Thursday Game - Air War over Korea

Dave O. is bringing out his 1/144 MiGs and Sabres for some sweet Korean War aerial action

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Boris looked out the canopy at the great, vast desolation that lay below him. Since his deployment to Korea he had yet to see any REAL action. How was he supposed to serve Mother Russia by killing Americanskis if he never saw any?

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Boris caught the faint glimmer of F-84s far below... Ah, little fish, Boris thought, our first catch of the day.... "Flight lead to flight, we have Thuds below at 15, 3 kilometers ahead. Let's show these cowboys how the bear bites!" Boris nosed the MiG-15 into a dive, letting loose the fury of his twin 23mm and 37mm guns as the F-84s filled his sights. He could see the rounds strike the canopy of an F-84, splattering American Apple Pie all over the cockpit.

Boris called to his wingman, "Your turn Alexei, show our Korean friends how it's done!" As Alexei's MiG rolled into a screaming dive, a yell came over the radio - "SABRE, SABRE, SABRE!" Boris grinned to himself... "now we will see what the Americanskis can do."

"Project Opfor"

As you have seen on the blog, Dallas' sci-fi commie project has taken on some outstanding momentum. We just need someone for those Space Commies to mix it up with. It just so happens that my junk heap full of pending/stored GW crud has a pile of Steel Legion troopers in it. I've had these jokers for years. Every so often, I would try to paint one, thinking I could whip together something that would represent a sci-fi version of the German Fallschirmjager - the test mini would suck, and I would forget about it and move on.

Well, this time, I think I have found a scheme that I like. To match Dallas' theme of "sci-fi-ing" vehicles, and to have a thematic counter-match to the Russian look, I will attempt to build a force of sci-fi panzer troops...who knows which faction they will be from? Perhaps those Corporate Goons Frederick mentioned at the game last week?

For vehicles, to go with the German theme, I will dip into a stash of Corgi models of German WW2 vehicles I accumulated back when I had some delusions of doing WW2 in 28mm (I would still like to do that sometime, but Dallas has it so thoroughly covered the effort would be kind of redundant). I've put in for some more tank sprues for conversion work.

So the intent is for it to be some sort of science fiction Panzer Troop...Panthers with co-axial autocannons and other GW abominations, and some kind of converted 251C "uhu" (intended for WW2 nightfighting) to serve as a targeter for the armour, and maybe a converted Marder III and Flakpanzer of some kind. If I can scare up enough 1/48 scale half tracks, I will convert those to be the APCs.

Watch this space for progress on "Project Opfor"! Watch out, Space Commies...

New Flyer Industries

(that's a Winnipeg inside joke)

Anyway, if you've been following the blog (and let's face it, who hasn't?) you'll have seen my latest foray into sci-fi with Pig Iron's excellent Kolony Militia http://wpggamegeeks.blogspot.com/2009/01/pig-iron-project.html. I decided to do mine in a future-Soviet theme which I think fit the miniatures perfectly. Originally the plan was to do Pig Iron infantry to match up with Rackham vehicles for AT-43 but as these things often do, it's spiralled a bit out of control...

So far I have 22 Pig Iron models finished, plus their supporting SU-300 http://wpggamegeeks.blogspot.com/2008/12/sci-fi-assault-gun-conversion.html as well as a BTR-60 carrier and what I call the T340-32-2, a 1/43 T34 model that's been hacked around with twin 32mm cannons in the turret and a hull-mounted laser cannon (!). It's on the table in the basement about to be primed.

So with some vehicles done, and a few more (10) Kolony Militia on the way from Brandon at Rattlehead Games, it occurred to me that a neat project for the interim would be a ground-attack aircraft ("flyer" in sci-fi parlance). I wanted something that suited the future-retro theme of the force, plus had a Soviet flavour, if possible. It had to be compact, mean looking, and able to be loaded down with an unfeasible array of weaponry.

Enter the Polikarpov I-16 "Rata" in 1/48 scale...

I-16 from Hobbycraft... note the "Warning" on box cover from Pete. When I bought it, we checked the parts and they were complete. However he warned me that "we don't guarantee that a Hobbycraft kit won't be crap..." thanks Pete ;-)

I always have liked the look of this aircraft. It has the look of the pre-war GeeBee racer, all nose with the cockpit crammed up against the tail. I wanted something that looked like it was basically all-engine, and the I-16 fills the bill nicely. However, piston engines and propeller drive would hardly fit the futuristic theme of the rest of the force, so some conversion was in order...

I happened to have a few brass plumbing bits left over from doing the conversion on the SU-300. I had bought a few different pieces to try out for the main gun of the vehicle. They were cheap so I figured I might as well buy a few rather than have to go back to Rona later. One of the pieces looked like it would make a nifty jet engine. I hacked into the fuselage to make room for it, and started cutting up the front end to make a giant intake where the piston engine and propeller live.

Point of no return...

Of course, where I positioned the engine happened to foul the floor of the cockpit ever so slightly. I was able to modify the latter with a few (dozen) swipes of a half-round file and it fit nicely.

Half-round file comes in handy!

I continued with assembly of the rest of the plane after that. A surplus GW Imperial Guard autocannon fit underneath the nose, HS-129 style, while the rocket pods from a Whirlwind launcher were cut apart and positioned under the wings on pylon-mountings.

Please ignore the superglue residue that's everywhere... arrgh

I also found some bits in the bits box to detail the new jet engine.

Who doesn't love "bits"... sorry "bitZ"

There was a bit of an issue caused by my ham-handed hackery on the fuselage to fit the new jet engine. I cut some strips of card to hide the worst of it and greenstuff and more detail bits would be applied to conceal the rest... I hope!

Superglue residue... now with added bloodstains!

I would have preferred a closed cockpit model but the one available at my local hobby shop was an open cockpit variant. So rather than screw around with more plasticard and greenstuff I decided to add a pilot. Fortunately I had purchased a pack of Copplestone's "Pilots" from his Back of Beyond range. The pack included a few half-figures so one of these was decapitated and slotted into the cockpit.

Ouch!

(Don't worry, he'll have a head swapped on from the Pig Iron standard bearer. This model had an odd head that I thought never really suited an infantry model, but which I think looks great on a pilot)

The last thing to do was to detail the front intake. I had another brass plumbing bit to use bit it was kind of plain and stuck out from the nose quite a bit; I wasn't sure of the aesthetic (not that this would have bothered the Future Commies, but whatever...)

I hit the Home Depot this afternoon and found a suitable bit there, again in the plumbing section... it's called a "flare nut" and I think it makes a relatively convincing jet intake...

Flare nuts ahoy!

Of course no description of the project would be complete without mentioning the assistance I got along the way... Gillespie was a big help in keeping the model box from going anywhere ;-)

Looks comfy, eh?

Seriously, I gotta say a big thank you to Conscript Greg B for the GW Imperial Guard sprues I've used on these sci-fi conversion projects, they are a real life-saver! Anyway, here are some pics of the finished model:

I'll add the clear windshield after painting.

Some statistics on the project:

• Cost of materials: kit $15 (secondhand from Sparetime Hobbies), flare nut $2.19, other brass bit $2?
• Time investment: maybe 6 hours? (I bought the model yesterday afternoon and finished the project before supper tonight)
• Injuries incurred: cut thumb from new Xacto blade (I literally poured my blood into this model; that's the red stuff you see in some of the photos)
• Stuff I screwed up: as usual, lots of cyano-acrylate glue residue and smears. I've been using thin dollar-store glue and it runs everywhere. Thankfully primer and paint covers that up pretty well.

Thanks for reading this, and if there's interest, I'll post an entry on painting the beast!

Battle Report - Tied Up Outside Hamburg

"Yes Cam - you will need to roll a bog-down check before you do that...."

Another week, another fun game. The Conscripts rolled out for "Red Storm", the modern adaption of Dallas' excellent skirmish rules. The scenario was "Operation Airbus", set in a (thankfully) imaginary World War 3 setting of the summer of 1990. The game envisioned the Soviet spearheads approaching an Airbus research compound outside Hamburg, with a joint force of West German, British and French troops mounting a localized counter-attack to recapture some important Airbus technology which had been left behind by fleeing civilians.

The table

Learjet objective withe Euro-employees. Free access to automatic weapons guaranteed by the collective agreement

We used the monster 8'x5' table to represent the Airbus compound. Dallas placed a great mix of Euro-socialist green-space and urban/industrial buildings. The objective was a 1/48 scale model Lear jet. The game would be 8 turns long, and the sole winning condition was to capture the jet intact. This would be done by the side with the dismounted infantry unit which was closest to the jet at the end of the game.

The Russians had a motor-rifle platoon of three squads mounted in BMP-2s, a "Spandrel" BRDM vehicle with AT-5 missiles and a ZSU-23-4. In reserve they had a platoon of 3 T-80U tanks.

The NATO side had two German squads in Marder 1A1 IFVs, a Leopard IIA5, a German Lieutenant in a Mercedes (with a MILAN),one British squad in a Warrior IFV, a Challenger I, a French squad in a VAB, another VAB equipped with HOT-type AT missiles, and a Leclerc MBT. They also had one pass from a "Tor-NAH-do" ground attack jet.

The Russians, with the exception of the T-80s, would start on the table, and the NATO force would attack from either flank. For entertainment purposes, Airbus Industrie security personnel were placed next to their subsidized parked cars on the table. They would fire randomly (and inneffectively).

It was another awesome turnout. Dallas and Bill rolled with the West Germans, Brian took the British, Cam took the French (assisted by Mike B until he bailed to so see some kind of Miley Cyrus concert) and Dave O, Dave V, Mike F and Frederick took the Russian side.

The Russians dismounted their infantry and sought cover in the buildings and tried to prepare for an attack at any quarter. NATO rolled on with priority in the first turn, and would proceed to win priority in ALL eight turns (way to go Bill!).

Spotting was inconsistent early on, and most attention was focused on a Russian infantry Konkurs ATGW team which had set up in a commanding position on the roof of the building in the centre of the facility. They managed to take out the French VAB AT vehicle before succumbing to the wieght of fire from NATO.

The Russians replied where possible with the AT-5 missiles on their BMPs, but the Russian IFVs did not match up well against the 120mm main guns of the NATO tanks. Still, the

dismounted motor rifles stuck to their positions in the buildings, and resolved to battle on.

T-80s line up on the table edge

Dave O led the T-80s on to the table, and began dueling with Dallas' Leopard MBT. During the game the T-80s would land many rounds on the Leopard, but they did not damage it.

Meanwhile, Cam attempted to move into the Russian flanks, and he proceed to get his LeClerc stuck on a euro-trash sports car. Just another one for the file Cam...still, the tank did free itself

in time to have its main gun knocked out by one of the T-80s.

"Tu conduis bien, eh Cam?"

Lit up Marder and Bundeswehr infantry

As NATO swarmed the Russian position, the ZSU-23-4 was knocked out, setting the stage for the airstrike, which destroyed one T-80 and pinned many Russian units. Dallas lost most of one Bundeswehr squad courtesy of the 30mm cannon on Frederick's BMP-2.

Tor-nah-do airstrike

Challenger I and Warrior IFV

The final turn was a swirling melee in the middle. Bearing in mind the victory conditions, Bill was pushing a squad of West German dismounts right up to the LearJet. Dave V committed to do the same, machinegunning half of the West Germans while he was at it (and in turn losing an entire squad to the 20mm cannon from Bill's Marder 1A1). The Soviet officer in charge boldly raced out to capture the plane himself....

So when the dust settled at the end of the 8th turn, Bill had three surviving West German troops touching the plane, and Dave V had the Soviet Officer. I had not really anticipated this potential outcome - so we rolled for it! I gave Bill three dice, and one for Dave V - the highest single roll would win. Bill rolled a "3", "4" and a "6". Dave V had one chance - he rolled....a "6"!!!!

At that point, we decided it was a draw. The Russian Officer was named a Hero of the Soviet Union not long after the battle.

Thanks to everyone for a fun game, and thanks as always to Dallas for hosting. Great job Mike F on the French and British troops and models! They looked great (even as Cam got them stuck on sports cars).

Thursday Game - Operation Airbus

July 1990 – The Berlin Wall came down all right – mostly because it was blocking the advance of Russian tanks! The Soviet Union has invaded West Germany, and NATO is fighting a grudging retreat. The BAOR and Bundeswehr are defending the approaches to Hamburg, holding the Soviet spearheads while civilians evacuate, and then falling back to the next defensive point. One recently abandoned defensive position was located outside of an EADS research facility. EADS is the parent company of Airbus, known primarily for building civilian airliners. However, NATO commanders have fielded some alarmed calls form European heads of state about something important that was left behind at that facility….

“Operation Airbus” is underway. Joined by a detachment of French soldiers, a contingent of Brits and Germans mount a local counterattack to try and recover a piece of Airbus property before the Soviet spearheads cut them off!

Cross-Border Chopper-ing

Zipped down to the States with Pam yesterday; had to go to Pembina to pick up some parcels (the old GW game "Bommerz over da Sulphur River" and some replacement decals for the bodywork of one of my motorbikes).

We decided to make a day of it and carried on down to Grand Forks. While in GF we stopped at Target, it's sometimes good for the odd diecast purchase. Yesterday's was a good one: a 1/48 UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter for $20. Here it is, pictured with some US Marines I painted earlier ;-)

Apparently the model is a "Target Exclusive" meaning they won't be found anyplace else... shame as we have no Targets in Canada... yet...

It was a good day. I was happy to pick up my goodies and return with copious amounts of Cherry Coke Zero... Pam was happy with the sales at the Gap and Eddie Bauer... so it was all good :-)

21st Panzer Reports Objective Captured

Rommel - "Great work gents. Cheers!"

Last night the Conscripts gathered at Dallas' place for this week's game - World War 2 in 15mm scale, using the Flames of War rules by Battlefront. The game was set in the North African theatre in 1942, during the Gazala battles, which featured many swirling tank battles among the dunes. I love a good tank battle, and as it was the first battlefield appearance for my Afrika Korps and 8th Army troops, I was really looking forward to the game.

Turnout was excellent - Brian, Mike F, Mike B, Frederick, Kevin, Dave V and Cam all came out to blow up some tanks.

The scenario featured a force of British troops from the 7th Armoured Division - the "Desert Rats" - trying to hold a small village in the hopes of blocking the rapid advance of the 21st Panzer Division. The village was the sole objective, and the Germans would have 8 turns to completely capture it. Any other outcome would be a British victory.

The table - objective village at upper right - Germans lower centre

The British force was comprised of two lorried motor platoons, with light mortars and AT rifles, reinforced with a Vickers HMG platoon, and a platoon of three Universal Carriers with extra MGs. For armour, the Brits had a troop of three Crusader IIs (wow - a 2-pounder!) and two troops of Grant tanks (ok - 75mm - that's better). All-in, the British force was worth about 1600 points.

British forces start "dug in"

British in the village

The Germans had a larger force - two full-strength panzer grenadier platoons riding in trucks, a section of two 8cm GW34 mortars, a "retro" platoon of 3 light Panzer IIF tanks, and three platoons of panzers which between them contained 6 Pz IIIJs, 2 Pz IIILs (all had long 50mm guns), and a Pz IVF1 (with a "short" 75mm). The German column also contained a towed 88mm FLAK cannon. All together, the Germans outnumbered the British points-wise. The DAK detachment was around 2100 points - but the British had the advantage of starting dug-in. And the Germans had to deal with the wadi....

"Wadi ho!" - German motorized infantry race (!) across the dry riverbed

The German advance was severely constrained by a wadi that nearly all of their platoons would have to cross before they could maneuver against the village. The Germans were allowed to designate Panzer platoons for an attempted flank arrival (which would avoid the wadi) if they wished, but did not know when those would show up.

The narrowest section of the wadi was also closest to the British positions, so the Germans had to choose between a much longer/slower (if safer) crossing, or going straight at the British and coming under fire from a troop of Grants. Either choice meant difficult going, checks to bog down, and much entertainment (for me, at least).

Dallas, Frederick, Brian and Mike B took command of the DAK troops. Dave V, Kevin, Mike F and Cam rolled with the Brits.

The British dug into the village and environs, and held a troop of Grant tanks in reserve off table. As the game started, the DAK began their slow advance through the wadi. Brian took a PzIIIJ platoon on a flank march, and awaited his opportunity. Fredrick led the two Panzer Grenadier Platoons and Pz IIFs through the wide section of the wadi, looking for elbow room among the hills outside the village. A few trucks and panzers bogged down, but generally they trudged ahead. The remaining Panzers headed straight at the British, and began exchanging fire with the Grant troop that was on table.

Die Panzers Rollen in Afrika Vor!

Tot-to-toe with the Grants!

The British sat tight - Dave brought his Grants into action against the Panzers, while Mike F and Kevin pushed the universal carriers and Crusaders out into the hills in the hopes of slowing the Panzer Grenadiers.

The first point of contact was outside the main village compound, as the Panzers started to knock out some Grant tanks, and overran three sections of British infantry right in their fox holes. Dave responded with his usual agressive tactics, sending the AT rifle team and his suriving Grants hunting for flank shots (and passing the motivation checks, ensuring the Grant troop fought to the last). However, the AT rifle team missed (repeatedly) from point blank range, and the Grants managed to only knock out one Panzer IIIM before they were all knocked out.

Out in the hills, Mike F's Crusaders exchanged fire with the light panzers, knocking out a Panzer II. Mike F was hopeful of lighting up the Panzer grenadiers riding in their soft-skin vehicles, but was frustrated as ALL of the grenadiers in one platoon survived their trucks getting knocked out (nice rolling Frederick!).

Things got worse in the hills for the British as the Crusaders realized Brian's platoon of Pz IIIJs was making their flank entry, and the Germans had deployed the 88mm FLAK on the other side of the wadi. The Crusader troop was shortly reduced to wreckage. The Bren carriers made a noble stand, but were overwhelmed by fire from the Panzer IIfs, and an assault by Frederick's Panzer Grenadiers finished them off.

The British reserve Grant troop arrived, and went toe to toe over a couple of turns with Dallas's Panzer IIIJ platoon. The Mark IIIs got the better of it - the Grant troop was wiped out over two turns.

On the German side, as Frederick's second grenadier platoon - still mounted in their cool SUV-style Kfz 70 trucks - raced toward the village, they got caught by a barrage of Vickers gun HMG fire. Frederick was unable to recreate the magic of the saving throws in prior turns, and the platoon was destroyed as the survivors fled.

While the decimation of a grenadier platoon felt pretty good, the British infantry were now feeling the heat - mortar barrages rained down on the village, pinning and killing. All of their armour was knocked out. It was a question of whether they could hold out. As turn 8 approached, the infantry endured withering fire from tanks, mortars, the 88mm, dismounted panzer grenadiers, and three platoons of panzers! Command teams were killed, replaced, then the replacements were killed - one by one, the teams dropped away. Yet the British players kept passing the motivation checks!

Mortars take their toll.

Finally, in the 8th and final turn, in which the Panzers literally began to overrun the town, the British company CO failed a motivation test, and the game ended. 21st Panzer had triumphed, and would move on to the next objective. Meanwhile, senior officers of the British 7th Armoured were reviewing the warrantees contained in the lend-lease terms for the Grant tanks...

Thanks to everyone for a great turn out and an excellent game, and thanks to Dallas for hosting. Also thanks to all for demonstrating great patience for my lack of familiarity with the Flames of War rules - stupid !#$@#ing rulebook!

21st Panzer moves out to the next objective....