Vichy France

Short post today, and one that is more of a placeholder until I expand more into the Vichy French involvement during World War II. Gathering any and all scenarios I could locate (rulebook, scenarios on the discussion group, and other gaming systems), here is a list of "available" scenarios featuring Vichy France. There are some interesting matchups, and also some aircraft types not often encountered. I actually have several more scenarios for Operation Torch but as I am working on those for a future scenario booklet I did not include them here. 

Some possible steps here will be to convert the non-standard scenarios into Check Your 6! format, and then see what miniatures are available. I also need to take a deep look at the Operation Ironclad scenario as my recent reading on Madagascar indicates that the mix and number of planes might not be quite spot on.

 

Scenario Booklets Available

49th Fighter Group P-40Es near Darwin.

The three scenario booklets I have been teasing the last couple of weeks are now available in both print (staple and coil bound) and pdf format for those wanting to download. The print versions are on lulu.com while the pdfs can be found on Wargames Vault. Links for both these sites are to the left.

Over the next few months I will be working on more scenario booklets, with Nomonhan, Spanish Civil War, Sino-Japanese, Taiwan Crisis, East Africa, 99th Fighter Squadron (think early "Red Tails"), Operation Torch, Aleutians, and the American 49th Fighter Group over Darwin all as possibilities. The 49th Fighter Group has all the scenarios created (I need to update the formatting a bit but there are a dozen scenarios ready to go) and I would need to add the background and other relevant gaming info to make a complete booklet, or I can start taking various theaters and placing them into scenario books without worrying about publishing specialized topics.

Regardless of the direction I take, I am happy and a bit taken aback about the support the first three booklets have received in just a few days. As previously stated, the goal is not to make money, to to offer more scenarios for gamers to (hopefully) enjoy!

Operation Torch

Over the last few days I've been on a bit of an Operation Torch tear, creating scenarios, drooling over the Flight Deck Decals website, ordering books from Amazon, and updating aircraft stats and various listings needed for the scenarios I will be formatting and uploading. As it stands, I have sixteen scenarios to work up, with a wide variety of aircraft and ranging from two player to massive furballs. Most likely I will scale down the latter, simply as putting more then six or seven players around the gaming surface is not an ideal situation based on my own Check Your 6! gaming experiences. 

Here is the scenario list with plane counts:

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.

I-94 Decals

For my next batch of decals I ordered a few sheets from I-94 Enterprises. I believe I am turning into a decal hoarder, but that's another post....

For my order with I-94, I was looking to pick up some items to help complete some projects and move forward on others. I have used I-94 decals before and they are quite good, and quite affordable. From what I gather what I-94 offers is mostly from the older Beacon range. I-94 also carries the Scale Specialties range, which includes some very unique and useful items, at a higher price point, but the sheets contain markings for numerous aircraft in most cases.

My first sheet is simply blue lettering, which also includes blue numbers. The blue letters are needed to complete my Swedish J 29s for my 1950s Baltic Encounter scenario. Not certain how much additional use I will get from this sheet, and while I could have simply left the letters off the miniatures, I wanted to have a "more complete" looking set of Tunnans.

The second sheet, having black lettering and numbers for United States naval aircraft, pushes me closer towards my Operation Torch project, the sheet also having some letters and numbers for Coral Sea USN aircraft. One of the items I have been working on is a small scenario book and guide to the American Atlantic portion of Torch and have about eight scenarios in mind.

A number of planes can be decaled with just this one sheet

The next two sheets are Scale Specialties offerings. The first is one I need for Japanese naval aircraft for Wake Atoll - I went with the Hiryu/Soryu sheet as that will work for both the Pearl Harbor Second Strike scenario and a few scenarios I have put together for my Wake scenario book. The sheet includes insignia and aircraft marking for Zekes, Vals, and Kates.

While not having a lot of Spanish Civil War decals, there are plenty for the early WWII period Messerschmitts

The second Scale Specialties sheet I ordered is catered to Bf 109s for both the Spanish Civil War and early WWII. However, I will be using these for my half dozen Heinkel He 100s. As these planes were never used in combat, taking a few oddball squadron insignia from the 109s doesn't really feel that off to me.

GHQ Decals

While I do not use GHQ Models for my miniatures due to their crazy price point, I have picked up some of their ironically affordable decals. Finding their decal offerings can be a bit of a chore as the decals are mixed in with the aircraft listings, but gamers looking for another source for decals can find some very useful items from GHQ. 

Notice the off-centered blue on the American sheet left of center

Most of the packs come two sheets per pack, at $3.50 per sheet, and now I know why - they are made by I-94! The first sheet I grabbed was British WWII roundels for southeast Pacific. While I have no current aircraft that would feature these decals, I do plan to use some for Australian aircraft featured in the Under Southern Skies scenario book. Very cool mix of Hudson, P-40, and Beaufighter squadrons on this offering, along with roundels and aircraft numbers.

Next up are American Pacific and Europe national insignia that feature the red outlined star and bar and the yellow outlined star, the former that will be used on some future Hellcat purchases and the latter being ideal for Operation Torch. One sheet in the pack was perfect, the other sheet was off printed and is completely unusable. Now we will see how GHQ's customer service might be! UPDATE - It has been six days since I contacted GHQ about the decal sheet...my two messages have gone without a reply. UPDATE TWO - Still no reply. Shite service for certain! UPDATE THREE (10.21.25) - Dave at I-94 reached out and is replacing the sheet, even though it is on GHQ to make it right. Dave has great customer service!

I also ordered what I thought would be a large sheet of mixed American stars and stars and bars, a mix of blue and red outlined insignia, but it was one small sheet, for twice the price of the other sheets, and the outlines are fairly thin. Yikes! Won't order the $7.50 sheets again.

I needed some additional Soviet stars, so ordered a sheet that has both plain red as well as yellow outlined red stars. These will find use for both WWII and jet age projects. Add to that a sheet of white and red Soviet aircraft numbers that will find the same use. Both of these were nicely done.

The last sheet I ordered was a mixed sheet of Egyptian, Syrian, and Iraqi national insignia. I picked these up mainly for the Iraqi markings to use for some 1948 Arab-Israeli War Gloster Gladiators, but I might find some use for the others in later period Arab-Israeli conflicts. There are both versions of the Syrian roundel in this pack.

In some cases the sheets do not offer very many of any one particular size, which limits their usefulness somewhat. And now that I know these affordable decal sheets come from I-94, I'll just order from them in the future.

The Commissioned Projects - Part III

One of the most enjoyable Check Your 6! games I have hosted was my hypothetical three way scenario set during Operation Torch (after action report HERE). This scenario pits four French Dewoitine D.520s vs. four American F4Fs vs. four Spanish He 112s, with each faction having one of each aircrew type (ace, veteran, skilled, and green). I also want to do a few historical Torch scenarios, which I am slowly working on creating. To properly cover the Vichy French in the American area of operations one must have Curtiss Model 75s, and so this project is simply adding four Hawks to the collection. The Model 75s will be painted as above, with the Indian head motif of Groupe de Chasse II/5, and adding in the Vichy red and yellow strips, as below.

The planes I have for this project are custom scaled Flight Deck Decals. The quality is top notch as evidenced by the photos that follow.

French Surprise After Action Report

After the first turn, two Vichy taking off while another pair come in to assist

For some time I have been wanting to do this small introductory scenario found within the Check your 6! rules. Today three of us were able to put the scenario on the table. It was a fun game, although my buddy Bill had to run four planes (I usually try to keep my games at two planes per player). It was not a good day to be Vichy French.

My skilled and green pilots coming in from the west

The setup required a five hex airfield, which I only have a two hex version, so we used five anti-aircraft markers instead. Due to previous attacks on the airfield there was smoke that covered the five hexes up to TAL 3 (the scenario takes place at Surface Low CAB).

A pair of Wildcats have just completed a strafing run, while two D.520s are just taking off. Another pair of Vichy French planes are coming into the action, as are pair of Wildcats coming down from high cover.

Let the dancing begin

Robustness rolls seemed to be the main issue early in this game, as the French kept failing to save, and started taking damage. Their veteran pilot suffered an airframe hit, and next turn tried to pull off an extreme maneuver - and one failed aircrew check later caused the destruction of the Frenchie. Another D.520 took a hit, then another, causing another French loss. In the meantime I had taken an airframe hit with my of my Wildcats, but was able to successfully extricate that damaged Grumman off of a friendly edge. The last D.520 took an airframe hit but has a chance to build speed an exit. 

I had miscalculated the number of hexes the French could move, which resulted in the sole American damage

By the time Bill was hitting, especially with that cannon in the D.520, the Americans started making their robustness rolls. Final score was 16 to 1 in favor of the Americans...let's call it a torching of the Vichy!

Scott's Wildcats coming in over the airfield, with my skilled pilot lining up his best shot

This was a fun little scenario to host and play in. I hope to pull off several more Operation Torch scenarios in the future as I am putting together a little scenario "booklet" on the American portion of the campaign.

Planes - Raiden Miniatures

Mat - Hotz Mats

Torched - After Action Report

Yesterday at the local game store (well, not that local, about a 50 minute drive) I hosted my hypothetical Operation Torch scenario. The event assumes that both Vichy French and American aircraft have violated Spanish Moroccan airspace, and the Spanish have responded in kind by scrambling Heinkel He 112s. This is a three-sided affair, with all three sides vying for victory. It is designed to be used as an introductory scenario to teach those new to Check Your 6! the game system. 

The combat takes place a Low CAB. The starting locations and TAL are determined by die rolls. Six players, two for each faction each running two aircraft, with each faction having one each of the four pilot skill types (ace, veteran, skilled, and green). Each section of two planes roll to see which edge they begin, so for example the Spanish players might start at Edge 2 or Edge 4, based on their die roll. Ironically each faction rolled such that both pairs of fighters started in the same area (for their faction). TAL rolls were interesting, with the French and Spanish players being widely dispersed, while the Americans started at TALs five and six.

The French forces maneuvered in Area F, heading generally towards the oncoming Spanish who were in Area D. The Americans made a beeline towards the French, with the Yanks starting in Area C. As the forces closed in, deflections shots reigned, and rained, but the French D.520s did some excellent work, knocking down the green and skilled American Wildcats. It was not looking good for the remaining Americans, as the Spanish split their sections, one focusing on the reduced Americans and the other swooping in behind the French. But the Americans held on.

The Spanish lost the next plane to the Wildcats (if memory serves), with two others taking various damage. The French continued to dance with the Americans. It was looking like a French victory, but the Americans continued to fight, their veteran and ace pilots swirling about. Then a French fighter took damage, and then another fell out of the sky. The Spanish ace splashed one the D520s, but ran out of ammo and had to leave the dogfight. With no Spanish left to to take out the Americans, and the French having troubles of their own, the Americans pulled out a victory.

I rather enjoyed hosting this game. All of the players had gamed CY6 in the past, so that made running the game rather easy. You can find this scenario on the Downloads page above.

Planes - Raiden and MSD Games

Mat - Hotz Mats

Pearl Harbor Project

I have been hesitant to game Pearl Harbor - One reason is the vast amount of aircraft for the Japanese and the handful of American planes that made it into the air to give battle. Another reason is that once one has committed to painting P-40s and P-36s for Pearl, those planes cannot be used for much of anything else due to their distinct paint schemes and markings (and yes, I do like having, as much as possible, correct historic representation on the tabletop). One could also use the Pearl P-40s for the Philippines, but there are few scenarios available for the Philippines. And, I also want to use those P-36s and P-40s for other theaters, like North Africa or Finland for the former and China for the latter. There is only so many planes I am willing to buy! Oh, and let's not forget the mat one would need to show Pearl Harbor and/or some of the various airfields - this project now becomes very specialized and limited in scope.

There is an interesting scenario that was done by one of the chaps on the Check Your 6! group, so I have that as the basis for this potential project. The scenario calls for a smattering of planes (three P-40s, three P-36s, three Kates, three Vals, and six Zeros), and while I do not have any of the Japanese needed, I am canvasing the guys I game with to see if they do (and I have found out that one indeed does).

The mat is something that can be had from Tiny Wargames although it does not include Hickam Field (which is in the scenario).

In speaking with Tiny Wargames, the pricing for a standard Check Your 6 sized mat with a hex grid is something like $100.00, and that is before shipping, yikes! I have been looking for alternatives, like Deep Cut Studio. If I can find a 1940s color aerial of Pearl then I can have them make me a custom mat. I can locate crisp black and white photos, but not period color versions.

But, after some searching I did find this. It is a rendering of the Japanese maps of the period, and then updated by the Joint Intelligence Center. I loaded this image into the Deep Cut Studio custom map maker and have this:

The above should work rather well I believe...but not certain if I should drop coin on such a specialized project. 

New Check Your 6! Projects

Ah, the latest batch of toys have arrived from Chris Geisert of I-94. I have three World War Two projects with this grouping - a hypothetical Operation Torch threeway battle, a late war "what if" featuring the Ryan Fireball, and a Swiss/German encounter, based on an actual battle in 1940. The turnaround time for the planes to be painted was less than two weeks from the time I shipped them until the time they returned back to my door. I went with Chris as he did all my Korean War planes so I knew he would do a nice job. The schemes were taken from various plates found on Wings Palette. The tones are a bit dark in the pictures, but look very nice in person. All I need to do is to get magnets on them and they are ready of the tabletop!

To start us off we have German Bf.110s vs. Swiss Bf.109s.  

MSD Games Bf.110 and a Raiden Bf.109. Cool Swiss markings, yes?

Then off to North Africa for a three sided affair.

Raiden De.520, Raiden F4F Wildcat, and MSD Games He.112

And finally to the Pacific for some very late war what could have been.

MSD Games Ryan Fireball and a Raiden Ki.100

I pretty much have the scenarios for all three projects worked out. Time for some playtesting!

Torched

Today I received two orders for planes for yet another project, the background setting being Operation Torch. I love doing odd periods, or odd pieces of common conflicts, and I like odd or lesser known aircraft. One of my favorite planes is the Heinkel He.112. Why? I like the sleek look, the fact that the prototype was faster than the Bf.109, and that it was in service with Romania, Spain, and Hungary. I've been planning on buying some of these planes for a couple of years now, but only MSD Games seemed to make a quality version, even though MSD seems to be more 1/300 than 1/285. And I was going to buy them to use as Romanians to fight against Soviet I-16s. But other voices got inside my brain, so I have come up with something a bit different.

I also like the paint schemes of United States Navy aircraft for Torch, and was going to buy four Wildcats and four D.520s for the scenario that appears in the Check Your 6! rule book. But I also really like those Heinkels, so I have come up with a three-sided scenario that I can use to teach new players, using Spanish Heinkels as the third party. The Spanish did have some encounters with both the Americans and the Vichy French, so it wasn't a huge stretch to create this intro scenario. So along with my MSD order for four Heinkels, I also ordered four each of the Raiden F4Fs and Dewoitines from I-94.

While the basic parts of the scenario have been written, I still need to add a bit of background, and also figure out national move order for the three sides. If you are interested in an MS Word file of what I have completed thus far, leave a comment and I'll provide my email address to you.