Italian Alps

[BellMW54]

Here's yet another AAR my wife shared on her Facebook page a few weeks ago. Our friend came up to visit one afternoon and wanted to play another game ... this time with a balloon ... so, with my arm being severely twisted (right!), I acquiesced and pulled out all the necessary goodies. Within 15 minutes, a space on the table was cleared, a mission set up, beers were poured and we were all dogfighting to our hearts' content! Following is her post for your enjoyment.

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WoG ... Italian Alps 2018
July 27 at 2:01 PM

...i may have to "park it" and be mostly off my feet...but i can certainly soar!!! ;D


Saturday...our long-time friend Bhil is up from Delaware but it's raining cats and dogs outside, so no grilling or outdoor entertaining...rats! hmm, if we have to be cooped-up today, why not have a dogfight INSIDE


so, the table is set...this time the objective will be an observation balloon behind Austrian lines. yay! i like balloon busting!!!


Bhil and i are Italian pilots flying Nieuport 11s armed with rockets...it's our job to destroy the balloon before it's hauled down to the ground


...and we're off! Bhil starts to climb as we approach the Austrian trenches


...in the meantime, my "Austrian" hubby Mike enters the picture on far side of the map to head us off in his Halberstadt d.iii...he climbs as well while the balloon starts to descend as fast as it can!


...we soon close the distance between us and while i veer to the right, Bill turns to attack Mike. they both "open the ball" with bursts from their machine guns!


...as they pass each other, Mike swings toward me and riddles my poor little Neuport, causing my engine to smoke!...


...sadly my evasive maneuvers meant i couldn't fire my rockets...but i was at least able to fire my machine gun at close range and...what luck...the balloon caught fire!

...as the observer bailed out from his basket, Bhil also threw a burst into it...yes! and the best part?...Mike's gun jammed...YES!!


...as we pass a bit closer to the descending balloon than either of us had intended, the fire suddenly spreads and poor Bhil is almost caught underneath it!


scrambling for our lives we're both able to escape from harms way...Mike, in the meantime, flies off in an effort to try to un-jam his machinegun


after a little maneuvering on everybody's part, we all come back again for yet another attack. Bhil fires his rockets and...HURRAY!...the balloon is finally destroyed! and none too soon for it had almost made it to the ground!


...as the flaming gas bubble plummets to the earth, Bhil and i tip our wings at each other in excitement while Mike swings his Halberstadt away from the fray...dejected over his failed mission. oh well, he'll surely be back to fight on another day!


in the end there was an Italian victory with no human loss of life...nor any loss of airplanes...so we never got a chance to try out any of the new wreck markers Mike had specially made. before we started, he'd shown them to us and said he hoped none of us would have to use one.

while packing everything up, Mike shared his desire to host a scenario with a bomber involved...maybe something simple...like a couple British scouts chasing a German Gotha across the English Channel for our next foray? hmm, simple...HA! i can't wait...as I've said before, i LOVE this game!!!

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After his introduction to WoG at our house a few months ago, Bhil has really taken to it like a fish to water and now owns quite a sizable collection of his own, including a number of WWII planes; some of which he brought with him to show off. I'd never realized he'd always been an avid air war fan and, since that first game, we constantly discuss the weapons and campaigns of both world wars and, since having both bought into BoB, would both love to see a series of early WWII Carrier Wars planes available. Wildcats, Zeros, dive and torpedo bombers as well as ship cards for both sides ... oh well, another dream ... and potential MONEY PIT!

'Til next time, may the wind always be at your back!

[gully_raker]

Nothing better than a fun game with friends!

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Thank your good lady for posting this on her Facebook page Mike.
I am as you probably know a great fan of the Italian front.
It may even get me to post my last mission myself.
you must get your good lady to join the Drome, then she can post direct and gain some Rep. In the meantime i am giving you some for passing this on to us.
Rob.

[john snelling]

Excellent pics! I like the color of your aircraft. Would you care to tell us what technics were used for the weathered look.

[Naharaht]

Thank you for the good A.A.R., Mike. Were the flames fastened onto the balloon with double sided sticky tape?

[BellMW54]

Nothing better than a fun game with friends!

Indeed! It's also the only time I have images to share as my wife ALWAYS brings her camera (albeit these were taken at home). Whenever I run games at our club, we're all too busy to do any clicking ...

[BellMW54]

Thank your good lady for posting this on her Facebook page Mike.
I am as you probably know a great fan of the Italian front.
It may even get me to post my last mission myself.
you must get your good lady to join the Drome, then she can post direct and gain some Rep. In the meantime i am giving you some for passing this on to us.
Rob.

By all means, post your "Iti" missions. I've only played a few, some with Hanriots, a couple with the Nieuports above and one with a Caproni after I finally bought into the whole "bomber" thing (which I originally swore I'd never do). I generally use them against what Austrian planes I have. Fun stuff!

[BellMW54]

Excellent pics! I like the color of your aircraft. Would you care to tell us what technics were used for the weathered look.

John,

Thanks for the compliment. I don't do anything particularly special, but the following will spell out my process.

First and foremost, I research the models I want to paint to determine what, if anything, I need to add to the scheme. Then:

1) I spray the model with Dull-coat to allow my paints to adhere (VERY important).
2) I score decals along control surfaces and wherever else is necessary
3) I paint the model either en-toto or only the desired areas, matching existing colors
4) I "wash" the various areas with diluted colors
(You can actually buy bottles of black or brown washes...there are even some colors available. However, I prefer my own dilutions as the purchased one tend to be too stark for my taste.)
5) I dab paint for dirt and mud on undercarriage and "dry-brush" a lighter amount of dirt on underside and along sides to replicate splatter
6) I final "wash" the whole model with an extremely diluted medium brown for overall weathering
7) I again spray the model with Dull-coat for a final protective finish and...presto!...it's ready to go up and get shot down (HA)!

It sounds more involved than it actually is and I usually paint a series of similar planes at one time; assembly-line style. The beauty of ARES' models is that they come out of the box "ready to fly". So, often, I don't have that much to do to them painting-wise. I just like to make sure my wings don't look like they've been decalled (That's what drove me to paint them in the first place. Looking at them head-on, bothered me. They looked like brightly colored ironing boards!) and there aren't any bare spots showing through on the model.

I hope this helps. Good Luck!

[BellMW54]

Thank you for the good A.A.R., Mike. Were the flames fastened onto the balloon with double sided sticky tape?

No, David, they weren't. However, they should have been...as can be seen in one of the images where one had fallen off. They're merely pipe-cleaners with bent front ends to keep them in place on the wings of my planes. I'm thinking I need to work up some special batting smoke-n-fire markers for my balloons that WILL be adhered by either double-sided or rolled-over tape.

[john snelling]

John,

Thanks for the compliment. I don't do anything particularly special, but the following will spell out my process.

First and foremost, I research the models I want to paint to determine what, if anything, I need to add to the scheme. Then:

1) I spray the model with Dull-coat to allow my paints to adhere (VERY important).
2) I score decals along control surfaces and wherever else is necessary
3) I paint the model either en-toto or only the desired areas, matching existing colors
4) I "wash" the various areas with diluted colors
(You can actually buy bottles of black or brown washes...there are even some colors available. However, I prefer my own dilutions as the purchased one tend to be too stark for my taste.)
5) I dab paint for dirt and mud on undercarriage and "dry-brush" a lighter amount of dirt on underside and along sides to replicate splatter
6) I final "wash" the whole model with an extremely diluted medium brown for overall weathering
7) I again spray the model with Dull-coat for a final protective finish and...presto!...it's ready to go up and get shot down (HA)!

It sounds more involved than it actually is and I usually paint a series of similar planes at one time; assembly-line style. The beauty of ARES' models is that they come out of the box "ready to fly". So, often, I don't have that much to do to them painting-wise. I just like to make sure my wings don't look like they've been decalled (That's what drove me to paint them in the first place. Looking at them head-on, bothered me. They looked like brightly colored ironing boards!) and there aren't any bare spots showing through on the model.

I hope this helps. Good Luck!

I'm going to use your method on my next batch.

Thanks for the advice.

[Teaticket]

Thanks for posting your AAR. And as said before your planes are nicely done!

[Setarius]

Nicely done and Congratulations on the convert. It's good to see new people buying into Wings with a gusto and enjoying it.