Your illustrious opponent is a legendary JFB and has played this scenario in the past. Is it in bounds to discuss what he might do based on that?
Thanks for posting topeverest. I have to leave this up to your discetion. As long as Andre's AAR is not compromised, I can't see any reason not to speculate based on previous experience as people have done at times in other AAR's
I'm pretty sure Andre will go for Ceylon and parts of India. It seems the best short term solution for harvesting the VP's needed for an auto-victory in 1942. I take it as a given that I will lose New Caledonia and Fiji. I would not rule out an invasion of New Zealand, but I don't think Andre is the kind of player that would enhance the Allied OOB with emergency reinforcements.
I think Andre will use the remainder of the amphibious bonus to grab as many bases as possible, but a major operation to achieve auto-victory may not become evident until April or June. Until then, I prepare for every conceivable objective as best I can.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
Three Japanese DD's bombard the base during the night. Is this the prelude to invasion?
China:
Japanese troops are beginning the move to flank Sian. I'll post a screenshot after the next turn. The bulk of the Chinese defenders at Sian will withdraw northwest in two days. My reasoning is that Sian can't be held and the routing of 2000AV will be disastrous. I'd rather force Andre to dig my forces out of 3x defensive terrain. Many of the Chinese units have morale in the 80's now and I don't want to see that degraded by being bombed in clear terrain after being routed from Sian.
I moved AVG 3rd Squadron to Changsha last turn to CAP the base. The Japanese have been bombing it with a lone Sonia Sentai. For no loss, AVG downed 13 Sonia's in A2A. On the day, total air losses were 3:29 in the Allied favour with half the total being Japanese Ops losses.
The air campaign over China has not been a milk run for the Japanese. Here's a brief total of Allied kills by squadron in China:
Three Japanese DD's bombard the base during the night. Is this the prelude to invasion?
China:
Japanese troops are beginning the move to flank Sian. I'll post a screenshot after the next turn. The bulk of the Chinese defenders at Sian will withdraw northwest in two days. My reasoning is that Sian can't be held and the routing of 2000AV will be disastrous. I'd rather force Andre to dig my forces out of 3x defensive terrain. Many of the Chinese units have morale in the 80's now and I don't want to see that degraded by being bombed in clear terrain after being routed from Sian.
I moved AVG 3rd Squadron to Changsha last turn to CAP the base. The Japanese have been bombing it with a lone Sonia Sentai. For no loss, AVG downed 13 Sonia's in A2A. On the day, total air losses were 3:29 in the Allied favour with half the total being Japanese Ops losses.
The air campaign over China has not been a milk run for the Japanese. Here's a brief total of Allied kills by squadron in China:
That's a total of 119 Japanese aircraft (excluding Ops losses) downed by A2A in China so far. Not bad. [8D]
I agree, if you've built your troops up and he's showing pressure and the use of a large air force at Sian, get out and into +3. Sucks to lose a supply center and give the Japanese oil, but better than losing all of those troops if you'll then lose the base anyway.
Good work with the AVG. Looks like he's not getting many fighters into China to help out. Keep it up!
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
Defending Java - Batavia if your playing with Stacking Limits (SL) and the mountain bases if your not. Soerabaja looks like a nice place, but its clear terrain and your Dutch troops need whatever terrain modifiers they can get.
Diego Garcia - Its becoming more a SOP for Allied players to send one of those 'at sea' TF with a brigade here. At least you can force Japan to invade with a division rather than a few SNLF units. I like to send one of the rebuilt Brit RN BFs destroyed in Malaya here if given a chance.
I agree, if you've built your troops up and he's showing pressure and the use of a large air force at Sian, get out and into +3. Sucks to lose a supply center and give the Japanese oil, but better than losing all of those troops if you'll then lose the base anyway.
Good work with the AVG. Looks like he's not getting many fighters into China to help out. Keep it up!
Hi Erik,
It's a tough decision to withdraw from Sian and giving up the supply generation. I know from playing Japan that if the Chinese defend Sian heavily, when it falls it gets ugly fast. The way to Lanchow and the central plains of China is wide open. I hope to sacrifice Sian in order to gain a stronger defensive position overall. The trade off is Japanese forces will be free to advance not having to recover from a siege and the airbase will bring Chungking within range of Japanese bombers.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
Defending Java - Batavia if your playing with Stacking Limits (SL) and the mountain bases if your not. Soerabaja looks like a nice place, but its clear terrain and your Dutch troops need whatever terrain modifiers they can get.
Diego Garcia - Its becoming more a SOP for Allied players to send one of those 'at sea' TF with a brigade here. At least you can force Japan to invade with a division rather than a few SNLF units. I like to send one of the rebuilt Brit RN BFs destroyed in Malaya here if given a chance.
Hi Michael,
Yep, live and learn about defending Java. I had hoped to at least wreck the facilities at Soerabaja, which was my main motivation to defend there. Without terrain modifiers the Dutch just aren't strong enough to put up an effective resistance. As you say, they need all the help they can get.
I have the 46th Indian Brigade garrisoning Diego Garcia. Forts are level three and current strength is 131AV. I'll reinforce further if I can, but I've been concentrating on strengthening Australia and India proper first.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
I finally got my screen resolution issues figured out. The map looks fantastic at 1920 x 1080. I'll have to lower it for screenshots though as I think the icons will be too small for most of our aging eyes to see. [:D]
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
I'm hoping we can get the March 5th turn completed today and then Andre is gone until Monday, so there will not be any turn over the next five days. That should give me a chance to post some screenshots.
The bulk of Chinese forces should withdraw from Sian today, leaving all but a few corps in defence. I think I'm making the right call as Japanese bombers are now targeting the base in earnest and disablements are lowering the AV daily. Disruption and losses will be high while traversing the first clear terrain hex prior to reaching rough terrain, but that can't be helped. It looks like some Japanese armour is leading the flanking move, but I've gotten the jump so the road will remain open until the bulk of my forces reach the mountains.
VP's have now reached a definite 2:1 advantage for the Japanese. The ratio will increase significantly over the next few months if Andre conducts operations where I suspect he will, primarily India and the Southeast Pacific. I'm going to be even harder pressed once China starts the inevitable slide towards no supply.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
The number of Japanese bombers hitting Sian is slowly increasing, as is the damage they are inflicting. March 5th sees the bulk of the defenders vacate the base to occupy the clear terrain hex northwest of the base. They will be targeted heavily while in such poor terrain, but at least have stolen a march on the Japanese. I'm torn. I hate giving up Sian without a fight, but without stacking limits, I can't afford to have 2500AV wiped out defending the base.
Allied fighters have been withdrawn to Kwieyang in anticipation of retaliatory Japanese sweeps. Sure enough Changsha is swept by Tojo's and Oscar's.
Southeast Pacific:
Surprisingly, Japanese amphibious landing occur at Noumea on March 5th. Despite low supply, the defending base force's CD guns damage a number of Japanese ships. The Japanese had already invested the base with an infantry regiment that had marched overland from Koumac, so I'm surprised five Naval Guard units were ordered to conduct an amphibious assault when they could just as easily have landed at La Foa and marched into Noumea. Something tells me Andre is in a hurry for some reason. I don't mind, the Japanese may lose a few ships to CD guns and a fair number of enemy squads were lost conducting the landings, more so than had they simply landed elsewhere and marched overland.
Thoughts:
I'm starting to receive large numbers of reinforcing LCU's which will be moved forward as soon as possible. These consist mostly of base and support units. I'm trying to reinforce Tahiti and points east. I will conceded Fiji and Pago Pago, but must draw the line at any further Japanese expansion into the Pacific.
CV Yorktown arrives in fours days. I have not decided whether to send her to Cape Town or Hawaii. I'm leaning towards sending her to Cape Town. That would give me three American and two British CV's in the IO. More than enough to give CV Kaga and friends trouble. However, there's a real possibility KB could appear in the IO if Andre decides to make a major push against Ceylon or India proper. My instincts tell me KB is in the Southeast Pacific about to support an operation against Fiji.
If I can ascertain that KB is still in the Pacific, I will look to engage Japanese forces in the IO with five Allied CV's. Two American CV's will remain at Pearl Harbor. If KB is spotted in the IO, I may launch a counter-invasion of Christmas Island.
I'm happy with preparations in Australia and India to strengthen the defence. Reinforcements are rushed to India as soon as they arrive at Aden and the 11th Indian Division is about to be reformed at Karachi. As much as India looks stronger on paper, I do realize the Commonwealth forces are limited by low experience and replacement rates. The priority for India is engineering support units to build up base infrastructure. I'm preparing to lose Ceylon, but need to build up the bases in Southern India to be able to mount an effective air campaign against Japanese forces. To that end, the first B-17 units are arriving in India and the American 51st FG is already on the continent. I am conserving my 2E and 4E bomber strength for when needed. I see no reason to lose aircraft bombing targets that have no tactical or strategic significance at this time.
I have to be patient, but the time is quickly approaching where I will have to actively contest at least one major Japanese push and look to consolidate some potential Japanese objectives in order to apply pressure with an adequate defence that will require increased effort on the part of the Japanese. Andre's free pass is reaching it's expiration date.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
I just spent $600 on a spray booth for the hobby room. [8|]
That being said, it's been long overdue and will mean I can paint my models all year long indoors and safely have the particles and fumes dealt with. This hobby is becoming expensive! [:D]
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
I just spent $600 on a spray booth for the hobby room. [8|]
That being said, it's been long overdue and will mean I can paint my models all year long indoors and safely have the particles and fumes dealt with. This hobby is becoming expensive! [:D]
But so worthwhile.
I take it you have an airbrush? I need to get one of those. Recommendation for a starter model? I was thinking one of the basic $80-100 kits on Amazon.
I take it you have an airbrush? I need to get one of those. Recommendation for a starter model? I was thinking one of the basic $80-100 kits on Amazon.
I have two. An old Badger that cost around $60 that I've used for 20 years and recently bought a Badger Velocity dual action. I think you are bang on, get yourself a mid-range brush that's reasonably priced to start out with. I'd recommend getting a dual action as opposed to single. It takes a little practice, but offers you far more control I think. I also like a gravity feed as opposed to those with a bottle and syphon. My old Badger is a bottle feed and it's a pain to clean out between colours. A top gravity feed is so easy and fast to switch colours. I've always liked my Badgers, but Iwata is another popular and reliable brand. I can't comment on any others as I have no direct experience with them.
You'll never regret making the switch to an airbrush. [&o]
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
I work on models that are far too small to entirely airbrush, but it would be nice to have for the larger sections. And for scenery. Definitely getting a dual action brush. Someday, when I have $100 to spare and the space to use the thing.
I work on models that are far too small to entirely airbrush...
You'd be surprised. It all comes down to your needle size. You can get down to the width of a 0.5mm pencil, so you may find it will allow you to cover finer areas on your 1:700 scale ships than you might have thought otherwise.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
I just spent $600 on a spray booth for the hobby room. [8|]
That being said, it's been long overdue and will mean I can paint my models all year long indoors and safely have the particles and fumes dealt with. This hobby is becoming expensive! [:D]
I need something to do furniture. Do you have a link to your booth?
Lots of rowboat invasions in the Solomons with Lunga and Tassafaronga being the latest bases lost.
New Caledonia:
Noumea falls to no less than six Naval Guard units, the 144th Infantry Regiment and elements of the Japanese 4th Division. The lone defending Allied unit surrenders. SS O-16 misses an xAP unloading at the base, but also avoids any DC attack from the escorts. Japanese Kate and Val bombers are spotted by the Dutch submarine during the air search phase, so I believe KB is lurking nearby. Is Fiji next?
China:
Chinese forces withdrawing from Sian are attacked by Japanese bombers. All told, about 2400 AV is moving northwest to better defensive terrain. They've already moved 26 miles in combat mode so they won't be in clear terrain for much longer. I do hate giving up Sian without a fight, but think it's the right move under the circumstances. I've delayed the Japanese at least a month by forcing them to conduct this flanking maneuver, that's the best outcome I could have hoped for while still keeping my forces intact. I think. [&:]
Thoughts:
I continue to build up. Cape Town is flush with fuel and supply. I have not lost a single merchant transport carrying aircraft/troops to Australia and India so those theatres are being reinforced nicely. There's been no sighting of Japanese forces in the IO since the bombardment of Diego Garcia. I'm slowly building up more effective search capabilities, but the low experience of the pilots means they spend more time training than performing missions.
I'm expecting to see a major Japanese push against a high value VP location at any moment.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
I work on models that are far too small to entirely airbrush...
You'd be surprised. It all comes down to your needle size. You can get down to the width of a 0.5mm pencil, so you may find it will allow you to cover finer areas on your 1:700 scale ships than you might have thought otherwise.
I'm talking like... 1-inch tall "man-size" models. The width of a 0.5mm pencil is probably the right size and all, but it would be silly to use an airbrush to paint the fine details on a mini that may amount to about 3-4 brush strokes from a regular bristle brush and then have to clean up the airbrush afterwards. Even if I were doing 10 identical models at once, I don't think I'd want to airbrush the details. Many layers go into doing it so if I screw it up, I have to redo multiple layers of paint... but totally need an airbrush for my bigger models. I have one project in particular that is quite large, as far as models go, and I could definitely do almost all of the detail work with an airbrush. Assuming I ever finish building the thing, that is.
I'd think that for furniture, at least pieces larger than a chair, maybe a garage as a spray booth [;)].
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