1:350 scale F-14, F-5, F-86, MiG-15 preorder

[+streakeagle 871]

I have the board game, Birds of Prey. It is essentially a 3d flight sim on paper. Of course the game would look better and be more fun with a decent line of miniatures rather than the stock "box" miniatures. The first ones up for pre-order are the F-14, F-5, F-86, and MiG-15 which can be found

here: http://www.airbattle.com/

or here: http://www.adastragames.com/

 

I am trying to promote this because I can't get my order until there is a total of 250 orders in any combination of the four different aircraft. Presently the total count is 135 of 250. The miniatures look pretty accurate for their scale, so I am sure there are people who might like them for purposes other than playing Birds of Prey. I personally suggest getting Birds of Prey as well. I have owned and played nearly all of the air combat board games and miniatures ever released, and this one takes the cake. It is optimized for close-in dogfights between jets. If you have lots of room, you could try to do longer range combat with missiles, but the game mechanics really shine when you are looping and rolling like crazy to get your nose on a bandit. The flight physics are first rate, yet don't require the use of a digital calculator. This is simply an amazing game! I need this miniature order to get produced so that the next batch of four fighters goes into pre-order. I am hoping for an F-4 and a MiG-21, though I would be happy with just about any aircraft in the game. I have ordered 1xF-5, 1xF-86, 1xMiG-15, and 2xF-14 (the F-14 only comes with 2 planes, so I ordered two sets to have four of each aircraft, which is about as many as I could ever see me using unless I end up with a gang of friends crazy about air combat board games).

 

I have been waiting for these for a very long time! So, Tomcat, Top Gun, and MiG Alley fans, snap these up so I can finally get my little planes

Edited August 23, 2011 by streakeagle

[harryleith 12]

Hey Streakeagle, This actually sounds very interesting. I used to play the Air Superiority boardgame (I can't believe I threw it away in a move a few years ago) - does this compare? I assume you enjoy playing it. I would love to hear your thoughts.

[+allenjb42 4,236]

If you can't get those models then have you looked at the Tamiya & Trumpeter 1/350 model aircraft sets for their carriers? A quick Google search also revealed that Airfix have a set out for HMS Illustrious ith Harriers (GR7/9 & FA.2, Merlins & Sea Kings).

 

http://www.airfix.com/airfix-products/ships/warships/british-navy/ah0022-1350-scale-aircraft-for-hms-illustrious-ah0022/?searchguid=&resultspage=&sortorder=

 

http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/index.php?product_category_id=&product_division_id=&manufacturer_id=&code=&product_type_id=all_aircraft_kits&scale_id=996&keyword_search=&setPerPage=100

[+streakeagle 871]

I have Tamiya 1/350 (F-14A, F/A-18A, F-4S) but they don't stock non-naval aircraft and are slightly lower detail/quality. 3 of the 4 in this set cannot be found in plastic at this scale. More importantly, once these get the go ahead, the next 4 aircraft will be offered up for production. A lot of those will be other aircraft not available via Navy models. MiG-17/19/21/23/25, F-15, F-16 etc.

 

I played Air Superiority/Air Strike/Desert Falcons/Speed of Heat. That was a great system, especially at portraying the whole picture of SEAD, CAS, Strike, CAP, Intercept, etc. But, Birds of Prey is focused purely on one thing: close-in air combat with exceptionally accurate physics yet more playable than ever before. Air War was the slowest, most complex air combat game I ever had, but Air Superiority was far more realistic, especially with the Speed of Heat revision where all of the missiles and avionics were modeled much better. Birds of Prey plays like a flight sim: roll your wings onto the threat and pull your nose onto him, then move the pieces on the map to reflect what you did. While the map is still vital to the game, the key is each aircraft has a PHAD (pitch, heading, and attitude display) which allows flawless realistic loops at any bank angle with correct changes in roll, pitch, heading, altitude, and horizontal motion... and you never have to do any trigonometry. You draw temporary lines on charts using a straight edge to determine key calculations, which is quick, easy, and accurate. I wish this game had existed when I was a teenager. Then I would have the time to really enjoy it and have friends with both time and interest to play it with me.

[+streakeagle 871]

Miniatures met their preorder limit, just waiting for them to get "printed" and shipped :) I made a spreadsheet that completely eliminates all laminated charts, which helps speed up gameplay. Ordered the materials I need to make "3d" stands: telescoping inspection mirrors (6"-36") and magnetic adapters that will allow me to easily swap airplanes. I have introduced my 10-year-old nephew to the game, so I may actually have someone to play against face-to-face!