My local plastic model hobby shop closed in February 2017 and there simply is no replacement in the area. So this past weekend RockyMountainNavy T and myself were trekking from Northern Virginia to Blacksburg for Virginia Tech Parents Weekend and decided to track down a rumor that there was a hobby shop in Staunton, VA.
We were very happy to find Frontline Model Kits & Hobbies. The young owner is Christian, who started coming into the shop at 10 years old and now has taken over for Jack. Both were in the shop and both were very kind. We were so excited to find this slice of heaven that we forgot to take pictures!
My verdict? Sure, you might be able to find some kits at better prices online, but there is something unmatchable about walking aisles and randomly picking up boxes. Thumbnails online don’t do justice to many of these kits.
Tamiya JSU-152 in 1/35 scale
RMN T found himself a Soviet tank destroyer, and I added a sci-fi kit I have been coveting for a while.
Part of the reason I flagged this article is that Tomcats and my air combat wargaming have long gone hand in hand. The first modern air combat wargame I owned was the TSR edition of Air War: Modern Tactical Air Combat (1983). The cover featured, of course, an F-14 Tomcat.
Never paid attention to the other planes… (Photo by RMN)
Not an air combat game, but in 1986 I picked up Target: Libya, a magazine game in Strategy & Tactics No. 109 based pretty much on the Tomcat cover only.
Less than 3 years later I would be in almost the same place (Courtesy BGG)
The second modern air combat wargame I acquired was Air Superiority from GDW in 1987 featuring…a Tomcat on the cover!
Gulf of Sidra Incident…sorta (Photo by RMN)
Even my favorite naval combat wargame, Harpoon, got into the Tomcat “game” with the cover of Harpoon: Battles of the Third World War – Modern Naval Warfare Scenarios from GDW in 1987.
Note the Red Storm Rising reference… (Photo by RMN)
My love affair with Tomcats was not limited to just wargames. One of the earliest Squadron/Signal Publications books to enter my collection was F-14 Tomcat in Action: Squadron/Signal Publications Aircraft No. 32 by Lou Drendel (1977).
Mostly B&W photos but the color plates…(Photo by RMN)
Who can forget the incredible flying scene in the movie The Final Countdown (1980) where Tomcats and “Zeros” tangle!
“Play with them” YouTube
In 1986 the designer of Harpoon, Larry Bond, was credited as co-author with Tom Clancy for his bestselling novel Red Storm Rising. Although we don’t “see” any Tomcats in the book, we read all about them, especially in the chapter “Dance of the Vampires” which we now know was plotted with the assistance of Harpoon.
Tomcat targets (Courtesy ATG)
In 1986 we also get the original Top Gun movie and all that Tomcat love…
“Jesters’ Dead” YouTube
The cover of what may be the best-ever coffee table aviation photo book by C.J. Heatley III (what a great aviator name) is The Cutting Edge (Charlottesville: Thomasson, Grant & Howell, 1986) and has…Tomcats.
Seriously, I read it only for the pictures (Photo by RMN)
My Osprey Publishing book collection even has a Tomcat entry with Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat: Osprey Combat Aircraft 49 by Tom Cooper and Farzad Bishop (2004). There is LOTS of good wargame scenario fodder in this book!
Persian ‘Cats (Photo by RMN)
For this winter, I have a 1/144th scale plastic model from Trumpeter to build.
I also have a Soviet Backfire C for “target practice” (Photo by RMN)
Part of my love affair for Tomcats also comes from my two cruises with Dale ‘Snort’ Snodgrass. Although he was not my squadron skipper, he was a legend in the Naval Aviation community that we all respected. His death in 2021 was as sad as it was unexpected.
Dale Snodgrass practicing his “banana pass” off the deck of USS America in 1988. (Photo by ABE3 Sean Dunn, courtesy of Dale Snodgrass)
While the Tomcat-cover wargames are not the only air combat games in my collection, they are the most memorable. Now that I think about it, the cover of Birds of Prey: Air Combat in the Jet Age (Ad Astra, 2008) features an F-15 Eagle. Maybe that cover, as much as the difficult rules, explains why I don’t enjoy BoP?
North Korea is celebrating another anniversary of some event that means something important to them but for the free world means we get to see a military parade with lots of missiles and other lethal toys for Kim Jong Un.
Well you know what, Rocket Man? I have missile trucks too.
Mine carries two missiles and is a smaller three-axle vehicle. It gets the job done. It came from China, like so many of yours might have too.
The difference is mine are environmentally friendly, not destructive of it.
Seriously, this was a fun build. I took it into the office and spent part of lunchtime building it. All the wood pieces punched out cleanly with little-to-no sanding required. I assembled mine without glue except for one part which was weak. Finished model is a bit over 5″ long. Sits on my office desk and is a great conversation starter.
I am very interested in getting Wing Leader: Legends to the table as it includes the “Decision Over Kursk” campaign system. Some readers may recall several “My Kursk Kampaign” postings from earlier this spring where I dove in-depth into that battle. At the time I wanted to explore the air war more:
As I start this exploration, my copy of Wing Leader: Legends 1937-1945 (GMT Games, forthcoming in 2021) is “At the Printer” meaning it may deliver sometime in mid-2021. If it delivers in time I would certainly like to play the campaign system which focuses on the air battles supporting the Battle of Kursk. I really want to explore a point Glantz makes on page 63 in his book; “Red aircraft might be inferior to their German counterparts, but they were certainly sufficient in numbers to deny the Luftwaffe undisputed command of the air.”
Although you can’t see it in the photo of The Dark Summer, I am, frankly, a bit surprised the game shipped in a 1.5″ deep box. One can interpret this as a sign that the game is smaller, and with a single 22″x34″ map and two countersheets that appears true. I guess I thought a Normandy campaign game just “has to be” big but this one-mapper is already challenging my preconceptions.
Game of the Week
Now that I’m back to a pretty regular work schedule (office is basically 100% reconstituted) I need to work on getting back to a “regular” gaming schedule. Thus, I will be starting a “Game of the Week” approach to play. Basically, the Game of the Week approach gives me seven days to unbox, learn, play, and consider a game. I have a rough idea of how a week might progress:
Sunday – Unbox new game, start rules learning/review
Monday – Rules learning/review, set up first play
Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday – Play
Friday – (Skip Day)
Saturday – Considerations/Clean up (Family Game Night?)
Sticker Day for Commands & Colors Napoloenics
I have a backlog of games on the “To Play” shelf that I need to get to over the next few weeks of summer before getting to Wing Leader: Legends and The Dark Summer: I’m trying to play games in the order of their arrival:
While playing games I also am also committed to reading more. When possible, I like to mix a book with the Game of the Week but that’s not always possible as I have other books on the “To Read” pile. I finished up Meade at Gettysburg: A Study in Command by Kent Masterson Brown (Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 2021) and it will be the subject of this coming week’s “Rocky Reads for Wargame” column. I am pretty sure that 2034: A Novel of the Next War by Eliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis will likely be read in conjunction with Indian Ocean Region when it is up for Game of the Week.
Plastic Models
One of my favorite online sources for plastic models closed due to bankruptcy late in 2020. Thanks to a new owner, www. squadron.com is back. The reopening has not been the smoothest, but they are trying to work out the kinks. Given how few good plastic model retailers there are online I hope they make it!
Foodie Watch
The RockyMountainNavy family tried a new-to-us restaurant this week. The Capital Burger bills itself as purveyors of “luxe” burgers. They use a proprietary blend of beef to make their burgers; I never imagined it could make a difference—but it does. Their Kung Pao Brussel Sprouts are my new favorite and a great replacement for french fries. Oh yeah, it all pairs well with a good ale….
This week I leaned hard into learning Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit #1 (Multi-Man Publishing, 2004+). Kind of amazing (embarrassing?) that after playing wargames for 42 years I finally played Advanced Squad Leader for the first time. I found some good points and some bad. I’m working up a post that you should see in a few weeks!
I was very busy at work this week so my evening reading fell off. That said, I had way too much fun reading Strategy & Tactics Nr. 82, the magazine that Fifth Corps was included in. There were more than a few articles that triggered nostalgic thoughts and others that were plain interesting, especially when read with 40 years of hindsight added in. Hmm…I sense a “Rocky Reads for Wargames” column is almost writing itself….
Models
Mrs. RMN and I gave RockyMountainNavy T an airbrush for his birthday and both he and his brother have been learning how to use it. I may even have to get in on the fun as I have way too many 1/144th scale aircraft that I need to complete!
RockyMountainNavy Jr. has been bitten by the Gundam bug, specifically the SD Gunpla variant. He picked up a few kits for assembly during Spring Break and already has added several others. We even got the young girl we tutor into building a few Petit’gguy bears….
Christmas 2020. The year the Grinch brought COVID to the world. In the RockyMountainNavy home we actually had a good year in great part because our family bonds are strong (and stayed strong regardless of how much the Governor of Virginia tried to keep us down). Gaming played an important part in keeping the RockyMountainNavy family going this year as you will see in a series of posts coming before the end of the year. Christmas 2020 also brought several “new” games and other hobby items to my collection.
The RMN Boys also surprised me with a plastic model this year. Their “excuse” is that they know I prefer to build 1/144th scale these days so this one will “fit” with my collection. I love my Boys!
Harpoon: Captain’s Edition (GDW, 1990). I have played Harpoon since the 1983 Adventure Games edition of Harpoon II. I remember passing up this version in the 1990’s because it “looked too simplistic.” I have long regretted that decision so I jumped at the chance to add this title to my Harpoon collection. The box is a “players copy” on the outside but (near) pristine on the inside.
Harpoon: Captain’s Edition (1990)
Harpoon III (GDW) / Harpoon 4 (Clash of Arms). Included also was a copy of Harpoon III with more than a few sourcebooks as well as Harpoon 4 with the 1997 Harpoon Naval Review and two other modules. I already own these but having secondary copies on hand is not a bad thing. The counters alone are worth it.
Second copies for my Harpoon collection….
From Fort Circle Games
The Shores of Tripoli (Fort Circle Games, 2020). Again, not a true gift but still a nice present to get this Kickstarter fulfillment before the end of 2020. I have the original PnP version and like it so much that backing the Kickstarter campaign for a “professional” copy was a real no-brainer.
The Shores of Tripoli (Fort Circle Games, 2020)
From Me
OK, a bit of a cheat here. I took advantage of a US Naval Institute book sale to get two new books to read. I really am looking forward to digging into The Craft of Wargaming for, ah, “professional” reasons.
In my local area social distancing has been in force for about a week now.
Schools are closed thru mid-April.
Mass transit is “essential travel only.”
Office is teleworking to maximize social distancing.
The nature of my job does not lend itself well to social distancing as in-person ‘collaboration’ is a vital part of the business. The nature of our product is not also conducive to working from home. So my coworkers and I have to make do.
Courtesy GMT Games
Luckily for me, gaming crosses both work and family. The past week I conducted ‘deep analysis’ of a conflict simulation involving the Korean Peninsula. Here I used Next War: Korea 2nd Ed (GMT Games, 2019) along withNext War: Series Supplement #1(although I didn’t use the Cyber Warfare rules) and Next War: Series Supplement #2to go in depth. I played two scenarios; a Standard Scenario to familiarize myself with the basics of the Next War game system and an Advanced Scenario to go more in depth. I didn’t really keep up on Victory Conditions as I mostly used the game to explore the order-of-battle and relative combat potential of the major combatants. I noted some professional qualms with a few rules; I will dig into those deeper at a later time. All in all a good ‘deep dive’ into the military situation on the Korean Peninsula. I also ordered a Next War: Korea poster from C3i Ops Center. I’m not sure it will arrive anytime soon as it looks like I just missed getting it shipped before the Coronavirus shutdown order in California started.
On a more personal note, RockyMountainNavy T and I restarted our playthrough of all the scenarios in Hold the Line: The American Civil War (Worthington Publishing, 2019). We played two scenarios; Little Round Top and Chickamauga. This time RockyMountainNavy T took the Confederates while I took the Union. Didn’t matter; he still soundly trounced me at Little Round Top (0-7) and although I did better at Chickamauga (3-7) he continued his unbeaten streak. The game mechanics in the Hold the Line series definitely seem to favor the defender – in each game he has not only tenaciously defended his lines but also rolled quite well for Bonus Action Points and when attacking or making a Morale Roll. Myself on the other hand….
Courtesy Worthington
One evening, the oldest Boy, Big A, joined us for a rare 4-player session of Enemies of Rome (Worthington Publishing, 2017). [EoR is on sale for $37.50…a real steal for a great family lite-waro]If there was one negative it was that Big A is not aware of our usual no cellphones at the table rule. He rarely plays a boardgame with us so rather than make it an issue I let it slide. After the game the other RMN Boys mentioned how distracted he was, missing changes in the game state and not thinking much about his moves. No wonder he placed last. We agreed that family boardgames are supposed to be for family togetherness and cellphones just distract.
Courtesy Next Move Games
I ordered Azul: Summer Pavilion (Next Move Games, 2019) from Miniatures Market for a family-friendly abstract boardgame. Mrs. RMN is occasionally helping take care of a few kids when their parents have to work. One of them, a fifth grader named Miss Courtney, is anxious to play boardgames. She is an only child but really enjoys sitting down at a table to play games. I think can tell she really craves the social interaction. She is also a great artist so a game like Azul should capture her imagination (much like Kingdomino from Blue Orange Games has already).
Courtesy Folded Space
I also tried to help local retailers a bit this week. I visited our FLGS, Huzzah Hobbies, and picked up the Terraforming Mars: Folded Space Insert v2 (Folded Space, 2019). The RMN Boys also used the trip to stock up on paints and other supplies for their plastic model building hobby (looks like they have LOTS of time to work off a few projects – as I should too). I encourage everyone to do what you can for small local businesses during this challenging situation. For ourselves, when getting to-go food we are bypassing the chains and making a dedicated effort to use local Mom & Pop restaurants instead. Not only is the food better but you can also see how much they really appreciate your business. Further, the entire community will be better if they are around in the future!
Both RockyMountainNavy Boys are into building plastic models. Recently, we were in out FLGS and found Bandai’s “mini” Star Destroyer. So small it fits in the palm of your hand.
Perfect build for a snow day, which we had and which Youngest RMN took advantage of to build his model.
Fully operational….
This Star Destroyer kit was a very easy build and simple to paint. The fit and detail of the model is extraordinary given the price point ($8). Most importantly, building models like this make both the RMN Boys proud of their work.
As part of the snow day, Youngest RMN Boy shoveled a neighbors drive way and earned a few extra dollars. I think I know what that money might be used for….
Looks like the North Korean dictator will now get a new toy…of his toys. The new HobbyBoss catalog shows. 1/35 scale KN-15 Pukguksong-2 missile Transporter-Erector-Launcher (TEL). Interesting….
It’s a new year (Happy 2019!)and I guess this is the time for some introspective thoughts. In my case, I finally decided to look at my blog stats. I have been writing my blog, Bravo Zulu, since sometime in 2007. I have never before looked at my stats in any sort of serious manner. This year I will be different! Be warned though – I use a free wordpress.com account so the available stats are not all that deep.
Stats
Views: 14,464(+2,387 or +16% vs 2017)
USA – 8,155, UK – 1,750, Canada – 845…all the way down to a single view from Vatican City?
Visitors: 9,250(+2185 or +23% vs 2017)
Posts Published: 164(+29 or +17% vs 2017)
Likes: 497
Comments: 112
Month with the most views was December (1,740) although July had the most visitors (1,679)
In 2018 I really focused my blog on the wargame and boardgame portion of my hobbies. I actually all-but-ignored my roleplaying games. Yet 60% of my top posts are RPG related, and most of those from as long as five years ago! I guess there are some older search engines or linked pages that continue to drive folks searching for Traveller RPG items my direction.
My top wargame post was picked up by GMT Games so their page is driving people to my posting. My top boardgame post would be #15 on the list if I went that far.
Way Ahead in 2019
Writing my blog is very therapeutic. I want to write more and am considering restarting my #ModelMonday, #ThreatTuesday, #WargameWednesday, and #RPGThursday structure of postings. I really enjoyed my Game of the Week series last year as it gave me the chance to really dig into a game and get more familiar with it. I also want to continue my weekend Family Game Night postings too.
Technically, I long ago named my blog “Bravo Zulu” which is Navy code for “Good Job.” Over the years I have taken more the identity of RockyMountainNavy and even folks like GMT Games reference my site that way. Maybe I need to rename my blog?
On a more personal note, RockyMountainNavy T and I restarted our playthrough of all the scenarios in 
RockyMountain Navy Gamer 