10 player Midway Scenario!

[gully_raker]

Last night at our games club we played a historically based Midway game with 5 players on each side.
We used War at Sea 1/1200 models on top of Topdown mini cards to allow the 3D models to be removed when overflown by Aircraft.
The Jap forces consisted of all 4 carriers, 1 heavy cruiser & 4 destroyers supported by 4 Zero's, 2 Val's & 2 Kates.

US forces were the 3 carriers, 1 AA Cruiser & 2 destroyers with 4 Wildcats, 2 Dauntless & 2 Devastators.

All ships could fire 1 shot from 4 inch guns with a hit causing a D damage chit &/or AA MG fire which caused 2 A chits to be drawn.
A dice roll was required to see it hits were achieved.
If a Torpedo or Bomb achieved a hit the a D6 was rolled with a 1-2 causing minor damage, 3-4 moderate damage & 5-6 Ship sunk!
Normal shooting between aircraft as per rules.
We had slightly different rules for Jap Torpedoes & US ones plus the US AA was more accurate that Jap AA. (D6 for Japs to hit & D5 or 6 for US)

The ships were set up as per the disposition in the original battle.

Japanese Deployment:
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US Deployment:
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Initial manoeuvres:
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Devastators close in on Hiryu:
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Attack successful!:
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Result--Scratch one Jap Flattop!
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The Dauntless close in on the Jap Carriers:
Note the Vals being distracted by the US aircraft
& loosing valuable flying time instead of attacking the US carriers
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Meanwhile the Wildcats score the first kill:
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But the Kate's even the score!:
Yorktown is Sunk!
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The Devastator's manage to drop one bomb on Soryu's Flight deck
but only light damage!
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The Wildcats now take vengeance on the Kate's for Yorktown's loss.
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The remaining Zeros attack the returning Devastators:
But one aircraft avoids the attack & returns safely to Enterprise.
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The Val's finally arrive to attack Enterprise & Hornet but a combination of AA fire
& Wildcat attacks sees both Vals shot down & the Battle End.
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The result was a Minor Victory for the US forces with 1 carrier each side lost, 1 Jap carrier damaged but all 4 Japanese attack aircraft (Vals & Kates) shot down plus 2 Zeros shot down for the loss of one Devastator, however 2 Wildcats only had 2 or 3 damage points remaining so they did take punishment!

Everyone who participated said they really enjoyed the game which we tried to keep fairly simple with so many participants.
It is planned to do a Bismarck Sea scenario with similar numbers in about 3 months time.
After Christmas its back to WW1

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Cracking game.
Where do you get your War at Sea models from?
I have been trying to get more 1:1200 ships for a while without any luck.
Rob.

[BobP]

Very nice narrative & photos of the game. Looks like War at Sea ships on top of Top Side ship cards. Great idea.

[flash]

That, Baz, was the business my friend ! Like your torps too.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

That, Baz, was the business my friend ! Like your torps too.

Torps are Litco if I'm not mistaken.
Rob.

[flash]

thanks

[HotleadColdfeet]

Nice Scenario! Definitely not your average mission. I liked the ships, torpedos, Devastators and Kates especially. Well done!

[gully_raker]

Cracking game.
Where do you get your War at Sea models from?
I have been trying to get more 1:1200 ships for a while without any luck.
Rob.

12-7 games Rob. He still has a good range & Topdown minis have both WW1 & WW2 ships.

[gully_raker]

Torps are Litco if I'm not mistaken.
Rob.

Correct Rob!

[Flying Officer Kyte]

12-7 games Rob. He still has a good range & Topdown minis have both WW1 & WW2 ships.

Cheers Baz.
Rob.

[Angiolillo]

Thanks for the report, great scenario!

[Flying Officer Kyte]

12-7 games Rob. He still has a good range & Topdown minis have both WW1 & WW2 ships.

Just had a look see Baz.
Is it Task Force which are the 1: 1200 size as there seems to be a vast difference in the price between them and the Flank speed or surface action ones.
Rob.

[tikkifriend]

Just had a look see Baz.
Is it Task Force which are the 1: 1200 size as there seems to be a vast difference in the price between them and the Flank speed or surface action ones.
Rob.

Try the infernal E bay Rob , there are quite a few private andshop sellers offering Allied and Axis warat sea models.

[tikkifriend]

Looked to be a fantastic game Baz. Good idea using the Topside minis as fly over cards.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Try the infernal E bay Rob , there are quite a few private andshop sellers offering Allied and Axis warat sea models.

Thanks Paul, but I still don't know how to discover what scale they are.
Rob.

[gully_raker]

Just had a look see Baz.
Is it Task Force which are the 1: 1200 size as there seems to be a vast difference in the price between them and the Flank speed or surface action ones.
Rob.

Rob as far as I am aware all War at Sea models are 1/1200.
Just look under single models as they list these by nationality & you can see pics of the models with prices. This is where I got mine from. Carriers are around $30 + or - depending. Cruisers about half that & Destroyers really cheap.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Cheers Baz.
I will dip my toe in the water then.
Rob.

[Blackronin]

Excellent game and AAR, Barry!
I can't give you REP in Facebook, but here I can.

[CappyTom]

Great report Barry! Where did you get the torpedoes?

Thomas

[Blauer Baron]

Hello Rob,
I have checked and have found reference to the ships being scale 1:1800.
Compare the aircraft in the pictures with your models and I think you will see the difference.
Size matters.
Kevin

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Thanks Kevin I will need to look further afield then.
Rob.

[gully_raker]

Great report Barry! Where did you get the torpedoes?

Thomas

Litko Tom!

[gully_raker]

Thanks Kevin I will need to look further afield then.
Rob.

Rob, I have been using War at Sea models with WW2 Wings since way back. Bismarck Sea, Island Raids, Midway & other scenarios & I find they are perfect scale to fit in for the games especially as now Topdown minis have cards in the same scale to place under them.
Do check out Topdown as they may list the scale on their website but anyway irrespective of scale I think they both do the job. For me anyway.

[gully_raker]

Rob I checked with TOPDOWN MINIS. (NOTE correct name---how the old mind makes mistakes!)
Their scale is 1/1850 so I guess the War at Sea ones must ne about the same. Please check out the Topdown mini cards as I think you will be impressed.
Cheers Baz.

[RiotInferno]

Where can I find these TOPDOWN minis? Google just returns convertibles and mini blinds.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Where can I find these TOPDOWN minis? Google just returns convertibles and mini blinds.

Try here John.

http://topsideminis.com/online-store-2/

Rob.

[RiotInferno]

Try here John.

http://topsideminis.com/online-store-2/

Rob.

Thanks!

[usp40sw]

Great game. Looks like a lot of fun. Did the ships move at all or just the Aircraft?

[Marechallannes]

Sneaking around in the WW II AAR section I found this Pacific gem.

(...only 2 month later )

A great setting and AAR, Barry.

That's a "convention worth" scenario!

Just a question: How long lasted this game?