"Flying Buffalos Gulf of Finland" Topic

Ran out version 4 of my rules using my finnish Buffalo squadron. Found here:
link

Happy Thanksgiving!

Joe

Very interesting matchup between the Buffaloes and the Ratas. Thanks for sharing!

You know, for an old wargamer, "Flying Buffalo" mentioned on the Solo board conjures up a very different image.

Confession time, people! Am I the only one to click on this link and expect something related to Tunnels and Trolls?

Great stuff, Joe, very entertaining, and a successful mission to boot, but leave it up to the Lieutenant to get the Warrant Officer whacked!!! ;)

So when do you figure your rules will be ready for showtime?

V/R,
Jack

Confession time, people! Am I the only one to click on this link and expect something related to Tunnels and Trolls?

Me, too!

Bluisma and Aibal are definitely not Finnish names (there being no "b" in Finnish) and don't look Swedish to me (Swedish names are common in western Finland). Are they volunteers from other countries?

Me three, Robert.

Prince A and Jack,
Thank you for the kind words.
Jack, am really going to push to have them done by the end of the year so hopefully mid February. : )
Robert, OB and PG,
am not familiar with tunnels and trolls but obviously stumbled into something. Hope it is a pleasant memory for all of you.
OB,
Am clearly not the Finnish scholar you are. My mistake was relying on osprey for names I guess. I normally try to populate my roster with some lesser known aces. No doubt you recognize both "Tanni" and "Karhunen" as actual Finnish aces. As replacements come in I try to invent names that I think are close. Clearly these are not close enough for you. I am sorry. I did think using a "b" was safe.
The Finnish aces book list two aces with last names beginning with "b". There is a drawing of Capt Bremer on page 43. He also was in the Olympics for finland in 1924 I think. I apologize for the error but I hope you understand where it came from. Without speaking Finnish I am but limited to secondary sources.

Cheers

Joe

Joe
The Finnish language can be a challenge to be sure. I am not Finnish myself, but did study the language once upon a time. As mentioned, there are a lot of Swedish names to be had (like Bremer of even Mannerheim) – and of course you have Hans Wind – that name isn't Finnish either (no "w"). One Mannerheim cross winner has a last name that can be translated as "The Russian."
I use the names from Finnish war movies – Specifically Talvisota (Winter War) and Tuntematon Sotilas (Unknown Soldier). then I use the actor names when I run out.

Korvessa,
Thank you for the information. I have learned far more about the Finnish language than I had suspected. But it does appear that you could be a Finnish pilot and have your name start with a "b" so I feel better about that. My faith in osprey has been restored.
Finnish war movies are a great idea for names but I haven't seen any. I actually don't watch a lot of movies. I would rather create my own story on the tabletop. You know something about that. I have seen your battle reports and they are quite good. I will Google those movies or your blog to get a couple of names as replacements unless you would like to suggest some.
I certainly would not want to offend OB with an improper name again!
Thank you for your kindness, explanation and suggestions.

Cheers

Joe

You're quite welcome. And I am glad you like my battle reports!
I do them mostly for my own amusement, so it is nice to hear someone else likes them!
Here's another source for Finnish names. It is a list of Mannerheim Cross winners – translated to English. link

The weird names are due to bad AI translations. For example, Ilmari Juutilainen's name (I am sure you recognize that name – LOL) is translated as "Jewish" – it accualy means his family originally came from Jutland.

Here are some last names of people I knew in Finland:
Haapanen
Partanen
Suominen
Helske
Kirsi
Lahdeperä
Helander
Ketolainen
Salmi

As a native Finn, I would not recommend trying to invent your own surnames if you want to have credible sounding ones. Instead, I would suggest the following list of hundred most common surnames in Finland as a basis (from the official Finnish name statistics):

link

These statistics are for modern day, but would be equally applicable in 1940's (with the exception of Nguyen, which would have been unknown at the time).

While most surnames in Finland at the time were Finnish, also Swedish surnames were also very common, especially in the coastal areas. The invented name Bluisma sounds like an attempt to mash-up parts of a Swedish surname (Blomqvist) and a Finnish surname (Kuisma) together.

Also surnames of German or Russian origins would not be out of question. However, the Russian surnames would have been translitterated into Latin alphabet differently than nowadays; if you see a name ending in -ff it is probably of Russian origin.

For something more peculiar, there were also certain surnames based on Latin language. This is not due to any visits by ancient Romans (who never made it this far with their conquests), but rather due to a trend amongst some native scholars back around 17th or 18th century to invent such surnames to sound more learned.

Korvessa,
Yes I do recognize the leading Finnish ace. :). Thank you for the list. Hopefully our losses will be light so the list should last a while!
GB,
As a native of Finland I can imagine my mashup was painful to your ears! My apologies. Thank you for the explanation and link.
Here I was concerned about the difference between the type 10 and type 24 I 16 fighter. Now I have learned a lot about Finnish surnames. This should make my stories more immersive and I thank you both.
Thanks

Joe

Joe
Glad to help.
I am not Finnish myself, just really into their military history and culture.

Nice to read about the early war Buffalo being used.
I never considered the game company as the focus.

Just to close out the mystery, somewhere back in the Neolithic, Flying Buffalo was a wargaming company, turning out solo dungeons and other RPG material for very early D&D, and making a poor man's version of the D&D rules known as "Tunnels and Trolls." (I treasure the memory of the illustration accompanying saving throws--an Orc with an arrow running from forehead to hindbrain mockingly announcing "You missed all my vital parts!")

Remembered fondly, but I don't know how I'd feel about playing it after 50 years.

They are still available through the distributors. Number of items very limited from Flying Buffalo. I carried a number of their products in the 1980s. Met them at a few shows too

TP,
Have always had a warm spot for the underdog. I have a squadron of Australian buffalos in Singapore as well.
Robert,
So that is the mystery. Given the title I could see that. Glad I could provide a happy memory.

Cheers

Joe

As replacements come in I try to invent names that I think are close.

You can always go with this guy:
Ilmari Joensuu (5 victories)

Joensuu can be translated as:
1) Joensuu the city
2) River's mouth
3) Joe's mouth

Sorry, couldn't help myself. LOL

Nice!
How did you start your obsession with Finland?

Joe

Church mission 1980-1982

Very cool! Now I get the connection as well as the language skill.