Some Nates

Here's the Japanese Nakajima Ki-27 Nates I bought at Spartacon all painted up for CY6. While not the best aircraft in history, these will provide good opponents for the Flying Tigers that are in the works, along with the Chinese Nationalists I intend to do at some point. These are from Scotia, painted in Polly S Imperial Japanese Grey, which may technically be a little on the lighter side, but it looked good to me, especially in scale, and even seems to have the slightest olive green tint to it that these planes reportedly had. So there you go.






















Also, a sneak peak at one of the Sallys in progress. More Flying Tiger targets!

Dogfight at Kaneohe

As mentioned, I was able to get in a couple games on New Year's Day with an old adversary who made the trip up for the day. Other than being a great excuse to make Sloppy Joes, we had the chance to play our first game of Arc of Fire, as well as a quick game of Check Your 6. I'll share the CY6 game first, with photos from the AoF game to come soon.

This was a home-brewed scenario featuring two U.S. Army P-36s against a pair of Zeroes at Pearl Harbor, I call it Dogfight at Kaneohe. Spoiler alert: December 7 was a bad day for the Americans.

From the scenario:
Precious few American aircraft were able to take off and engage the Japanese on the morning of December 7, 1941. One of them was 2^nd Lt. Philip Rasmussen of the 46^th Pursuit Squardon. He had just arisen when the attack began and, still wearing his purple pajamas, he raced for the flight line at Wheeler Field. Once there, he discovered all of the aircraft were either destroyed or purning, except for a few P-36A Hawks. He quickly jumped in one and taxied to a revetment at the edge of the airfield, where he joined three other pilots who were also preparing undamaged P-36 aircraft. All four took off under fire, and were directed by radio toward Kaneohe Bay, where they engaged 11 Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 Zeroes from the carrier Soryu.

After shooting down one Zero, Rasmusen was attacked by two others. Gunfire and 20 mm cannon shells shattered the canopy, destroyed the radio (hit by two shells – the bulky radio saved his life) and severed the hydraulic lines and rudder cable. Rasmussen sought refuge in nearby cloud cover and began flying back toward Wheeler Field. He landed the P-36 without brakes, rudder or tailwheel, and with more than 500 bullet holes. For his actions, Rasmussen received the Silver Star. He survived the war, shooting down a second Japanese aircraft in 1943. He retired from the Air Force in 1965.

We set the game up with the aircraft approaching at right angles. I was the Americans, my counterpart, Jon, the Japanese. Both sides started at TAL 6 and speed 4. Each side had one skilled pilot and one green. I made a bad move early, allowing Jon to get off a pretty shot on my tail, and down went one P-36, Rasmussen as it happened.

That left it one vs. two for several turns, with much twisting and turning. (I know, never get in a twisty fight with a Zero.) The Japanese both ran out of ammo on their cannons, and at one point we had a very near miss on a blue on blue shot. (Drat!) Finally, all of our maneuvering went bad, and the game ended with a collision. Oops. Sort of anticlimactic.

Anyway, once again CY6 provided an enjoyable game. I like the fact it is incredibly easy to set up a game, and quick to learn and play, while still maintaining a "real game" feel that doesn't skimp on accuracy.

Without further ado, the photos:

The American P-36s.

Japanese Zeroes splitting up to hunt.

The opening situation.

Could I have given him a better shot? Even Jon couldn't miss this!

Fortunately, he did miss this. And nearly shot his own down!

So close, but I just couldn't get a good shot.

Here they come again.

Everybody missed, and the Zeroes ran out of ammo for the cannon.
Hope for the American?

Nope. Oops. Game ends on a collision.

And Some Dauntlesses

And on the other side, here are some Douglass SBD Dauntless dive bombers. I'm pretty sure these are Scotia. I tried to order some more (Raiden), but they are out of stock at the moment, but should be available by next month. I hope so, these are the only two I have! These I painted up in early war scheme, which makes them ideal candidates for the Swede scenario, as well as other Coral Sea scenarios. If I get more, I might paint up a mix of these, along with some without the red dot to be more appropriate for the Midway time period. I do like the open cockpit feature on these, though.

Curiously, and you'll see these eventually, I have painted up all of my Devastators in the later style, mostly as a nod to Torpedo Squadron 8. Again, more on that later. As gamers, we're used to overlooking the occasional anomaly, right?

In other CY6 news, my recent order arrived yesterday. Overall they look pretty cool, though one Sally has a miscast around the engine nacelle that will need some work.

As far as the other projects, I got the materials to begin rigging the Guerriere, maybe this weekend. And somewhat surprisingly, I managed to get many of the decals down on my Foyt Olds last night and this morning.

Vals

A few more from my staged photoshoot, a small formation of Japanese Aichi D3A Val dive bombers. Raiden 1/285 models. I've already been asked how I painted these, so here's a brief outline:

1. Prime grey
2. Go over panel lines with a black technical pen to "preshade"
3. Airbrush a mix of Floquil concreted lightened slightly with Dirty White. This allows the panels to still show through, but not be overwhelming. I did not want to do a wash, as I was going for a clean effect.
4. Cockpits are dark sky blue, then drybrushed a lighter sky blue and finally highlighted with just a dot of white - all Vallejo paints
5. Various other details, eg cowling, picked out with a brush
6. Decals from I-94. I spot brush some Testors acrylic gloss where the decals are to be placed.
7. Clear coat

That's really it. These are relatively easy to paint, and are a nice break from lines of blue, grey or red!

Looks like when I grabbed some to shoot, I grabbed some
from different carriers.Note the blue and white stripes. Oops!

As a side note today, I have the Guerriere pretty much painted and assembled, but am now facing the task of rigging. I have a pretty good technique honed on WWI 1/72 aircraft I think will work. Wish me luck.

Wildcats and Zeroes

I staged a few photos over the weekend of my CY6 stuff done to date. I'll start today with some Wildcats and Zeroes. More shots to come. I didn't get any of my Devastators (magnet issue) or Kates (almost done, just waiting on a decal replenishment order).

I also have written up a few scenarios that will need testing. They are all pretty basic and don't require a ton of aircraft (or players). Perfect for me, who is short on both! Let me know if you are interested. Here's a brief summary:

1. 4x P-40E vs. Zeroes, Vals and Kates in the Aleutians
2. 2x P-38 vs. 4x Mavis in the Aleutians (OK, 4x Mavis could be cost-prohibitive... I might use some artistic license and change to Rufes)
3. Seagulls vs. Rufes in the Aleutians, for you floatplane fans. Though I don't see Seagulls available. Might change to Kingfishers.
4. 2x P-36 vs. Kates, Pearl Harbor
5. 2x P-36 vs. Zeroes, Pearl Harbor

The latter two are especially simple, and as I included 4x P-36 in my recent order, I hope to run them soon.

On with the eye candy (all models Raiden 1/285):

Two A6M2 Zeroes hot on the tail of a couple F4F Wildcats.

Flipping the tables - on a Zero's tail.

Close up of a Zero.

Distracted by a Diversion: Aleutian Air War

As part of the elaborate Midway attack plan, the Japanese developed a diversionary assault on the Alaskan Aleutian islands. Nearly 70 years later, this is distracting me! I had a bit of a slowdown at work yesterday afternoon, so I actually started writing up a few scenarios for CY6! involving the air battles in the Aleutians.

And it just goes to show the tiniest spark can ignite an interesting project. I had read somewhere that P-40s fought Japanese carrier planes. Well, I have P-40s, and I have Japanese carrier planes. So I started poking around the internet and learned there was a lot more going on up there. P-38s, B-24s, P-39s, Rufes, Mavises, Catalinas - oh, my! So here's a general outline of at least four scenarios to start:

• P-40s vs. Japanese attack force on Dutch Harbor
• P-38s vs. Japanese Mavis recon planes (3 of them!)
• SOC Seagulls vs. Rufes at Kiska
• P-38s and B-24s vs. Rufes (this is the one I've researched the least thus far)

I'm not sure yet how suited these are for a mini-campaign, but at the least they look like they could provide some interesting one-offs. And a good diversion from other theaters. Just like the Japanese intended.

Anyone out there interested in seeing these developed and/or testing?

By the way, the CY6 page here has been updated again to reflect what actually got ordered. Now, about those Rufes...

Taking Flight: In a CY6 Mood

Maybe it's because tomorrow is December 7, maybe it's because Spartacon is coming up in a month, I don't know, but I got in a bit of a Check Your Six! mood last night. I updated the CY6 link at the top of this blog to accurately reflect the forces I have thus far. The only thing to complete on that list is I need to apply decals to the Kates.

As you can see, it's heavily slanted to Pacific carrier warfare. However, I have for some time considered starting a collection for the Chinese theater, and possibly even some British for Burma, etc.

So as is a gamer's wont, I started compiling yet another wishlist, and analyzing old wishlists. On the one hand, I like CY6 because you don't need a hundred minis, but when I start looking at what I do want, it does add up quickly. And I need to remind myself my hobby finances have still not improved that much. Plus I did just buy a new model Indy car last week...

So I could wait a month and buy direct from I-94 at Spartacon, or I could order some now.

Or come to the realization I don't have an opponent to play any time soon and bag the whole project. Sigh.

11-11-11

Armistice Day. Veterans Day. Remembrance Day. It has many names, but one meaning. Never forget.

Somehow, my collection of WWI minis, now growing a bit long in the tooth, I suppose, has escaped recent photography. I haven't played a game with them in years, and there are no immediate prospects. I've considered picking up Death of Glory and Test of Battle, but haven't been able to justify it with no opponent ready to go. Yet as one of my very first forays into wargaming, I can't bring myself to get rid of the armies, either. And so, they rest.

In the meantime, here is a period appropriate subject. Eddie Rickenbacker's SPAD XIII.  A beautiful aircraft, and I have always been fascinated by the stories of the Lafayette Escadrille and the Hat in the Ring squadron. I do have his autobiography, and really should sit down to read it someday.

It should be noted this subject also has a connection with my theme of Fast Fridays. Before the war, Rickenbacker was a race car driver, participating in the Indy 500 four times before the race was suspended for the war in 1917 and 1918, when the backstretch was used as an airstrip. Later, in 1927, he would become owner of the Speedway. The Speedway closed its gates again from 1942-1945, when Rickenbacker sold it to Anton Hulman. The rest, as they say, is history.

Model notes: 1/72 scale, built from the old Revell kit. Most likely used Testors enamels, though in this case I seem to recall possibly Humbrol. As for rigging, I hit on this idea years ago and to my knowledge only my roommate at the time seems to have picked up on it and uses it regularly - I use paint brush bristles. That's right, just get any old paint brush, cut the bristles to length, put a dab of superglue on the end of each one and drop into place. No drilling, no tieing, no trying to heat things up to make taut. A lot of times the simplest solutions are best.