Delving Into 1/200 - First Order

YouTube video HERE

In reviewing the several scenarios I have for The Great War (from both Colorful Skies and Billy's Boys) and after having an excellent chat one evening with Mike at Table Top Flights, I have placed my first order for 1/200 scale planes that are printed with a 1/144 scale post in order to use with the Wings of Glory peg system. I also ordered several of Mike's clear propeller blades to use on these planes.

Nieuport 28

I have decided to go late war Western Front for now, with eleven Nieuport 28s, eight SPAD XIIIs, and eleven Fokker D.VIIs. This gives me the flexibility to create ten scenarios featuring Nieuports vs. Fokkers, and another sixteen featuring the SPAD XIII, again against those same Fokkers. I think this is plenty to work on at this time, although eventually I'd like to recreate some Belgian and Lafayette Escadrille actions.

SPAD XIII

The SPADs will be painted as the 103rd Aero, the Nieuports as the 27th Aero, and I might do a quasi-historical Bavarian scheme for the Fokkers as a bit of an homage to my Bavarian heritage, unless I can get some late Jasta 18 decals made, which I think Bernhard at Sieben Schwaben Spiele Decals will be getting around to creating due to recent conversations. These various squadrons are not specifically featured in all twenty-six scenarios I will be able to host, but the two American choices are some of my favorites from the war. 

Fokker D.VII

Delving Into 1/200 - The Planes

1/200 Scale Table Top Flights Roland D.II

After much time spent trying to find basing solutions and deciding on a scale for the Check Your 6! Great War project, I am going to focus on 1/200 scale - I think. Many planes are available from Table Top Flights, and Mike can create a post on the bottom of the plane that will still function with the Wings of Glory 1/144 scale pegs, meaning that I can use the pegs to represent TALs. With my friend Bob able to print pegs in both clear and translucent blue and creating hex bases in different sizes, I think I am finally onto something. 

With 1/200 now in play, I contacted Sieben Schwaben Spiele Decals to see if they can reduce some of their 1/144 scale Great War decals to 1/200. Yes, they can! Bernhard at SSSD had that request knocked out in a couple of days, and as a result I have placed an order for markings for Jasta 21 (in Albatros D.IIIs) and the 5me Escadrille de Chasse (in Nieuport XXIIIs), along with a sheet of Belgian roundels (you can find these re-scaled decals HERE). This will allow me to do one of the scenarios from Colorful Skies 3...almost. Table Top does not currently offer Nieuport XXIIIs at this time, and while the scenario indicates Nieuport XVIIs, the Belgians actually used the XXIII model, having but a few XVIIs. A quick email to Mike at TTF and he is looking into adding the XXIII, along with some other aircraft not currently on his site.

I also plan to collect Italian and Austro-Hungarian planes for additional scenarios from Colorful Skies 3, but in the meantime there are some scenarios for late war Americans using Nieuport 28s and SPAD XIIIs I can work on as Mike has those planes available. I have sixty-scenarios that feature late war Americans, and while a few of them are huge, many are very manageable in scope, with my target of 4-6 players - more than that and it gets too crowded around the gaming table.

That means that the collection of 50+ planes I have in 1/144 will be thinned out as I move away from Wings of Glory and into Check Your 6! Great War. I will still keep some of my favorites, mostly the ones I have customized or painted from scratch, but the rest will need to be moved along - and selling those will help fund the 1/200 scale project.

Hat in the Ring's First - Part II

I finally got around to completing the Nieuport 28s needed for my Hat in the Ring's First scenario by taking care of the rudder colors. The planes are not really 100% complete, as I do need squadron insignias but no one is making squadron markings for the 94th Aero in 1/144 scale. While I am overall pleased with the effort, I am noticing a few places in need of touchup, and I believe, knowing full well that I have the historical information for this, that I have the rudder colors incorrect - should be blue/white/red, fore to aft. Also, there is some question as to whether or not the red jagged cowling edges were there at the time of this action. I opted to go without, mostly because of my lack of skills when it comes to painting such details.

I still need to finish up the Albatros D.Va and Pfalz D.IIIa needed for this scenario. Thanks to my buddy Matt, I do have a lozenge pattern decal on the upper wing of the Albatros (the Pfalz did not sport a lozenge pattern), but still need to add balkan crosses. My buddy The G Dog let me look through his stash of German decals, but I could not find the correct thickness and size needed. I have seen crosses that are long and thin, others that have too much of a white border, but not the correct size. I might just go with eisen since I have so many of those already, and it would match the Pfalz. Both planes came from Jasta 64w, and as the scenario takes place in April, planes bearing the eisen cross, particularly in a jasta that was not one with a commendable reputation, it is not that much of a stretch to think the planes could still be sporting the older style cross.

Contemplating the First World War One Project

While I have dozens and dozens of 1/144 scale planes for Wings of Glory, I am going to try a small Check Your 6! Great War project in 1/285 scale, if Table Top Flights can manage to produce resin prints in that scale (the thinness of the struts at such a small scale is a concern). However, Mike at TTF seems to be somewhat optimistic that some planes can be printed, so that means I will need to start thinking about what I want to tackle first.

I have gathered all the planes needed from all three Colorful Skies scenario books, and there is a wide variety, but also some commonality. I also have a scenario book called Billy's Boys, written for a set of rules called Watch Your Six, which focuses on the American experience in 1918 and has sixty-one scenarios within it's spiral bound pages. If I was to focus on the Americans in 1918, then that does narrow down what planes to start with a bit. However, it also means painted French five-color camouflage on the American fighters, which will take some work, but a scheme I feel like I have "mastered" somewhat.

My take on the French five color scheme - 1/144 scale Table Top Flights Nieuport 28s

To get the most "bang for the buck" one needs to look late war. Focusing on those scenarios featuring American squadrons using the Nieuport 28 between Colorful Skies and Billy's Boys yields of large number of possibilities. Let's run some numbers and see how many planes one needs:

There are forty-two (yes, 42!) scenarios utilizing the Nieuport 28, with a maximum of thirteen Nieuports needed. In those forty-two scenarios, one also needs four Pfalz D.IIIa, three Albatros C.VII, fifteen Fokker D.VII, eighteen Albatros D.Va, three Rumpler C.IV, three Breguet XIV, one SPAD XIII, one SPAD VII (German), five Pfalz E.IV (that is not a typo), one Albatros C.V (I would just use the C.VII version), one Airco D.H.9a, one L.V.G. C.V, and one Salmson 2A2. That yields seventy miniatures for those forty-two scenarios. A bit daunting from a painting perspective, so let's winnow it down by removing scenarios in which an aircraft type only appears once. That removed the German SPAD VII, the Pfalz E.IV, the D.H.9a, and the L.V.G. C.V, dropping the plane count to sixty-three, still a large number. I might consider removing the scenarios with the largest numbers of Nieuports, Fokkers, and Albatrosses. That would take the numbers down to eleven N.28s, ten D.VIIs, and seven D.Vas and a total of 40ish planes for well over thirty scenarios. Now that sounds manageable! 

As I obtain more details from Table Top Flights on what planes are printing well in 1/285 I will get an order placed and will start the project properly.

Salvaging SPADs

Paul Baer and his SPAD VII

Two of the more prominent Allied fighters during The Great War were the SPAD VII and SPAD XIII, yet they are not valued by Wings of Glory players as their maneuver decks, to put it bluntly, are shite. While both fast for their time, they suffer from a lack of maneuverability, having no broad sideslips or sharp left or right turns, making them less than desirable when facing Central Power planes that are more nimble, such as the Fokker Dr.I and D.VII. SPADs are thought of as being boom and zoom aircraft, or are they? According to the book WW1 Aircraft Performance. written by Anders F. Jonsson (published by the author in 2023), the SPAD XIII had a sustained turn rate comparable to the S.E.5a at 1,000 meters and slightly better than the Fokker D.VIII at the same height. At 5,000 meters the XIII can turn as well as the Sopwith Camel and Nieuport 28, and better than than Fokker Dr.I. 

What does this mean for the SPAD VII? Certainly with its smaller engine and only one gun, it must have been discarded as soon as the SPAD XIII was available. However, that would not be a correct assumption. As late as April 1918 there were more SPAD VII models in service than XIIIs, and some pilots preferred the VII, including men of the United States 103rd Aero Squadron. They chose to keep using the VII model as long as possible due to the engine issues found with the XIII. As well, found on page 23 of Jon Guttman's SPAD VII Aces of World War 1, French ace Andre Henri Martenot mentions that although he had a SPAD XIII available that he would use on group flights, for solo sorties he preferred the slower SPAD VII because it was more maneuverable than the SPAD XIII. 

How do we enhance the SPADs in Wings of Glory? Should the SPAD XIII use the sharp right and left turns found in the N Deck? So does that mean the SPAD VII goes to the F Deck or at least uses the sharp left and right turns found in the F Deck? Perhaps yes, perhaps no. The SPAD XIII did suffer from an slower instantaneous turn rate when compared to most contemporary aircraft - even the Pfalz D.IIIa and Albatros D.Va would jump into a turn faster than the SPAD. But over a full turn the SPAD would show its speed and complete turns faster than most other aircraft of the time. How do we reflect this within the construct of the game? 

Additionally, the data in the book bears out the perception that the SPAD XIII was a great diving and climbing aircraft, climbing faster than most of its contemporaries, due to its inherent strength and stability. The SPAD VII would also have similar properties. One might consider treating both the VII and the XIII in the same manner as the Pfalz D.III and D.IIIa by giving them the High Speed Dive card found in the Werner Voss Pfalz D.III, which states the following:

High Speed Dives: (2019)

• If this optional rule is in use a Pfalz D.III/D.IIIa can plan an extra stall directly after another stall or a dive, even if they are two steep maneuvers in a row.
• If the pilot has no ace skills he must draw an A damage card. If there is any special damage symbol the airplane spins out of control and is eliminated.
• If there is no special damage symbol ignore the card and shuffle back into its deck.
• If the pilot is an ace, no A card is drawn and the maneuver is safe.
• In any case if altitude rules are in use when the second stall is executed the airplane loses an altitude level.

Hat in the Ring's First

A couple of pictures from this small project aimed at recreating the first encounter of the 94th Aero. Obviously there is more work to be completed, like some small paint details and the addition of decals, but I am fairly happy how the planes are turning out. The Nieuport 28s will receive French roundels as they bore on that day in April 1918 in which two Americans from the 94th shot down two Germans (a Pfalz D.IIIa and an Albatros D.Va, both from Jasta 64) over the American airfield. 

The planes are Table Top Flights, the stands and altitude rings are from Rival Sky Games, and I have added blue transparent tape to some of the altitude pegs to help delineate height.

A lot of work still to come, but the lozenge is on the Albatros D.Va.

Mat - GripMats

Two Short AARs

Yesterday a few of us gathered at a local comic book shop to play a couple of Wings games. The owners were nice enough to allow us to the use the "Dungeon Room" free of charge (and had they known the nefarious nature of our group his decision to place us there was apropos). I forgot to take many pictures, so only a few here to illustrate the action.

The Albatros's fiddled with Dan, while I was sneakily diving down for recon.

Later in the game The G Dog closed in...luckily he also jammed!

Passing ships in the night...

I keep tinkering with all sorts of house rules and so in both games we used my diving modifications (see previous post). The first game featured two Belgian aircraft against a pair of Albatros D.IIIs. The Belgians had to recon a predetermined position with a B.E.2c, and for some reason that task fell to me, being escorted by camelbeagle (Dan)  in a Sopwith Pup. I gave the Pup pilot an Ace skill while one of the Albatros players (Bill - Old Guy) had Frommherz with two skills, and The G Dog (Ray) received one Ace skill. I was expecting another player to attend and give him a Nieuport 23 to balance things out, but he could not make it so the Belgians, outgunned and out skilled as they were, had quite the challenge.

Starting at three pegs, the maximum altitude for the B.E.2c, and seeing the Germans starting at four pegs, I immediately went into a dive to create more vertical space between myself and the Boche. I was now at two pegs and four climb counters (see the House Rules file to the right). The next turn I plotted yet another dive to drop down to two pegs, no climb counters. It took the Germans a couple of turns to realize that to get to me they had to come down to play. Frommherz stayed high to tangle with the Pup, while The G Dog came after me. By this time I was closing in on the target. Successfully taking a series of pictures of the target (a brothel I believe), and seeing G Dog starting to close, it was high time to bugger out. I fooled him into thinking I was going to continue on a right turn, but instead I reversed and made a series of left turns and headed back to friendly lines. I continued to dive until dropping to one peg. The pesky Albatros finally closed in, and layered a total of four damage points on the B.E.2c, with my gunner inflicting a bit of damage in return. But it was too late for the Hun, I was off the board!

Dan had a bit of a tougher time of it, dueling it out with Bill and taking some decent damage along the way, but he was also able to get off the board without losing his Pup. 

Nice looking Nieuport...be a shame if something happened to it...

Leaving The G Dog behind to go join the other fight

Yep, something is happening to that Nieuport...

And something indeed did happen!

The second game was a variation of my Hat in the Ring's First scenario - a pair of Nieuport 28s facing off against a rookie in a Pfalz D.IIIa and me taking an Albatros D.Va, the planes all starting at one peg. The G Dog maneuvered away from me, which was fine because I turned towards Bill as Dan and he were exchanging moves and damage. Dan hit Bill with smoke, and then I hit him with a fire result, and Bill kept taking a beating from the fire damage cards. Dan used some modified cards for the Pfalz, reflecting its ability to spin to the left (as evidenced by the remembrances of German kanone Max Holtzem), which helped him against the more nimble Nieuport. With Bill shot down, Ray choose to maneuver off the board. I took a few damage cards, but they were all zeros.

It has been awhile since I have had a couple of really good games like that, and again the rules changes seem to work well.

Mat - GripMats

The Focke-Wulf Ta 183

As some of my gaming friends know, I like the obscure. I also like the look of certain aircraft - the iconic Corsair F4U, the nimble Nieuport 28, the sleek Pfalz D.IIIa and the beautiful Pfalz Dr.I. An aircraft that fits both the obscure and look of cool is the Focke-Wulf Ta 183 Huckebein (from Wilhelm Busch's "Hans Huckebein, the unlucky raven", a cartoon raven that traditionally makes trouble for others, and is often pictured with a decanter of liquor - my kind of bird). 

While the Ta 183 was never built, one can see its influences on 1950s jet fighters such as the MiG-15. The Ta 183 was intended to counter the large bomber formations that devastated Germany late in the war, particularly the threat that far ranging B-29s would be used in Europe. Heavily armed with four 30mm  MK 108 cannon, the Huckebein could also carry four Ruhrstahl X-4 wire guided air to air missiles or 500 kilos of bombs. Top speed was projected to be nearly 600 miles per hour, and climb rate was 4,020 feet per minute. With a ceiling of 46,000 feet, it would have been able to intercept Allied bombers with punch and speed, no matter the altitude.

Art by Marek Rys from the luft46 website

Check Your 6! ratings for the Ta 183 might look as follows: 

Interestingly enough, there are a few companies with miniatures for the Ta 183. Raiden, Table Top Flights, and MSD Games/Scotia Grendel (the Collectair range) are all available. The Table Top Flights version is in 1/200 scale, but can be special ordered in a smaller scale if desired (as pictured below). 

I'll have these two Ta 183s painted up for some 1946 "what if" scenarios against Allied jets and bomber formations.

A Proper Ponnier

Another project nearly completed - this one being a French made but Belgian used Ponnier M.1. The Ponnier was rejected by the French as they were focusing more on other types (the Nieuport line in particular) while the Belgians were scrambling for whatever they could get their hands on. 

The Ponnier story is one of controversy. I addressed this on the Wings of Glory forum, but will repeat here.

Table Top Flights' Ponnier M.1

One of the smallest of Great War fighters, which might have led to its perceived poor performance as being nose heavy. Nungesser disliked the plane after flying it in January 1916 with the initial smaller rudder, and the unknown (at the time) Willi Coppens did not want to fly it either. But Coppens would have had no "clout" in 1916, and Nungesser was performing acrobatics at 200 meters in an unfamiliar plane that led to him being injured. Jean Navarre also mentioned the plane was demanding to fly, but then again so was the Sopwith Camel.

However, I feel that the Ponnier has been unfairly represented.

As a American Civil War historian, I often deal with those who cling to misconceptions that permeate history, such as Braxton Bragg was a terrible general and everyone hated him. But the historical data does not back that argument as many of his soldiers, writing private letters home, wanted Bragg back in command during the Atlanta Campaign, over Joseph Johnston. You see a small but vocal portion of Bragg's army that did indeed dislike the man, but many in his army respected Bragg. Much like Bragg I have a feeling that there is a misconception for the Ponnier due to one bad report that other pilots gravitated towards without understanding the circumstances, and without having flown the plane themselves.

Noted Belgian aviation expert Walter Pieters in his definitive account of the Belgian Air Service (The Belgian Air Service in the First World War - Aeronaut Books, 2010) includes two photos of the Ponnier, with the caption of stating that the Ponnier was used by two Escadrille de Chasse (the 1st and 5th). No derogatory commentary is included. Pieters, in his book Above Flanders' Fields (Grub Street, 1998) provides one brief mention of how a Ponnier was tested during the summer of 1916, and mentions that several Belgian pilots were photographed with the plane. A thought to ponder - if the plane was so bad why would a pilot be seen in a photo with this plane? Pieters goes on to mention that Jan Olieslagers convinced higher authorities to not purchase the plane. However, there is no evidence I have been able to source that Olieslagers ever flew the plane, and perhaps was simply using Nungesser's comments. So, has the Ponnier been given the short end? It is rated by the Unofficial Stats Committee as a K Deck for maneuverability, and only six points of damage, again, as far as I can tell, based on the common misconception taken from Nungesser's flight in an unfamiliar plane at low altitude. The Nieuport 28 was not highly thought of, with the fabric shredding issues, until its pilots learned how to use the plane more effectively, and two of its squadrons wanted to keep the Nieuport instead of taking on the SPAD XIII. The Ponnier was not given much of an opportunity, but could it have performed, in the hands of a pilot who knew how to use it, like the Nieuport?

I suggest a revision to the Ponnier - as it used a rotary engine it might be considered for an I Deck. That might feel extreme to those who look through Nungesser lenses, so perhaps a compromise of a J Deck is in order? As for damage, if we believe that this plane has been given an undeserved reputation, then an 11 or 12 for a light 1916 plane is in order.

The coat of primer applied - one can really see the print lines that are enhanced by a digital camera

I've toyed with obtaining a Ponnier for years now, but Kampfflieger is was the only Shapeways option before they went tits up, my dallying about kept me from picking up a SRAM version when they were still available. However, the Shapeways version was offered in white natural versatile, which to me is code for "too damn grainy" and "too much damn prep work." Being a relatively lazy modeler, I like to spend less time in prep and paint and more time gaming. So when camelbeagle brought me a Ponnier from his recent trip to Origins, I was ecstatic! You see, this version is made by member mikejr74 (Table Top Flights), who produced his model in a high quality material that feels a bit more like plastic and is certainly less grainy than white natural versatile.

Base colors added - Vallejo cork brown and AK Interactive clean doped linen (version 2)

I have since painted the rudder with the Belgian colors and have added decals to the top wing. Once I have completed all the decals I'll hit the rudder with another coat (the yellow I have is very thin and needs several coats) and apply matte varnish overall.