FINNished

After sitting about for several months and lately inspired by my friend Scott who is working on Finns, I completed six Model 75As today. I just needed to do some touchup, add decals, put a little decal set on same, and then hit them with a coat of gloss and a coat of matt varnish. While not perfect (my yellow is so thin that even after five coats there is some bleed and a few other little paint gaffs) they are pretty decent gaming pieces.

Ready to face those sneaky Soviets - looking much darker and shinier in the pic

I went with the early war scheme - as these had been planes the Germans had taken from the French and Norwegians they had been painted in RLM71 (Dunkelgrün) over RLM65 (Hellblau) by the Germans and left that way by the Finns (the more known black and olive green scheme came into use later in the war). I used Vallejo Model Air paints for nearly all the work (the aforementioned RLM71 and RLM65 along with natural metal, chrome yellow, and NATO black), the exception being Foundry Bavarian blue on the canopy. National insignia are decals from Beacon (from I-94) which are nicely done individual decals (although I split one somehow) and finished with numbers from Flight Deck Decals. Oh, the miniatures themselves are crackin' good 3D prints, also from Flight Deck.

The color is better in this snap - and now I see more touchup work needing to be done!

New Toys

Admittedly I have been on a bit of a painted aircraft buying spree of late. If Misc Minis would stop offering painted planes, then I would stop buying them! The most recent additions were a trio of planes I needed for Burma, and a plane I did not need at all! 

In proper CY6! shotai formation

Let's start with the planes for Burma. Here we have a shotai of beautifully painted Nakajima Ki-44 Shōki, known as Tojo to the Allies. These crisp 3D printed fighters (manufacturer unknown) are in a pair of scenarios ("Putting the Squeeze on Rangoon" and "Birthday Surprise") from Battles Above 3 (where one can find their ratings as well*), and needing only three for both scenarios it was a perfect time to snag them. Hmmm, now I have a surplus as I already have a shotai of unpainted Tojos...but that's the way that it is (thanks, Uriah Heep - the band, not Dickens).

And the plane I did not need at all...drum roll, please...the Blohm & Voss BV 138 Seedrache (Sea Dragon). Yeah, I had ZERO need for this one, but it called out to me, singing its siren, or in this case, dragon song, "buy me, buy me," and so I did. I believe it might be an MSD Games model, and one of their betters ones if so. I created a few scenario outlines that feature this plane, and the scenarios are very small encounters, typically being one player for each side. This would make some interesting (code for different) gaming I think, especially the flying boat vs. flying boat encounter I have some details on. There are no aircraft stats that I know of so I will be creating my own (UPDATE: I went ahead and did create stats: F2 + 0 Lx, 3/26, R3, F: 1xLVC, R: 1xLVC (but only may fire at targets at same or higher TAL), RT: 1xHMG, SR: 1xLMG). It sucks, but it is a flying boat, so there's that.

The Beast Rabban...I mean the BV 138

Hmmm, now I need to buy opponents for the BV!

*A fairly meh but fast C5 + 2 29/46 R0 FF: 2xHMG, 2xLMG for the Ia model, adding in Hx for the IIb and going to FF: 4xHMG. Actually, not bad, but that robustness, aye yi yi!

The Caudron-Renault CR.714 Ratings

How bad is it truly? While within my previous post on this less than desirable fighter I provided some Check Your 6! stats for the Cyclone, I did a deeper dive on its performance and used the Bf 109, Bf 110, and M.S.406 stats for baseline comparisons. The results are not great. And I still do not agree with the speed that good old AI came up with, as my research indicated a top speed of less than 300 miles per hour, but let's give the Caudron something to hold onto! Well, it does have a decent dive rating.

As the Caudron was not engaged at high altitude in the scenarios I am generating, I did not go through the exercise of determining its stats above 20,000 feet. I cannot imagine they would be very good.

In the CY6! format:

Caudron-Renault CR.714

Let's just get this out of the way first - while it looks kinda ugly cool, it's a pig. Unlike several other French fighters that could hold their own against the Bf 109E, the Caudron-Renault CR.714 Cyclone was a fairly unsuccessful effort to take French racing plane designs and militarize them, with wooden construction. As a light fighter it was supposed to supplement the lack of fighter aircraft in the French stable without having a negative impact on French fighter plane production. One might think that a "light fighter" design would result in a speedy and maneuverable aircraft, but with a top speed of just 290 miles per hour (keeping in mind that the aforementioned Messerschmitt had a top speed of 355 miles per hour), the 500 horsepower Renault engine just could not deliver. Surely being a light fighter then would at least yield a superior climb rate? Alas, no, as the Caudron could only manage twenty-three feet per second, with the German fighter coming in eleven feet per second higher. Okay, then it has to be more maneuverable and more agile, yes? No. Based on the Bf 109's rating in Check Your 6! the Caudron would use the C turn chart, with an agility of just +1. And let's not talk about robustness - without any self sealing fuel tanks, pilot armor, or even a radial engine, it warrants an R0 rating. Sign me up!

The CR.714 was first delivered to French squadrons in January 1940. However, it was such a shite plane that it was withdrawn from service - the following month! And the Finns, those crafty Finns who could make a fight with just about any plane discarded in their direction, said ei when it came to the wooden fighter (winter conditions and wooden plane - not a great combination). Ah, just who is deserving of this failure of a plane - I know, let's give it to the Poles, they won't know any better! And to the Poles it went.

Groupe de Chasse polonais I/145, the Polish Warsaw Squadron, received thirty-five Cyclones in mid-May, 1940. But even the Poles were leery of such an airframe, and one week after delivery and many complaints, the French Minister of War said pas plus and ordered the Caudron withdrawn from service. But the Poles, desperate to fight the Huns, and not having any other aircraft available to them, ignored the withdrawal order and used the Cyclones fairly effectively over a four day span in June. A dozen confirmed kills against Bf 109s, Bf 110s, and Dornier Do 17s were recorded, along with three additional unconfirmed claims. In return the Poles lost nine Caudrons in the air and an equal number on the ground. Hmmm, maybe it IS the man and not the machine....

Oh Bernhard, I need this in 1/285, pretty please!

Of course, those who know me also know that I like the obscure, and as long as I have some wonderfully painted (heaven no, not be me) Germans of the types mentioned, why not get a few Caudrons to recreate those scenarios. Wait, does anyone even make this pig in miniature? Why yes, yes they do - my friends at Flight Deck Decals and Table Top Flights both offer the Cyclone as a 3D print. Hmmm, decals, that will be my roadblock. A quick check at my favorite resources yielded a sheet of decals for the Caudron, for the Groupe de Chasse polonais I/145, over at Sieben Schwaben Spiele Decals! This MUST be fate!

Check out the YouTube video made about this plane over at Showtime112's channel and keep an eye open for a few upcoming scenarios. Now, don't tell my wife but I am going to go order some shite planes! Oh, and then decals. And darn it, I have NO French paint colors! Oh, and I need a book on this plane (there happens to be one in the Polish Wings series - and now ordered!).

Scenario Booklets Available

49th Fighter Group P-40Es near Darwin.

The three scenario booklets I have been teasing the last couple of weeks are now available in both print (staple and coil bound) and pdf format for those wanting to download. The print versions are on lulu.com while the pdfs can be found on Wargames Vault. Links for both these sites are to the left.

Over the next few months I will be working on more scenario booklets, with Nomonhan, Spanish Civil War, Sino-Japanese, Taiwan Crisis, East Africa, 99th Fighter Squadron (think early "Red Tails"), Operation Torch, Aleutians, and the American 49th Fighter Group over Darwin all as possibilities. The 49th Fighter Group has all the scenarios created (I need to update the formatting a bit but there are a dozen scenarios ready to go) and I would need to add the background and other relevant gaming info to make a complete booklet, or I can start taking various theaters and placing them into scenario books without worrying about publishing specialized topics.

Regardless of the direction I take, I am happy and a bit taken aback about the support the first three booklets have received in just a few days. As previously stated, the goal is not to make money, to to offer more scenarios for gamers to (hopefully) enjoy!

Books on the Spanish Civil War

This will be an ongoing post, meaning that I will be updating it periodically as I collect more titles on this war. As I am focusing on the Legion Condor's participation, I will not be mentioning books that discuss other factions, for example, the Italians, as that is beyond the scope of my narrowed focus. And while there are numerous titles on the Legion Condor, what follows are the ones I own and recommend.

Crespo, Carlos Fresno and Pérez, Artemio Montera - Aircrafts of the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. Abteilung502, 2021. An amazing work which includes 226 profiles in its 232 pages! Not the most affordable title on this list, but certainly for those wanting the deepest dive it is worth having.

Forsyth, Robert - Aces of the Legion Condor (Aircraft of the Aces Book 99). Osprey Publishing. 2011. An exceptional title that includes, as usual for the Aircraft of the Aces series, numerous color profiles. There is a decent amount of focus on the early German contributions as well, with many of the same quotes found in the Ries and Ring book listed below.

Howson, Gerald - Aircraft of the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. Smithsonian, 1990. A tour de force that covers every possible aircraft used by both sides during the war. Each plane has at least one photograph along with some performance details as well as its history within the war. Highly recommended for those wanting a comprehensive coverage.

Martinez, Eduardo Manuel Gil and Cerdá, Juan Arráez - The Spanish Civil War in the Air, Volume 1: 1936-1937. Helion and Company, 2026. As part of the Europe@War series, this is a nicely detailed account with photographs and some color profiles. Planned as a two part coverage of the war and expanded and revised from an earlier one volume publication.

Mombeck, Eric, with Smith, J. Richard, and Creek, Eddie J. - Jagdwaffe, Lutwaffe Colours Volume One Section 2: The Spanish Civil War. Classic Publications, 1999. A long title but a softcover book worth finding at second hand markets. Nearly 100 pages in an oversized format, filled with black and white photographs along with several color profiles of the German fighter aircraft used during the war. I am not 100% confident about the colors shown in the profiles - they seem a tad on the darker side, but useful illustrations nonetheless. This is part of a series of books that cover the Luftwaffe's fighter arm through the Second World War.

 

Ries, Karl and Ring, Hans - The Legion Condor 1936-1939. Schiffer Military History, 1997. A highly detailed work, with a heavy volume of photographs. The only downfall is the lack of color profiles, because one can never have too many color profiles! This title can be found on aftermarket sites for a reasonable price.

Scenario Book Progress

A video showing draft copies of the upcoming scenario books - Slovak-Hungarian War, Wake Atoll, and Project Gun-Val for the Korean War.

Spanish Civil War Update

Quick post but now there are three Spanish Civil War scenarios plus the stats needed to game the Legion Condor scenarios I am focusing on. These can be found on the Downloads page under the Spanish Civil War section. My initial focus will be on developing the scenarios that feature the Heinkel He 51, which rules the skies against the early Republican fighters, held even with the I-15, but struggled mightily against the I-16 (although the skilled German pilots did have some success even against the speedy I-16).

Downloads

Duel With the Veltro After Action

Same day, second game! (see HERE for the first game).

I had remembered to bring along a second scenario in case the guys wanted to game more after flying in the skies over Britain. Four of us could indeed stay (understanding wives), so I was able to put my version of "Protecting Them All" on the board, updated based on the information I could find from historic accounts, called "Duel With the Veltro." It features the Red Tails of the 302nd Fighter Squadron, part of the 332nd Fighter Group, known (well) after the war as the Tuskegee Airmen.  

One of the two Mustang elements. Those P-51s really stand out with their red trim and tails!

The game featured a damaged B-24 making its way home, being jumped by a pair of Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana Macchi C.205s. Screaming down from above was a flight of P-51Cs, led by Alfonza Davis. The bomber and the Italians were at Medium CAB, while the American Fighters stated at TAL 6, Medium Top CAB. It would be a case of timing to see if the Americans could dive fast enough to engage the pair of Macchis before the latter could destroy the wounded bomber.

In need of protection

The Italians closed in, but had a tough time against the bomber - perhaps the veteran aircrew rating I gave the bomber, with its already impressive robustness 4 rating, was overkill.

A pair of Macchis close in.

The Americans were able to power dive, then steep dive (with just one failing the resultant aircrew check - thank goodness for no doubles), then power dive, which actually caused the Yanks to overshoot the Macchis. But upon reverse the American veteran pilot plopped on the tail of the green Macchi at two hex range and...well that was that! 

But then there is but one Macchi.

The veteran Macchi skillfully maneuvered around the bomber, but then came in range once again of the veteran Mustang and within just a few turns it was pretty much game over. The second pair of Italian fighters, entering on Turn 3 at low altitude, had no impact by the time we decided to call the game.

Escorting the Liberator, Red Tail style.

A few takeaways on this scenario - first, the bomber probably started too far into the board (eight hexes). Changing that to five hexes. Second, since I wrote the scenario I have done a lot more reading on the 1st Fighter Squadron of the ANR - it was filled with skilled pilots, so that means the green Macchi is going to skilled. Third, a veteran bomber aircrew - a bit too much. Dropping that rating to skilled. And lastly, in order to get the second pair of Macchis to have a possible impact, they enter on Turn 2 - no longer will a random die roll determine its arrival.

The short game and the fact I was playing yielded fewer piccies.

Planes - Flight Deck Decals painted by Misc. Minis.

Decals - Misc. Minis and Sieben Schwaben Spiele.

Mat - Deep Cut Studio.

Duel Between Eagles After Action

Today a few of the Check Your 6! Southwestern Ohio gathered together at a new location for a little gaming. The scenario was a modified version of the "Duel Between Eagles" scenario from the Over the Channel scenario book. Modified as I went with six instead of nine Spitfires to face off against the eight Messerschmitts, and tried to add a little balance by giving the two British players the higher quality pilots in the scenario.

A Rotte of Bf 109Es...

...and a vic of Sptifires.

The random setup is interesting, and means that one would never have the same game twice, regardless of using the Variable Rules. Each group of planes rolls a random edge location, and a random TAL.

Engine damage and fire!

The setup saw the Brits start along Edges 2 and 5 with the four German players filling in the remaining edges. This led to two distinct and separate furballs - four German planes against three British on each end of the board. For the first couple of turns the Germans starting at low TAL along Edges 3 and 4 headed directly towards each other, with one of the players not realizing that he was maneuvering towards his kamraden!

The support Rotten moving to...support!

A quick kill occurred when one vic of Brits took on a pair of 109s head on - the British ace ("Sailor" Malan - one of two Adolfs on the board) taking down a skilled Hun. Meanwhile the two German elements in the center of the board finally had some height and turned to support their fellow players. I was seated on one end of the table, so my details of the other furball are sketchy at best, bit seemingly the British player was giving the Germans all they could handle. It was not really a day of aces - several time both Adolfs missed some relatively obtainable hits. The game went fifteen turns, but it was fifteen turns of diving, turning, climbing (a little Iron Maiden "Aces High" reference there) with the outnumbered Brits holding their own, but the German numbers started to take their toll.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the board, passing ships in the night, or something like that.

And support on its way.

The British ace in the distance, with engine damaged, moves but one hex per turn.

Final result was a German victory, 16 points against the Brits' 11. 

Mat - Deep Cut Studio

Planes - Raiden painted by Jamie (more on those HERE)

Prepping for the Condor Legion Scenarios

Moving into the realm of buying aircraft for the Spanish Civil War...

While the scenario list I have created includes a huge number of aircraft, I am not looking to go into yet another massive project. To that end, I have placed a couple of orders, more like sample orders, to review some of the cool aircraft that can be found in the Spanish Civil War.

From Dan at Flight Deck Decals I have on order three Arado Ar 68s, three Polikarpov I-15s, and three Polikarpov I-16 Type 10s. I forgot to order Tupolev SB-2s but will do so in the near future.

From Mike at Table Top Flights I have ordered three Polikarpov I-16 Type 5s, three Nieuport NiD-52s, three Breguet XIXs, and six Heinkel He 51s. These fill in the gaps that Flight Deck does not cover. 

My focus will most likely be on scenarios that feature the Heinkel – I just find it to be neat plane even though it was not a great performing one.

Once these arrive I will write a post to review the miniatures and include pictures.

Spanish Civil War Stats - Legion Condor Scenarios

I am not certain if everyone will agree with the results, but I have been working on stats for the aircraft that make an appearance in the Spanish Civil War scenarios I have created that feature the Legion Condor. As this conflict started over three years prior to the start of the Second World War, the aircraft are, for the most part, relics of the early 1930s and hence many fly at would be an excruciating speed on the tabletop, if one were to keep the same speed band parameters as defined in Check Your 6! I've played in some early war Italian scenarios where the top speed of the aircraft was a paltry three, and not only does it take some time for the forces to close, once the sides get within shooting range the resultant furball stays withing a one foot square. Recognizing that the slower speeds might lead to frustration on the part of the players, I have used a 75 mile per hour band, and have used maximum speeds for both fighters and bombers (there is a reason for not using cruising speeds for bombers - certain types during this conflict could pull away from older fighters and using cruising rates would not yield that ability on the tabletop). 

Oh Mickey, you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind. Hey Mickey!

To that end, I offer my take on Check Your 6! stats for the Spanish Civil War:

Click on the image for a larger version

HERE is a download version.

Don Gentile

About an hour north of where I grew up it the small city of Piqua, Ohio. Its name derives from Othath-He-Waugh-Pe-Qua, a Shawnee term meaning "he has risen from the ashes." The name is associated with one of the five septs of the Shawnee nation, the Pekowi. Ironically, it is not the first Shawnee town with that name - as white settlement kept pushing the Shawnee west, the new towns they established took on the name of the previous town that was abandoned or burned down by white raids, rising from the ashes to build a new town. The high school mascot are the Indians, and in this case a term fitting as a tribute to the areas first permanent settlers.

Gentile's Spitfire while with 133 Squadron

On December 6, 1920, Dominic Gentile was born to Italian immigrant parents. Gentile, going by the more acceptable American name of Don, starred as a halfback on the Piqua Indians football squad, and by the summer of 1941 had logged over three hundred hours of flying time, mostly on an Aerosport biplane. In July of that year Gentile tried to join the United States Army Air Corps but the requirement of two years of college for pilots meant that Gentile, with no additional education beyond his high school years, did not qualify. Instead, Gentile found an avenue with the Royal Canadian Air Force, and was posted to the United Kingdom in December 1941 as a pilot officer. After training he would be assigned to 133 Squadron, one of the three American Eagle squadrons. Gentile would fly the Spitfire Mk V, and on August 19, 1942, he would begin his victory tally by downing two German aircraft (a Junkers Ju 88 and an FW 190). These first kills occurred during Operation Jubilee, better known as the Dieppe Raid.

Updated with American markings (note missing underwing roundel)

The 133 Squadron would transition into the 336th Fighter Squadron the following month, still flying their nimble Spitfires, but now with American roundels painted over the British. The 336th would utilize the British aircraft into 1943. It must have been an interesting day the first time Gentile climbed into the cockpit of a P-47, which the squadron started to receive in March. It is unclear if he was flying a Spitfire or the powerful Jug but on March 13th Gentile shot down another Fw 190 (he received claim for 1/3 of a Junkers Ju 88 in December 1942). The squadron flew the Thunderbolt for a year, and during that time Gentile had another six victories. His P-47 started with the white star in a blue circle, with the fuselage marking encircled by the previous British yellow ring, before later converting to the star and bars insignia in all positions, first with red outline, then blue.

First this...

...ending with this

Once the 336th made the change to the sleek Mustang, Gentile would rack up 16.5 more victories. Gentile's most iconic airplane was the P-51B named Shangri La, which he crashed on April 13, 1944 while beating up the field at Debden. He was grounded, and sent home for a war bond tour, and did not return to combat. His total of victories is still somewhat cloudy, but most records give him a final tally of 19.83 victories in the air, with three additional damaged, and six destroyed on the ground. 

Gentile's P-51B

Gentile would marry in November 1944 and have three sons. He would be assigned to Wright Field as a test pilot, and be killed on January 28, 1951 while flying a T-33A over Maryland. 

Miniatures - Flight Deck Decals makes the Spitfire Mk Vc, a P-47C, and the P-51B. The first two are very close proxies and should work fine. Raiden have the specific Spitfire Mk Vb and the P-47D Razorback.

To come...scenarios featuring Gentile's actions during the war.

Progress on the Wake Island Front

And for my next trick....

I've had this scenario booklet nearly ready for some time, dealing with the Japanese attempt to capture Wake Atoll in December 1941. Several scenarios are built, mostly historical ones, with a few what ifs as well, such as what if the USS Saratoga reinforced Wake with the Brewster Buffaloes that were tasked to increase the American fighter presence - that sort of thing. While I have thirteen scenarios created I decided to drop what I had into Gemini and let AI take a look. It wound up creating a few more encounters and making suggestions to my existing ones, but as always with AI one must double check the work as I think the new offerings might be duplicates of scenarios I already have in the booklet. But if not, the booklet will be expanded a bit.

Currently the booklet, like the other two previously mentioned, comes in a hair above twenty pages, Using lulu.com as my print on demand service, with premium color and 80# coated paper, the price points on these booklets are about $12.50 USD, which I have added in a slight margin for my time. If I go to standard color and normal weight paper, it shaves maybe a dollar. My goal is certainly not to make money, but to offer more scenarios for Check Your 6! and Check Your 6! Jet Age gamers, and I have had other works printed with the better quality options ad really like how they have turned out.

I still plan to create more scenario booklets that feature specific topics, like the 99th Fighter Squadron flying P-40s (over twenty-five scenarios), the 49th Pursuit Group near Darwin, a dozen scenarios oddly enough also featuring P-40s, and a Taiwan crisis booklet that would feature the P-47N model for the early scenarios and the later 1958 conflict that features the Sabre. This would see over forty scenarios if all make the cut.