The Fokker Scourge 1916

My planned game this month fell through, so I joined the large multi-player Wings of Glory event that was being hosted by Trevor from the Nunawading Wargames Association. All the WWI airplanes were supplied along with the beautiful terrain that he had made.

The mission was simple:

Oberleutnant Max Immelmann
Feldflieger Abteilung 62

Your orders are to patrol above the trench lines in sector 23456e and support allied Roland aircraft of FFA 229b engaged in attacking the British ground forces. FFA 229b has been attacking without any resistance for the last four days, but it is suspected that the British will soon send scounts to stop them. Protect the aircraft of FFA 229b from British scout attacks.

Available aircraft:
x4 Fokker E.III
x2 LFG Roland C.II

We deplayed first, with the British then appering anywhere (they had dropped out of the clouds).

The game was a lot of chaos, fun and the terrain was a real pleasure to play on. The buildings were Brigade Models and the aircraft were Ares' Wings of War / Wings of Glory 1/144 scale miniatures. I wasn't able to play in the afternoon games, but definitely has me thinking I should pull this game out again.

Wargaming Shops in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan

I'm back from my two weeks in Japan (Tokyo, a little town close to Nagoya and Osaka). The little town obviously had nothing of note, so I'll give a comprehensive review of each of the cities below.

Tokyo
Shinjuku
Yodabashi Camera - didn't make it here. Wish I had though after going to the one in Umeda, Osaka.

Shibuya
Tokyu Hands (north west of the station on Inokashira Dori) - top level has a whole floor of N scale railway stuff (large range), 1/72 & 1/48 Baidai Star Wars (full range), mecha kits (large range) and other bits and pieces. The toy section on another floor is also worth checking out. I have been to this store on a previous trip; the other Tokyu Hands locations aren't that great wargaming-wise. (http://www.tokyu-hands.co.jp/foreign.html)

Akihabara
Yellow Submarine - Great range of plastic sets, mainly mecha and related. There's a whole lot of other stores in the same building and adjacent area (behind the Sega building where Kotobukiya is, etc). (http://www.yellowsubmarine.co.jp/)

Aomi
Toys R Us (at Decks Odaiba) - Tamiya sets (small range, cars and a few 1/48 modern Japanese tanks), mecha (medium range), Tomica diecast cars (full range), 1/72 & 1/48 Baidai Star Wars (full range). (http://www.odaiba-decks.com/)

Full-size Gundam Statue (at DiverCity Tokyo Plaza) - two tiny shops with plastic kits and other Gundam-related toys. (http://www.divercity-tokyo.com/en/)

Toy sections in various department stores are also worth checking out for cars, trains, mecha and dinosaurs. They won't be cheap but not overly expensive.

Osaka
Namba
Joshin Super Kids Land (on Sakai-suji east of Namba Parks) - There's two locations, one with mecha, the other location further south is mainly electronic goods, but on a higher floors there's model kits, train sets and remote-controlled cars. Tamiya sets (large range from naval, vehicles and planes), mecha (large range), Tomica diecast cars (full range), lots of other bit and pieces. The area between Sakai-suji and Namba Parks is full (similar to Akihabara) of places like Kotobukiya, etc.

Umeda
Yodobashi Camera - A lot of stuff. Like a lot. Will have to go to the Tokyo location next time. Tamiya sets (large range from naval, vehicles and planes), mecha (large range), Doyusha 1/350 samurai castles, Tomica diecast cars (full range), lots of other bit and pieces. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yodobashi_Camera)

So what did I buy? We travelled light as it was with a budget airline and a spur of the moment decision to go on the trip. Therefore I was limited to 7 kilos in carry-on, with an additional 15 kilos check-in on the way back (using one of our carry-on size bags). This didn't give me a lot to take back (as I wanted to bring back a bit of sake, etc in the check-in as it was going to be heavier).

Wargaming-wise I got:

• Bandai 1/48 AT-ST for ¥2000 (~US$16) from Toys R Us, everywhere else was selling it for ¥2400. Yodobashi (when I got there) had it for ~¥1800. Will be used to make a Simon Stalenhag inspired mecha.
• Bandai 1/144 MS-06F Zaku II for ¥292 (~US$2.35) from Tokyu Hands. Will be converted for sci-fi neo-noir/anime gaming with its twin, below.
• Bandai 1/144 MS-06S Zaku II for ¥226 (~US$1.80) from Joshin Super Kids Land.
• Doyusha 1/350 Gifu Castle for ¥1360 (~US$11) from Yodobashi. The other castles in the range were up to ~¥2000. Very nice (large box!) kit. Perfect for 15mm terrain piece.
• Tamiya 1/100 MiG-19 for ¥432 (~US$3.50) from Yodobashi. Just couldn't say no at that price and I was using up coins on my last day.
• A few of the Tomica diecast cars for 25/28mm Japanese-themed gaming (I have a growing collection). This also includes a DeLorean time machine from Universal Studios in Osaka.

I think if you can make it to a Yodobashi or Joshin you'll be set. Everything else is slightly more expensive with a much smaller range.

Little Wars Melbourne 2013

In 1913, 100 years ago, HG Wells published a set of rules for playing games of war on one’s parlour room floor. It was the culmination of many years’ worth of fun he had enjoyed with his fellow gentlemen playing with his collection of toy soldiers. Little Wars Melbourne commemorated this anniversary on May 25 2013 by celebrating with a day of miniature gaming!

I went down to Mornington Secondary College where Little Wars Melbourne 2013 was being hosted. I first played in Mark R's Bolt Action game in the morning, followed by TOing a WWII air combat game set over the north Australian coast with Japanese and Australian aircraft using 1/144 plastic models I had sourced from HobbyLink Japan.

As always, a fun day - made better by capping it off with cigars and whiskey out in a field next to the school as the sun set.