WW1 Dog-fights

[gweirda]

...a 3D printable "turn pole" on Thingiverse...

hmm...not sure how that would work in a game.
It looks as though the 'flags' slip down over the top of the pole, so couldn't be changed out if the model is there?

[Dubar]

I'm trying to print some now but yeah, you'd have to remove things to put them on/off if you put only 1 flag on the pole.

I just successfully printed one that is a snug fit on the bamboo skewers, what I plan on is making 11 flags for each of the dozen poles I have, takes 5 minutes to make 1 flag.  I can probably get away with only making 10-12 of each flag.  My fastest aircraft has 11 as its speed, the slowest is 6, most are 7, 8, and 9.  So I may just make enough in the 5-9 range and only a few in the other speed ranges.  Rarely have I played a game where a plane gets down to below speed 4, it's usually crashed and burned by then.

I can tell the printer to print multiples at the same time which should cut down on overall print time.

[Fitz]

Further to my last:
Here's a scale comparison between 1/300 (Skytrex, I think, or maybe H&R), 1/200 (resin 3d print) and 1/144 (FDM 3d print).

The 3d prints are from my own design. The Lewis gun is quite over-scale, as I was afraid that if I did it to scale it might just disappear, but I think I over-did it a bit.
The FDM print is pretty much straight off the printer, with just the printing fluff removed; it still needs a bit of clean-up before painting.
The 1/300 metal casting has had some wire interplane struts added; the original model had none.

I used to have a half-built 1/72 Se5a kit as well, but I recently binned it since I figured I was never, ever going to finish it.

[Fitz]

This Sopwith Triplane was (I think) a CapnAhab design. I added a pilot and some engine detail, but that's all, and I printed it on my Mars Pro at 1:200 scale.

The model has no wing-rib or control surface detail at all, and I've just painted some in. The effect is fine, for a gaming piece, and having smooth surfaces instead of ribbed certainly does make applying decals a bajillion times easier.

I've messed about with a range of scales for WW1 aerial wargaming — 1:300, 1:200 and 1:144. The most satisfying of them from a modelling point of view is 1:144, and for maximizing table space of course 1:300 is best. But I think 1:200 is a very good compromise between the two; big enough to be able to see, and small enough to make the best of available space.

[Donkeymilkman]

Back tracking a week, here are all the ariel combat photos I took from the two games. Too much fun was being had to remember to take a photo.

Thank you Has.Been for hosting, company and the food.



Game One: the Germans hunting down their French prey.



Game Two: The Germans made a bloody blunder, going head first into the British.

Lovely rules and fast plays, once again thank you for hosting Has.Been.



Game Two: The British circling like sharks the poor Fritz.

[Dubar]

Great stuff Fitz and Donkeymilkman!!!  I have several 3D printed 1/144 aircraft in the "hangers" but most are unpainted/decaled, it was all I could do to decal the 1/72 models.  You guys may have prompted me into giving them another go.

I 3D printed 75 (not 120  ) "flags" yesterday, enough for 12 stands.  It took approx. 15 minutes to print a group of 5, so it took a bit more than 4 (not 6) hours once I got them the size I wanted.  They're 10mm wide and are a snug fit on the bamboo skewers, but easy enough to rotate.  Whatever speed I need to show I spin the others in the opposite direction.  I located a stash of small stickers that I folded over each flag and wrote numbers on each side to indicate speed.  Here's what they look like:

[Dubar]

Oh...the black tiddlywink indicates the poor Albatros had just jammed his guns, tried to get off a too long a burst!  I decided to leave the binder clips in place and use them to hold "winks" that represent Out of Ammo or Jammed Guns.  I was placing them on the hex bases but whenever I moved them around the winks went sliding off into the clouds.

[Dubar]

Here's my rules in PDF format for those interested (hope this works):

[Dubar]

I played a game the other night and realized the sequence of the Combat rules on page 3 left a lot to be desired, the mechanics seem to work but the steps and notes were not very well organized.  I ended up rearranging page 3 along with highlighting the notes about long bursts and crew getting hit.  I've attached the entire PDF file but the only page changed was page 3, sorry for the confusion for those that downloaded it.

The PDF file is at the bottom of this post.

I also found that my small SPEED stickers were peeling off, that's what I get for using stickers that were over 10yrs old!    I ended up making numbered decals and putting them on the flags I made.  Made a few more batches of flags plus some red and some blue flags to indicate pilot and observer wounds.

I played another game last night between the Germans and the Italians.  On the German side were 1 Albatros DIII and 1 Pfalz DIIIa, the Italians had 1 Ansaldo SVA5 and 2 Hanriot HD1s.

Turn 1 was nothing more than the aircraft maneuvering into position, but turn 2 they got into the thick of things:

The Pfalz took a beating with both Hanriots getting in some good shots. The Ansaldo, with its twin guns, got a few hits on the Albatros as well.  The Albatros got in a few good hits on silver Hanriot but caused no real damage.

Turn 3 for the Germans proved to be no better, with the "4 Aces" Hanriot and the Andsaldo peppering the Albatros.  The Pfalz managed to get off a few rounds into "4 Aces" in return:

In turn 4 it appeared the Germans were going to turn things around, "4 Aces" had depleted its ammo and broke off the fight to rearm, while both German planes got in a few good hits on "4 Aces" and the Ansaldo.  The other Hanriot caused further, severe damage to the Pfalz, which decided to head home.

Things looked dark for the 2 German pilots.  In turns 5 and 6, before the Pfalz could make it back to his lines, the Ansaldo finished off the Pfalz, sending the pilot to an early grave before turning towards the Albatros:

By turn 7 the Albatros was suffering too and decided to limp home, crossing the lines before anymore damage would have taken him down.

The Italians pulled it off, with light to medium damage on all 3 aircraft.  The German lost the Pfalz and only the quick thinking of the Albatros pilot he was able to make it back.  I feel the speed of the Italian aircraft played the major part in their victory.

[Driscoles]

This looks really nice!

[Dubar]

Thanks!  I tried matching the photos with the narrative but couldn't get them inserted where I wanted.  As far as the PDF goes, anyone using them and has suggestions pleased let me/us know.  And if you don't like something feel free to make your own home rules.  I don't think I've played a rules set yet that I didn't modify them to my own personal views.

[Dubar]

For anyone curious...I use those small hex-shaped photos of the aircraft as place cards so I can remember where the plane started it's movement (helps when planning a move) and what type of plane it is.  I've also started putting arrows on the back side to help keep the correct orientation, I flip them over to the back after they're moved to indicate the move was completed.  After all aircraft move, I flip the hex back over as each aircraft completes its firing sequence.

[Fitz]

Here's all the 1:200 aircraft I've actually completed so far, and all the ones I've printed but have yet to paint.

I printed these a couple of years ago (at least!), so nobody could accuse me of being a fast worker.

[flatpack]

Someone’s been busy 

[Dubar]

A little milk and you have a tasty snack!!!