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.

The I.A.R.80/81 in Check Your 6!

Appearing three times in the Battles Above 2 scenario book, the Romanian (or Rumanian if you prefer) Industria Aeronautică Română 80/81 series of aircraft were steady performers on the Eastern Front, and continued to serve even after being outclassed by later fighter designs. While modifications were made during the life of the I.A.R.80/81, those changes were not significant enough to greatly improve its performance. Decently agile, moderate in the amount of damage it could sustain, but light in armament, the I.A.R.80/81 soldiered on into the 1950s. The I.A.R.80/81 faced off against a variety of aircraft during its service life, ranging from I-16s to P-38s. It was used as a fighter and dive bomber on the Eastern Front, as well as a home defense fighter at Ploesti. Four hundred and fifty I.A.R.80/81s were built during the war.

Check Your 6! gamers have made some attempts to rate this aircraft to varying degrees. One overly optimistic gamer rated the plane an A4 + 3, making it far more agile and maneuverable than the aircraft was historically. The ratings in the Battles Above book seem about right, B4 + 2 with no penalty to agility at maximum speed. This allows the I.A.R. series to dogfight with most enemy fighters and hold its own from a performance perspective. However, the Rumanian pilots, while brave, did not have as much experience or training as their German allies, and should be throughout the war rated with just slightly better aircrew quality as their Soviet counterparts, with home defense squadrons being nearly on par with the Germans.

What follows is a fairly comprehensive yet still in progress listing of the I.A.R.80/81 variants in game terms. The information was gleaned from The I.A.R.80 & I.A.R.81: Airframe, Systems, & Equipment written by Radu Brinzan. Published in 2011 by SAM Limited, it is an extremely detailed look at the indigenous Romanian fighter, and is replete with color profiles.

My preferred scale for air combat games is 1/285th, and hence my preferred manufacturer is Raiden, owned by I-94 Enterprises. Alas, there is not a Raiden I.A.R.80/81 being offered at this time. However, there are other options, MSD Games (1/300 scale) and Shapeways (wwwitalik). I like the MSD line fine enough, but the scale difference does make itself apparent when comparing the MSD castings to the Raiden range (I have a few Heinkel He.112s that confirm this). The Shapeways version has the landing gear in the extended position, so one would have to carefully cut away the gear.

Scotia Grendel (Collectair) also make a 1/300 scale I.A.R.80/81, for a very reasonable price. Leading Edge Miniatures also made the I.A.R., but those planes have long been out of production (although I do have ten), and are overly large.

The I.A.R.80/81 is an oft overlooked option for gamers but one to consider for use on the Eastern Front.

Air War Korea - Part IV: New Air War Toys!

I was able to purchase some wonderfully pre-painted planes from Dave at I-94 Enterprises at the semi-recent Check Your 6! event in Dayton, known affectionately as OxleyCon.  Several weeks ago I attempted to attach magnets to my purchases and get them ready for the table, but my fingers are far too large to handle the tiny magnets that come with the Noble Minis flight stands, so after getting glue in places I shouldn't, I gave up.  Then I remembered seeing some sort of magnet tool on the Corsec Engineering site.  I immediately placed my order and after a couple of weeks of waiting I received this magnet tool in the post, got out my planes, and after a few mistakes in polarity and still getting a bit of glue on the fingers, I now have some toys ready for action.  The F-84s are Raiden, but I am unclear as to the Skyraider (I believe it is Scotia).