PHANTOM LEADER DELUXE

VIETNAM AERIAL COMBAT GAME

FROM

DAN VERSSEN GAMES

Prior to Phantom Leader Deluxe, my experience of air war games was fairly limited.  Or, perhaps what I should say is that the number of games simulating the war in the air that I liked was very limited.  First and foremost was John Butterfield's original solitaire RAF and its solitaire and two-player remake of the same name and the very light, but enjoyable Wings of Glory.  Other than those two, most other air games had left me cold, often because the mechanics were so convoluted and distinctly user unfriendly.  Some, like Avalon Hill's Flight Leader, I confess I just found boring.

Perhaps, by now, you're wondering why I agreed to accept this particular review.  Mainly, it was because of the publisher, Dan Verssen Games [hereafter DVG], who produce top-notch quality games that I have particularly experienced through their Field Commander series.  Secondly, I had heard very positive things said about the whole Leader series of air games.

"one sumptuous, deep, glossy box"

Phantom Leader Deluxe certainly did not let me down on the question of quality.  One sumptuous, deep, glossy box surpassed even my expectations based on my experience of Field Commander Alexander and Field Commander Napoleon.  The contents no less so, especially the thick, high quality counters that, with their rounded corners, just press out perfectly with no dog-eared corners to laboriously trim off.  Considering the sheer number of counters, that's one big chore out of the way, even for someone like me who can find counter-clipping therapeutic!

"high quality counters"

But it's the stunning packs of cards that blow you away.  First of all there are separate packs for ten different USAF aircraft and nine Navy aircraft.  Not surprisingly, considering the title of the game the number of Phantoms predominates, but add in evocative names like the F-101 Voodoo or the F-102 Delta Dagger and all together you have seven new types of aircraft included in the Deluxe version.  In total there are 19 types of aircraft and 90 aircraft, with each of those aircraft having a different named pilot with three separate double-sided cards that take him from Newbie all the way to Ace.  So, if you've done your maths that's 270 cards in the box just to cover the aircraft - all in full colour with the plane set against a steely blue sky and the key stats in the bottom section of the card.

"the number of Phantoms predominates"

Above you have a typical average USAF F-4 Phantom with the pilot whose call-sign is Smokes with his array of information.   A vast spectrum to choose from with small gradations of ability in the modifiers for ATA [Air-to-Air] and ATG [Air-to-Ground] targets and all affected by whether the pilot status is OK or Shaken, as is his speed.  The guy up there, as you can see, is SLOW whatever his stress level!. 

This degree of choice of aircraft and pilot and then the range of armaments that each plane can carry has led to a few criticisms of detail overload.  As someone with NO modern [or at least relatively modern] knowledge of aircraft, seeing that we are primarily in the period of the Vietnam War, I can sympathise.  But, if you are really so concerned, you could choose just to fly phantoms or use the rulebook's optional rule for how to draw a random set of aircraft.  I certainly would not be put off buying this game, because it contains too much. 

Beside having so many beautiful aircraft cards, there are cards for Targets and Events.  Here  is the very first target that I came up against - the Barracks.

The card provides details of the enemy aircraft [Bandits] and enemy ground sites that you will come up against.  At first sight that doesn't look too bad, but there are four approach areas, one in each of the compass points, so that's eight potential enemy sites and four bandits and three more sites and two bandits in the centre where the target is!!  The card also tells you how many VPs, Recon pts and Intelligence pts you'll earn depending on how many hits you land on the target.

Much of this involves new additional rules for the Deluxe version.  In the original, it was destroy/fail to destroy your target, as pure and simple as that and VPs or no VPs.  I really like this development that allows for degrees of success.  [Hollow laugh ... on this first mission I scored no hits on the target, lost two out of my four planes and the other two came back so stressed they immediately had to be rested!  Please don't ask if I've got any better.]

And here are my valiant fellows; call signs Jagger, Misty, Smokes and Digger.  The centre two are the planes that went down and the outer two are the ones that survived.

Before I comment on the rule book, there is one last type of card to show you - Events.  During a mission three will be drawn - one Target-Bound, one Over-Target and the last one Home-Bound.  Each card has three sections and you apply the appropriate text according to which stage of the mission you are at.

As you can see, Bandits was my Target-Bound card and Forward Air Controllers my Over-Target card.

And so to the Rulebook.  A very nice product in full colour and glossy paper. One major surprise and drawback is that there is no index.  In part, this may be because the rules, after explaining all the components, take you through the sequence of play step-by-step in the chronology of how the game plays.  As thorough and clear as these rules are,  like any set when you are first learning and playing with them, you will certainly need to check and refer back.  An index should be a requisite part, if only for ease of play, and as the back page of the rulebook is used merely to advertise many other DVG games, this was an unnecessary omission.

An initial skim through quickly established that methodical planning would be the early part of the game.  First up is your choice of Campaign map and there are 8 to choose from, three set at different periods of the Vietnam war ranging from 1965 - 72 and one set during the Cuban Missile  Crisis of 1962.  Each Campaign has a separate USAF and Navy copy with varying targets and the possibility of playing Short, Medium or Long Campaigns.  This wide range of scenarios and variable targets, plus the range of aircraft and pilots make for great replay value.

Then on to selecting the pool of aircraft and pilots that will be available during the campaign.  The longer the campaign, the more pilots you will select for your pool, as a Short campaign typically involves four days and up to twelve days for a Long campaign.  Each day begins with drawing two target cards to choose from and the choice is not just a simple "which do I fancy having a go at."  Each target comes with a political cost that is marked on the Political track on your Campaign card. so that you may find you don't have enough political points to go for either target.  Consequences being that you may have a day of rest or spend some of the Special Ops points that come with a Campaign to buy other targets to choose from.

Rolling Thunder 1967

Here's the typical start of a Campaign, the first day's target has been chosen, the Political points cost marked on the appropriate track and the Target marker placed on the mini-map.  Notice the other two Tracks are for Recon and Intel- both of these may be affected favourably by the degree of success achieved in missions flown during a Campaign.

Then it's move to the core of the game's action and the mounted board on which it will be played out.

This display is clear and totally functional, with a very helpful Turn sequence on the right-hand side and locations for the Target cards and Event cards.

You now have five turns in which to move from the entry point of your flight path to its exit point diametrically opposite where you entered.  Once more this is a detail I like and, I would say an improvement on some of the other Leader games, as you have to do more than just get to the target and drop your bombs.  Now you have to make your exit too!  Your aircraft don't all have to appear at the same Entry point, but if they enter at different points then their Exit points will be also be different.  There is some latitude here, as an aircraft can leave by an area adjacent to its Exit point.

Each of the five turns starts with combat or in this game's term Aircraft Attack Sequence.  If your aircraft is Fast, it will fire before the enemy does: if Slow, the enemy will fire first.  Though there is a good number of aspects affecting fire, I found them very easy to remember and use.  Perhaps the most obvious and important is Altitude.  Many of the Sites you will come up against can only hit you if you're flying at Low Altitude - so, just fly over them at High Altitude.  The next is range; often you can get in a shot before the enemy because you have better range, but beware those enemies that can fire at range, I've found them deadly.

Add in the possibility of Suppression and Evasion, Soft targets and Radar targets, AtA and AtG weaponry, changing altitude and you get a very good narrative and atmospheric feel to the heart of this game.  With named pilots, I felt far more of an RPG effect than in most war games I play.  Each roll, especially when the enemy has you in his sights, is a tense moment.  As with any solitaire game, an iron will is needed to accept the die and see your aircraft tumbling out of the sky.

It's Not Over Until The Fat Lady Sings!

You've not finished yet.  I love the final sequences after the mission has been flown.  Remember those planes I lost on my first mission flight out, well, they're not necessarily gone for ever as there is a Search and Rescue Phase with a 50/50 chance of survival.  Both mine did survive, but as always there is a stress cost.

And then comes Debriefing, with hopefully some element of VPs, Intelligence pts and Recon pts depending on the amount of damage scored on the Target.  As your Intelligence improves, the number of targets you can choose from for a Mission increases, while Reconnaissance reduces the number of Sites and Bandits you will come up against in later Missions. 

In this final phase of the game, the last factor and for me is the effects of all those Stress points piling up on your pilots.  Now you have to assess the following: who can continue to fly, who must be rested [above a certain level and you are grounded until those stress points have been reduced], the effect of MIA [Missing in Action] pilots on all your other pilots stress levels.  You don't lose buddies without it having an impact on you. 

You can even Transfer highly stressed pilots out of your team and get a replacement.....but have you guessed what's coming next.  Sure, a new pilot to the team, can you rely on him - consequences, a bit more stress for each of your existing team!!

One final tip before my round-up.  The Campaign Log for recording your Missions and pilot progression will take a lot of bashing if you try to use it to record changing Stress levels during a Mission.  So, making a simple chart for each Mission's pilots that logs the ongoing stress accumulation is well worth the few minutes it takes to knock one up on the computer. [it also adds to the RPG element, I've talked about.]

So, what are my final thoughts and conclusions?  At the start, I gave you my reasons for taking on this review.  Am I glad that I did make that decision.  Above all, I've had a great time playing this game.  More than anything, I've been surprised how much I've enjoyed the preparation and planning stage.  I had thought I'd find this a tad tedious and would want to hurry through, but I now feel this is an integral and enjoyable part of the whole game experience.

I still consider myself very much a newbie and am a long way off knowing what aircraft are best for a particular job and what armament.  But, the rule book has a very detailed Section on each aircraft and each weapon that repays the time spent on repeated reading through.

As to flying the Missions and the whole campaign shebang, love every minute of it.  Never thought I could be rooting so much for an aircraft card with its call sign Digger and whether it would make it through its mission.  Phantom Leader has been a great experience and one I can thoroughly recommend to you.

[Schnell! Schnell! Das Boot.....Torpedoes away.  Dive! Dive!

Having been allowed to take to the skies with Phantom Leader there are rumours that I may be allowed to sink beneath the waves with U-Boat Leader and its American counterpart Gato Leader.

However, until that is confirmed, perhaps you'd like to dip into one of my own collection and march with me in a couple of weeks to the Somme, where you'll be up to your neck in muck and bullets, with Richard Borg's The Great War.]

Sopwith Triplane Build. (Updated 20th Feb 2017)

 

 

New Model Making Section

 



Hello and welcome to the latest section of the Blog.

Here you will be able to follow talented, model kit makers as they build their latest masterpiece, turning a few sprees of plastic into a jaw dropping scale model. One day I will give it a go myself, though I always worry I'll ruin something as soon as I put paint on it!

I also hope at some point we can review new kits that will be hitting the shelves near you.

I hope this becomes a popular section of the blog.

Enjoy

Jason

Steve Smith Wargame Vault Interrogation



Steve Smith runs Wargame Vault. I’m sure most wargamers have browsed the Wargame Vault website if not made a purchase or two or five or ten.. For those who don’t know Wargame Vault it’s rather unusual for a wargame online store. They deal mainly with rulebooks for miniature wargames or print old classic wargames long out of print in their original boxed format. Take the classic Upfront, a game many consider the greatest board wargame ever released. The actual game can be bought in separate parts, so the games card sets are separate purchases as is the rulebook which can be bought in either a PDF version or printed. I purchased Upfront from them myself but at the time the rulebook was PDF only, however recently they have released a printed version which I jumped at. The best way for you to understand how they work is to go visit the website yourself. Whilst there I’m sure you’ll find something that takes your fancy. So with that in mind in another expertly carried out covert operation we managed to kidnap Steve Smith, take him to a secure location and start out interrogation!

The following is a transcript of our "chat" with Mr Smith, recorded on our special ACME interrogation recording device.

First we will fire a round of quick fire questions at you…what the wires..lie detector of course.. Pardon…funny that last one sat there said there was no need for all this aswell, but we will be the judge of that!! Now remember no lies..oh and we have ways of making your talk!!

Name? Steve Smith

Age? 55

Current whereabouts? Northern Indiana, USA

Favourite TV program? Archer

Favourite Music genre? Metal/Rock

Favourite band\musician? Many! Metallica, Judas Priest, Queensryche to Static X and 5 Finger Death Punch!

Favourite Film? Dune

Favourite period of history? WWII

Favourite Superhero? Deadpool

Favourite colour? Blue

Favourite animal? Dogs

Lucky number? 26

Spitfire or P51? P51

Panther or T34? Panther

BF 109 or FW 190? FW 190

Patton or Rommel? Patton

Interesting, very interesting. Now be good, answer the questions and all will go well!

What was your profession pre Wargame Vault and what year did you start up the business?

Well, like many folks in the wargame business I have a day job as well as a job in the hobby. I know most wargamers think us guys in the wargame business live like rock stars, but sadly it's not true! I am a machinist in my day job.

As mentioned in the introduction Wargame Vault is pretty unique in the way it runs compared to other wargame shops on the net. I’d love to know what sparked the initial idea and how you went about setting it all up to become the successful business it is today. So could you give us a run down on how you came by the initial idea and then turned that idea into a viable business, including the highs and lows of the process and if there were any hurdles you had to overcome?

Well, it actually wasn't my idea, I just fell into it! Wargame Vault is actually an offshoot of DriveThruRPG/RPGNow. These sites were owned by and run by several guys including Steve Weick, Mike Todd and James Mathe. They had been successfully running digital download sites since 2001 for RPG rules and such, way before downloading anything was cool. As time went on they were getting more and more wargaming material loaded up, and being mainly RPG/Larp folks they weren't familiar with the material, manufacturers or the unique genre that wargaming is.

At the time (2007) Sean Patrick Fannon was employed as Publisher Relations for RPGNow. Sean and I had worked together for GAMA running the GAMA Trade Show and the Origins Game Convention, and he knew that I had been into wargaming for many years. So, when they decided that they needed a separate site for Wargame downloads they needed someone who knew the ground, and Sean brought up my name. They offered me the job and I took it! Nine years later it's still the best job I've ever had.

Starting out was a bit rough at first, selling wargame authors and publishers on the idea of selling games without printing them! We acquired Mongoose's Wargame Downloads website at the launch and gained a good number of titles, and when we kept sending out royalties checks to publishers every month others began to take notice. Also, downloading content became more commonplace, even among grognards! Our goal has always been to have every wargame ever made to be available on our site, so I just kept bugging authors and publishers thru emails and at shows and conventions and we eventually became the largest digital wargame publisher on the net.

If someone was thinking about starting up an online wargame store what advice would you give and is there anything they really need to watch out for?

Do you have any pointers that might set them in the right direction? I would say get the best IT/Technical people you can. If your site doesn't work right nobody will use it. We have been very fortunate in having some great folks on staff writing code for us and fixing technical issues, guys like Mike Todd, Chuck Childers and others who really know what they're doing. Also, customer service is incredibly important, as is knowing what you're selling. 

My introduction was a rather poor attempt to explain how Wargame Vault works. So what’s best is if you could explain what Wargame Vault does and how it works including who can use it and what the costs and terms are etc?

How we work is really very simple. Authors and publishers make an account and upload their titles to their "storefront" on our site. They can use about any format they like, but PDF works best. They can also set up titles to be printed on demand and sent to customers anywhere in the world thru our print houses in the U.S. and U.K.
We can handle about anything, books, cards, cardstock terrain and minis, board games, 3-D printing files, audio books, PC games, etc. The authors set their own prices and margin and what they choose to offer on the site. There are no out-of-pocket costs, as we engage in revenue sharing. We only make money if a title sells. When a title sells the publisher gets 70% or 65% depending on whether they are an exclusive digital publisher with us or not. We get the remainder.

We handle the storefront, site upkeep, digital storage, security watermarking on pdf's, real-time bookkeeping, tax forms, limited advertising, printing and shipping for printed titles and royalty payout thru Paypal or check. We also can digitize products for folks who have a hard copy but not a digital copy of a work, which is great for long out of print titles made before electronic means were available. We pretty much handle everything except the actual creation of the title.

How does your service work for the publishers?

Probably the best part of our service for publishers is the ease of use. Once titles are loaded they really just need to cash out thru Paypal! For publishers and authors that use our print service, they do away with minimum orders thru traditional printers, no warehousing, no shipping and no cost to sell their products. Customers place their order, we print it and ship it, the author gets paid royalties. Simple!

Where are you based?

We are truly a "virtual" office. I'm in Indiana, our servers and tech folks are in Georgia, Florida and I don't know all where, our Publisher Relations folks are in Illinois, Wisconsin, Georgia, the boss lives in Canada! We all work from home, wherever that may be. I've worked with some people for almost a decade and never actually met them. Publishing has changed over the years!

What formats do you support?

pdf, jpg, epub, mobi, html, stl, audio, video, print

How do you pay royalties?

We pay royalties by Paypal that can be cashed out at any time or at the end of the month automatically, or by check at the end of the month.

What options do publishers and authors have on our site?

Publishers can be as active as they wish. They can spruce up their storefronts in any number of ways, run sales, update rule sets, load new ones, remove others, advertise on the site using our virtual currency, or use us for crowd-funding fulfilments. Or not. They are in control of how they want to use our service and offer their products.

What’s been the most popular rule set\product you’ve sold?

We've had lots of great selling publishers. Rottenlead has sold well, Ivan at Nordic Weasel cranks out great stuff all the time, Admiralty Trilogy Group, Amarillo Design Bureau, Dave Graffam Models, Ganesha Games, MicroMark Army Lists, Mongoose, Steel Dreadnought Games, Osprey and many others have sold very well. But likely the best seller recently has been the one you mentioned earlier, the previously out of print Avalon Hill game Up Front and it's expansions released by Wizards of the Coast. We will continue to try to bring back old AH products in print format as we are able.

What era is the most popular?

From WWII to the present has been the most popular, but then there are a lot of WWII games out there too!

What era is the least?

The War of Jenkin's Ear doesn't sell particularly well.

Do you have a favourite rule set? If so which one is it and what makes it stand out for you?

I don't really have a favorite, I'll play anything!

What’s your favourite era to game?

WWII and ancients.

Do you play digital wargames? If so any favourites?

Rarely play digital games, but I have played a bit of Hegemony which I think is a great game.

As some will already know it’s not just Wargame Vault but you also have DriveThruRPG as well. DriveThruRPG runs exactly the same way. So if you enjoy your RPG’s as well then there’s double the reason to go check out the website!

And not just the RPG sites! We do have DriveThruRPG and RPGNow, but also DriveThruCards, DriveThruFiction, DriveThruComics, and DNDClassics. If it's gaming or Geek related we want to offer it!

You’ve been very cooperative! I see a very successful future for you!

Thank you for the opportunity, and I wish the same for you!

[Bob, tell me that’s not sirens…well what is it then…what!..you said it wasn’t sirens…aaarrghh..Steve we shall contact you soon about recruitment into our organisation..but first we have to run..Bob..run Bob run!!] (sounds of someone running into something, loud clattering sounds, faint cursing..tape ends)

United Bricks Stand to for review!

 

 

The first time I came across military LEGO was in a NEWS item about a man who had built a massive US warship all to scale in his rather large garage\shed\man cave. I was extremely impressed and I think at that moment fell in love with military LEGO. So when it came to deciding what I'd like to cover in the blog what we shall call from now on MiniFigs was a no brainer. I just needed to get those hives of creativity, the builders and sellers to come on board. Thankfully all those I contacted agreed, paving the way I hope to a successful and popular section of the blog.

 

 

 

United Bricks Minifigs come hot on the heels of the last MiniFig review, a great way to kickstart this section of the blog! This time I have again three complete MinFigs lined up for scrutiny aswell as a torso and a torso and legs, obviously victims of War! All are WWII MiniFigs, hurrah!

 

 

 

First up is 'WW2 Russian Tanker'

 

What Russian tank would be complete with out this little chap present. The printing on the uniform is very good indeed. Details are on both torso and legs front and back, so he looks great in all directions. He also sports a superbly made tankers helmet. He comes wearing his war face! He is available in both light skin tone and a more yellow skin tone. He retails at £7.00.

 

 

Next, 'British Tank Crewman'

Well you couldn't get a more British looking Tank crewman if you tried. Proudly sporting a spiffing moustache! The print work on the uniform is fantastic on front and back and can't be faulted. He even has the 11th Armoured Black Bull insignia on his left arm. Finished off with his black beret. He comes in light flesh tone or yellow flesh tone. He Retails at £7.00.

 

'Light Grey German'

Here we have another WWII historical MiniFig. This time it's the Light Grey German Uniform soldier. The printing of the uniform details is excellent. He also has a corporals rank symbol on his left arm. So maybe it's corporal Steiner! He also wears a BrickArms Stahlhelm. He would make an excellent addition to any German MiniFig diorama. He comes in light skin tone and yellow skin tone. He retails at £8.50.

Finally we have 'Printed Panzer Crewman'

This time we have the torso and legs of a German Panzer crewman from WWII. As you can see the details and printwork is superb. He even sports an Iron Cross and ribbon as well as a Tank Assault badge. Like the others the UV printing means it will never fade or rub off! He comes wearing no gloves or with black gloves. Really love this uniform. He retails at £5.00

I'm really impressed with United Bricks Minifigs and can easily recommend them. I can't wait to see what comes next!













Dear All,

Welcome to our 7th Anniversary newsletter comprising some unique WW2 offerings to complement our Romans which made an appearance last week. Kicking off with a new version of FJ020 but this time with 2 gunners with their MG34 set up in the HMG mode on a Lafette stand. There will also be an 'E' winter version but unfortunately it was not ready in time for this month's releases. FJ020D Anniversary set will be priced at $89/£70 and is strictly limited to 100 pieces worldwide.

 

 



The last of our FJ pieces for at least a year and a special promotion on this price for all orders received in the month of July. FJ028 set comprises 2 gunners with an MG42 in the prone position taking aim at the enemy. The A version is a winter variant with our 2 FJ's dressed in white smocks/trousers and the B version more suitable for Normandy with our gunners wearing late war style splinter pattern smocks and grey trousers. The normal price will be $89/£69 for the pair, but to commemorate our 7th anniversary this set will be available for the bargain price of $45/£35 for July thru ourselves and all of our dealers. After the discount period ends the price will revert to the standard price of $89/£69. Limited to 100 pieces of the winter and 80 pieces of the Normandy variant. Please note that a wooden DFS 230 glider will follow as well as JU 52 to accompany all of our Fallschirmjager pieces later in the year. Our new range of FJ's will make a reappearance next year in a format not previously released by ourselves and one we are very excited about.

 



RS042A/B Mortar: Two Aussies prepare to lay down a barrage on the enemy with their 8cm mortar. The A version Aussies are dressed in typical combat fatigues reminiscent for 1940's jungle warfare whilst the B version (to follow in the next month or so and not pictured) will be dressed in the early war style Battledress suitable for the Desert or Greek campaign. The A version is limited to 100 pieces and the B version will be limited to 80 pieces. Both versions will be priced at $95/£75.

 



RS043 Command Set comprises a super little set of an officer trying desperately to hear what is being said down the line whilst the noise of battle rages around. His number 2 patiently prepares to write down orders as and when they get through. This set also comes with spare weapons in the form of M1 carbine and Owen Machine gun for the 2 figures or to enhance your diorama elsewhere as standalone pieces. Limited to 100 pieces worldwide and priced at $85/£65 whilst stocks last. Our Japanese tank RS035 should be making an appearance soon with this being one of the final pieces for the RS series for the time being.

Roman Series: Don't forget ROM010, 012 and 013 released last week have already been heavily pre-ordered and have been as popular as ever, if you have not ordered yet I would strongly recommend that you do so. Next month will see the release of 4 new figures with some Auxiliary troops to follow later in the year in the form of archers and a few other surprises.

Wings of War WW2 Release This month we decided to combine our Mahogany WW2 aircraft with our figures and as such they are a splendid Axis forces selection, please read below for details:

 

 





WOW067 The Blohm & Voss BV 141 was originally developed from a 1937 requirement for a new reconnaissance aircraft with optimal visual characteristics. Arado were the preferred competitor but after the aircraft prototype failed to impress, the field was left wide open. Focke Wulf stepped in with the FW189 although this aircraft had two engines despite the RLM's requirements for a single engine aircraft design type. Blohm & Voss submitted a design with a highly unusual asymmetric design feature, which surpassed all requirements and was powered by a single engine. Unfortunately for Blohm and Voss the design was considered too radical and Focke Wulf were awarded the lucrative contract. Only 20 B&V aircraft were produced with some seeing action on the Eastern Front and several other examples captured by the Allies including the British, as they advanced through Germany. Our version NC+RI was the last from the initial production batch of 10 aircraft and is portrayed in standard Luftwaffe colour scheme for this period. Despite being a single engine aircraft the BV 141 was very large for its time with a wingspan of over 57ft and a fuselage of approximately 46ft in length. The BV 141 had a crew of three personnel and all in all this makes it larger than the Messerschmitt 110 we recently released! We have a limited number of 10 models available sometime in August, this very unique machine is priced at $799 and comes free with FJ029 Military police figure.



 

WOW086: The Messerschmitt BF 110 was a twin engine heavy fighter and served with success in the early stages of the war during the Polish and France campaigns but was hopelessly outclassed by the RAF's fighters during the Battle of Britain, where is served as a bomber escort. Redeployed as a nightfighter in the West the BF 110 was well suited to this role, especially when flown by aces like Major Schnaufer who claimed 121 victories solely in this type of aircraft. In other theatres such as the Balkans and the Russian front, the 110 soldiered on as a ground attack/fighter bomber and performed admirably. A 37mm cannon could also be fitted under the belly of the BF 110 which made this a formidably armed aircraft when used in the ground attack or bomber interceptor role. The 110 was also adopted by Italy, Romania and Hungary amongst others with over 6000 aircraft being produced during its operational career.

 

 

 

 



The BF 110 aircraft had a 53ft wingspan and was over 40 ft in length making it another large aircraft even in 1/30 scale. Our new version the C-6 was one of 12 converted with an experimental 30mm cannon fitted under the belly and was utilised by the Luftwaffe against RAF radar stations during the Battle of Britain. Comes free with Luftwaffe pilot and FJ figure as pictured in the promotion photos attached. Limited to 10 in number and available in August at a price of $799.

 

 

 



WOW087: The Kawasaki KI-100 was a superb fighter aircraft fielded by the empire of Japan in the last days of WW2. It was capable of intercepting the B-29 Superfortress that were plaguing Japan at the time, but was hampered performance wise by the lack of a suitable supercharger. No Allied name was given to the KI-100 as it arrived too late in the war to be to be christened, however its arrival came as something of a shock to the Allies nevertheless. An overall assessment of the effectiveness of the Ki-100 rated it highly in agility, and a well-handled Ki-100 was able to outmanoeuvre any American fighter, including the formidable P-51D Mustangs and the P-47 Thunderbolts which were escorting the B-29 raids over Japan by that time, it was also comparable in speed, especially at medium altitudes. In the hands of an experienced pilot, the Ki-100 was a deadly opponent and along with the Ki-100, the Army's Ki-84 and the Navy's Kawanishi N1K-J were the only Japanese fighters able to defeat the latest Allied types. Armed with 2 x machine guns and 2 x 20mm cannons the KI-100 could deliver a knock-out blow whenever it came into close contact with Allied aircraft. Our offering comes in a very colourful scheme of the 111th Sentai as it would have appeared in late 1945. The sentry and 2 officer Command set pictured with the aircraft are included free with the total package being priced at $550 plus P&P, with a limited availability of 10 models being produced worldwide.

 

 

 



WOW088: The afore mentioned N1K-J also makes an appearance in our catalogue and rightly so as it was one of the most effective Japanese Naval aircraft of WW2. Christened 'George' by the Allies this outstanding aircraft possessed heavy armament as well as surprisingly good manoeuvrability. This was due to a mercury switch that automatically extended the flaps during turns, these "combat" flaps created more lift, thereby allowing tighter turns. Unlike the A6M Zero, the George could compete against the best late-war fighters, such as the Hellcat and the Corsair. Despite its obvious capabilities, it was produced too late and in insufficient numbers to affect the outcome of the war. Our model is one based with the 301st hikoitai "Shinsen-Gumi", 343rd kokutai, Shikoku, during the Spring 1945. The sentry and 2 officer Command set pictured with the aircraft are included free with the total package being priced at $550 plus P&P, with a limited availability of 10 models being produced worldwide.

That's all for this month folks and I hope you enjoyed what was on offer. I am not expecting any WW1 aircraft in this month which I know will come as something of a disappointment to some, but hopefully August will see some all new biplanes. For those of you wishing to make a purchase directly thru ourselves please visit our website www.tomgunn.co.uk where all our figures will shortly be on display. For those of you wishing to purchase an aircraft please email me direct as these items tend to be slower getting loaded onto the site. Please note you can still make stage payments on all our wooden aircraft models, ask for details if this is of interest.

Best wishes The Gunn Team

                                              Scourge of War Waterloo add on Quatre Bras

  This is a review of the first add on for Scourge of War Waterloo, Quatre Bras. No, we are not talking Brahma here. It is released by Matrix/Slitherine/Ageod and developed by NorbSoftDev. NorbSoftDev also brought us Scourge of War Gettysburg and it's add ons Antietam etc.

 Quatre Bras was fought on the same day as Ligny. Quatre Bras pitted the French against an English and coalition army, while Ligny had the French fighting the Prussians. Due to conflicting orders the French Ist corps under D'erlon spent the day marching between the two battlefields and admiring the Belgium countryside. This corps could have turned the table at either battlefield and made a great change in the subsequent battle of Waterloo. The French were commanded by Marshal Ney (Le Rougeaud) and named by Napoleon as the 'bravest of the brave'. The English and coalition army was commanded by the Duke of Wellington, but he wasn't actually present on the field until about 3:00pm. Quatre Bras was an even more  "near run thing" than Waterloo. The actual battle was an extremely see-saw affair all day long.

 It is a command simulation game. The players' view can be an omnipotent eagles eye or only what the various commanders could see from HITS (headquarters in the saddle) unless you are John Pope. The uniforms and troops in general are a sight to behold, and bring all of the malevolent beauty of a Napoleonic battlefield to life. You can hear the sounds of cannons firing, flags fluttering, and regimental bands playing. Thankfully, the only thing missing is the tent or house where a growing pile of severed limbs is situated. Your orders can be instantaneously transmitted to your subordinate commanders, like in the twentieth century by radio or, as was historically correct, by courier. You can see the couriers riding this way and that across the battlefield with their precious cargo.
  

 The game system is in some ways the same as it was in the beginning of the series, only now it has been fined tuned to ideally replicate a Napoleonic battlefield. You can deploy skirmishers, form square or column exactly as your nineteenth century counterpart.

 One concern that a lot of gamers are especially vocal right now is about a game's AI. Have no fear about that department with this series. Just as with its older brother Scourge of War Gettysburg, its AI is up to the task whether an enemy or subordinate.  

 As a general, please remember that all troops, even guards, can only take so much. Napoleonic tactics were a murderous game of 'rock, paper, scissors'. Use your skirmishers to pick at your enemies' line to lower their morale and steadiness. When possible, have both infantry and cavalry in supporting distance of one another, thus forcing the enemy to form squares and then cut bloody swaths through them with your artillery. Then when they are about to, or have cracked, ride them down with your cavalry.

 To anyone who has Scourge of War Waterloo and those who are still in the civil war with Scourge of War Gettysburg, click that mouse right now to buy this new add on and /or game. Do yourself a favor and download the SliderToolBar mod. While we are on mods, please check out all of the well done mods for both Waterloo and Gettysburg. The community has really put their heart into making some of these very impressive and adds to the life of the game.

 For those of you who are put off by the letters RTS, worry not. You can play as fast or as slow as you want, and pause the game and think about your next orders to your heart's content.

 Multiplayer games can support up to thirty two players and can be entered through the lobby. Steam and non-Steam players can join as well.

 Thank you again NorbSoftDev for these forays into Napoleonic battlefields. Now get going, and give us Ligny and Wavre, or even better Friedland, Eylau, or Wagram. Nato, nukes, and nazi's aren't the only things that sell a wargame.

 For those in need or are rusty, there are a lot of youtube video links on the Matrix Games Scourge of War Waterloo forum. 


Robert

Game: Scourge of War Waterloo add on Quatre Bras
Developer: NorbSoftDev
Publisher: Slitherine/Matrix/Ageod
Steam Release Date: 6/16/2016
Review Date:  6/25/16                

Hello All,

It seems the recent Interview, though praised on some forums, was the cause of laughter due to the editing on another.  So I'd like to explain. Part of the fault lies with me for not reading the transcript properly once it was returned to me, I apologise. The next major issue is trying to get a Word document onto Blogger is a nightmare. Copy and Paste causes all kinds of issues with formatting and fonts etc. So after spending an age just getting it online I kind of had enough at that point. I then did a quick edit but not good enough, plus the only way for the interviewee to see what's going online is to actually see it on the blog and that means me publishing it before it's really ready as it still needed a good going over two or three times. This is not ideal and means people will read the interview before I'm happy with it. So please forgive us. Hopefully the interview is fine now.

I'm learning as I go along and do hope people stick with me and give me abit of lee way if something isn't quite right before resorting to a forum to air your opinions. So far the Blog has been received very well and has actually exceeded our expectations by a long way.  It has been praised by major figures in the Wargame business aswell as by MiniFig companies and book publishers. We do this for you out there. Trying to make a new place on the net for you all to visit. Aswell as bring different communities together and hopefully have some cross fertilisation, maybe introducing a MiniFig enthusiast to Wargames and vice versa.

So I thank you all for reading and do hope you can forgive us when things aren't quite right. We are still pretty new at this sort of thing, infact that's the first interview I've ever done, so please stick with us.


Thanks for your time

Little-Legends stand for review!

 

 

 

The first time I came across military LEGO was in a NEWS item about a man who had built a massive US warship all to scale in his rather large garage\shed\man cave. I was extremely impressed and I think at that moment fell in love with military LEGO. So when it came to deciding what I'd like to cover on the blog what we shall call from now on MiniFigs was a no brainer. I just needed to get those hives of creativity the builders and sellers to come on board. Thankfully all those I contacted agreed, paving the way I hope to a successful and popular section of the blog.

 



 

The first MiniFigs to stand to attention and get reviewed is a selection from Little-Legends. Each figure came in it's own packaging which unusually was pretty easy to open up to get to the little MiniFig with in.

 

 





 

First up is 'Tactical Team - Rumbler - Custom Figure'. What struck me was the superb quality of the MiniFig. Though I wouldn't normally buy a SWAT MiniFig I fell in love with it straight away. The detail in the Gas Mask and Body Armour is excellent and really can't be faulted. On his back he even has a detachable Hydration Pouch, now I've no idea what a Hydration Pouch is except it hydrates (probably) I still think it's uber cool. He comes fully armed with a Grenade Launcher which again smacks of quality.  Now I have heard people show surprise at the cost of these MiniFigs, but I'll say now they are worth every penny. Plus it's very unlikely this sort of thing will go down in price and over time I expect it to start becoming a little investment as figures go out of production. personally the mix of my interest in the military coupled with nostalgia is to much of a potent mix to let it pass buy. 'Tactical Team - Rumbler - Custom Figure' retails at £10.95.

 

 



 

 

Next up comes 'Renegade - Custom Army Minifig'. Here we have another treat with a MiniFig jam packed with his tools of the trade. As you can see from the pic he looks amazing and you have to admire the attention to detail that's gone into him. He comes wearing Body Armour, a Tactical Belt, Knee Pads, Modern Combat Helmet, Camo Scarf and Goggle cover. What more could a MiniFig need!? Well weapons obviously and he doesn't fall short here either. He packs an Assault Rifle, a mean looking Knife in a sheath, Pistol in a holster and last a Smoke Grenade in easy reach! What else can I say about him? Pure quality and will enhance any MiniFig collection or diorama!
 'Renegade - Custom Army Minifig' Retails at £13.95

 

 



 

Finally we have a WWII Minifig 'WW2 - German Gunner - Custom Minifig'. This little chap not only comes with his HMG but also a spare Ammo Box and enough ammo around his neck to put the fear into any Russian platoon that comes into his sights! He also sports his M41 Field Cap. Plus his HMG has a movable bipod. No WWII MiniFig diorama will be complete without this little chap and his 'Bone Saw'! Again detail is faultless, just first rate quality MiniFig like the other two.
'WW2 - German Gunner - Custom Minifig' Retails at £10.95

Well that's it for the first lot. I'm looking forward to the next selection from Little-Legends!