Gentlemen - my bombers landed safe in Frankfurt a.M. airport yesterday.
Hopefully they arrive Monday or Tuesday in Bavaria without customs.
Gentlemen - my bombers landed safe in Frankfurt a.M. airport yesterday.
Hopefully they arrive Monday or Tuesday in Bavaria without customs.
Voilą le soleil d'Austerlitz!
You lucky b...uddy!
Got mine day before yesterday!
Really hope yours are with you very soon, Sven.
I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!
Got mine not that long ago.
I want some too..
Shall not I place the order
You shall.
Hi Sven
Mine arrived in the UK last Wednesday but I have a small matter of Import Duty £7.57 and Royal Mail Post Office handling charge of £8.00. Which I have now paid and am now promised delivery tomorrow, Saturday. Hurry up Boris and get this trade deal with Donald done and dusted!
I get these Customs charges most of the time; but my orders are large enough to attract them!
There really isn't anything that can be done to shield a large order - it's just pot luck.
Thanks for all you do for us, Chief!
And extra thanks for the speedy delivery of my shiny new German bombers - even with the International postage, Customs fees and "fondling" charge, they are still cheaper than they would be if I bought them @ retail price in the UK.
I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!
Happy to hear that bombers are arriving!
Customs are tricky. I once got a dozen of free copies of my Isla Dorada boardgame from FFG. Complimentary copies that I got by contract. Italian customs did not believe that, even if given proof: they taxed both games as if bought by a final customer and shipping fee. I'd probably better buy them from the European publisher.
I expect my bombers will be here any day now then.
I am bracing myself for the hit at any rate. Not going out is saving me money hand over fist!
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Hi keith.
As Tim says sometimes even the big orders slip through. It just seems to depends on how vigilent the Customs opperatives are on that day. It ain't so much that I mind them, it's the handling charge by Parcel Farce, for my having to go and collect something that would normally be delivered to the door that irks me.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Voilą le soleil d'Austerlitz!
Guys so JU88 has a a large base and DO17 a mid-sized base?
Yes, the D0.17 uses the heavy fighter base, and the Ju.88 uses the bomber base.
Karl
It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus
And do we know why is that? Both planes had about the same wingspan ...
Quite late, but here is a detailed presentation
DORNIER DO.17Z / DORNIER DO.17Z-10 / JUNKERS JU.88A-1 / JUNKERS JU.88A-4
On the back of each box, a short historical presentation in English of the aircraft and the squadron, which can also be found in the decal location sheet included.
Each box also includes several crew skill and aircraft technical feature cards.
Even if the painting of the canopies is done by hand causing some asymmetries (not very visible on the game board), the canopies of these 4 miniatures have at least the merit of being painted.
DORNIER DO.17
DORNIER DO.17 Z (WGS205A)
The lack of camouflage paint between the rear cockpit / wing root and the engine nacelle / wing, leaves the blue paint of the lower surfaces visible, which creates the most noticeable unsightly aspect on this model (which can be easily changed with a well adjusted brush stroke).
Another aesthetic complaint : on the original aircraft, the canopy has the peculiarity of sloping upwards from half its length.
On the figure, Ares has simplified the model by creating a slope along the entire length.
It would have been better if the canopy was straight horizontally, if it was technically too complicated to create a canopy similar to the original model.
However, the name "Flying Pencil" is well captured with a very thin fuselage figure on the rear side.
The bulging front end is another feature of this model.
DORNIER DO.17 Z-10 (WGS205B)
A beautiful and very slender night fighter, whose front armament has nothing to envy to the twin-engine Beaufighter and Bf.110.
Its lack of Immelmann card is compensated by 2 rear machine guns (one materialized under the figure).
The uniformly black color makes this figure very aesthetic.
Note however, a slight gap between the fuselage / wing root junction (at the front and at the rear of the wing) and the vertical fins that are a bit off center.
EDIT : according to Woofs remark (see Post #289), the starboard fin was angled inward by 3.5 degrees to counter the torque effect of the engine. So, the miniature is more accurate than it may appear.
But these visual flaws are hardly visible during the game phases and do not detract from the elegance of the figure.
JUNKERS JU.88
See at the end of the message the resolution of the problem of adaptation of the altitude peg hindered by the presence of bombs.
JUNKERS JU.88 A-1 (WGS305A)
A figure with an angular fuselage, equipped with 4 bombs under canopy
(the Ju.88 could carry 4 bombs of 500kg under the wings, or 4 bombs of 100kg when the two bomb bays held 28 bombs of 50kg).
The light blue color of the lower surfaces appears on the front of the engine, which is less aesthetic than on the Ju.88 A-4 version with its black color.
JUNKERS JU.88 A-4 (WGS305B)
Same angular fuselage as the A-1 version, the figure is equipped with only 2 bombs under canopy.
Two rear machine guns are materialized instead of one on the A-1 version.
On this A-4 version, the fuselage and tail crosses are to be applied with decals.
The black color of the lower surfaces gives a beautiful harmony of colors, without defect of junction with the colors of the upper surfaces.
FIGURE COMPARISON
The Do.17 are longer, but their characteristic rounded wings have a wingspan of 18 m (limit between the medium and large base), which is less than that of the Ju.88 (37 cm difference with the Ju.88 A-1 in reality).
The increased wingspan of the Ju.88 A-4 gives it a majestic appearance.
The Heinkel He.111 remains the most imposing German twin-engine model in terms of length, wingspan and wing area.
COMPARISON OF MANEUVERING CARDS
The 4 planes have different speeds but identical maneuvers.
The 2 Ju.88s have 2 additional standard dive-bombing cards.
In ascending order of speed : Do.17 Z / Do.17 Z-10 / Ju.88 A-1 / Ju.88 A-4
MANAGEMENT AND SKILLS CARDS
TOKENS AND DECALCOMANIES
JUNKERS JU.88: altitude pegs hampered by the presence of bombs
The bombs under the wing of the Ju.88 A-1 and A.4 prevent the altitude support from fitting properly into the rod under the aircraft, generating instability of the figure on its base.
Holding the figure carefully in the hand (be careful with the propellers and antennas), you have to remove with a cutter a thin plastic strip on the back of the 2 central bombs, so that the support can be inserted normally (be careful not to hurt yourself).
RULES LEAFLETS included in each bomber box
Ju.88 A-1 and A-4 leaflets, page 4 last title :
VENTRAL MACHINE GUN
The Ju.88 A1 has a ventral machine gun that can only fire at targets at a lower altitude. This weapon is not used when playing with Basic or Standard Rules.
If Advanced Rules are in use, the ventral machine gun cannot fire at targets at higher altitude.
[this last sentence is wrong and must be suppressed.] (information from Andrea Angiolino)
Last edited by monse; 05-25-2021 at 06:03. Reason: Remark about the angled fin of the Dornier
I have passed on purchasing WWII. Ares can indeed change my mind ... not like this.
Great review Simon, thanks! I have ordered the blitz pack, looking forward to it.
With regards the wonky tailfins on the Do-17, That aircraft did in fact have the endplates angled to offset the torque effect of the engines. Not in the extreme way pictured though!
Simon you really do an extraordinary job !
Thank you for this very nice presentation of the DORNIER DO.17Z / DO.17Z-10 - JUNKERS JU.88A-1 / JU.88A-4
"Rep" ..."Rep"... "Rep"
Superb review Monse!
REP gun jammed!
I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!
Excellent review Simon!
Thank you all for your comments.
Jan, its a pity you miss some good miniatures.
Except the disastrous Bf.109 K model, the last WW2 WOG Ares releases have been quite good.
Interesting information, Mark.
This is the only picture I could find concerning the endplates angled (especially on the right side).
source : https://www.pinterest.fr/pin/603271312559867800/
Always thankful for any effort they make. In the days ahead we may be getting less and less. The advent of the proliferation of 3D prints has been a great blessing to the game and our collective future for the game and the fellowship of the wing. Though there is a large number of those who do not like or care to model and modify the aircraft, the number of willing custom modelers will help us in the long play. Glad to have a ready supply of elves in the house! I will be thinning my collection again to help the new players acquire "needed" planes! I have no need for a dozen of each . . .
"Fellowship of the Wing!"
Love it!!
I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!
"He is wise who watches"
I'm more concerned with the "Return of the Wing" myself.
Kyte.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
This picture is correct as far as I know. There are unfortunately very few sources which actually mention this feature of the Do-17. The aircraft did not have "handed" engines so to would have been susceptible to torque/swirl induced yaw. According to a a couple of sets of old scale plans I have the starboard fin was angled inward by 3.5 degrees to counter this.Originally Posted by monse
If my sources are reliable then I think the feature may be omitted in a great number of other plans/schematics as artists will quite happily just draw half then mirror the image. The angle is also sufficiently small it is not obvious in reference photos from most perspectives.
However, given the sparse information on the subject it could be that not all variants had this feature. In many photos the tail appears symmetrical, but you can perhaps see some difference in angle in this one
Last edited by Woof; 05-25-2021 at 03:06.
Thank you, Mark, for these unknown information.
I have edited the Dornier presentation and added the angled tail in the comment.
Here is another picture you sent to me with your interesting comment :
“it's only the starboard fin that angled. Here's a good schematic of the earlier Do17E which also shows it.
I think a lot of schematics omit this detail as the artists probably just draw half the aircraft outline then mirror it.
Quite a few WW2 aircraft have either angled or cambered vertical tails that are often not reflected correctly in drawings or models.”
https://no.pinterest.com/pin/492722015481095430/
There is still no news about a release date for the Blenheim and Savoia-Marchetti bombers (or any other Wings of Glory material) on the Ares Games Upcoming page. However, the 303 Squadron board game is predicted as being available in September.
https://www.aresgames.eu/upcoming-products
There's no news of ANYTHING on the Wings or Sails fronts other than a handful of reprints. I think we've been cast aside in favor of the more household-friendly boardgame market with many places still restricting gatherings and even regular commerce.
I have given up and sourced my Blenheims elsewhere. I already have all the Savoia-Marchettis I need.
Looks as if Ares are bleeding sales right left and center as usual.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Alas I think you are right, at least for the next few years. All the great plans we discussed with Ares seem to have gone for a ball of chalk now.
I did hear that another large games company was thinking of approaching Ares to see if they'd sell the "Sails" and "Wings" lines to them as they saw potential in their expansion, but I know they never got that far and the moment has passed.
Yeah, the absolute comms silence would be what one might delicately call A Clue. Wonder if this is part of why Keith's closing up shop at AA...
He presented these paper models in Prague 2018? Or 2019? But I guess it is not Andrea's fault we're waiting for new minis such long time...
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