1/144 Shapeways models in progress - The H-12 "Large America" Flying Boat and the Halberstadt D. V fighter

In October I orders two models from the Reduced Aircraft Factory store on Shapeways. I received a Curtis H-12 seaplane and two Halberstadt D. V fighters. As with most Shapeways models, surface preparation is an arduous task that must be done to get the best results. That was true with these two models. A lot of time was spent filling the surface grain of the black strong and flexible material. 

Fortunately, the work is not hard, but involves repeated application of a gap filling material - in this case acrylic clear coat. It took several weeks to achieve the desired result, but then applying the primer coats took a mere two days. A good thing too as winter is set to arrive this week, putting a close to the spray painting season. 

Here's some views of the primed models ready for painting. Now to come up with a choice of paint scheme. The D.V are destined for Mesopotamia and Turkish service, I wanted something 'not-CDL' for a change. The H-12 is going to take some thought as the paint schemes on those beasts can be quite complex. 

The primed H-12 next to a completed Felixstowe.

You can see the common ancestry the two planes share.

Shapeways is getting quite good at the detail, but the 3-D printers still have limits on the really small details.

There's still a little graininess visible in this image. For a gaming piece, it will be fine. 

1/144 Maurice Farman Shorthorn in the painting queue

I've been making progress on the model of the Maurice Farman Shorthorn that I acquired from Shapeways.com. I wanted it to build a collection of models of the planes used in Mesopotamia during the Great War. The Shorthorn was used in 1915-1918 in various capacities, though it was phased on to training/utility duties at the end of it's service. A slow and stable craft, it's small payload and lack of speed limited it's useful combat life once the Turks began receiving capable fighters like the Fokker Eindekker. But for Mesopotamia, you make do with what you have, so here we go.

The model was printed in Black Strong and Flexible (BSF). Shapeways did a good job on the print and the surface grain was what I expect from BSF. Of course, as with White Strong and Flexible, the first step is still surface preparation to reduce that surface grain. My standard method is to apply several coats of Krylon acrylic gloss matt to the model. I don't like one heavy coat as the varnish can pool on the surface. So repeated thinner coats will eventual yield a surface that is relatively smooth.  The below picture depicts the upper wing and shows the surface texture after painting and a top coat of gloss. 

The Shorthorn with the paint job completed. 

The wings of fuselage were painted in several coats of paint. The base coat was a Folk Art craft paint color called linen. This was over-painted with coats of Vallejo game color 'bone white').  The struts are painted in a medium brown. (I used a craft paint color called 'Teddy Bear Brown'). The metal joints in the skids and the metal around the engine were painted with Vallejo Sky Grey.

Early war markings looked very different than the roundels we see in the mid and late war periods. Initially, the RFC and RNAS used the Union Jack flag as a marking. When it was discovered that it was confused with the Maltese Cross from a distance, the RFC and the RNAS moved to the classic blue-white-red roundel. But for this early war 'leftover' pressed into service, I wanted to retain those early markings. The Union Jacks are decals from I-94 Enterprises.

This shot shows the flag applied to the side of the fuselage. 

Here's a close up. You can see the surface grain of the Black Strong and Flexible material on the side of the fuselage. It's tough to get good coverage on a vertical surface.  You can also see the detail on the landing skid. The sky grey paint is used to depict the metal joints connecting the braces. 

Good shot of the port side of the model.  Once thing I notice at this distance is I've failed to paint the wheels. 

Remember when I mentioned how hard it is to paint the vertical surfaces? You can see this if you look closely at the struts.  There's still some graininess present. Fortunately, at typical war game table scales, this is not noticeable.

More 1/144 float planes ready for action

I've managed to finish a couple of additional plane models for use with Ares Games Wings of Glory game system. The recent planes are all German floatplanes - a Hansa-Bradenberg W. 29 (the second of the collection) a Rumpler 6B and a FF.33E. All are maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The Rumpler is a single seat patrol fighter while the W.29 is a robust two-seater that served later in the war. The FF33E served from mid-war to the end of the war.

All three models were acquired from Shapeways. All were printed in either WSF or BSF material. I'm partial to BSF until something better comes along.

The Rumpler (on the left) and the new W.29 model. Decals on he W.29 by Tin-soldier.com. 

Rumpler in the front with FF33E in the back. 

Rear aspect of the Rumpler.

Folks over at the Aerodrome knocked out a customer plane card that matches the model.
Thanks guys! 

Check Your 6 - Great War edition...

Saturday afternoon at Day Con provided an opportunity to play in a game of Colorful SKies - which is a Great War flavor of the Check Your 6 game engine.  The afternoon's game saw a complex clash as each side attempted to lure the opponent into attacking weak planes with their fighters. Set during the Fokker Scourge, the game features Roland IIC, FE2B, DH.2 and Fokker Eindeckers.

This was an absolutely fun game. It captures the feel and spirit of the Great War while still delivering a game that is definitely a Check Your 6 experience. We had seven players - all CY6 veterans - and the game ran very quickly. Though offered as 'bait' and with no skill pilots, my Roland IIC were clearly superior to the FE2B in almost every respect that mattered - speed, crew capability and robustness. They quickly earned the nickname "Sturmovik of the Western Front" as they were so much more robust than every other plane on the table. 

I'm really enjoying that you can use the same planes from Wings of War / Wings of Glory on hex bases and your ready to game. This is what I think of as 'old school gaming' at it's finest. 

If you like World War One aerial gaming, you just definitely look for these rules.  I think it's marketed as the Colourful Skies product, but verify that with I-94 before ordering.

My trusty steeds - the Roland IIC 

The first pass - the FE2B engage the Fokkers and Rolands. One of my Rolands's shot up his own tail! (I rolled snake eyes back to back!)  I sent several turns attempting to unjam the rudder.

Having passed the FE2B, I passed under the DH.2 coming in from above. Still trying to unjam that rudder! 

C'mon dude!  We're heading into Allied territory soon.

A shot from the other side of the table. The Rolands  continue to lure the British deeper into the trap. 

Meanwhile the DH.2 and Fokkers are mixing it up.

The Rolands turn the table on their pursuer...

Fokkers engage the DH.2

Great War - Air Action, North Sea

2/18/2017 was the date of Day Con, the first issue of what we hope will become an annual staple of the Dayton, Ohio gaming calendar. As part of the days events, I provided a Wings of Glory game titled "Clash over the North Sea". The game features two opposing combat patrols - one from the British Royal Air Force (formerly the Royal Naval Air Service) and the other from the German Imperial Navy's Marine-Fliegerabteilung.  The two forces - while on different missions - encounter each other over the North Sea and engage in combat. 

RAF naval Anti-Zeppelin patrol

• Felixstowe F.2A - "BN"
• 4 x DH-4

• Cotton/Betts
• Atkey
• RNAS "BI" x 2

Marine-Fliegerabteilung coastal approach patrol

•  Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 two seater float plane
•  Hansa-Brandenburg W.12  two seater float plane
•  Hansa-Brandenburg W.12 two seater float plane
•  Hansa-Brandenburg KDW float plane fighter
•  Hansa-Brandenburg KDW float plane fighter
• Friedrichshafen FF.49t wo seater float plane

Our Intrepid British players

The German players

Many of the models are products from Shapeways - for example, the entire German force in this game is represented with 1/144 models from Shapeways. You can see details on my experience getting the Felixstowe ready for action here  and on other posts throughout the blog. Bases for these planes came from The Aerodrome.  

The DH.4 are all stock Wings of War / Wings of Glory kits.

DH.4 engage the W.12 and KDW...

Scott's DH.4 take the left while Sean pilots the Felixstowe up the center.

Scott and Keith engage head to head.

The Felixstowe reaches the center of the battle

All the planes occupying a nice small space. The DH.4 in lower right have been mauled taking heavy fire and collision damage. 

Collisions! The KDW collides with the Felixstowe. The W.12 collide with each other! 

Keith did a good job keeping his planes together and fighting them effectively.

Even more collisions! That poor Felixstowe was a plane magnet in this game.

The Felixstowe is on fire! Remarkably, no planes have yet been destroyed...but it would not last.

Down goes the W>29, the FF.49, a W.12 and a DH.4...

...AND the Felixstowe.  The game falls apart. The F2A has burned up. A pair of DH.4 was destroyed. The FF.49, W.12 and W.29 fell into the sea.

At game end the Imperial Navy had scored a solid victory, still having three - relatively intact - planes on the table. The damage cards were unkind to the British. The Felixstowe drew three fire cards in succession sealing it's fate. A DH.4 drew the combination of a Fire card, followed by no left turn, no right turn and engine damage. Fortunately, it took enough damage we didn't have to worry about how to resolve the fire/illegal maneuvers that would have resulted from that mess.

A fun game - with the number of planes, I used double damage decks for both the A, B and C decks.