The Commissioned Projects - Part VI

From the Wardrawings site

Next up, completing the Burma project. I recently received an order from Table Top Flights that will allow me (once the planes have been painted)  to host six different scenarios from a variety of sources (the core rules, Battles Above 3, and one additional scenario found on the Check Your 6! discussion group). Focusing solely on fighters as the prospect of having a dozen bombers on the tabletop does not excite me.

I am adding three Ki-44 Shoki (Devil Queller), two Curtiss Hawk Model 81 (known to most of us as the P-40B/C), six Ki-27, two Hurricanes, and three P-40E models. This will provide, along with the existing planes I have already for Burma, all the aircraft needed for the following scenarios:

With these planes getting ready to ship off, once completed they will give me all the Burma I need!

The Peregrine Falcon

We know the plane by its American callsign, "Oscar," but the Nakajima Ki-43, to the Japanese Empire, was called the Hayabusa, or Peregrine Falcon. It is one of the most common of Japanese aircraft, but the Mitsubishi A6M series is far better known, and more often used by Check Your 6! gamers. However, the Hayabusa racked up half of all Japanese fighter victories during World War II, seeing action across the empire.

Often mistakenly called "Zero" in Allied reports, the Japanese Army's first retractable gear fighter was manufactured from 1939 until 1945, in three main types. The Hayabusa was to be the replacement for the beloved Nakajima Ki-27 (later known to Allied forces as the Nate). The Ki-43 prototype was not favored by military test pilots, but design improvements led to a favorable response by the Japanese Army, albeit at the sacrifice of strength and protection. The Ki-43-I was initially armed with just two Type 89 7.7mm machineguns, progressed to one Type 89 and one Ho-103 12.7mm machinegun (the most common gun arrangement on the Ki-43-Ib), then completed its run with two Ho-103 machinegun (the Ho-103 was classified as a cannon by the Japanese as it used an explosive shell). Speed for the Hayabusa was just over 300 miles per hour.

In 1942 the Ki-43-II was introduced with such improvements as light armor for the pilot and a crude form of self-sealing fuel tanks. Other improvements included a reflector gunsight, a taller canopy, and a three-blade propeller. Equipped with a more powerful engine, performance was enhanced, but speed and the rather weak armament were still detriments to the Hayabusa's ability to cope with more powerful Allied aircraft.

In game terms we have the following:

In 1/285 and 1/300 scales we have a few quality choices for the Hayabusa. Flight Deck Decals offers both the Type I and Type II models, while Raiden has one Oscar available (from the pictures on their website it is difficult to determine which type). Table Top Flights also provides both a Type I and Type II model. There are other companies that produce the Hayabusa, but the three aforementioned are my preferred ranges.

One can obtain some double duty in purchasing the Hayabusa. Compiling the various scenarios that feature the American Volunteer Group, from both the core rulebook and Battles Above 3, and adding in the Dutch East Indies scenarios from Battles Above 3, one needs a dozen Oscars. 

This highly maneuverable and successful aircraft deserves a bit more attention from Check Your 6! gamers.

The Commissioned Projects - Part V

The next project being commissioned is a Rumanian-Soviet scenario featuring the obscure Heinkel He 112, perhaps an equally obscure I.A.R.80, facing off against Soviet I-16s. The scenario, entitled Romanian Barbarossa Redux, can be found in the Downloads section to the left. It is a modification of a scenario found on the Check Your 6! discussion forum.

The Flight Deck Decals Heinkels will be painted in an aluminum finish, with theater yellow distinctions, while the Table Top Flights I.A.R.s will be completed in a brown and green scheme, again with theater markings. 

The Soviets, a half dozen castings from Raiden, will be in the basic early war dark green upper surfaces with light blue undersides. This way I can also use them for facing off against the Finns (yet another project).

Korea - Not a Good Day for the MiGs

Alas, I only remembered to snap a couple of pictures....

This past weekend I hosted a Korean War game, the scenario being The Fighting Fourth from the Air War Korea scenario book. We used the limited firing arc, which I find to be more a bit more realistic. It was a rough go for the Soviet players, with eight MiGs facing off against six Sabres, the Americans having two aces to contend with. 

One factor the Soviets did not seem to grasp was the scenario condition that if Soviet planes were shot down in certain areas the victory points for the Americans would be halved. Instead we engaged the Americans immediately instead of using our altitude advantage to race quickly to that area before taking on the Sabres. 

Soon four MiGs were destroyed. We had lined up some excellent shooting aspects, but the robustness rolls on the American side were off the charts when in most cases the amount of damage from the MiGs' cannons would have turned them into chaff. I finally was able to jump on the tail oe one skilled American and the resulting damage rolls were too much for the imperialist to overcome. In the same turn however, I lost that MiG, and with only three MiGs remaining against five F-86s (one having left due to a lack of ammunition) the Soviet players called it a game. 

I want to run this scenario again, and have the Soviets make an effort to get to the reduced victory point areas.

Sieben Schwaben Spiele Decals

From the Gaeten Marie website

In my quest to recreate a few aircraft from the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana I stumbled across a decal company based in Germany - actually I think someone might have recommended them on the Check Your 6! Facebook group. This company, Sieben Schwaben Spiele Decals, make a variety of decals in 1/200 scale. However I sent a message to them to see if they could scale sheets to 1/285 and received a timely and favorable reply. 

My plan is to have a few Macchi C.205s painted up, mainly for a scenario from Battles Above 1 entitled Protecting Them All. This scenario features three P-51s from the 332nd Fighter Group (the Tuskegee Airmen) protecting a damaged B-24 from a pair of ANR Macchis. In doing a little more research, the historical account indicates that there were four Mustangs, so I placed an order for a fourth Mustang (and a slew of other planes) with Flight Deck Decals to fill in the missing Mustang. I am using a combination of Leading Edge Miniatures and Flight Deck Decals for the Macchis, and will be having a total of six Italian fighters painted, even though the scenario just calls for two. Anyway, back to the decals.

Image from Sieben Schwaben website

I placed my order with Sieben Schwaben Spiele and received the decals about a month later (a longer than normal mail time). The decals are cleanly printed with a blue paper base layer so as to be able to see the white portions. One does need to cut closely around each desired decal as the full sheet is the decal.

The rescaled 1/285 decal sheet

The sheet will produce eight distinctly marked Macchis, with nine number choices. I am eager to see these decals making an appearance on the tabletop.