Conversion Work

Admittedly one of the easiest conversions to tackle....

I picked up a mix of items from a fellow historian who also happens to be a gamer. In the mix were eight Messerschmitt Bf 109E models, metal castings from Raiden. On three of the planes some of the wing 20mm cannon barrels were broken off, and I could not decide what to do with them. Yes, I like my barrels to be present, thank you very much. After a little thought I have decided to convert them into the earlier E-1 variant, one that was equipped only with four 7.92mm MG 17 machineguns (two in the fuselage and one in each wing).  The wing machineguns were flush with the leading edge of the wing, so the lack of barrels is a good thing. While the Raiden castings are the later E-4 variant with a squared off canopy, removing the cannon barrels as well as the underwing bulge created by the cannon, provides a "good enough for government work" version of the E-1 variant. The E-1 was used during the Spanish Civil War and stayed in service into late summer of 1940. 

Clean up phase

Using an X-acto knife, a flick of the wrist removed the remaining barrels. I also removed both barrels from a fourth Messerschmitt so that I could have a schwarm of converted models (think I will do the other four as Romanian Messerschmitts as Sieben Schwaben Spiele have decals for the E-3 model). The X-acto knife also did a decent job cutting off the cannon bulges, and the remaining nubs were then filed flush with the underside of the wing.

While the planes already had a coat of primer, the filing took some of the paint off of the wings - and I did some cleanup work on seam lines and the like - so a new coat of primer was applied. Next was to start painting the proper RLM colors to the miniatures. As I already have some decals for the Bf 109 in Spain (Scale Specialties Code 300AC-GER006 on the I-94/Raiden site), and the fact that the scheme is relatively simple, I had decided to do four Legion Condor versions, but then I also realized that I could just go with German markings to use them in 1940 - the E-1, E-3, and E-4 models were used in France and the skies over Britain.* 

Regardless of how I use the E-1s, the undersurfaces are all painted in RLM 65 (hellblau - light blue) went on the undersurfaces.

Vallejo Model Air 71.255 applied and the removal of the 20mm barrel and bulge.

As I make a final decision on what theater to use these modified Messerschmitts I will post more on this conversion.

* I am working on a 1940 booklet that feature scenarios of Swiss neutrality violations and also included will be scenarios that highlight Groupe de Chasse Polonais I/145 flying the Caudron-Renault CR.714.

Swiss Scenarios

From early May into early June, the Swiss Flugwaffe was engaged in several encounters with the German Luftwaffe as the latter consistently violated Swiss airspace, mostly as a result of raids against France. I have been able to cobble together ten scenarios for this period, and while most are rather small, they could make good introductory games for players new to the Check Your 6! system, or for times when only a couple of players can get together for a game.

The ten scenarios are are uploaded and can be found on the Downloads page. While they are mostly vetted, there may be some gaps in the information, so feedback is welcome!

Here are the plane counts. Numbers appearing in red represent aircraft in the Variable Rules.

The Messerschmitt ME 109 DB was the Swiss designation for the Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3. DB stood for Daimler-Benz, which is the engine the E-3 used. If you ever see Messerschmitt ME 109 Jumo, that is the D model, again named for the engine.

DayCon

This weekend I attended my first DayCon - a multi-gaming convention held in Dayton, Ohio. I usually avoid conventions - it is daft for me to pay a fee to play games with the same guys I can game with for free at local shops - but I decided to give DayCon a try and by hosting a game I received a reduced fee badge (yes, I am a frugal git). Plus, I knew that I-94 would be present and having that sort of access to their wares might lead to a few impulse purchases.

I left work early on a Friday afternoon in order to arrive at the convention to play in two Check Your 6! games. The theme for the weekend seemed to be World War II, although there was an Indo-Pak game on Friday evening as well. My first game was set in the Pacific, a scenario from the Road to Rabaul book (Something New). I wasn't expecting to do well, having three early model Oscars, but I did not take a scratch and helped put a few Americans into the jungle.

Not going to end well for the Yanks

The second game moved to Malta, and the British players did not fare well (my sole Gladiator being blasted from the sky).

On Saturday I got into another Pacific game (Stopping the Tokyo Express from Battles Above 2) and once again the Japanese players were overwhelmingly successful. Hot dice from destroyer anti-aircraft guns did the trick.

In the afternoon I hosted my Neutrality Patrol scenario. As with most of the games over the weekend, we always seemed to be a player or two short, so I played in this one, while also reducing the amount of German Bf 110s to adjust to the number of available players. The Swiss Me 109 DBs had some issues with one player losing his rotte early and the other Swiss player having great success. It was the same on the German side with one German player losing his Messerschmitts in rapid succession. We allowed players to bring on additional planes just to get some playing time in, straying away from the scenario parameters. 

Swiss Me 109 DBs

Initial German setup

Strangers passing

A random blue on blue die roll here could have been interesting

This...

...led to this.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Germans putting the squeeze on the Swiss

But then the other pesky pair showed up

I think it's time we said goodbye

DayCon is a good game convention - a movie theater converted to a church with plenty of parking, food options onsite, food and brewery options nearby, large and small gaming rooms (the tabletop minis were usually in the small classrooms which worked great for lighting and noise control). Staffers stopped by several times to make sure the game hosts were good to go. It was a friendly environment overall.

Oh, and yes I spent some dollars with I-94, picking up three scenario books, a pair of painted F8F Bearcats (which I will add to my Balls of Fury scenario), and a half dozen Raiden P-40Fs, which for some reason I had no idea that these Merlin-engined miniatures existed! 

Swiss Miss

Today saw a few of us gather for some Check Your 6! action. The scenario was Neutrality Patrol, an engagement between the Swiss and German air forces on June 8, 1940.

The Germans are trying to bait the Swiss into war, after the Swiss had shot down German aircraft that had wandered into Swiss air space during bombing raids on France. Hermann Goering ordered increased German presence along the German-Swiss border as a result. 

Five players enjoyed this Messerschmitt vs. Messerschmitt action. The Germans start on the board, with the Swiss deploying on Turn One. 

The Swiss scored an early kill, and it did not appear that the Germans would recover, but after several turns, it was still four against seven, the German's outnumbering the Swiss. Another Bf.110 took damage, and the Swiss swarmed, all four aircraft lining up for the kill.

But it was not all easy going for the Swiss. A skilled Swiss pilot was blown out of the sky by the forward guns of a Bf.110, but then the Germans took another damaged aircraft (engine) that also happened to suffer from an engine lucky hit. It limped off the table with a movement rat of one. The Swiss could not close for the kill due to the number of German aircraft still in the fight. By this time another Bf.109 suffered damage at about the same time another German was destroyed. A bad plan by the damage Swiss aircraft resulted in a failed aircrew check. With two of the Swiss Messerschmitts out of ammunition, it was time to head for safer skies.

End result was three Bf.110s destroyed and one damaged for thirteen Swiss victory points, with the Germans gaining eight victory points for the two destroyed Bf.109s.

Planes - Raiden painted by Chris Geisert

Mat - Hotz Mats

Neutrality Patrol - Ready for the Table

I completed the less than enjoyable chore of adding magnets to a dozen planes today. I am actually getting much better at this task, with no issues with magnet waste and no glue stuck on my figures today, and in turn no foul language to speak of. The planes for today were German Bf. 110s and Swiss Bf.109s my my Neutrality Patrol scenario (which one can find on the Downloads page above). These planes were painted by Chris Geisert at I-94 and are all Raiden models. I really like the Swiss planes - the white cross on a red field really pops!

I just have to fill out aircraft charts and this scenario is finally ready for the table - it has been a few years for this one. Once I do host this scenario I will post an after action report.

By the way, an excellent book on the Bf.109 in Swiss service is the Schiffer titled Messerschmitt Me 109 in Swiss Air Force Service, written by Georg Hoch. Being a Schiffer publication, it is far from inexpensive, but it is everything you might have wanted for such a niche subject.

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!

Check Your 6! - New Projects

After another great Game Day I have decided to expand my Check Your 6! collection a bit. I am selling off my Spanish Civil War planes so that I can start a few oddball projects that I have more interest in.

At Game Day I picked up the remaining aircraft that I needed to complete all the 1948 Arab-Israeli scenarios I have collected, written by Rob Wubbenhorst and published in Wargames Illustrated. I also picked up a few P-40B/Cs to start either a Pearl Harbor or Flying Tiger project. As I already have some P-36s doing a Pearl Harbor scenario might be fun, but I also now have, via a trade, a few Ki-27 Nates, so I might hold off on Pearl as that involves buying all the Japanese forces as well.  

I haven't purchased the planes yet, but the 100 Hour War (known incorrectly as the Football War) saw Corsairs and Mustangs used in Central America, and I have the workings of a scenario in mind.  

I also have an idea for Swiss/German fighting during World War II that could be interesting, and have completed a bit of research to create a scenario for that. I am getting some Bf.109s in a trade as part of the Spanish Civil War selloff.