Back to the Pak!

As the New Year dawns upon mankind, the promise of renewed hope springs forth once again...(Monty Python voice over follows) Alright, enough of that tripe! 

Sabres, Gnats, and Mystères...oh my!

I have slowly been working on my Second India-Pakistan War miniatures from Flight Deck Decals. I am awaiting an order for some paints to go on the Hunters, but the Mystères, Gnats, and Sabres are to the point of just needing decals added. I am hosting a game next week and hope to have these completed in time - no worries if I don't as I already have metal minis from Raiden painted for this conflict. (see HERE and HERE for pictures of those planes). Why the switch to Flight Deck? See HERE for that decision. 

I have a pair of painted MSD Vampires that my buddy gave me, and in order to do one of the scenarios from the Crisis in Kashmir! scenario book I needed another pair, so I do have two more coming from Raiden. Eventually I will also order Vampires from Flight Deck as the MSD ones are not up to Flight Deck's level of quality, but for now I have done some touch up painting on the pair in hand and they will see service until their replacements have been acquired.

I have also used AI to see if there are more scenarios that can be created for this war. The answer is yes, AI yielded two additional scenarios - one of decent (five player) size with the Pakistani Sabres attacking a radar installation with rockets, one that is defended by Hunters and some flak. That will make a good game for the tabletop. The other AI generated scenario is a small night action and not suitable for a game. Here is now the full listing of 1965 scenarios by number of aircraft needed (red are the additional scenarios):

Removing the scenarios that utilize planes I do not own yields fourteen scenarios on the tabletop. I think that is probably enough for this war!

Color Choices - Part III

The third part of an irregular series that provides the base colors used on a variety of projects.

Wake Atoll

• F4F Wildcat/F2A Buffalo - For the Wildcats and Buffaloes (the Wake Atoll project) - I used Faded Photo Reconnaissance Unit (P. R. U.) Blue (71.109) on the upper surfaces, with Light Grey (71.298) for the lower. I really like this color combination.

Darwin

• A6M2 - To reproduce the ame-iro color used on shipborne Japanese naval aircraft I went with Imperial Japanese Navy Ash Gray (71.311). It seems to capture the gray, green, and tan hues well. NATO Black (71.251) on the cowling. These Zekes will also see time over Wake.
• P-40E - Typical early war United States Army scheme of Dark Olive Drab 41 (71.316) over Neutral Gray N43 (71.051). 

 Second India-Pakistan War (1965)

• F-86 - The primary Pakistan aircraft received an overall scheme of Aluminium (71.062). 
• Folland Gnat - Another plane that had a natural metal finish, so once again I used Aluminium.
• Mystère - Why yes, I'm glad you asked - Aluminium was indeed the color of choice.

Upgrading My Game - 1965 India-Pakistan War

While the Hunter looks grand, the others do not

I have to be honest, I am not loving my Raiden planes I have for the 1965 Second India-Pakistan War. The various wings and tails have too many bends, and while I have straightened them out as best as I could, the metal, being soft, tends to bend at the slightest touch. The paint work I had commissioned is also not up to the normal levels I used to receive - some sort of sealer was used on the bare metal planes that make them look gray, and I prefer the look of aluminium (intentional spelling) as opposed to whatever effect the sealer is having on changing the coloration.

Image from Flight Deck Decals

To that end, I have decided to redo my 1965 India-Pakistan project, this time using those bee-you-tee-ful 3D prints offered by Flight Deck Decals. I am focusing on just four plane types - F-86 Sabre, BAE Gnat, Hawker Hunter, and Dassault Mystère. This limited mix of planes will still allow me to put on a dozen scenarios from the SkirmishCampaigns Crisis in Kashmir book, the scenarios ranging from three to six players, some including missiles, which is an area of the rules I admittedly struggle with at times. This time around I will be painting the planes myself, as I have started to feel more confident in my skill at painting 1/285 scale aircraft. I do not add the bells and whistles, and will just focus on national insignia and fin flash, letting the quality of the Flight Deck prints stand out with a fairly minimalized approach.

Flight Deck of course delivered excellent customer service - I placed my order on a Sunday evening and had the miniatures by Saturday's post. I also picked up decals for the opposing sides - both national insignia (roundels) and fin flashes. Some pictures of the planes:

Mystère

Sabre

The pesky Gnat and the powerful Hunter

I will spray the planes with a coat of gray primer, then the Sabres, Mystères, and Gnats will be given a coat or two of Vallejo Air Aluminium - I prefer using their Air line as the metallic paints brush on very smoothly, even if a second coat is sometimes needed. The Hunter will be given a green/gray camouflaged upper with aluminum lower surfaces.

They Have Arrived! - The Second India–Pakistan War

I received notice from Chris Geisert at I-94 a few days ago that the commission work for my Second India-Pakistan War aircraft was completed! After eagerly awaiting their arrival, I received the planes just a few days later. I placed an order a couple of weeks ago from K and J Magnetics for additional magnets, and will have plenty on hand to place on the following, which will allow me to game fifteen scenarios from the SkirmishCampaigns' Crisis in Kashmir book (for some reason I only asked for four Hunters to be painted, but really needed five in order to add two additional scenarios):

India - 7 x Dassault Mystere, 2 x MiG-21, 4x  Hawker Hunter, and 7 x BAE Gnat

Pakistan - 2 x F-104 Starfighters and 6 x F-86 Sabres

Most of the scenarios are on the smaller side, covering from two to six players, with most falling in the four player range. As I am also not proficient with missiles within the Check Your 6! Jet Age rules, having smaller scenarios will allow me to practice and grasp those rules before moving into a more modern era.

I will admit that I am a little disappointed in the work. The natural metal aircraft have a gray hue that is not apparent on the bottom of the aircraft. I think it is from a gloss finish that was applied, so I will hit them with some matte spray and see if that helps. The painting does not seem to be quite as crisp as the first planes I had Chris do back in the day (look at the Korean War planes as an example). There are some colors on the bottoms of the planes that appear to be a little slop from a color on the top, one Hunter having a big old splotch of green on its underwing. And there used to be decals applied to the bottom of the aircraft, but none of these planes have that (the latter is not a huge deal, but I guess I was used to seeing markings on the bottoms of the planes). The Hunters look great, they do not have that shiny gloss finish. This will be a batch of planes I will have to do a tad of touch up to really bring them home. Now, those are minor quibbles, and I will keep using Chris as his turnaround time is good, prices very reasonable, and he communicates well during the process. I hope he gets back to the quality of those Korean War aircraft that he spoiled me with!