Delving Into 1/200 - First Order

YouTube video HERE

In reviewing the several scenarios I have for The Great War (from both Colorful Skies and Billy's Boys) and after having an excellent chat one evening with Mike at Table Top Flights, I have placed my first order for 1/200 scale planes that are printed with a 1/144 scale post in order to use with the Wings of Glory peg system. I also ordered several of Mike's clear propeller blades to use on these planes.

Nieuport 28

I have decided to go late war Western Front for now, with eleven Nieuport 28s, eight SPAD XIIIs, and eleven Fokker D.VIIs. This gives me the flexibility to create ten scenarios featuring Nieuports vs. Fokkers, and another sixteen featuring the SPAD XIII, again against those same Fokkers. I think this is plenty to work on at this time, although eventually I'd like to recreate some Belgian and Lafayette Escadrille actions.

SPAD XIII

The SPADs will be painted as the 103rd Aero, the Nieuports as the 27th Aero, and I might do a quasi-historical Bavarian scheme for the Fokkers as a bit of an homage to my Bavarian heritage, unless I can get some late Jasta 18 decals made, which I think Bernhard at Sieben Schwaben Spiele Decals will be getting around to creating due to recent conversations. These various squadrons are not specifically featured in all twenty-six scenarios I will be able to host, but the two American choices are some of my favorites from the war. 

Fokker D.VII

Romanian Barbarossa After Action

One of the scenarios I have been wanting to game for some time was a file I obtained from the Check Your 6! forum, called Romanian Barbarossa and written by Keith Burnett. After having the planes painted by Miscellaneous Miniatures recently, I hosted this scenario, with my usual tweaks and such, for the Southwestern Ohio group. My version is a five player scenario, based on the historical even which saw the destruction of a pair of Soviet I-16s by the Romanians.

The initial Soviet deployment

The Soviet I-16s have just taken off from their airfield, guarding by a pair of light anti-aircraft guns, and being the target for the Romanian players. The Soviets had both a height and speed disadvantage as the Romanian players moved in. It was interesting to see the unplanned coordination between the Soviet players - one pair of I-16s went for speed while another pair nearby went for height, these four focusing on intercepting the incoming enemy. The third pair of I-16s, being a bit more on their own, maneuvered around the airfield itself.

A pair of beautiful Heinkels

The Romanians not only had a height advantage, but their Heinkel He 112s and I.A.R.80s had an edge in robustness and maneuverability. To be honest, as the game master, I was concerned - the I-16s were being ran by three very experienced players while the Romanians were a pair of newer players - but also concerned that the poorer maneuverability and robustness of the Soviet planes would result in many of them shot down. However, the balance of player experience and plane performance seemed to work well.

The pair of I.A.R.80s stayed along the southern edge of the board, while the Heinkels made their way towards the center of the playing surface. The I.A.R. player was going to turn and line up his planes to strafe the airfield. That plan worked well, but the Heinkel player lost his skilled aircrew early on as three Soviet fighters ganged up on him, causing an engine damage hit, before finishing the skilled pilot the next turn. 

The beginning of the end of the skilled Heinkel

Meanwhile the I.A.R.s dealt with some ineffective flak and the third pair of I-16s, which was trying to defend the airfield. Hot rolling by the Romanian player on his strafing run resulted in the complete destruction of the airfield, and gained the Axis 12 victory points. After successfully blowing the shite out of the airfield, the Romanian player turned for home. However, the I-16s were tenacious, hitting the I.A.R.s several times, destroying one and causing airframe damage on the other, which also happened to occur on the remaining Heinkel. The Romanian players turned for their home edge, the Soviet players moved in for the kill, hoping to shoot down the Remainians (as they were termed) an balance the victory point totals more in their favor.

Using their superior speed, the Remainians were able to fend off attacks with good robustness rolls, while finally creating enough of a gap to be out of the range of the Soviet light machineguns. Victory achieved for the Axis.

The I.A.R.80s on their run towards the airfield, intercepted along the way

Some lessons learned - the VP totals for strafing a grass airfield and destroying it with just two successful hits seemed like overkill. Next time I host this game I will set the victory points at two for each successful run and increasing the level for destruction at four hits. Also, I need to make certain to put an experienced player on the Romanian side since obtaining victory conditions will be a bit tougher.

The second Heinkel broke free and placed an airframe hit on an I-16, while the other I-16 had done the same to an I.A.R.80

The airfield destroyed, the remaining Romanians scramble towards home.

Soviet Results

One Heinkel and one I.A.R. shot down - 8 VPs

One Heinkel and one I.A.R. damaged - 2 VPs

Romanian Results

One I-16 shot down - 4VPs

Two I-16s damaged - 2 VPs

Airfield destroyed - 12 VPs

Toys Used:

Mat - Hotz mats

I.A.R.80 - Table Top Flights

Heinkel He 112 - Flight Deck Decals

I-16 - Raiden Miniatures

Delving Into 1/200 - Bases and Gaming Surface

Now that the planes are fairly sorted, I can also plan a bit with the bases and gaming mat I will need for gaming Check Your 6! Great War. The bases are custom 3D prints designed and printed by my gaming buddy Bob. He has been tinkering around with getting a Check Your 6! style base configured to use with the Wings of Glory planes. To that end, he is using (I think) a 1.75" hex base with a 2" hex gaming mat. Works well with 1/144 I must say, but I like smaller scales, and while planes can be had in 1/285, sourcing those are more of a hassle, plus adding a post at the bottom of the plane that will synch with a Wings of Glory sized peg is not practical. 

The compromise is a 1.75" hex, Wings of Glory sized pegs, and having the planes printed in 1/200 scale with a post that will align with the pegs. The hex size works well  - it is in between the official Check Your 6! 1.5" hex, which yields a hex grid of 30 by 45 hexes, and the larger 2" hexes used by some of my gaming companions. Going to the 1.75" hex still gives enough space to adapt the Colorful Skies scenarios with less fudge factor than using a 2" hex. Now I just need to convince my friend to print a few dozen bases and a slew of clear and translucent blue pegs!

Example of a Deep Cut Studio custom mat using a 1.75" hex - red used for illustration purposes

Back to the gaming space - with a 1.75" hex grid, the six feet by four feet gaming mat still provides a playing surface of 31 by 40 hexes, meaning very little fudge has to be factored in when using various published scenarios. The size of the hexes also work well with the size of the 1/200 scale planes. If I went to a two inch hex size, the hex grid would be 27 by 36, which, at least on the long measurement, is a quite a large variance, and would increase the fudge factor proportionately. While it allows more room for planes when they are in adjacent hexes, using the pegs to represent varying TALs should mitigate most overlap that one might have with 1.75" hexes.

Off to place an order with Deep Cut Studio!