Difference Between Spitfire MKII Messerschmitt E-4 and Spitfire MKI Messerschmitt E-3
What is the difference between the Wings of Glory Spitfire MKI and Messerschmitt E-3 and the Wings of War Spitfire MKII and Messerschmitt E-4, other than a slightly different paint scheme. Is there any difference in game play such as card deck, damage counters, and defense value?
The new ARES Spitfire has one more turn in each direction compared to the old NEXUS Spitfire. Other than that I think they are the same.
Spitfires:
For the Spitfires, the Ares planes now have a single 60 degree turn that Nexus didn't have. It allows the Spitfire to out-turn the Bf-109s. There are Mk Is and Mk IIs in both, with the Mk I having 17 damage resistance, and the Mk IIs having 18. That is pretty much it.
General Overview of Released Minis - WWII - Airplane Series #1
See these cards for the difference (Turns 11 and 12 are the new maneuvers):
OldGuy59's WGS MATES Cards Album - BoB A Maneuvers (A Card)
OldGuy59's WGS MATES Cards Album - BoB A Maneuvers (B Card)
WGS MATES cards needed two cards to cover all the maneuvers available, due to the two speed choices in the WWII version of the game.
Messerschmitt Bf-109 E:
For the Bf-109, there is one point of difference for damage resistance between the two versions: 17 for the E-3, and 18 for the E-4.
Depending on your personal historical research, there were E-4Bs that were equipped with bomb racks, where the E-3 never was. Ares released the E-3s with a bomb attached. IMHO, this is incorrect, and if I fly the E-3s with bombs, it is on E-4 stands for bombing runs on my HMS Glorious aircraft carrier.
So, other than the Spitfire A maneuver deck, all the same between Ares and Nexus planes.
PS: Ooops! Ares didn't release a Mk II Spitfire, nor an E-4 Bf-109. They released a single model, and decals as part of a "Squadron" pack. This saved money and stock space for the minis. The planes in the Battle of Britain Starter Set were individually marked, but they are the only ones.
Last edited by OldGuy59; 12-27-2019 at 16:32.
Mike
"Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
"Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59
Quite a number of us think that Ares have given an incorrect climb rate for the Spitfire.
I described additional 60° cards better in the overview. Thanks for using it as a referenceOriginally Posted by OldGuy59
Wow. So do I really want to scour ebay for one more point of damage reistance and a slightly different paint job? You would have thought there would be a bigger upgrade from the MkI and MkII.
There really wasn't a big difference between the Mk.I and Mk,II.
I actually didn't note it, but I'm very surprised they gave the Mk.II another point of damage.
Karl
It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus
Makes me wonder why the Ares game has a separate entry for the MK II and E-4 on the climb chart, since they are both essentially the same in the game except for the extra point of damage resistance.
I'm looking at this with what references I can find, as well.
For the Spitfire, there were several engine and propeller changes through 1940, including the constant speed propeller added to both the Mk I and Mk II near the start of the Battle of Britain. In some references, there were minor tweaks to the fuel tanks for self-sealing attributes as the battle started. Others, the Merlin XII engine was paired with the Rotol manufactured wide-bladed propellers of 10 ft 9 in (3.27 m) diameter, which improved speed and climb rates. Depending on the reference, the Mk IIs needed the extra horse power because of the extra armor added, although the speed wasn't really increased in proportion to the increased horse power (due to the weight of the armor and engine). Supposedly, the combat handling and survivability were better in the Mk II.
Wikipedia.org - Supermarine Spitfire (early Merlin-powered variants)
www.baesystems.com - Vickers Supermarine Spitfire
Within the game mechanics of Wings of Glory, an added damage resistance point might be the only visible change we would see between the planes.
Mike
"Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
"Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59
On the Bf-109 variants, again, there were tweaks. One of the biggest, that isn't reflected in the game mechanics is the change of the 20mm cannons.
Wikipedia.org - Messerschmitt Bf-109 Variants... the modified 20 mm MG-FF/M wing cannon and having improved head armour for the pilot. With the MG FF/M, it was possible to fire a new and improved type of explosive shell, called Minengeschoß (or 'mine-shell'), which was made using drawn steel (the same way brass cartridges are made) instead of being cast as was the usual practice. This resulted in a shell with a thin but strong wall, which had a larger cavity in which to pack a much larger explosive charge than was otherwise possible. The new shell required modifications to the MG FF's mechanism due to the different recoil characteristics, hence the MG FF/M designation.
Because all cannons are lumped together, the larger explosive power of a 20mm round won't show a significant enough change to take the damage into the D chit range (30mm+ cannons). So, we don't see the difference in our game.
You will note in the quote above that the head armor for the pilot was increased.
Mike
"Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
"Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59
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