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!

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.

Arrows Over Bavaria

I know I have an addiction for Check Your 6! when I drop coin on painted planes that had very little service during Worlds War Two - in this case the Dornier Do 335 Pfeil (Arrow). Miscellaneous Miniatures had a schwarm of Arrows painted and ready to go, and after looking at them several times on the Misc. Minis website, I pulled the trigger. Oh, I have zero use for them, but I have been dealing with a little tension and anxiety of late, probably mixed in with a little depression, due to my father. The amount of tasks and chores I have to handle is rather overwhelming, and his house needs much attention in preparation for an auction for the goods in the house, and then readying for sale - and his place is a solid forty-five minute drive from the condo. Thank God that my wife has been fantastic throughout. Anyway, not a post for complaint, but I find myself buying more books and other things for gaming of late, a sure sign of compensation.

Because they were there

Back on track - I have worked up outlines for scenarios that feature the Dornier in action over Bavaria in mid to late 1945. The first scenario has been created, although it is rather sparse in detail (I'll work on that). It features the Lockheed F-80 vs. the Pfeil is a straightforward shoot 'em up.

Jet Age Dawning

Work in Progress

Have I mentioned the brush and decal work that Kevin at Misc. Minis is exceptional? Here is a work in progress picture of yet another project I am having commissioned.

I would say he is capturing the feel of the 332nd Fighter Group rather well! These planes will be used in my revamped version of "Protecting Them All" from the Battles Above 1 scenario book, which I call "Duel With the Veltro."

I cannot wait to see the work he does on the ANR opponents!

Adding to the Collection

Kepford's Corsair

While gaming on Saturday with the group, one of the members was checking out the Misc Minis website and came across a few new listings under the painted miniatures categories. There were a few for 1/285 scale, so I have added a flight of resin VF-17 Corsairs and another of metal Raidens. Price points are good at about $9.00 per plane (keep in mind the cost of the plane itself is about $3.00, so the cost of painting and decaling is about $6.00 per plane - and Kevin does amazing work! While I did not have an immediate need for either of these aircraft, in reviewing the various scenario books, I think they will fit into a few places and my next exercise will be to create lists of the scenarios that feature each type of plane. 

A Raiden Raiden

I hope Kevin at Misc Minis will keep offering painted 1/285 scale aircraft as it is a more convenient (or is that addictive?) way for me to add to my collection!

Yakkety Yak After Action

A pair of Yak-7s, nicely painted by Misc. Minis

Yesterday for the Check Your 6! Southwestern Ohio group I ran a strictly hypothetical encounter, which featured the Yak-7 vs. the Heinkel He 100 (and found on the Downloads page and entitled Yakkety Yak). 

The scenario calls for five players, but since this encounter is a figment of my imagination, one could remove two of the Yak-7s, or add a pair of Heinkels, just to have a little fun or to adjust to the number of available players (we usually give a pair of planes to each player).

It is a bit of a bounce on bounce scenario, with four Heinkels closing on a pair of Yaks. A few random turns later four Yaks drop down from the clouds practically on top of the Germans.

The first game's initial setup

We ran the scenario twice as the first game was a rather short affair. The aircrew quality really showed through, but also the poor robustness rolls led to the destruction of three Yaks within the first handful of turns. So we changed the aircrew qualities with random die rolls, which yielded a result of all crews being skilled. This, on top of the Soviet "rabbits" changing tactics in the second game from running to turning into his foe, made for a heck of a game. The German players really danced about the board, and they had to due to being outnumbered 3:2. One turn saw the Yaks clustered together, and I thought the Germans would have a tough time the next turn. I took my pair of Heinkels and dover through and below the reversing Soviets, which also brought the other pair of Heinkels into a pair of perfect firing solutions. Our dice were fairly meh, but it did scatter the Yaks, and caused some damage. After seventeen turns, with one Yak shot down and another suffering an airframe damage (and one other running out of ammo) we called the game. No damages to the Heinkels resulted in a German victory.

The "rabbits" - my pair of Heinkels, have dove through the Yaks...

...setting up a pair of nice opportunities for the remaining Heinkels

And then the dance really begins with a decent amount of separation

Jamie obtains another great firing solution, but Mr. Robusto (Matt) makes his rolls

I tweaked the aircrew ratings a bit and have uploaded the revised version of Yakkety Yak. It was a fun game (both games for me - I had three kills in the abbreviated first game).

Yak-7s - Raiden Miniatures painted by Misc Minis.

He 100s - Table Top Flights painted by me, decals are Scale Specialties.

Mat - Deep Cut Studio.

Operation Torch - The Western Task Force

I have a few Operation Torch posts already on the blog, but I wanted to provide a bit of an update as to where the project stands, including a small scenario book that I will be working on soon, providing a mix of historical and hypothetical encounters that feature the United States Navy's air operations which, as part of the Western Task Force, mostly dominated the skies over Morocco. 

Thus far I have ideas for seven scenarios which include an interesting mix of American and Vichy French aircraft (the following chart includes an eighth scenario from the Check Your 6! rulebook):

I have aircraft painted for two scenarios (French Surprise and Torched), however I might replace some or all of what I have with the exceptional Flight Deck Decals range. I do have the Model 75As already from Flight Deck - I just need to ship them to Miscellaneous Miniatures for painting as doing three tone camo scheme and Vichy stripes might be beyond my skill, or at least patience, level. 

Also, something I want to try to do is offer a mini-campaign aspect for the scenario book. Years ago when I used to game the Command Decision series from GDW, one of the concepts they offered in their Over the Top World War One rules was a "bathtub" campaign - taking units and scaling them down into playable units on the tabletop while also allowing campaign movement using a hex map. I plan on doing something like this for Operation Torch - taking the numbers of available aircraft and scaling that down to 10%. This would yield the following available aircraft for the mini-campaign:

I would have to determine how to use a force pool to generate scenarios, or really I would need a scenario generator and then a way to track the force pool due to shoot downs, damage, etc. Since the campaign was so short (just a few days), any plane that is shot down would not be replaced, and an aircrew survival roll could be made to determine if the pilot is able to return to the force pool. Damaged planes might return after a full day of inaction. There are several factors that need to be accounted for.

Another Scenario

Admittedly, my newest scenario has a lot in common with the "Protecting Them All" scenario in the Battles Above 1 scenario book. To be honest I used it as the basis, but, upon reviewing various historical sources, I believe some of the details of the original scenario were missing or in need of updating. Then I took my interpretation to a different level by checking the facts using AI and have created a scenario that has more of a grounding in the history of the engagement that took place on July 16, 1944 between the fighter group later known (well after World War II) as the Tuskegee Airmen and Mussolini's Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, although it is still unconfirmed the number of Italian fighters that were present.

Flight Deck Decals 3D prints painted by Misc. Minis.

On the Downloads page you will now find "Duel With the Veltro," a game ideal for four or five players. Due to damage a lone B-24, after bombing Weiner Neustadt, is making its way home, stalked by at least a pair of Macchi C.205Vs. Arriving just in time is a flight of P-51Cs from the 302nd Fighter Squadron. 

Commission Time

I am finally getting around to sending off some commission work to Miscellaneous Miniatures. While I am becoming proficient in my painting skills, my limitations are mostly solid colored aircraft, and what I am sending off to have painted are, for the most part, planes that need more brush work, or ones that go along with planes Misc. Minis has painted for me in the past and I want to keep consistency.

Vietnam - While I had bought the decals needed from Misc. Minis and Sieben Schwaben, and thought to tackle this one on my own, the amount of decals having to go on each American aircraft is something I just do not want to deal with applying so many and am completely happy allowing someone else to do that work. 

Tuskegee - I have owned the planes and the ANR decals for quite some time for a scenario in the Battles Above 1 scenario book and I think it will make a great convention game with four fighters on each side and a crippled B-24 that I could run. I am changing the scenario a bit, bringing it more inline with the historical encounter. 

Slovak-Hungarian - I have a pair of Heinkel He 70s that will allow me to bring another scenario to the table top. I think that will take care of my collection for this war.

Burma - I have a collection of Allied and Japanese planes for this ongoing project. I decided to expand upon the handful of scenarios I could host previously, so in the future more Flying Tigers games will be making an appearance on the tabletop and the blog.

1948 Arab-Israeli Scenarios

The First (1948-49) Arab-Israeli War saw a fair amount of activity in the skies over the Middle East. Rob Wubbenhorst created a set of six scenarios for Check Your 6! that appeared in Wargames Illustrated (#310) and a pdf download on the WI website. In collecting books, reading same, and doing some research of my own, I have taken Rob's "original six" (hockey reference) and have expanded the number of scenarios to twenty-three, which does include one hypothetical scenario. The 1948-49 War is ideal for smaller games when one has a few players available, and features a wide range of aircraft types (American, British, Czech, and Italian) and nationalities - Israel, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Great Britain. I hope one day to work up a 1948-49 scenario book, but in the meantime I have re-purchased the planes necessary to game twenty-one of these scenarios, replacing the metal castings with the crisp 3D prints from Flight Deck Decals and Table Top Flights (see HERE). Like the metal planes, which are mostly Raiden, the 3D prints will be painted by Miscellaneous Miniatures.

On the chart that follows, Rob's scenarios are named in black, the ones I have added are titled in green. In the chart itself appears red numbers for Egyptian Spitfires which means I do not have the data to indicate if the Spitfires used for those particular scenarios were Mark LF.IXc or Mark Vc (most likely the latter). I hope with the future release of a series of books from Helion & Company more information will come to light. 

I look forward to getting these scenarios fleshed out and play tested.

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:

Yak-7B Purchase

Recently I was able to take advantage of picking up some beautifully painted Yak-7Bs from Miscellaneous Miniatures. I do not have many Soviet planes in my collection - really prior to this I only owned a half dozen I-16s, also wonderfully painted by Misc. Minis. The six Yaks will come in handy for mid-war scenarios. I just need to add magnets and they will be ready for the table.

The manufacturer is Raiden.

Pearl Redux! After Action Report

Over Pearl Harbor....

We ran the Second Strike scenario in commemorate the attack on Pearl Harbor. Due to a limitation with the number of players in attendance, we adjusted the scenario to feature Zekes making strafing runs on Ford Island and Hicam Field as we did not have the Vals and Kates needed. Admittedly, my knowledge from the game, played just yesterday, is limited as I actually played in this event and so my point of observation is rather focused, but I will cover what I can remember! Once again I also took few photos.

The Japanese players move in to strafe Ford Island. The AA piece in the distance would be attacked the following turn.

The Japanese players moved into range of Ford Island, dropping altitude in order to strafe the ships and the installations. The dice were HOT for Jay, who not only put down something like five or six successful strafing hits, but he also knocked out the light AA as well. He liked my dice so much he offered to buy them such was his success. With the Japanese already raking up the victory points, the Americans closed in.

Three P-40s and three P-36s move towards the Japanese. I was piloting the two Hawks at the bottom of the picture.

A pair of P-40s started on the board, and the remaining Americans came on during Turn 1 (another scenario change to adjust to the speed to the Zekes). Each turn I dropped my P-36 section one TAL and grabbed the extra hex from the shallow dive. The other two Americans closed into the ranks of the Japanese Zekes, and the furball began.

After pounding Ford Island the Zekes move to engage the oncoming Americans. My Hawks were straining to catch up and the base on one can be seen on the right.

While both sides had mostly skilled pilots, some maneuvers made by the Americans allowed the Japanese to start inflicting damage on the P-40s. It was going badly for the Americans - already in the hole six victory points from the strafing runs, now the Yanks started to fall out of the sky.

As I closed in I dove nearly to the deck to get under the oncoming Zekes. However, I bled off nearly all my speed on an Immelmann and was not in a grand position. That seemed to be the mantra for the American players - we just could not pull off just the right turn codes to really stick it to the Japanese. One, two, then a third American plane fell our of the Hawaiian skies. Finally one Zeke was shot down (if we could hit, then we stood a good chance as the Zeke's robustness is 0). Then my green pilot was face to face with the Japanese veteran. Crap. But the dice were favorable as I shot down the bugger - the return fire proved to be just as deadly as my green Hawk became debris. Regardless, a bit of a morale victory.

Jay had two of his Zekes run out of ammo, but that saving grace really did not matter. The Japanese won this fight overwhelmingly! Four American planes shot down (or was it five) for the loss of a pair of Zekes. The Americans earned ten VPs - the Japanese was something like twenty-two. 

The Japanese only went after Ford Island. In hindsight I probably should have had one group attack Ford while the other attacked Hickam Field. That would have spread out the Japanese Zekes a bit more, and would have aligned with the scenario had we had Vals and Zekes.

Planes - Zekes are Flight Deck Decals (painted by yours truly), P-40s and P-36s are Raiden (painted by Miscellaneous Miniatures).

Mat - custom Pearl Harbor from Deep Cut Studio.

Wings of Glory Resources

As I move away from using Wings of Glory for my Great War in the Air gaming (and in its place using Check Your 6! Great War), I deleted the page in which I listed a slew of Wings of Glory resources. So as to not lose these resources, but also to free up some page space, I am listing the resources as a blog post.

Facebook - billed as the "Official Wings of Glory" group.

Flight Deck Decals - 1/300th scale decals and now 1/144 aircraft.

I-94 Enterprises - High quality 1/144th and 1/300th scale decals and excellent service.

Litko Aerosystems - Ammo, jammed, smoke, fire, and other types of tokens to enhance your game.

Mako Models International - carries the Mark I 1/144th scale decals (eBay).

Miscellaneous Miniatures - 1/144th and 1/300th scale decals with great service.

Pro Painted Studios - modified range sticks that I use with my adjusted firing rules.

Rival Sky Games - officially approved Ares bases and fine service.

Table Top Flights - 1/144th scale aircraft of fantastic quality.

Transparent Vinyl Tape - for marking pegs.

Wings of Glory Aerodrome - Become a member...this is the place that is keeping the game alive.

Afternoon Delight After Action Report

I hosted one of my scenarios from my Slovak-Hungarian booklet (not yet ready for much public consumption) at the local store, and suckered...er, convinced four members of the Check Your 6! Southwestern Ohio Group to play. The scenario was Afternoon Delight, which is a representation of the largest air battle of this small conflict.

The Slovak starting positions...

...and the Hungarian initial starting alignment.

Setup saw the Slovaks (three Letov S.328s escorted by three Avia B.534s) moving in from the southwest as they were on a mission to bomb targets along the Hungarian advance (aircrew quality was one skilled and two poor for the fighters, with three green for the bombers). To oppose them were six Fiat CR.32s with two skilled and four green aircrew. Both sides had to plot forward moves until a spotting check was made, and all aircraft were pretty much spotted by Turn Three. The escort Avias, pulling away from the slower bombers, made an impressive turn to take on the the flight of Avias that were heading directly for the Slovak bombers, but was unfortunately too high to do any damage. Meanwhile the other flight of Fiats now had a good angle on the Avias, but they in turn were too high. 

The Avia flight turns into the Fiats tasked for the bombers...

...but that Fiat flight stayed focused on the Letovs...

...and one split s later placed themselves in a great position, while the other Fiat flight starts to engage the Avias

Some dancing about lead to the second flight of Fiats placing rounds on the Avias, but as many '4' results were appearing on the dice, damage was limited. This was a theme for the Hungarian players - a decent amount of hits, but many '4' were being thrown, and hence, thrown out for damage.

The remaining Letovs stay on target

Things started heating up quickly, with some beautiful formation flying. The Slovaks started taking damage and based on some great positioning by the Hungarian fighters I thought this scenario was going to be over, and soon. However, the small caliber and number of guns on the Fiats meant that the Slovak planes might take hits, but were not being blown out of the sky. The bombers, less one from their flight, kept heading for the target hexes. The flight of Fiats that first encountered the bombers reversed course and stayed on the tails of the Letovs, and another Slovak bomber went down. But then the dice went cold. Even with some incredibly easy to hit numbers, the dice were unkind, and three Fiats chasing the bombers could not finish the job.

One Slovak bomber closed in to the target area, diving a couple of turns to grab the extra hex. But just as the Letov was over one of the targets, the Hungarian antiaircraft scored a full hit - five six sided dice of damage was inbound. However, Mr. Robusto (my friend Matt) fended off the strike and then placed his light bombload squarely on target, giving the Slovaks a much needed four victory points. The game was running closer.

Down to one bomber, the Fiats could not buy a hit

One Avia fighter, with the skilled (+1) aircrew, took a lucky hit and went out of control as a result. For several turns this pilot could not pass an aircrew check, and the Avia kept losing altitude. One of the Hungarian fighters pulled a Split S, winding up in the out of control aircraft's hex and at the same altitude, and both pilots failed their checks. Collision! The result was the Hungarian Fiat fell from the sky, while the Avia still hung on.

Out of control!

The balance had swung. While the Hungarians might have been able to nail another Slovak fighter or two, the remaining bomber was moving safely towards a friendly edge, and the out of control Avia finally regained a semblance of order, and was also pointed towards a safe edge. At this point we decided to call the game.

This is not the first game I have hosted in which a side looked destined for destruction, only to flip the script and pull out a victory. The dice, had then been average in nature, most likely would have seen the third Slovak bomber shot down, but it did not happen and the Slovaks could pull out a slight victory.

Returning home I pulled out some resource material and I am updating a couple of items by increasing the Slovak crew quality a bit, and giving the Letov a +1 agility.

Thanks to the group for playing!

Planes - Flight Deck Decals Avias, Table Top Flights CR.32s, and H&R Letovs, all painted by Miscellaneous Miniatures.

Mat - Deep Cut Studio.

Storing the Collection

I can easily make out what era is in a tin

For years I have used a variety of plastic storage bins, like the ones found at places like Hobby Lobby or Michaels, to store my Check Your 6! planes. When I host a game, I pull out the bins to find the planes needed, and place the planes for the upcoming game into tin boxes used for mints (think Altoids) for transport to the hobby shop. The tins work well enough as the planes stay in place due to the magnet on the bottom of the plane. However, I was not happy with trying to access the various sized plastic bins from my rather full and narrow closet, which does not have a light and the plastic bins are not transparent enough to see what each one held. I got to thinking, "someone has to make larger tins" and sure enough, some searching on Amazon yielded numerous styles of tins, with a hinged lid, and in a wide choice of sizes. I decided to go with THESE as they are larger than the Altoid boxes (which do not handle larger aircraft very well) and this version comes with a window in the lid, allowing me to easily see what planes are held within. I ordered 48 tins (four sets) and have converted nearly all my current CY6! collection into them. I can fit about eight fighters, or a medium bomber and four or five fighters, into each tin.

More space than an Altoids tin yet still small enough to transport to the hobby shop for a game

I spent part of a weekend cleaning out the closet as a lot of items needed to go, and placed a small table to hold the tins. There is a second use for these tins in that I also no longer need the Altoid boxes when I host a game, and the wife is happy that the closet is looking much better, which also resulted in a tidier den. Another benefit, because of the magnets a stack of tins does not readily tip over since the tin above is magnetized a bit to the tin below. Brilliant!

Peekaboo! 1948 Arab-Israeli War planes beautifully painted by Miscellaneous Miniatures

I might pick up a few of the larger sizes as I have a couple of four-engine monsters that will not fit in these particular tins and I want to utilize the same storage and transportation method.