Sino-Japanese - Japanese Planes Completed

Most likely these are just the first wave of Japanese....

Another previously started project checked off. I had much of the work already completed, but had to do a little paint touch up and then add decals before applying varnish. A fairly easy project, although painting 1/285 scale struts on the Aichis wasn't a pleasant time. And, once I started putting on the varnish, I found several spots to touch up with paint!

• Planes - Flight Deck Decals (1/285).
• Paints - Vallejo Model Air Aluminium (71.062), Army Painter Warpaint Pure Red mixed with Vallejo Model Color Carmine Red (70.908), Vallejo Model Air NATO Black (71.251), Foundry Bavarian Cornflower Blue (Shade 73C).
• Decals - Flight Deck Decals.

These planes are featured in my "Melee Over the Mausoleum" scenario, found HERE.

China - Progress

A short post today showing off some of the progress I have made on my Sino-Japanese War aircraft. 

For the Curtiss Hawk IIIs, they are mostly painted and some now have decals applied (using Sieben Schwaben Spiele Decals and Flight Deck Decals). I love the Chinese Nationalist roundel and plane number over the dark green. I will admit, I did cheat on the tail colors as I could not see trying to include thirteen alternating white and blue stripes at 1/285 scale. I think I still captured the feel by only using seven stripes. 

The pair of Model 281 Boeings are also mostly painted, but then somehow I snapped a landing gear from one, which really is not making me happy. So I need to order a replacement and start fresh. Arrrgh. 

For the Japanese the A5Ms have a coat of aluminium. I could not decide on what the base color should be, seeing so many variations on the A5M, from a golden hue to light gray (which I think really should be metal) dark green. However, seemingly the A5M came from the factory in 1937-38 in a natural metal finish, so there we have it. I still have details to add but did add natural steel to the ailerons and engine.

The schemes for the D1A also varied somewhat, ranging the natural metal to light gray to dark green. I decided to take the easy way out to have the D1As match their A5M escorts. This means the Japanese are in natural metal while the Chinese are all sporting dark green. Two very distinctive and different schemes to grace the tabletop. I still have details to paint on the D1As.

These planes will be used for the Melee Over the Mausoleum scenario that one can found on the Downloads page.

Melee Over the Mausoleum

I have added another scenario to the Downloads page, this one dealing with an event that took place on this date, eighty-eight years ago, during the Sino-Japanese War. The scenario (entitled Melee Over the Mausoleum) is a scaled down version of the historical event, and features such interesting Japanese aircraft as the A5M fighter (later known to the Allies as Claude) and D1A dive bomber (Susie), facing off against Chinese piloted and U. S. supplied Model 68 Hawk IIIs and Boeing Model 281s (the export version of the P-26 Peashooter). The historical event also had several E8N floatplanes (Dave) and a pair of CR.32s, but as I cannot source the floatplanes from my favorite retailers (Flight Deck Decals or Table Top Flights) I have not included them in the scenario. I may, in the future, utilize some proxy floatplanes, like Petes, that will perform double duty.

Because of the slowness of the pre-World War II aircraft, I have changed the speed bands to make a more playable scenario. To that end, here are the ratings: