Day 3 over the Somme 1916

The third in my series of practice games.  I decided that I can`t start a proper campaign without gathering enough completed aircraft.  Meanwhile I`m running through some ideas for games
The RFC have decided that their usual BE2 artillery spotter planes are far too vulnerable.  Accordingly an escort of FE2b two seaters has been arranged from 21 Sqn.  As a large but well armed aircraft it is felt that this can keep the attacks by the Roland to a minimum.

Little do the RFC realise but I`ve just completed a pair of Rumpler two seaters, which have both a forward firing machine gun and rear gunner.  

Steady Algy Soubry in the BE2 on an Artillery spotting mission again flying solo to save on weight, with just his shotgun for company.

The Rumpler of Leutenant Sigmund Wank, of the infamous Dusseldorf Wanks

Poor Algy doesn't see the Rumpler closing in

Too late he turns but Sigmund Wank is all over him and spurts out a pair of hits.  Algy is down in flames, but amazingly survives the crash.

RFC FE2b of 21 Sqn DH2  "The Bullingdon Boys"
Lt. Dominic Rabies and 2nd Lt Andrew Leadsome
Lt. Peter Patel and 2nd Lt B.F Mosley

Sigmund leads the FE2bs over the lines.

Lt. Rabies plane falls off its magnet.  The huge FE2b is the only plane I have problems with.  Its centre of balance is terrible and the small piece of steel has trouble holding it.  On the newer model I used a 1 cent piece that gives a far better grip.  I take this as a spin.  Dominic drops to the ground , but I gave him the chance to recover it, which he did...

Patel and Mosely press on.

With a great field of fire the FE2b should have an advantage, but not with shooting like that.

And again.  Lt. Rabies gets the plane into position but 2nd Lt Mosely's shooting is dire.  

Recovered from the spin Lt Rabies climbs to get back in the fight.

Not looking good for the Rumpler as Sigmund heads for the table edge in a cynical attempt to flee

Ah, but the Blue baron has been upgraded to a Fokker Eindekker

Von Pumphosen fires, oblivious to the fact that he is three bands too high

But the Rumpler comes back and gets a sly burst into the side of  Rabies and Leadsome.

But the damn thing comes off its stand again.   I`ll take that as a kill then!

Meantime the Baron kills off the other FE2b,  Here is the grisly undershot.  I haven't bothered with the undersides too much, no roundals, but that cent coin makes a huge difference in terms of stability.

A win for the Hun!   

Next game... Enter the Sopwith Pup.

Day 2 over the Somme 1916

Day 2 over the Somme 1916.  The Blue Baron, Manfred Von Pumphosen, is scouting over the lines.  He wants to shoot down Allied spotter planes.
Named the Blue Baron because of his swearing Manfred sees a British patrol and gains height to creep up on it.

The Baron, trying out bigger height, ammunition and aircraft robustness dice.

The RFC patrol, Dominic Rabies and his gunner Andy Leadsome in the escorting FE2B and Steady Algy Soubry in the BE2 on an Artillery spotting mission.

 The BE2 had real power issues, and frequently a pilot would fly solo without the spotter to save weight and give the plane some kind of better performance.

Up against German Engineering technology however...

The blinds go down.

Dodging around the balloon the Baron spots the RFC patrol below him.

The British split up, the FE2B goes for the German, and Steady Algy tries to get clear.

But the Blue Baron sweeps in, and that gunnery speaks for itself.

The FE2b goes down in flames.

The Baron moves in, and I finally realise he's too high to shoot.

Algy dives for the deck, and fires his shotgun with predictable results.  The Roland CII is far too high anyway

The Baron dives  over the lines but Steady Algy Soubry is already too low.  Next turn he makes it off table.  The Baron is on three kills.  Time to upgrade him to a Fokker Eindekker I think.

In the next game Algy will once again be the bait in the trap, but in the spirit of Anglo French cooperation the Baron will be facing Maurice Le Coq in his Nieuport 11.

1916, over the Somme

Setup for my first 1916 game...

A cold January morning in 1916 over the Somme.  The British have sent up a BE2b spotter plane to monitor German activity.  The Fokker Menace is very much still ongoing, but has been checked by the French use of the Nieuport, a plane that matches the dreaded Eindecker in use of a mechanism to shoot through the propeller. 

The BE2 crew are the unpromising (many would say false promising) Smythe twins, Ian and Duncan, who are purported to have once held high rank but are now embittered, and except for Duncan's shotgun, unarmed.  

The portly Hun, the Blue Baron, Manfred Von Pumphosen, newly appointed to a Reconnaissancee Jasta has taken up his new aeroplane, a nice blue Roland two seater where pilot and gunner are seated over the wings.  This gives a poor view below, but like the Eindecker has an excellent view above.

It means that Manfred can store his picnic hamper between his knees and throw chicken bones into the trenches below.

The Baron jumps on the unsuspecting BE2.  in my Algy games I allow shooting between one level of heights to reflect the dogfighting of the time as I see it.  Here the Baron ambushes from above.

The Baron shoots down the Smythe brothers BE2

Into the mix flies the FE2b of Sprog Lieutenants Kenny Clarke and Joey Johnson.  This well armed two seater  is much more of a match for the Hun, pity about the idiot newbies flying it.

The FE2B.

The Baron tries his ambush tactics again, but the FE2B fights back.

They get a couple of Lewis drums off

The Baron comes around again and has an excellent hit ratio from his spandaus.

The British plane is down on flames

Lastly this morning the Nieuport 11 of Capitaine Maurice Le Coq is prowling around.  Some people call him the Space Cowboy, some call him the Hamster of Love, some people call him Maurice, because he speaks the pompitious of Love...  Ooh la la, he's  French...

For the meaning of the word pompitious I refer you to the Steve Miller band circa 1973, if you find out please let me know.

Some people call him Maurice

Maurice circles the Baron.  His Nieuport is a far better aircraft than the Roland. 

But the baron is quick on the turn and gives him a good burst from the spandau.

They even go head on.

The Nieuport is damaged.  It's engine shot up.

Coaxing his engine Maurice goes into the turn.

Maurice gets a good burst into the Roland

The Roland is crippled and spins down

The Baron recovers the spin and runs for it.  His gunner has been killed.

But n his crippled plane the Hamster of love can`t give chase.  It's game over.

Whilst acknowledging his superior pilot skills Capitaine Le Coq's fitness report in 1916 showed that, in his Commanding Officer's opinion, Maurice was "Lovey Dovey, Lovely Dovey all the time," and only sought to enjoy a "good time..."

The Baron has two kills to his name already and will have his revenge on this Frenchman.

Scratch Building a Pirate Sloop.

I have already built my Pirate Galleon, but it needs to be modified to come up to scratch.   Before I tackled that I decided to take on a Sloop.  I have already begun the Crew at the weekend using the Frostgrave Ghost Archipelago crew and Warlord ECW plastics.  Under the "Blood and Plunder rues this will be a 100 point force, with three units, two of Sea Dogs and one unit of Buccaneers.  Added to this are an Untested Commander "Fat Errol" with a Mate and a Bosun as his Officers.  

My first shipbuilding move was relatively straightforward.  I waterlined the wooden model Galleon completed from a kit last year.  That gave me the wooden formers that had been the keel and lower hull shaped sections as potential new decks.

Fat Errol Flynn and his boys crew the pirate ship.  They are a pretty good fit at 28mm.

Using a pen I scored the planking on the upper deck of the sloop.  Cutoffs created the bowsprit and stern posts.  Initially I glued the stern too low and seen against the figures here its pretty obvious.  Local schooners and sloops would have had much higher sterns against following seas, so although the single deck works I needed to raise the rear.  

The raised single deck.

The sloop has a wide beam.  Contrary to the popular Hollywood image of a pirate ship they would generally be smaller than the galleon type represented by my larger ship.  

Supports keep the two decks apart. 

Next the templates for the ship sides, measured using paper to get the right fit.  Transferred to card that had been scored to represent planking

Fat Errol measuring the height of the sides

The sides glued on before twisting them around the deck shape to form the hull.

Once I had the shape I fitted the bowsprit.  As a merchantman the sloop is a bit of a tub.  

Fitting out and painting will take a little longer.

The Bowsprit and mast added, the quarterdeck grating and poop deck fitted.  Old Billy Bones on tiller, my oldest 25mm figure, seated at the tiller with drinking jack.

The side shot

Next the ships boat.  

Another of the hull sections.  Some nice laminate wood, easy to work with.

Craft shop lollipop sticks as the ribs.  More of the laminate as the bow and sternpost.  The sides are thick card.

The scratch build nears completion.  Waiting on a tart it up paint job.

Capitaine Rathbone de Mayonaise comes alongside in his dinghy!