Vietnam War air combat rules recommendations

[Sarmor]

I'm looking for rules recommendations for Vietnam War air combat - around 3-10 planes per side, ideally not too complex and not hex-based, though I guess beggars can't be choosers. 
Any suggestions?

Got a couple of 3mm Phantoms and MiG-21s from a friend and now I'm wondering what rules to use them with (except fielding the planes as air support for Cold War Commander ground forces which I don't have... yet  ).

[CapnJim]

I would have recommended Check Your Six! Jet Age, but the "No hexes please" criterion kinda rules them out.

Whichever rules you end up using, I hope your F4s have gun pods.  Air-to-air missiles were a bit less than reliable back then...

[Sarmor]

Hm, maybe I'll reconsider the "no hexes" requirement... But this is meant to be a microscopic side project and I'm not too keen on getting a board/mat for it.

Whichever rules you end up using, I hope your F4s have gun pods.  Air-to-air missiles were a bit less than reliable back then...

I have the F-4Es with integral Vulcan cannon - I think these were used by the end of the Vietnam war.

[CapnJim]

I have the F-4Es with integral Vulcan cannon - I think these were used by the end of the Vietnam war.

I think they were too...

[SJWi]

Sarmor, I don't play a lot of air-to-air games, and when I do it is mainly "Check Your Six" run by a friend .However , a few suggestions based on what I know. Tumbling Dice's "Thud Ridge" in their "Wings at War" range seem to have quite a following. They are aimed at their very comprehensive 1/600 aircraft range, and seem to be pretty simple.  A starter set of rules and 16 aircraft costs only £10!  Wargames Vault sell Rory Crabb's "Target Locked On" and A&A Games "Fox Two Reheat" for $8 and $12 respectively. I have a much older version of the Fox2 rules which I bought after seeing them played at a show many years ago. They have obviously stood the test of time.

Worth Googling reviews of all three to see which best fits your needs.

[robh]

Do you want the added complexity of flight stands and tracking the altitude/attitude of the planes?

If not then Bandits II is a really good set of post WW2 air combat rules:
https://www.wargamevault.com/product/135038/Bandits-2
The pdf is currently in the 'vault winter sale.

There is a helpful (if quiet) 3mm/1-600 air-wargames group on .iO if you want to see discussions about the various rule sets available and painting/marking guides etc.
https://groups.io/g/1-600thMiniatureAircraftWargaming/messages

[6mmfan]

I'll second Tumbling Dice's "Thud Ridge". You have to buy it as a bundle with minis though, which may or may not be useful.

EDIT: C21 by Wessex games is also a good choice. Fast and furious and they have a simplified way of managing heights.

[Commander Roj]

I'll second Tumbling Dice's "Thud Ridge". You have to buy it as a bundle with minis though, which may or may not be useful.

The first 1:600 I bought was “Thud Ridge” and I have been very pleased with it. A great starting point air games and so very adaptable. I’ve used the basic system for Arab-Israeli, Iran-Iraq and 70’s Cold War. I can’t recommend it highly enough, especially if you want to put more than a handful of models on the table.

[Sarmor]

Thanks for all your suggestions!
Thud Ridge sounds interesting... But I guess it's not available as a PDF, is it?

[Commander Roj]

I don’t believe so. Comes as part of a battle pack with a enough aircraft for a basic game.

[Easy E]

The Tumbling Dice aircraft minis are good value and dead easy to paint too!

[Sarmor]

I do have a couple of Tumbling Dice aircraft. They're okay, but I prefer the sculpting style of Oddział Ósmy's minis. That's just a matter of taste, though - the main issue with ordering a battle pack or even a physical rulebook is shipping costs and duty. 

Anyway, I'll probably shelve the idea for now to focus on other projects, especially since I got a bunch of minis for the upcoming second edition of Hind Commander.