight was escorted by a flight of Bf109Fs flown by Greg. Each element had a +1 wingman, and was led, respectively, by a +3 ace and a +2 veteran.



In defense, a flight of 4 Spitfire Vs from Malta flew cover, a pair of planes each run by Brian and Dallas. Their pilots' skills were the same as the German fighter pilots, although the British ace had only 8 machine guns as armament, no cannon.



The object of the attack were five merchant ships (all scratchbuilt by Brian), controlled by the British players. The German bomber flight has penetrated the cordon of British naval escorts and is on its final attack run...



The trailing ship, the tanker SS Ohio, was reduced to half speed, having already been hit at 1050 hours that morning. The lead ship and the SS Ohio had light AA gun batteries. The SS Ohio was counted as having two batteries, representing resolute American volunteers from the recently sunk Santa Eliza manning the guns.

The flight of JU88 bombers started in the middle of the northern table edge. To the west Greg placed the escorting fighters. The RAF flight came in from the southwest and southeast table quarters. Below, the convoy steamed eastward. All action took place at Surface CAB low. No diving out of the fight!

The German bombers flew southeast toward the lead of the surviving merchant ships. Their fighter escort was a little behind and to the west. The RAF Spitfires all headed northwards in the general direction of the bombers.



The bombers descended slowly right to the deck, angling for the lead vessel. Anti-aircraft fire rose up from the lead and trail ships. The Spitfires tried a shot but failed to do anything. The Bf-109's scored a lucky hit on Brian's wingman.



The action soon hotted up. Mistaking one of their own protectors for the enemy, the gunners on the SS Ohio accidentally shot down Brian's wingman! The other German aircraft let loose several long bursts, scoring lucky hits on Brian's other Spitfire, setting it on fire. The long experience of the Luftwaffe bomber crews was evidenced by two bomb hits, cutting the speed of two stricken vessels in half.



The third bomber then took over the lead of the flight, banking west in a run against the SS Ohio. Greg's fighters tailed Brian's remaining plane as its pilot desperately tried to bring his Spitfire to bear on the bombers. One of Greg's fighters ran out of ammo. Brian's pilot failed his piloting check and crashed into the sea. Meanwhile, Dallas' ace let loose a long burst into a bomber, but his bullets failed to score any significant damage.



Sensing that he had a better chance of damaging the Luftwaffe fighters, the British ace Immelmanned around and shot up a surprised Bf-109, setting it on fire. The German fighter fired off a burst in return, failing to damage the RAF plane. The other two German fighters attacked a Spitfire whose sights were set on the last bomber; the Spitfire suffered frame damage from the German cannon shells. A burst of cannon and machinegun fire from the British fighter failed to hinder the Luftwaffe bombardier's aim. That worthy landed his stick of bombs right on the Ohio, leaving it dead in the water...

(click on the photo for a larger image)



The game was then called. The only way the German side could have been more successful was if they had managed to sink one of the ships, either by concentrating their attacks on a single vessel or by sending the fighters down on the deck to try and strafe. (Historically, fighters from Malta were fired upon by the convoy in confusion because communications between the convoy and the RAF were out. In the end, only 5 of the 14 ships made it into Malta's Grand Harbour. Last to dock was the wounded SS Ohio, which had to be towed in, but whose cargo of precious fuel kept Malta in the war.)

Thanks to Dallas, Brian, Greg, and Kevin for playing. It was a really fun game to run. In after-game discussion, we raised the possibility of adding another pair of defending Spitfires, and a pair of Stukas. In due course I shall write up the scenario in proper CY6! format, encompassing these various options.

Check Your 6! - Pushing Into France

Situation:
The setting was January, 1941. As part of a "Rhubarb" patrol, two 3-plane flights of Spitfires from No. 64 Squadron were on a fighter sweep over Calais. They spied a target of opportunity, a small ammo dump. From a nearby airfield, a ready flight of defending Luftwaffe Bf-109s was scrambled to intercept them.

On Dec. 28 I hosted another Check Your 6! game. Kevin, Brian, Byron and Ray each flew a vic or rotte of planes. Dallas dropped by after work (!) to lend morale support. This was the first time playing CY6! for Byron and Ray, but the game mechanics are simple enough that they were well into air combat tactics in a couple of turns. The scenario was a variation of the "Leaning Forward into France" scenario, taken from the Over the Channel: Battle of Britain scenario book.

The table was 6' x 4', using a Hotz Artworks European Fields mat. The ammo dump was near the eastern (short) table edge. The RAF came in from the west. Brian ran the ground attack flight of 3 Spits, coming in at speed 2, altitude 4. Byron flew top cover, with his 3 Spifires at speed 4, altitude 6.

Kevin and Ray each flew a rotte of 2 Bf-109s. Rolling randomly, they arrived on the table to the north and south of the RAF flights at altitude 2, giving the RAF the height advantage. Clearly, the German early warning system was lacking!

Brian dived to treetop level to be in a position to strafe the ammo dump. Meanwhile, Byron mixed it up with Kevin's and Ray's Bf-109s. In an inspired bit of tactics, Brian peeled off a single Spit, to even up the dogfight behind him.

The photo above illustrates the turning point at mid-game. In the same turn, two planes from different flights on either side ended up in the same hex at the same altitude. This was a result of the simultaneous movement that is a main feature of CY6! Brian's and Byron's planes managed to miss each other. However, Ray and Kevin were not so lucky - two Bf-109s collided in mid-air, sending one crashing to the ground and leaving the other heavily damaged. Note the smoke of defeat (or smoke of victory, depending on your point of view).

Subsequently, Kevin's damaged plane was shot down by a Spit. Down by half their number, the Germans gamely carried on.

Meanwhile, east of the furball, Kevin's Rottenführer had set his sights on Brian's other two Spitfires:


The range and deflection made for some tough shooting, and Brian managed to score enough hits to send the ammo dump up in a fireball.

Thanks to everybody who showed up, especially during such a busy time as the Christmas holidays. Special thanks to Kevin, who took the great photos.

***

I just received 3 "egg scale" Bristol Blenheims (they're Furuta toy surprises) in the mail. Next time, we can run an Operation CIRCUS mission, with Bomber Command supported by Fighter Command, and more defending BF-109s.