Weekend Progress

Well, not much happened over the weekend. I managed to paint tyhe bridle and saddles of some of my British Legion Cavalry. I am struggling to figure out what to paint the saddle Blankets. One showed white blankets and another showed the dark green of the uniform jackets. I did get some primer on the casualties and a few of the other odds and ends. I just didn't have the patience to get any more painting done. Hopefully, I can get more done soon.

I have been thinking about two other rule sets - What a Cowboy and Algernon Pulls It Off. I have some cowboys done and painted up from Peter Pig. I am very happy with the ones that I have but wanted a few more. So I went on the Brookhurst Hobbies Website and got a few character models. I really like the character models as they have a standing a mounted and a casualty figure for the same guy. This fits in with how I view the game. The low figure count needed lends itself to having multiple figures for a given character.

For Algernon, I had settled on 1/144 scale miniatures a while back. I found miniatures for many of the Austro-Hungarian and Italian aircraft that I want. But my ground cloth was pretty bad. It was a blue felt cloth with some home drawn hexes. I wanted something better and decided to order from BattleMat Bazaar. I asked for recommendations from the Algernon Facebook group and the unanimous choice seemed to be Deep Cut Studios. They are based in the UK and the postage would have been more than I wanted to pay. The BMB one is about 4' by 5' and has 2" hexes. Now I just need to finish painting the miniatures that I have.

So far, I just has a single Nieuport 11 and a pair of Fokker Eindecker A.IIIs ready to go. I have more to finish. So all and all, not much progress and more work to do.

Algernon Pulls it Off - Over the Isonzo & More

Algernon

I finished with the three scenarios I was working on for February 18, 1916. These are interesting battles that are completely unfair to the Italians as they have no fighter escorts. Yet, despite being outnumbered, the Italian held their own. I decided to send these to TFL for the Christmas Special. We will see if it makes the cut. So far I have not heard back from them.

Sharp Practice

Managed to get some painting done. I have a full group of 8 British Legion Infantry done on a painting stick. That with the two buglers and two officers. I have 3 more painting sticks full of the infantry. I am going to continue to work my way through them. Once they are done, I will work on the Horse Holders, and the mounted officer that I bought (Peter Pig through Brookhurst). I am still waiting on order from Old Glory 15s.

I am debating getting some Highlanders from Peter Pig. There is really only one pack of infantry, advancing. I'd like some variation. I have been looking at the Eureka Miniatures line of AWI figures. My concern is that they would be significantly larger than the existing miniatures that I have.

Cold War

Over the weekend, I had a great conversation with a vet from Operation Golden Pheasant (March 1988). I started thinkings about how to apply this to a Cold War game. I had an idea for something like a pint sized campaign with a Sandinista patrol moving across the Rio Coco into San Andrés de Bocay. The Sandinistas begin fighting against Contra rebels and possibly some Honduran troops before US troops arrive and engage to push them back across the river. I am looking at the different militias from the Peter Pig ranges. This could be interesting. I am leaving this as a possibility as i read more up on the operation.

I have US troops and some Soviets that I can use as Cuban advisors or more regular Sandinistas. I would need some more irregular units to field as Contras and Sandinistas. Anyway, it is just a thought. I will probably stick to Europe for my Cold War efforts. But it could make for an interesting game having Sandinistas dropped off by Mi-8 helicopters to head in to attack a Contra base.

Thirty Years War

I keep looking at the thirty years war. I want to game this in a skirmish game. I have looked at the Sharp Practice variants for this but am still not certain if this is what I want. I'd like to have some pike and Shot as well as dragoons. I have some figures but have not painted anything yet.

Algernon - Over The Italian Front and More

Algernon

I spent some time on the scenarios for the Italian front. I think I have them the way I want them. Three separate sscenarios for historical actions all around the Italian bombing effort on February 18, 1916. The Italians are attempting to bomb a factory in what is now modern Croatia. Researching these proved a challenge as there is contradictory information on-line and the books I have are sparse with information. Overall, it shows my need to get more miniatures. I still need at least two more Caproni Ca.1/3s and another pair of Fokker A.IIIs. Before I do that, I want to paint my pair of Hansa-Brandenburg C.Is and the two Italian Bombers that I have. I also have two Neiuport 10s and a Neiuport 11 to paint. These are now back out on the painting table.

Sharp Practice

I also have my AWI back out on the painting table. While i look for a better movement tray and Basing set up, I decided that I will also finish off some troops. I am starting on my British forces first. Namely finishing a complete force of British Legion troops. I have 1 group of 8 British Legion cavaly that is painted and based. I do not have a movement tray done for these. I also own a large number of infantry/dismounted dragoons. This is four groups of 8 men. I have glued these to painting sticks so far. I also have two leaders and a trumpeter. But the force still lacked a mounted leader and the force lacked some figures. Last week, I bought the Peter Pig Standards and Buglers pack, the British Mounted Generals and the Dragoon Horse Holders. This will give me the mounted officer that I need. And it will give horse holders for when the cavalry dismounts. That should arrive next week sometime.

That still left the force light on cavalry when the cavalry was the main feature of that unit. With the War in the Americas sale from Old Glory 15s, I made a purchase of a pack of British Legion Cavalry today. Based on the description, this should give me another 8 figure cavalry group. While having a 3rd cavalry group would meet with the rule of 3s from Rich, I will make due with this. Once painted (my guess is 2030 or there about), I will have 3 groups of 8 infantry with two big men and two groups of cavalry with one big man and a single group of skirmishers. Also some horseholders, a musician and a standard bearer. That works well.

But the sale had me look to model Colonel Samuel Elbert's Georgia Continentals from the Battle of Briar Creek, March 3, 1779. From what I have found, these men wore hunting shirts. Old Glroy 15s had a pack with command. If I am right, this will give me two groups of 8 men and some big men. This will be perfect. I already have plenty of militia. Elbert's Continentals and McIntosh's Georgia Militia held on long after the surrounding North Carolina Militia had fled the field. Those that were not killed were captured.

Once I have these painted, I will be looking into getting some Highlanders to represent the 71st Rgt of Foot. That is a future item at this point. I do want some other Regulars for the British to serve as the 60th Regiment of Foot. I want to round off my existing miniatures first. Also on the future buy list, are some Contientals for the Southern Campaign. Specifically the Maryland Line troops.

I also am taking a look at my old Camden campaign that I wrote for the first edition of Sharp Practice and redoing it for SP2. As well as my Augusta campaign. Both would be fun to revisit. Anyway, good to stay busy.

October Birthday Sale - New Item - Other things

Birthday Sale

Well, it is October 1st 2025. In a few days I will have had my 55th lap around the sun. As normal, I will run a birthday sale on my scenarios on my PayHip store. The coupon code to use is: 55thLapAround

I had hoped to get my Singling scenario book complete before the sale. But that is dragging on in playtesting. Hopefully, it will be available this month. If not, I will launch it here as half price for a while before moving it to WargameVault.

Sharp Practice

What I did do is work on another Sharp Practice scenario. This does not fit in with the other scenarios that I have published with TooFatLardies. It is a stand alone scenario that may become part of a larger book. I ran across an article on a small action fought on July 29th, 1781 in North Carolina. My focus has been Georgia and South Carolina to date. In reading the scenario, it seemed a perfect scenario for Sharp Practice and had the oportunity to include some fun things. The forces are small with just around three groups per side with less than 31 troops per side. There really is no hero of the story other than Temperance Alston who managed to save her kids and stop the fighting. I have listed the scenario for $2.00 on the site but with the coupon code above, you can pick it up for $1.00. Once I have play tested it some (which will be after the Singling scenarios release) I will reupload and increase the price. Here is the link to the scenario: https://payhip.com/b/cqMtg

Hobby Purchases

I periodically scan eBay for items that could round out some of the terrain or miniatures that I currently have. My river terrain that I am using is from the old JR Miniatures line. I have the full set of 6mm, 15mm and 28mm muddy rivers. These are nice as they give some size options for what I want to represent on the table. Even though I have the sets, you never can quite have enough river sections. i found two straight pieces of the 15mm rivers on eBay still in their original packaging. I made an offer and they are on their way to me. Very pleased. Never can have enough trees or rivers.

I am on the look out for some odds and ends to complete out the winter troops for my Americans and Germans. I have plenty of Infantry. I would like to get some BAR armed Americans so I can field a force other than armored Infantry. But since those are just a few figures, I will probably get miniatures from 3D Breed and print them myself.

Algernon

The facebook group for Algernon Pulls it Off has inspired me to revisit my WWI aircraft. I have a scenario set that I am working on for it based on the Austro-Hungarian pilot Heinrich Kostrba of Flik4. The scenarios are largely done but my game table is still covered with Singling terrain. It is another project on hold.

Building 12

I have started assembling the buildings that I bought on ebay. There are 8 separate buildings that can be put together and joined. I did a pretty good job of putting these together except when gluing them together in a row, I of course messed up and glued one in backwards. I also put one of the wall facings in backwards on another building. Again, very frustrating. However, I have four of them put together as a rowhouse. I used spare sprue from the parts and made a roof support to create a bombed out version. Then tiled the roof. I need to do some more with the roof but it is coming along much quicker than I thought.

I have taken some cutters and cut holes in the supports where it is not covered by the tiles. I think it is coming together.

I also ordered some paint for my 1/144th aircraft for Algernon Pulls it off. I started painting on the scheme that I wanted for some Nieuport 11s. I realized after starting that the scheme is more appropriate for 1917 than 1916. While disapointed, I still like the scheme. It is an interesting comparison between the 3d prints I received years ago from Shapeways and the modern prints now. The newer resin prints are not paint sponges requiring many coats to paint. The details are clearer and better. It is really interesting to look at.

No pictures of the Nieuport 11 so far. I may take some later once I get the rest of the paints in.

Algernon over the Isonzo

My order from tabletop flights just came in. Also my flight stands from Litko also came in. Both were 2 days ahead of schedule. Very impressed. This brings my early 1916 project to the following:

Italian Aircraft	Number	Austro-Hungarian Aircraft	Number
Nieuport 10	2	Hansa-Brandenburg C.I	2
Nieuport 11	2	Fokker A.III	2
Caudron G.3	1

I have ordered a single Caproni Ca.3 from XPForge. I also am getting a friend to print a Caquot observation balloon for the Italians. This will give me a good starter force for both sides.

There are other aircraft that I could try to get but are harder to come by. For instance, the Albatros B.I is unavailable in 1/144th scale. The Lloyd C.II and Lloyd C.III are similarly unavailable. The Albatros B.I and Lloyd aircraft were both two-seater observation aircraft. The Austro-Hungarian's didn't have bomber aircraft at this stage of the war.

For the Italians, they have the Bleriot XI as a reconaissance aircraft. It is available in other much larger scales but not in 1/144. The Nieuport 11 was not available until late in February 1916 but there are models of this aircraft available. There were armed variants of the Nieuport 10s that were fielded as make-shift fighters. Only the Bleriot is unavailable.

As such, there are only a limited number of types of aircraft for this particular theater and time. Most of which are available as models. The Albatros B.I was being phased out and moved to training units as was the Bleriot. The Lloyd's were in active service but there seem to have been fewer of them than the Hansa-Brandenburgs.

For the scenario I want to run with this, I will need several more Caproni bombers and several more Eindeckers. But for the time being, I have more than enough to get started.

My question is, does anyone run games with seaplanes for WWI? The Austro-Hungarians had a number of seaplanes that are interesting looking.

Back to Algernon

In getting ready to play a game of Algernon Pulls It Off, I placed another order with TableTopFlights. I picked up another Hansa-Brandenburg C.I, a pair of Nieuport 11s and a Caudron G.3. This will round out most of what i need for the Isonzo Front early 1916. I also bought some Litko Flight stands for them. One of the things I bought was an altitude dial to go one these. The problem is that I will still have to paint these.

It should be fun to get this going again.

Algernon Distractions

So instead of maintaining a laser focus to complete my Singling project, I have been distracted by wanting to run a game of Algernon Pulls It Off again. I pulled out my miniatures and found that I have some that are painted. I want to do a Early 1916 project for the Isonzo Front. For my Austro-Hungarians, I have a pair of Fokker A.IIIs (The Austro-Hungarians gave them the A prefix instead of E). One is painted and complete. The other has paint but no decals. Luckily, I found my decals I bought for these.

I just ordered a single Hansa-Brandenburn C.I two-seater from eBay. Ultimately, I would like at least one or two more of these. The great part of this is there just were not that many aircraft above the Isonzo Front in early 1916. The eindeckers were held back over friendly lines as they were forbidden to pursue enemy aircraft back over Italian airspace due to the fear of the gun sychronization being captured by the enemy. The Hansa-Brandenburgs we the mainstay of the Fliks. With between 6 to 8 aircraft in a given Flik, this gives a relatively small force to model. Flik 4 in early 1916 had a pair of Fokker A.IIIs and some Lohner B and Hansa-Brandenburg C.Is at their disposal. I can't find a model in any scale of the Lohner B.

For the Italians, I have three of the later Spad aircraft from Wings of War. They can be a temporary standin for the Nieuport 11s that I really want. I have two Nieuport 10s, a two-seater aircraft heavily used for reconnaisance and artillery spotting. One is actually painted. The other is still as received from Shapeways many, many years ago.

The aim would be to buy some actual Nieuport 11s (probably 2) and some other aircraft like the Farman MF.11 or the Caproni Ca.3 or the Caudron G.3. I am only looking for a single aircraft of each. This should give a good mix of the different Italian squadrons that operated across from Flik 4.

Lastly, I want some observation balloons. These would be large in 1/144 scale. I found some models availaible on Thingiverse but they are way too big for my print bed of my resin printer. I will need to get someone to print them for me.

The plan is to use the Squadron Forward supplement from Joseph Legans to make a campaign. I have reprinted cards and the QRF for the base Algy rules that I will need. We will see what happens.

We will see how this goes. I also found some models in 1/300. The problem is, I am unhappy with how these look. I have a Vosin III bomber and three Fokker A.IIIs. All are painted. We will see where that takes me.

More Shapeways

I finally got one of my shapeways Nieuport 10 fighters painted up.  The Nieuport 10 was designed as a 2-seated observation plane that was pressed into service as a fighter by covering over the rear seat. 

I am unhappy with it as the khaki looks too dark to my eyes.  I am just not sure what to do.

Crash and Burn: How Not to Start a Year

Ok. Last week was not my favorite. Start with my wife going to the ER for a kidney infection. Then my son gets a high fever and its his trip to the ER. Not enough? Well, to end the week, I get the flu. Yuck! Lastly, on Sunday night, my laptop just bit the dust. 2013 is not going my way.

The only thing I have managed to do is undercoat two eindeckers and pain most of one of them. Well now I need some decals to finish them off. It is only going up from here.

You can see the failed attempt to cover up my atempt at making a stencil for the crosses. Have to go with the decals.

In terms of writing, I have been as productive as closing my eyes and firing a shotgun straight up in hope I might get a duck. I have gotten a great book from inter-library loan on the South Carolina Navy in the Revolution. Turns out it was some fellows Master's Thesis. Seems like just what I am looking for. I now have five complete scenarios for the CSIR campaign and have laid out three more. I now have three mini campaigns defined and all of the scenarios complete for one of them. Most of that was done pre-flu. I also am distracted by Algy as is seen by the miniatures that I have painted. I am working on figuring out who was where on the Isonzo front in 1916. Over Italy, the air war was outfight boring in 1915. The Italians only scrored their first air to air kill in April 1916!

Well, its only up from here.

kuk LFT Reinforcements

I just received my first Shapeways aircraft yesterday. I had ordered a pair of Fokker E.III's and I am happy to report that they arrived. I am very happy with the aircraft.

The planes were well packed and kept very safe during their voyage over to my aerodrome.

The aircraft are very nicely detailed. I managed to get these scrubbed last night.

Tonight, I will be loading it in Future as a sealant then spray priming them later. These will be painted up as 03.51 and 03.52 of the kuk LFT.

Happy New Year. Lets Fly

Happy New Year ya'll. I hope you all are looking forward to a new year of Wargaming as I am.

In keeping with my theme of not staying on target, I have distracted off to WWI Air Gaming again. I purchased a few aircraft for the Italian Front. A pair of Nieuport 10s for the Italians and a pair of Fokker Eindecker E.IIIs. These should prove interesting to paint up as Italian and Austro-Hungarians.

Now the question becomes how were these used. I have two books that cover this: Above the War Fronts and Air Aces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1914-1918 by Martin O'Connor. O'Connor's book is an awesome tome that provides much more detail than anything else I have found. Looking at Amazon, I feel like I got a steal when I bought it for $75 back in the mid 2000s. Searching through the Austro-Hungarian Aces list, you find very few aces that claimed kills using an Eindecker. This is probably due to the lack of them.

At the tail end of 1915, the Austro-Hungarians a shipment of 13 E.I and E.III aircraft from Germany with stipulations that they could not under any circumstances fly them over enemy held territory. These were parceled out across the front with the airbase at Haidenschaft receiving 4 of them to be shared among three FliK's (4, 8 and 19). These FliK's (AH Squadrons) were mixed use squadrons in 1915 & 1916 with pilots flying both two seater Hansa-Brandenburg C.I's and and Fokker Eindecker aircraft. The E.IIIs were numbered 03.41 and 03.42. The E.Is were 03.51 and 03.52. These numbers were displayed prominently on their fuselage. The 03.52 aircraft was nicknamed the Snow Bird by Leutnant Ludwig Hautzmeyer who scored two of his kills in this aircraft. Thanks to the Wings Palette web site, we can link to one of these images.

FliK 19 became one of the premier two-seater squadrons of 1916 with many of its pilots and observers scoring kills. Top Aces such as Oberleutnant Benno Fiala started in this FliK and eventually achieved 28 kills. Fiala served in the unit as an officer observer from January 1916 to February 1917 before attending flight school to become a pilot. The commander of Flik 19, Hauptmann Adolf Heyrowsky was one of the few men in the Austro-Hungarian airforce to score a kill with an Eindecker. His first Eindecker victory was not until August 15th of 1916. He shot down an Italian Voisin aircraft. He is also credited with shooting down the Italian airship M.4 from a Hansa-Brandenburg C.I two-seater with future ace Benno Fiala as his observer.

Hauptmann Heinrich Kostrba is another pilot to score multiple kills with an Eindecker. He was the deputy commander of FliK 4 from January 1916 to March 1916 when he was posted to command FliK 23. Hauptmann Mathais Bernath was the commander of FliK 4 at the time.

The most successful of the Eindecker pilots was Oberleutnant Ludwig Hautzmayer. He joined FliK 19 in February of 1916. He is officially credited with 2 Eindecker kills. The first on February 18, 1916 and the second on August 9, 1916. In between his first and second Eindecker Victories, he also shot down a bomber while piloting a Hansa-Brandenburg C.I.

In late August, the Austro-Hungarians began to reequip with Albatross D.III aircraft. The Fokker Scourge, as it was over Italy, was at an end. The switch to newer aircraft coincided with the change in tactics by the Italians. Beginning in August 1916, bombers were now assigned fighter escorts. By the end of the year, the ITalians had suffered 176 losses and claimed 56 victories. The Austro-Hungarian pilots claimed some 35 Italian aircraft as confirmed kills. Both sides greatly expanded their air programs. The Italians closed the year with 42 squadrons totaling 328 aircraft and 369 pilots. The AH Empire had ordered the creation of 48 FliKs but only 37 were active by years end.

The kills scored in 1916 reflect the importance that the Italians placed on bomber formations. Up until mid 1916, they had no scout planes at all. To make up for this, they utilized the two-seater Nieuport 10s in a scout role but with no success.The Italians began to replace their Nieuport 10 fighters with the new Nieuport 11 scouts in April of 1916. The first Italian victory was claimed in a Nieuport 11 on April 7, 1916. This was by their greatest ace Francesco Baracca. He claimed a Hansa-Brandenburg C.I.

Some fantastic maps are available online that cover the area of the front. The 3rd Military Mapping Survey maps from 1910 are available here. This is the index page. You can find the Haidenscaft area in the map just to the right of the Trieszt map. You will find it on the left hand side of the map close to the middle. As you can see, the area where these aircraft could reliably operate was very limited. The steep mountains could not be overflown by these early aircraft.

Anyway, here are the links to what I ordered: Nieuport 10 and Fokker Eindecker E.III. I am supposed to receive them on the 9th of January. Will post pictures once they come.

I also ordered Alexis Mehtidis' book on the Italian Air force: Italian Military Aviation in WWI: 1914-1918. I am really looking forward to this. Alexis helped me out with the orders of battle for the 11th battle of Isonzo when I had written an article for the Summer 2008 TFL special. He has another book out on both the Italian and Austro-Hungarian airforces that I have not been able to find yet.