Crusaders Over 'Nam - Planes Needed

Previously on this blog appeared a short review of Crusaders Over 'Nam, a short scenario book for Check Your 6! This post is a bit of an add on to discuss just how many of each plane type is needed in order to run all the scenarios.

In the eleven available scenarios, the primary forces consist of U.S. Navy F8 Crusaders facing off against MiG-17s of the Vietnamese Peoples Air Force. Add to that a mix of MiG-21s, and A4 Skyhawks, and a lone A6 Intruder, and one has a fairly simple mix of aircraft to purchase and paint. The MiG-17s are simply F models, while the MiG-21s are either F-13 or PFM models. The Crusaders are of four variants (C, E, H, and RF), and the Skyhawks are either E or C types. That might sound a little confusing, but as we can use the same model Crusader, Skyhawk, and MiG-21 to represent the various variants, we can drastically simplify the buying process. So what are our maximum needs to cover all eleven scenarios? As follows:

F8 - 6

A4 - 12

A6 - 1

MiG-17 - 10

MiG-21 - 4

Using the Raiden 1/285th scale offerings (nicely cast models at a fair price from I-94), we can order the following codes:

F8 - USA103 - $3.50 - $21.00

A4 - USA102 - $3.00 - $36.00

A6 - USA126 - $3.00 - $3.00

Americans total 19 planes at $60.00.

MiG-17 - RUS103 - $3.00 - $30.00

MiG-21 - RUS104 - $3.00 - $12.00

Vietnamese total 14 planes at $42.00.

But wait, I offer to you an option. Maybe you do not want to purchase and paint that many planes  If we remove one scenario, one with twelve A4s, we can get the totals down even more:

F8 - 6

A4 - 2

A6 - 1

MiG-17 - 8

MiG-21 - 4

F8 - USA103 - $3.50 - $21.00

A4 - USA102 - $3.00 - $6.00

A6 - USA126 - $3.00 - $3.00

Americans total 9 planes at $30.00.

MiG-17 - RUS103 - $3.00 - $24.00

MiG-21 - RUS104 - $3.00 - $12.00

Vietnamese total 12 planes at $36.00.

Still too rich for your wallet? Let's take out just one more scenario, leaving you the ability to game nine scenarios in the book, with just the following planes needed:

F8 - 4

MiG-17 - 5

MiG-21 - 4

F8 - USA103 - $3.50 - $14.00

Americans total 4 planes at $14.00.

MiG-17 - RUS103 - $3.00 - $15.00

MiG-21 - RUS104 - $3.00 - $12.00

Vietnamese total 9 planes at $27.00.

So, for $41.00 you could have the planes needed (including options) to game nine of the Crusaders Over 'Nam scenarios. One heck of a deal I say - time to go place an order!

Battle of Lake Erie - Project Organization and Next Steps

I received my custom bases from Warbases some weeks ago. They did a fantastic job on creating a base for each ship. As mentioned in my previous post, I ordered clear acrylic 40mm by 20mm bases that will fit nicely on my Chessex sea mat.

A bit on organizing the project....

Using the Figurehead 1/2400 scale ships, here are the ships and the codes for each. Not perfect matches for each ship type, but as there are no manufacturers in any scale that cover each Lake Erie vessel perfectly, this list will have to do:

FN14 - 20 Gun Sloop:  Detroit and Queen Charlotte

FN15 - 18 Gun Brig: General Hunter, Niagara, Lawrence, and Caledonia

FN16 - Sloop:  Little Belt and Trippe

FN20 - Schooner:  Lady Prevost, Chippewa, Ariel, Scorpion, Tigress, Porcupine, and Somers

Some obvious issues arise:  The General Hunter and Caledonia, while of brig configuration, are certainly not brigs of the same size as the 18 gun brigs. Also, I am using cutters for the two small sloops.  

Next steps are priming then painting the ships, then finding some sort of glue that will not cause frosting on the plastic bases.

Battle of Lake Erie - More Thoughts

A few additional ramblings about the Lake Erie project....

Found a cheap copy of Wooden Ships & Iron Men on ebay today, so I will be set with the rules. I am hoping there is enough explanation of ships ratings that will allow me to extrapolate rigging, crew, and hull numbers, plus I needed a copy of the rules and charts anyway. I've always liked WS&IM, but for smaller ships it loses something, so changing the gun weight factor from 100 to 25 will give the smaller vessels at Lake Erie some representation.

Years ago I picked up a vinyl Chessex Megamat with 1" hexes for a low price. I've never used it, but now it will serve as a perfect gaming space. The Warbases tokens I have ordered for use as bases are 40mm in length, which will be ideal for the 1" hexes (two being 50mm), without cramming the ships together when they are at close quarters.

After years I am FINALLY getting this project moving forward!