"Azul" Squadron for Blood Red Skies - part 2 - Nobody Expects ......................

Making it happen

Err did I mention no one did a G6? PlanePrinter does a G14 as an .stl file, and Warlord do a physical model. To most laymen, like myself, the main visual difference between a G6 and G14 is the revised canopy. PlanePrinter also do a 109F4 with the old style canopy, so I reached out to Roger Gerrish who likes to dabble in this sort of thing, to see if he could graft an old canopy from the F onto the G - and he did (Cheers m8!) and I printed half a dozen. I'm going to paint them as 4th Squadron in winter whitewash colours from the winter of 1943.

The problem is (as explained in part 1) that these basically look like any other Luftwaffe unit. Ah well.

Stage 1 - print the models. Not a problem. I recently purchased a Saturn 2 and it happily chucked out six "Gerrish Special" 109Gs

Stage 2 paint. This is going to be interesting. Spray them white as an undercoat. I wanted to keep them a bit light here as I was hoping to get some way of dealing with the whitewash effect. Underside - blue grey from a Hataka Blue range then paint the yellow spinner and bands - three thin coats of Citadel "Flash Git" yellow to hopefully build up some depth. Canopies - my usual two tone blue, then frames in white. Then whitewash. This is the bothersome bit. I grabbed some Citadel Apothecary White Contrast paint and sort of reverse engineered the whitewash by painting it over all the various panel lines. I was very relaxed about this , allowing the contrast to spill over quite a way from the panel lines. I also used the same Contrast paint on any large areas of white to represent areas where the whitewash was fading and the base colours showing through. After a bit of practice I think this looks ok.

Last painting step will be to tidy up, panel line underneath (I hate that) and add details like exhausts.

Decals. There are no commercially available decals for the Azul (I've petitioned Blue Falcon Hobbies) but as I said by the time 4th Squadron got their Gs they're using standard Luftwaffe markings so I am using decals from the spares box - a mixture of Balkankreuz fron the Warlord generic set and spare numbers from Warlords 190A decal sheet.

White 4

4th Blue Squadron

So there we go. I'm quite interested in getting these on the table as I think the Great Dive \ Great Climb combo is a potent mix. 

Cheers!

 

 

Spanish "Azul" Squadron for Blood Red Skies - part 1 - the Cunning Plan

A little while ago I mentioned I rated the Bf109G quite highly in Blood Red Skies. https://twtrb.blogspot.com/2023/08/blood-red-skies-list-building-what.html .

I already have some 109Es and Fs but as yet no Gs. One of the reasons is nostalgia. In my mind if I recall the "Gustaf" there is only one thing that comes to mind, the old Airfix Series 1 kit, in blue plastic with the totally Kool under wing rockets for shooting down B17s. This is a Bf109G-6 with the traditional square canopy. I loved this as a kid so thats the 109 G I want.

The problem is, the two easily accessible Bf109G models for BRS, from Warlord and PlanePrinter are both later versions with the "Galland" hood, which improved visibility dramatically but don't look right to me, so this project got parked.

I then went to FIASCO in Leeds (a long running Wargames show in the NE England)  I should do a review of that because I think there is a post there but maybe later. Anyway when there I spotted a book on the Spanish Azul (Blue) Squadrons that operated in Russia during WW2. I had heard of the Azul Division - Spanish volunteers fighting for the Germans against the Communists,  but not the Air Force unit, so I picked it up. I was thinking - that's a "Kool" and interesting 109G unit that I could do rather than a more standard Luftwaffe one. 

So I got home and started to read it - and its a really interesting story.

Potted history -back of a postcard stuff - Spanish volunteers fighting as a unit for the Luftwaffe against the threat of world Communism. The author goes quite a way to stress the point that theyre not Fascists just anti Communist - opinions may vary on that, but............ 

Anyway they wanted to be allocated to support their compatriots in the Blue Division, but the Luftwaffe said "no", so the initial draft were allocated to fly Bf109Es as a ground attack unit, 1st Escuadrillas Azules  15 Spanische Staffel 15.(Span)/JG 27 . The pilots were not that impressed as the first draft of volunteers were pretty much all seasoned fighter pilots with experience from the Spanish Civil War.

After a tour the surviving pilots were rotated back home and were replaced with another batch of pilots designated as the 2nd Azul Squadron. These guys got their wish and had the 109Es replaced with 109Fs and they became a standard fighter Squadron, 2nd Escuadrillas Azules 15 Spanische Staffel 15.(Span)/JG 51. The pattern continued, with the 3rd Squadron replacing the 2nd and taking over their planes, remaining as part of JG51. 

Up to this point they carried standard Luftwaffe markings plus their own unit badges, however with the arrival of the 4th rotation this changed. The 4th replaced the Bf109Fs with a mix of Bf109Gs* (at last!) and Fw190A2s .  However the fly in the ointment (for me) is that at this point and going forward to the 5th Squadron, they seem to have dropped their distinctive Squadron markings from their planes so they were just the same visually as a "standard" Luftwaffe unit. 

1st Squadron Badge

2nd \ 3rd Squadron 109F with Spanish "Yolk and Arrows"

After the remnants of the Blue Division was withdrawn it was only a matter of time til the Blue Squadron followed, which happened to the 5th in 1944.

So in Blood Red Skies there are a couple of interesting options here. It's a shame the 4th Squadron dropped their Spanish markings because a mixed Squadron of Bf109Gs and FW190As would be interesting and one of the few legitimate "Mixed Bag" Doctrine card units out there, though how well they would play is open to some debate. The earlier 1st and 2nd\3rd Squadrons have their own markings which set them apart somewhat. On the other hand the I'm supposed to be looking at using the Gs (!) so I better get on.

Anyway that's the background. Actual models etc in part 2. 

* some online sources say the 2\3rd Squadron got Bf109Gs

Double Dutch - project for 2024

I've backed a Kickstarter for the KNIL in 28mm. The company is May 1940 Miniatures who make a nice range of Dutch figures for err.... May 1940. They've decided to expand into the troops defending the Dutch East Indies and as Two Fat Lardies are promising a new book centred on the Far East for Chain of Command it seemed like a good idea. The KS wont deliver until summer 2024 so plenty of time to get the rest sorted out. I already have a Dutch force for Chain of Command from May 1940 Miniatures and theyre good quality so I think the new range will be fine. All good.

Except I also did a matching force for Blood Red Skies when I did my 1940 CoC force, so I suppose that means I should do the same for the KNIL. Problem is that means the Brewster Buffalo will be making an appearance. Sigh. Ok it doesn't "need" to be the Brewster 339. Technically the KNIL flew several interesting fighter types such as the Hawk 75 and the CW21 Demon. The former is probably too good, the latter just downright weird but quite interesting. Planeprinter does both so not actually a chore.

Hawk 75s

CW 21

Bombers are going to be easy - they use an export version of the Martin B10, ok it's not exactly a "Tier One" bomber, and it looks a bit strange, though actually by the standards of the time it's not actually bad. OK it is, but beggars cant be choosers. PlanePrinter does two versions of the B10 so it should just be a case of printing three out. 

And that should be the end of my KNIL problems............. except decals. The ongoing issues with my previous decal supplier Miscellaneous Miniatures cause a certain amount of trepidation as p&p from the States is now something in the region of $20 up from something like $5 . Luckily some generic Dutch orange triangles are available from i-94 and Pendraken stock those, so no great problem.

So there's the project - will update on how I get on as and when

Cheers!

Err OK - apologies to Warlord - sort of

A couple of months ago I had a bit of a rant about Warlord Games and the delays in releasing the Italian faction for Blood Red Skies - you can read it here https://twtrb.blogspot.com/2023/02/what-mistaka-to-maka-as-capitano.html

Of course as soon as I had vented my spleen they announced the actual releases, and these are now hitting the streets. I've seen the first wave, and I have to say theyre looking good.

We are getting a card expansion deck similar to those of the other nations, four Squadron sets, and Aces to match. That's not bad. The models are the iconic SM79 bomber, Macchi C200 Saetta, Macchi 202 Folgore, and Regianne 2002 Ariete. I'm also expecting a "5" Series fighter "soon".

I got to see the models at the Warlord Open Day and theyre all rather fine models - sorry I didn't get any pics but there are shots on the webs store here https://store.warlordgames.com/collections/regia-aeronautica   

So am I going to switch to Warlord models? Err No. I've decided I need a new nationality for Blood Red Skies like a hole in the head and am going to concentrate on finishing my Luftwaffe, then RAAF then...... then I may rethink the Italians. That being said, Warlord have done us proud with these new releases, so Sorry Guys for the earlier rant.

So "arrivederci" for now   :-)

Fin(n)ishing a project - a decade late

Ten years ago, back in 2013 (I had to check) I had my first "bad" Kickstarter experience. These were the days of innocence when Kickstarter was used to fund projects not as a sort of pre order system. Baker Company (UK not US) announced their Kickstarter and wanted to raise £3000 to fund a matched pair of Winter War armies in 28mm . Sixty quid (£60) was going to get you an infantry platoon plus a shedload of stretch goals. Seemed like a good deal so I chucked some ££££ at it to get a Finnish infantry platoon.

As you can see - quite a lot of "stuff"

The problem was, so did everyone else. £57021.00 was actually pledged. Baker Company were in trouble because their Kickstarter was so popular - they had factored in about fifty orders to fulfil, and in fact ended up with 428 backers. They didn't have the capacity to do it all. The project was a disaster that killed off Baker Company. They struggled to fill those orders, missed schedules and it all went pear shaped. The original plan to ship in one lot was replaced by shipping in smaller parcels to try and give everyone something, meaning the shipping cost calculation went south. Pressure from backers "where's my stuff" etc meant they rushed the production and at least from the models I received they were wearing the moulds out and including models with terrible mould lines and miss casts that should not have made it past Quality Control. I made a decision to collect from a show - can't remember which, which turned out to be a wise decision given the whole thing collapsed, taking the company with it. I got some, or most, but not all of what I was expecting, but quite a lot of is was so badly cast as to be almost unusable. Many backers didn't even get that. With hindsight I don't blame the creator, or rather I don't think for one moment this was deliberate, just a guy with what looked like a good idea getting overwhelmed and not being able to deliver.  

As I said, quite a lot of the "stuff" I got was not great. The figures were ok when cast reasonably, detail was "soft" but shrug, snowsuits. There was way too much flash on some and some mould slipping. This was particularly the case with the metal parts on vehicles. The Field Kitchen was the worse, but quite a lot of infantry was "not great" . I marked this up as a "lesson learned". I painted up a dozen or so but the whole project was tainted for me and I stuck it in a drawer. 

To be fair some of the bigger models did look the business - this is the Aerosan. It was a bit of a pain to assemble, and I think I got two left skis which didn't help, but like I said, I think it looks good. 

On and off I added some extra bits - a T34 from Warlord with a turret swap option, and a StuGIIIG from Rubicon. I posted my progress on the StuG 

here https://twtrb.blogspot.com/2017/05/stug-life-part-1.html 

and here https://twtrb.blogspot.com/2017/05/stug-life-part-2-when-is-stug-not-stug.html 

and here https://twtrb.blogspot.com/2017/05/stug-life-part-3-winter-is-coming.html

Ten years later and I was surfing the web and found Parkfield Miniatures Winter War range. These looked suspiciously familiar and at first I though this was Baker Company reborn (apparently it's not). The Winter War range was however clearly designed (or coincidentally) to match the Baker Co models. I banged a test order in and was happy with the resulting figures. They're well cast, detailed and animated, and match my old Baker Co figures (almost) perfectly.

All Baker Co

Baker, Baker, Parkfield, Parkfield

P- B

P - P - B

So that's why I'm currently up to my eyeballs in white paint and am studying Chain of Command lists. Between the better Baker Co figures and Parkfield I think I can get a good CoC force out of it. If I finally get to play with them this could possibly be the longest \ most drawn out wargaming project from start to table I have ever done. 

Cheers!

  

Blood Red Skies list building - what makes a "Tier One" plane choice?

I love list building for games. It is a weakness of personality I know, but there it is. 

Blood Red Skies is a fantastic sandbox for list builders like me. The standard 500 point Squadron size is almost a perfect challenge. That will get you six planes like a Spitfire II or Bf109E with a reasonable mix of pilot skills.  The reason for this is the base points calculation for a plane in BRS is simple - Agility plus Firepower multiplied by Speed. You then factor in any special Traits, but the basics are there. A Spitfire Mk II for instance is 31 points - Speed 8, Ag 2, FP1 plus 3 pts for the Tight Turn trait. Six of those is 186 points leaving some scope for a reasonable mix of pilots. Pilots cost 25 points at Level 2 (Rookie) and go up in 25 point increments to Level 5 (Ace). So far so good. If however you want a better plane it rapidly becomes obvious that something has to give - you either get fewer planes or poorer pilot quality, and both those options have some serious drawbacks in Blood Red Skies.

Fewer planes means you have less capacity to absorb boom chits and losses, and fewer outmanoeuvre attempts and shooting opportunities.

Worse pilots will mean you will be at a disadvantage when outmanoeuvring and in initiative. Additionally each level of Pilot Skill is a die rolled in a shooting attack or dodge attempt. The difference of a single die can be quite important.

Also a bit of spare "change" in points can be used to get some equipment - not usually something to build a list around, but nice enhancements nonetheless.

So what makes a good plane for Blood Red Skies lists?

For me, it is balance. I like a plane with a reasonable balance of Speed, Firepower and Agility. I think Speed 8, Agility 2, Firepower 2 is the sweet spot. Before Traits that is 32 points. 

Let's take a look at the runners and riders that fit the bill.

Starting with the Germans, we have the Bf109G. These come in at 36 pts due to their Great Dive \ Great Climb Traits. The Gustav is a very solid performer and the Traits give you access to some really interesting Doctrine cards such as High Altitude Performance, Dive Away or Slashing Attack. This is a plane for an player who likes to keep his Advantage and dictate when and where the fight happens. In the hands of a good player this is a monster to play against.

The British have the Mustang 1a, which is worth a look if you fancy something with Great Dive - a rare Trait for the RAF. It also has Heavy Hitter (quad 20mm cannons) and "benefits" from a discount because it has the Poor Quality trait so is only 36 points.

Before I go any further I should explain Poor Quality. This is a Negative Trait that impacts your starting Advantage level. In some scenarios this can be fatal, but most scenarios the initial debuff will have been fixed before you get too close to your opponent. I think it is a great option.

The other RAF contender, and it is quite possibly THE contender, is the Spitfire MkIX. For 37 points you get Great Climb and Tight Turn, possibly the best combination of Traits for a dogfighter in the game. The Mk IX can compete both in turning fights and in energy fights.

Over "The Pond" our next entry is the P38J - but only if you are using the optional "treat as single engine" rule - check with your Tournament Organiser. The Lightning has Great Climb and Deep Pockets. It's not a "meta" choice of traits and at 39 points its starting to be expensive, but it certainly can work and Deep Pockets gives you some very interesting options to outlast opponents. Without the "single engine" all the P38s are just too expensive to run with in tournaments.

The P38L is also a possibility - faster than the J but still Speed 8, and with Rapid Roll rather than Great Climb. This is down to preference and playstyle.

Switching to the Pacific we get the Hellcat. This is a brawler, with Rapid Roll and Robust, the only issue I see is the speed is on the low side of Speed 8 (380mph) so may lose initiative to some other planes listed here. On the plus side Robust is a very useful trait which strips your opponent of one Firepower die. I think the Hellcat is possibly the best all rounder on this list.

Next the F4U-1 Corsair. This has Great Dive and Robust and is probably one I will be looking at closely as Great Dive on a Speed 8 plane gives you a lot of "threat range" and also with the right Doctrine allows you to get in, or out of a fight mostly at your choosing. It is slow however, or rather at 388mph is slower than...........

The F4U1-D Everything the F4U-1 does but faster (within Speed 8). The down side is 40 points so there is no way you are getting six of these with reasonable pilots.

Passing mention to the F4U-1C which drops Great Dive for Heavy Hitter - I don't think this works and at 42 points it is starting to look too expensive. It's a great Fighter Bomber but not so good as a pure fighter.

On the opposite side the Imperial Japanese Navy get the J2M Raiden. Great Climb and Heavy Hitter plus the Poor Quality "discount" make for a potent package at only 36 points.

The Japanese Army also get in on the game with the Ki-61-II. The Tony in BRS is pretty much a cookie cutter Bf109G. It would be my choice for a Japanese fighter if only for.........

The Ki-84 Hayate. Great Climb, Tight Turn and Poor Quality - this is basically a Spitfire MkIX but with a marginal speed advantage and cheaper due to Poor Quality. Only 34 points if you like a turning fighter this has to be looked at.

The Soviets have a couple of possible contenders. 

The La5FN is a single trait (Rapid Roll) entry with Poor Quality - meaning it costs only 31 points (!) making it the cheapest plane on this list. Unlike many of the others you can actually take six and not have to drop Pilot Quality. Being a single Trait plane however has drawbacks in that there are a limited number of Doctrines that fit Rapid Roll. It's big brother the La7 gets Great Climb to add to Rapid Roll and is only 33 points, which certainly puts it into the top tier on this list.

The last Soviet is the Yak 9U. Again like the Spit IX and Ki84 this has the Tight Turn \ Great Climb combo, and you get it for 37 points.

Last on our lists are a pair of Italian "5" series fighters, the Macchi C205 Veltro and the Fiat G55 Centauro. The G55 is the better of the two in my view, another Great Climb \ Tight Turn entry at 37 points. The C205 like the La5FN has a single positive Trait, in this case Tight Turn, and Poor Quality and as a result is the second cheapest on this list at 32 points. It makes it a "one trick pony" turn fighter, but it is a very good trick!

So which is "The Best"? The answer has to be, "It Depends".

It depends on your play style and how you tie in your Traits and Doctrines. If you like a turning fight then you will really find it difficult to find a better choice than a Macchi C205. Are you a pure "Energy Fighter"? The 109G or Ki 61 could be for you. If you prefer a mix of both the Spitfire IX, G55 or Yak9 are all good choices. Fancy hitting like a train then diving away? Corsair is your baby. What about if you like a bit of staying power or all round versatility, the Hellcat is probably best for you.

In truth all the fighters on this list are tournament "Tier One" and all have their strengths (and weaknesses). I'd be very careful if I ran into any of them across a table. 

So what do you think? Is 8-2-2 the place to be or do you think you can do better with something slower, or prefer something harder hitting? 

Let me know in the comments    

Tiny Wargames game mat? - Darwin Harbour on a budget? Do you trust online reviews ? I need a better title!

G3M "Nell" bombers down under*

I've been running some Blood Red Skies events locally. Theyre going well, however I have a problem - game mats. I have a couple of neoprene mats from Deep Cut Studios. These are pretty much the gold standard in gaming mats however there are issues, namely cost and weight.  

Cost - they're not cheap - as a back of an envelope calculation a 6x4 Deep Cut Neoprene mat is about £70-£80 plus you need a carrying case and by the time you factor in postage you don't get much change from a ton. Ok this may seem a lot but you are paying for the quality, and you see it in the product. I would have no hesitation recommending Deepcut mats to individual players - if you can afford it, go for it.

The problem is, if you are an organiser and want to run six tables worth of Blood Red Skies, you need (or would like ) six mats. I've gotten by so far by using what I have, and asking participants to bring theirs if they have them - and it has worked, but there are several problems with that including who is responsible should something untoward happen. 

The other problem is weight - and it's a big one. Carrying one mat in a tube \ case is ok. Theyre not that heavy, but can be noticeable. Adding a second and then carrying your box of rules and models quickly becomes a problem.

So I am looking for a solution. Needs to be cheap, portable and lightweight. Step forward Tiny Wargames and their "Cloth lite" range. 

Cards on the table I had heard some bad things about Tiny Wargames. Online comments and complaints about slow service, excuses for non delivery, poor customer service etc. A quick search suggested some customers were unhappy with them, but on the other hand there are some very positive reviews and the price seemed good at £30 so before my last event I ordered one. The mat in question was an aerial view of Darwin Harbour which was interesting because I was \ am planning to play some games based on the Japanese attacks there at some time. The stated delivery date would get it to me with a few days to spare. 

It didn't arrive........at all

So I contacted them and they said it had been returned by the courier as "too large" which sounded weird. Anyway they agreed to dispatch again that day, but then waited three days (ok it was a weekend but at this point as far as I am concerned these are snake oil salesmen so...). This seemed to confirm my worse suspicions and sounded horribly like some of the complaints I had heard - bad service and strange excuses. 

The mat finally arrived a month after the original order date. It was packaged well in a sturdy box. When I opened it I discovered the mat had a hex overlay which was not mentioned on the sale site (Etsy). I contacted them and they said they only had that map with hexes - err not according to your own website! 

And at this point I was pretty much ready to do the whole online rant thing - I'm not an influencer, about a dozen people read my blog on a good day, but damn they were going to get both barrels before I demanded a refund! 

Thing is, I had a look at the mat again. OK yes there are hexes, which initially boiled my blood, but actually they're very subdued, and they sort of merged into the background when the mat was in use. Err, ok, not perfect, but not as much a problem as I first envisioned. 

The printing is err - well, good. The image is crisp and colours are vivid. I think it looks rather good.

The "Cloth Lite" material isn't cloth as I would describe it - it's a very thin plastic (Nylon?)  material that feels a bit strange. Sort of like a thin shower curtain but not PVC. It arrived creased from transport but a small note included said this can be ironed out with a warm (not hot!) iron on the reverse of the mat, and I can report that on the whole it does. In use it looks like the material is ok. Clearly it will cut easily with any sort of blade, but I don't think it will actually tear in normal use without you deliberately trying to do it. 

I was predisposed to dislike this but I have to admit the mat is not bad at all.

And it weighs almost nothing. It also seems to be very easy to transport. In a bit of a mood and determined to "stress test" the damned thing I actually just roughly folded \ rolled it and chucked it in the car passenger seat, and when I got home it laid flat and was no worse for wear.

Aggressive stress testing

Err I think I like it. I'm tempted to buy a couple more for when I'm running events. Thing is, should I risk it with the issues with the seller, and are these issues real or just bad luck? You can get a bad review for almost no reason nowadays, and couriers are not always great. Then again the theme running through the bad reviews was pretty similar - delays and excuses for delays. As a small business owner myself I can understand why it is tempting to overpromise (if that is what is causing the complaints) and be defensive when criticised, and at the end of the day, the mat certainly ticks pretty much all the boxes as a product.

I drink in a very niche pub called The Rat Race Ale House (which anyone visiting Hartlepool should drop by). The owner \ publican (Hi Pete) is possibly one of the rudest men you will ever meet IF you ask him the wrong question, such as "do you sell lager? or "I don't want a drink but can I use your toilet?". How he ended up in the "hospitality" business is a mystery as he openly admits to not liking people very much.  The thing is, he invariably sells excellent beer. In thirteen years (something like that) of using his services I've never had a complaint about the beer. If you look up the reviews you will see the majority of the reviews are 4 and 5 stars but some 1 star reviews, and the 1 stars are always the same - check it out for yourself here if only for a laugh Trip Advisor . I still go back because the product (beer) is what I'm there for - and to be honest the great atmosphere and occasional pantomime when some unwary soul wanders in looking for lager or to use the toilet. 

note the "No Lager" sign

So yes I think I will roll the dice and order again - not the same one, but another suitable for BRS. I'll risk the delay and other issues because the end product is (I hope) worth the hassle. I'll let you know how it goes. And if Tiny Wargames want to sponsor my next that would be most welcome :-)

Cheers 

* Models 3d prints from Planeprinter painted by the redoubtable Andy Parkes. Andy does a really crisp paint job and on occasion can be tempted to paint on commission - message me for details