Blinging up Blood Red Skies - Third Party accessories

If you are like me sooner or later you will start looking around for "stuff" to enhance your game - be it damage tokens or measuring sticks etc. I thought I would run through a few options for Blood Red Skies players who are interested in a bit of "bling".

Spitfire Bling

This isn't an exhaustive list, and I'm sadly not able to buy one of everything to review, but here goes.....

Dice
Dice are the first upgrade for most players, and the easiest to pick up. I know some players prefer smaller 10 mm dice than the chunky official 16 mm ones, and personally I think the British ones look a bit "Meh" due to the rather muddy brown colour Warlord used.  In addition to the official Warlord BRS ones it is worth looking at other Warlord or third party dice for games like Bolt Action and Flames of War. Just remember to make sure any special symbols are on the "6" face to avoid confusion, and NOT to get Bolt Action "Order Dice" - which are not much use to us BRS gamers.

FoW Dice

Dice Trays
Not exactly essential but nice to have. Dice trays keep the dice from bouncing around and can prevent them knocking models about in the heat of a game. There are several neoprene dice trays available, but if you are on a budget you can always find cheap plastic trays used for plant pots in garden centres. More expensive folding neoprene ones are available from Warlord and Deepcut.

Deepcut dice tray

Measuring sticks and tokens
The card measuring stick in the starter set is a PITA to use because you have to pick the models up after placing them to get the stick out from underneath. It also suffered a scaling problem in production so is the wrong length. The second is only really important if all players are not using the same stick, but the first issue still remains. It looks good, but is less than useful when playing, so personally I would ditch it and get a replacement. Warlord will sell you a set of plastic measuring sticks and tokens to replace the card ones in the starter set, however my personal favourites would be to look at those produced by "Buy The Same Token" and available from their Etsy store. These are cut from coloured acrylic and are available for all the different BRS factions. They do a 9" and a shorter 4" measuring stick (good for tight dogfights) and a 6" range ruler, plus themed Boom and Zoom markers and a turn angle indicator. Both manufacturers measuring sticks are of the side measuring type which don't require you to lift your models to use unlike the original card one in the starter set, but the extra depth of the scallops on the BTST one makes positioning more accurate.  All in all a nice addition.

Buy The Right Token Japanese turn, range Zoom & Boom

Buy The Right Token Measuring Stick

Carrying and transport
The plastic (and new resin) models are light and less likely to be damaged in transport, but metal models are very prone to getting their paintwork damaged due to the extra weight. Storage and transport foam trays can get around this.  Generic foam cut transport cases are available from Kaiser Rushforth (KR). These are designed for Wings of War \ Wings of Glory but they fit BRS planes. Feldherr also do a line of foam trays. Another option, and my personal favourite is available from Just Lasered, who make a foam insert to fit the original starter box and can cut bespoke trays to fit your collection. I'm currently transferring my planes to Just Lasered trays cut to fit 4 and 9 litre Really Useful Boxes.

Gaming Mats
Gaming mats are probably the most expensive single item you can get to enhance your BRS games. There are a number of suppliers and materials, including vinyl, cloth, and neoprene (mouse mat). All have their advantages and disadvantages. Vinyl tend to be cheapest but can be a bit shiny and you sometimes have problems getting them to lay flat, cloth are easiest to transport as they fold, but also can get creases, and neoprene is heavy and expensive but lays flat and gives the best gaming surface (imho).  There are several manufacturers and it pays to shop around, but Deepcut are very popular. A special mention should go to Tiny Wargames who have Taranto and Pearl Harbour mats available. Cigar Box are also popular and easily available in the US. I would recommend going for a 6x4 mat if you can find one - its easy enough to fold a larger mat but you can't stretch a small one! There are also smaller mats available for Wings of Glory which are nice but as they are only just larger than 3x2 ft you will need at least a pair. Finally when buying a mat think about how you will transport it - most producers will also sell a transport tube or bag for a reasonable price.

Links
Buy The Same Token for measuring sticks and markers
Kaiser Rushforth for storage trays and boxes
Feldherr for storage trays and carry cases
Just Lasered for storage trays
Warlord just about everything
Deepcut mats and dice trays
Tiny Wargames   mats
Cigar Box Battle mats

Hope you find that useful. I should say if any manufacturer wants to send appropriate "stuff" for review I will happily accept it and donate it to the local gaming club.