{"id":4883,"date":"2016-10-02T01:38:24","date_gmt":"2016-10-02T00:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/?p=4883"},"modified":"2021-10-29T03:00:44","modified_gmt":"2021-10-29T02:00:44","slug":"project-little-bird-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/2016\/10\/02\/project-little-bird-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"Project Little Bird Begins"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is a set of rules in Skirmish Sangin I haven’t had the chance to really use and that’s the helicopter rules (introduced in Dispatches 2 and Day of the Rangers). Part of this is down to the missions I’ve played (if adding the vehicles boosted up the points, adding a helo is something else entirely) but the other thing is due to lacking suitable models to hover around the board, dealing rockets and miniguns.<\/p>\n

For 28mm models, 1:48 is the accepted scale for helicopter kits (sadly 1:50 scale kits don’t exist or are exceedingly rare). Now, aircraft are big – its amazing just how much bigger than most vehicles they are! So the idea of 1:48 aircraft for a long time seemed like a bad idea lacking the space to carry them or store them. There are also other issues: whats the best way to setup the rotors so they are fit for wargaming, how best to set them up and base them and how to make them look cool flying around; the list goes on.<\/p>\n

However, now I have a bit more space and after watching too much Blackhawk Down I think its time to get some rotors spinning. Of course, there is only one aircraft to start the ball rolling.<\/p>\n

\"Cool
Cool Little Bird pictured with some other less cool helos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Little Bird.<\/p>\n

To begin with, I’m making an AH-6 in order to provide some fire support. The first part was picking up the base kit, in this case an Academy Tow Defender. To make it into an attack chopper, I have ordered a conversion kit from which will give me the rocket pods, miniguns and other bits I need. Once that’s arrived, I’ll then have to work out a flying stand. Currently leaning towards a method on the Lead Adventures forum that uses a telescopic inspection rod to let you adjust the height. This will be great for two reasons: making multiple helos look cool flying together and also MH-6s coming down to land on the rooftop. It will also involve magnets because it makes everything easy to transport.<\/p>\n

I’m a little worried about this project – there is a lot to worry about and lots of places to mess up. I’m gonna have to do stuff like painting components before assembly (which I hate) and also drilling into the plastic bodywork so I can place the magnets. However, if it works it means I can add a load of extra dimension to my tabletop games. Helicopters on the board really make it stand out and if I was to take a game to a wargames show, a helo is something to have on the board.<\/p>\n

Also once the AH-6 is up, I’ll then start looking at other helicopters. Obviously, MH-6s are the next port of call (probably two of them so I can have cool simultaneous\u00a0landings). I also have an Airfix Lynx that needs building but I’ll be waiting until I can get some crew figures and then see if all this helicopter malarky is worth it. And then we start moving on to brand new things like UH-1s, Blackhawks, Apaches. Heck, maybe even a MV-22!<\/p>\n

In the mean time, here are some more painted figures!<\/p>\n

\"img_20161002_005952-01\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is a set of rules in Skirmish Sangin I haven’t had the chance to really use and that’s the helicopter rules (introduced in Dispatches 2 and Day of the Rangers). Part of this is down to the missions I’ve played (if adding the vehicles boosted up the points, adding a helo is something else […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[370,1093,903],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial","category-features","category-wargaming"],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Michael Charge","author_link":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/author\/chargedog\/"},"featured_img":null,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Editorial<\/a>","Features<\/a>","Wargaming<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Editorial<\/span>","Features<\/span>","Wargaming<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 10 years ago","modified":"Updated 5 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on 02\/10\/2016","modified":"Updated on 29\/10\/2021"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on 02\/10\/2016 1:38 am","modified":"Updated on 29\/10\/2021 3:00 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pvEn5-1gL","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9204,"url":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/2018\/03\/26\/wargaming-week-26-03-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":4883,"position":0},"title":"Wargaming Week 26\/03\/2018","author":"Michael Charge","date":"26\/03\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Let\u2019s start this Wargaming Week, covering the 19th through to the 25th of March. BLOG\u00a0STUFF Last week was a two post week and felt like the M-ATV special. On Wednesday we took a look at vehicle itself (along with a few tweaks I did to it) before following it up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wargaming"","block_context":{"text":"Wargaming","link":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/category\/wargaming\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/MVIMG_20180322_211649-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/MVIMG_20180322_211649-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/MVIMG_20180322_211649-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/MVIMG_20180322_211649-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/MVIMG_20180322_211649-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/MVIMG_20180322_211649-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12304,"url":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/2019\/09\/23\/wargaming-week-23-09-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":4883,"position":1},"title":"Wargaming Week 23\/09\/2019","author":"Michael Charge","date":"23\/09\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Let\u2019s start this Wargaming Week, covering the 16th through to the 22nd of September. BLOG\u00a0STUFF New post went up, taking a look at the Gringo40's NVA figures I prepared for some MENA shenanigans. I'm a pretty big fan of them and will probably look to add some more to my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wargaming"","block_context":{"text":"Wargaming","link":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/category\/wargaming\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_20190922_171517-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_20190922_171517-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_20190922_171517-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_20190922_171517-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_20190922_171517-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_20190922_171517-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8969,"url":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/2018\/02\/23\/impressions-empress-gaz-tigr\/","url_meta":{"origin":4883,"position":2},"title":"Impressions: Empress GAZ Tigr","author":"Michael Charge","date":"23\/02\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"So far, nearly all the vehicles I've covered on the site have been either of Western origins or some form of technical. However, my regular OPFOR have been needing some vehicles to back them up. Where better to start than the GAZ Tigr, available in 28mm scale from Empress. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Features"","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/category\/features\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/MVIMG_20180215_211302.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/MVIMG_20180215_211302.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/MVIMG_20180215_211302.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/MVIMG_20180215_211302.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/MVIMG_20180215_211302.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/MVIMG_20180215_211302.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5376,"url":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/2017\/04\/10\/wargaming-week-10042017\/","url_meta":{"origin":4883,"position":3},"title":"Wargaming Week 10\/04\/2017","author":"Michael Charge","date":"10\/04\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Let\u2019s start,\u00a0covering the\u00a03rd of April through to the 9th of April. BLOG POSTS After a short delay due to wrestling shenanigans, the battle report on my last solo game is now up.\u00a0As I say in the report it was a fun time and I'm looking forward to polishing up the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wargaming"","block_context":{"text":"Wargaming","link":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/category\/wargaming\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/BRIT171.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/BRIT171.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/BRIT171.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/BRIT171.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11921,"url":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/2019\/05\/06\/wargaming-week-06-05-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":4883,"position":4},"title":"Wargaming Week 06\/05\/2019","author":"Michael Charge","date":"06\/05\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Let\u2019s start this Wargaming Week, covering the 29th of April through to the 5th of May. BLOG\u00a0STUFF First up big news - I'm going quiet on the blog for the next three weeks. In fact, by the time you read this, I'm probably just taking off from Edinburgh Airport and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wargaming"","block_context":{"text":"Wargaming","link":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/category\/wargaming\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_20190430_093105-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_20190430_093105-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_20190430_093105-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_20190430_093105-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_20190430_093105-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_20190430_093105-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5389,"url":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/2017\/04\/17\/wargaming-week-17042017\/","url_meta":{"origin":4883,"position":5},"title":"Wargaming Week 17\/04\/2017","author":"Michael Charge","date":"17\/04\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Let\u2019s start,\u00a0covering the 10th\u00a0of April through to the 16th of April. BLOG POSTS No blog posts this week - writing more rules and been busy looking at my collection and working stuff out (more details on that later) GAMING Also no gaming - starting planning for CGS S01E03 and getting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wargaming"","block_context":{"text":"Wargaming","link":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/category\/wargaming\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/IMG_3964.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/IMG_3964.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/IMG_3964.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4883\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}