Back to the 'Nam

After hosting (and getting to play as well) a Check Your 6! Jet Age game the other night, it has me thinking about getting into another jet age period, but something later than the 1950s things I have. I do have a decent collection of miniatures for the Second India-Pakistan War, but missiles and radar are rather limited in scope for that conflict, and I would like to "master" the more advanced rules and the aircraft that use them. I created some roughly framed scenarios for early Vietnam, and about a dozen for the 1982 Lebanon War, so there are plenty of opportunities and possibilities to get into an era that would require the understanding of radar lock-ons, ECW, and advanced missiles. I also have several outlined scenarios for the Second Taiwan Crisis, but that is basically the Korean War with some crappy missiles. 

Other guys in our group have 1956, 1967, and 1973 Arab-Israeli collections, so I do not want to duplicate efforts there. The Falklands are fairly covered as well. I am pretty certain no one is doing the Lebanon War, so that would bring something new to the table. But even in 1/300 scale, those beautiful Flight Deck Decals planes run four to five dollars each, and then there is the painting of advanced camouflage schemes. While my painting skills are improving of late, not certain if a lot of camo is in my future.

VF-211 Crusader. Later VF-211 served on the USS Bon Homme Richard

I keep heading back to Vietnam, although what I am looking at are early war years featuring the F-8 Crusader and MiG-17s and MiG-21s. The missiles are crappy, but radar starts to become a thing. Planes are easy - for the sixteen scenarios that feature just the F-8 I would only need four Crusaders, five MiG-17s, and four MiG-21s (if one does not mind using one model to cover the same basic airframe). If I add in four Skyhawks I increase the number of scenarios I could game to twenty.

Skyhawk from VA-76, USS Bon Homme Richard

I can handle painting Navy aircraft with the dull gray and insignia white scheme. Decals are covered by Miscellaneous Miniatures for specific Crusader and Skyhawk squadrons. Actually, that might be the hold up as those decal sheets mean adding something like a dozen or more decals to each plane! However, with the need for only four F-8s and four A-4s, I guess I could suffer adding a slew of decals. The MiGs are more decal friendly with just the North Vietnam national insignia and a BORT number needed. Painting them, however, would be a bit more of a challenge - early in the war many were simply in their natural metal, but then camo schemes started to appear. But I think the simple all metal versions might be the direction I take.

So, here on Christmas Day, I have ordered the planes and decals needed to eventually game these scenarios:

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!

Crusaders Over 'Nam - Planes Needed

Previously on this blog appeared a short review of Crusaders Over 'Nam, a short scenario book for Check Your 6! This post is a bit of an add on to discuss just how many of each plane type is needed in order to run all the scenarios.

In the eleven available scenarios, the primary forces consist of U.S. Navy F8 Crusaders facing off against MiG-17s of the Vietnamese Peoples Air Force. Add to that a mix of MiG-21s, and A4 Skyhawks, and a lone A6 Intruder, and one has a fairly simple mix of aircraft to purchase and paint. The MiG-17s are simply F models, while the MiG-21s are either F-13 or PFM models. The Crusaders are of four variants (C, E, H, and RF), and the Skyhawks are either E or C types. That might sound a little confusing, but as we can use the same model Crusader, Skyhawk, and MiG-21 to represent the various variants, we can drastically simplify the buying process. So what are our maximum needs to cover all eleven scenarios? As follows:

F8 - 6

A4 - 12

A6 - 1

MiG-17 - 10

MiG-21 - 4

Using the Raiden 1/285th scale offerings (nicely cast models at a fair price from I-94), we can order the following codes:

F8 - USA103 - $3.50 - $21.00

A4 - USA102 - $3.00 - $36.00

A6 - USA126 - $3.00 - $3.00

Americans total 19 planes at $60.00.

MiG-17 - RUS103 - $3.00 - $30.00

MiG-21 - RUS104 - $3.00 - $12.00

Vietnamese total 14 planes at $42.00.

But wait, I offer to you an option. Maybe you do not want to purchase and paint that many planes  If we remove one scenario, one with twelve A4s, we can get the totals down even more:

F8 - 6

A4 - 2

A6 - 1

MiG-17 - 8

MiG-21 - 4

F8 - USA103 - $3.50 - $21.00

A4 - USA102 - $3.00 - $6.00

A6 - USA126 - $3.00 - $3.00

Americans total 9 planes at $30.00.

MiG-17 - RUS103 - $3.00 - $24.00

MiG-21 - RUS104 - $3.00 - $12.00

Vietnamese total 12 planes at $36.00.

Still too rich for your wallet? Let's take out just one more scenario, leaving you the ability to game nine scenarios in the book, with just the following planes needed:

F8 - 4

MiG-17 - 5

MiG-21 - 4

F8 - USA103 - $3.50 - $14.00

Americans total 4 planes at $14.00.

MiG-17 - RUS103 - $3.00 - $15.00

MiG-21 - RUS104 - $3.00 - $12.00

Vietnamese total 9 planes at $27.00.

So, for $41.00 you could have the planes needed (including options) to game nine of the Crusaders Over 'Nam scenarios. One heck of a deal I say - time to go place an order!

Review - Crusaders Over 'Nam

Crusaders Over 'Nam - written by Roxanne Patton. Published by I-94 Enterprises, March, 2017.  $18.00.

As many of you already know, I like obscure and different periods of history to recreate on the tabletop. While the Vietnam War is certainly not obscure, Vietnam air combat is not that prevalent in the gaming world, so when I came across a Check Your 6! scenario book for Vietnam on the I-94 website, specifically one that deals with the F-8 Crusader and MiG kills I was curious. So, I placed my order via the I-94 Raiden webstore, and within a few days I received my copy. While the booklet is not an official SkirmishCampaigns production, it is designed for Check Your 6!

Let's jump into what I felt left me less than satisfied. First, the price of the scenario booklet is $18.00. Unfortunately, the number of pages doesn't warrant such a high price tag. The 8.5" by 11" booklet comes in at only twenty pages. The cover is color cardstock, while the interior is black and white. Unlike the other Check Your 6! scenario books, this offering does not have a data table showing the plane stats needed, which I find very useful in the other books and wish could have been added here to avoid having to refer back to the Jet Age version to obtain plane data. And there are a few typos and missing information, both within the scenarios themselves, and in the rules modifications section. Example - Page 4, second line states "range is reduced to eight (8) hexes for targets at." At what?

Okay, those were my sticking points. My positive takeaways are the vast majority of the eleven scenarios are ideally suited for four players, perfect for a small gathering of friends or a convention setting where the smaller number of players makes teaching Check Your 6! an easier task. The scenarios are also well researched and clearly written indicating that the author knows her subject well. The bits of typos and missing info within the scenarios is easily overcome with a bit of common sense.  The eleven scenarios, with F-8s featured in every one, also includes A-4s and a lone A-6, while for the "bad guys" all one needs are only MiG-17s and MiG-21s. This is a simple mix of planes for the player to obtain.

Overall, Crusaders Over 'Nam fills a niche for Vietnam War air combat, while providing more scenarios for jet age gamers, especially those who use Check Your 6! You will have to be the judge in deciding if a twenty page scenario book priced at $18.00 holds value for you.