| D6 Junkie | 14 Nov 2009 5:02 p.m. PST |
I remember seeing the backcover of a MWAN
that had a bunch of bombers on a very nice hexmap.
Is there a set of rules that will 'easily' handle
a big bomber group their escort and the
interceptors? |
| svsavory | 14 Nov 2009 5:40 p.m. PST |
Check Your 6! uses a hex grid, and works well with bomber scenarios. |
| Dances with Clydesdales | 14 Nov 2009 6:42 p.m. PST |
White Star/ Blue Sky. Not sure if it's still in print. |
| Brent27511 | 14 Nov 2009 8:37 p.m. PST |
I think both would work out for you. Just my 2 cents here, if you are going to use a lot of bombers try going with 1/600. I think it is a lot more workable with the smaller scales, you can make some really tight bomber boxes. |
| Allen57 | 14 Nov 2009 8:49 p.m. PST |
You cn use any set of rules that provide for the number of escorts/interceptors you want in play. The bombers are basically a target that can shoot back so they dont need a lot of play. |
| Ed Mohrmann | 14 Nov 2009 8:55 p.m. PST |
I've used the Blue Sky rules for years and run up to
60 B-17/B-24's with 8-12 escorts and 16-20 interceptors. CY6 is a really good game, but I don't think it would
handle that many planes easily. |
| Steve Hazuka | 14 Nov 2009 9:24 p.m. PST |
CY6 is a great game and I've seen it handle 12 bombers at a con game. I think though it's too new to have seen on the back of a MWAN. I miss MWAN |
John Leahy  | 14 Nov 2009 10:24 p.m. PST |
Wasn't that a Bomber Stream game on MWAN? Thanks, John |
 Doms Decals | 15 Nov 2009 12:08 a.m. PST |
A definite vote for Blue Skies here – CY6 is far better suited to smaller games unless you have a lot of players. (It uses simple orders and siultaneous movement, so more players mean a large game can be handled in good time, but it bogs down with a large number of planes per player.) |
| jimborex | 15 Nov 2009 12:12 a.m. PST |
I'm not a huge fan of Blue skies, but I've played it and seen it played with scads of aircraft on the table. It is definitely capable of handling what you are trying to do. Coincidentally, tonight I found my long unused copy of the rulebook in my basement. |
| Phil Gray | 15 Nov 2009 5:37 a.m. PST |
The Blue Skies series is about the only way forward for this… Air wargames are still in the place where one model is one plane, so the rule set is extremely simple to cope. So not much chrome, but a very workable system. |
| HardRock | 15 Nov 2009 5:59 p.m. PST |
We use 'Wings of Fire' and have run 12 or 15 heavy bombers. We just run the bombers on automatic, they fly straight and everyone helps with the bombers fire. |
| Windward | 16 Nov 2009 9:04 a.m. PST |
I'm going to go with CY6! on this. They ran a mega game at historicon with 64 bombers. In CY6! you don't plot bombers, and in formation they just motor along in a straight line. So what they did is just shift the fighters 2 hexes in the opposite direction of the bomber movement then went forward with standard play. This meant that you didn't have to fiddle with moving 64 bombers, just the 20 or so fighters. Very fast, very simple. The CY6! fire rules are simple enough that after a few iterations you know all the numbers needed to hit, so its just a matter of dice through the bomber stream. With 12+ players (each pushing a couple of fighters) and 64 bombers it moved pretty quickly, done inside 4 hours. Not sure how many turns. Also the new "Breaking the Luftwaffe" book has a number of scenarios. Also I would second the 1/600th suggestion, its what I do. Till someone makes plastic 1/300th B-17s to bulk out a bomber stream the price is prohibitive. --Tom |
| Windward | 16 Nov 2009 2:49 p.m. PST |
BTW if you want to do big B-17 games there is a possible option for cheap 1/300ths. Wargames Factory has a queue forming for making a mold for 1/300th B-17s in plastic. link --Tom |
| Doms Decals | 16 Nov 2009 3:15 p.m. PST |
Nice theory, but Wargames Factory have a standard 6x4 sprue size – fairly elementary maths says 3x 1/300 B17s on one sprue doesn't go – I don't even think two would…. |
| myrm11 | 17 Nov 2009 8:57 a.m. PST |
Hmmm, I make it (using wiki figures) 4" x 3" almost dead – thats a 104' wingspan, 75foot length down to 1/3 of a foot and a bit by a 1/4 of a foot. So two theoretically fit as is, if the 6x4 is space inside the outer bar of the sprue then 2 fit as single piece moulds, a bit of fast and loose with the precision on 1/300 and it squeezes in. Could you break the fuselage up a it and slot all the bits in for 3? I don't know – it sounds a little tight and first thought but I guess a cross shape in a 4x3 rectangle has a fair amount of dead space to juggle with so is it possible…..spacial mathematicians anywhere? |
| Windward | 17 Nov 2009 10:19 a.m. PST |
Nothing says it has to be cast as a single piece, I would suspect separate wings maybe nose details so make early or late models. I think laid out you could do it in the space. But who knows, thats their problem. |
| Doms Decals | 17 Nov 2009 10:23 a.m. PST |
6x4 is the *external* dimension, and depth would become an issue if they were single piece. Additionally you can't undercut on a hard plastic mould, so I suspect it'd need breaking down into 5 parts – 2 wings, 2 fuselage halves and the tailplane.
But who knows, thats their problem. Except of course that if it can't be done it won't be done, so better to get the facts straight up front, maybe? |
