Battlegroup Aircraft

While sorting out the attic I refound my plastic kits collection, which is rather extensive (+300 kits and counting). I've put quite a few aside for sale next year, but hoarded quite a few others cause they fit in with my build plans.

Some of these are aircraft. Now aircraft in Battlegroup are a fickle thing. You can pay for a scheduled attack by a fighter, fighter bomber and sometimes even a bomber so that it attacks a certain point at a certain time. If I understand the rules correctly they can be driven off by AA guns or even destroyed when they take too many hits. Or you can pull a aircraft chit and roll a 5+ for it to arrive, and then roll again to see what type of aircraft arrives. Again, these can be driven off by AA guns  but give you more flexibility in their attack mode. Buying a Forward Air Controller raises the chance that a aircraft arrives when you pull the chit (and grants you a extra offcier), so that's very helpful too (and another great modelling oppertunity

As I will be focussing on these rules, it would be nice to pick up my old hobby of model airplanes again, I made quite a few when I was a kid....I just never painted them. These days I do paint them and modify them with a wall plug and a magnet inside that so I can use them on my flight stands. It is the best of both worlds really, model aircraft that actually get to be used on the table.

So what do I need? Well, the focus lies with Germans (Early to Late), Russians (Early to Late) and British (Late), so I will need all of the books.

Barbarossa
Kursk
Overlord
Fall of the Reich

Barbarossa first then. The Germans get the Ju-87D Stuka, the Fiesler Storch and the Bf-110. All 3 are in my collection, ready to be built. The Russians get the I-16, the I-153, The SB-2 and the Il-2 Sturmovik. I have all of these except the SB-2, and I keep eyeing ICM kits of the model on Ebay, but this is not in any hurry.

Kursk. The Germans get the Ju-87D and G Stukas, the FW-190F, the HS-129B, the Fiesler Storch, the FW-189A Uhu, the HS-126 and the He-111.I can reuse the Early war Ju-87D. The rest I have in stock, apart from the Uhu, but I'm chasing that on our local Ebay. For some reason I feel like swapping out the He-111 with a Ju-88, but I have both kits so maybe both will get built, who knows. No rush again. I would like to use the Bf-110 strike fighter here as well, plus a Me-109E strike fighter as they would be fun to build for the Hornisse Zerstorer Gruppe. It is not too hard to make stats for the 109E. I have a Bilek Hs-129B but it doesn't feel right, like it is a underscale model, but it does come with a 50mm cannon pod. The Russians get the Il-2, now with a backseat gunner, the Pe-2, the Yak-1 and -9, the P-39 Aircobra, the Po-2 and the Il-4 (the book calls it a 4 engined aircraft while in fact it only has 2). The Pe-2 I picked up recently in the shape of the excellent Hobbyboss kit, I might have to source another Il-2. I don't have a Yak-1/-9 but the prices on Ebay don't seem very high so we'll see. A  P-39 i have several, 1 in progress, the Po-2 I'm trying to aquire but sofar no luck, and the same goes for the Il-4. I'm eyeing both on the local Ebay but sofar my bids have not been accepted or even replied to.

Overlord. The Brits get a Spitfire or a Typhoon, with an Auster as AOP. The Spitfire would be a Mark IX or Mark XII, and I have neither. Looking at Ebay, the Italeri Mark IX one seems nice and cheap too. A Academy Typhoon has been with me for years, so it is time it gets built. Austers tend to go for silly money, and I'm not sure if the Antartica one builds the same aircraft. The Germans get the Me-109G and the Fw-190 G. Neither I have in stock and unless I trip over one, won't be bought this year unless I can trade some of my kits for one.

Lastly, Fall of the Reich. The Brits get the Typhoon and Auster again and a Tempest. Since the Academy Typhoon is so cheap I'm tempted to build 2, one with and 1 without D-Day markings. I have no Tempest, but plenty of those on Ebay right now. The Germans get the Fw-190G, the Ju-87G and the Me-262. I can reuse the Fw-190G from Normandy and the Ju-87G from Kursk, so I will only have to build the Me-262 with bombs. I'm tempted to stat out the Arado Blitz and the Ju-188 just because I have the models and give the Germans the option of a 20-30 Point bomber strike, albeit one that is Unique cause by then fuel is scarce.

I have no plans for American aircraft yet other then the L-4 as a placeholder for the Auster. That doesn't mean I won't build them (I have plenty of the models in stock) but starting US forces isn't on the cards yet till 2016 or 2017, if ever.

Also, refinding German wunderwaffe kits like the Flying Wing, Panther F turrets and even the first helicopter makes me dream about things 1946, though a book like that will probably be all fan based. Maybe later.