The Midwest Naval Combat Club is hosting it's annual battle at the Xenia, Ohio battle site on September 7-9. This will be a multi-format event with both Treaty and Battlestations taking turns battling. The site address is 1880 Turner Rd. Xenia, Ohio. 45385 Currently we are anticipating between 10-14 Treaty boats on the water on Saturday. Friday, and Sunday will probably be lighter turn-outs. Perhaps 6-10 or something like that. We are planning to have at least 2 Treaty battles each day. Battles will be two (or more) sorties each. For the Battlestations portion of the event, we anticipate between 6-8 96th scale boats on the water. We have not figured out how many battles we will have on each day just yet. Probably at least one. Possibly two. Friday may be a battle day for the Battlestations boats as well. But there is a possibility that it will be a day of working the Battlestations boats up for Saturday and Sunday. We are calling this event Task-force 1. We will be posting up-dates leading up to the event. Mikey (edited) All I have edited my original post about Friday possibly being a working up day. That was for the Battlestations folks, in case the ships were not worked up and battle-ready on Friday. Mikey
We have decided to extend an invitation to the Big-gunners for this event. Although at some point during the event there is a chance that the Big-gunners, and Battlestations folks could battle together, the idea is to devide the battle area in order to make room for the extra format. If any Big-gunners plan to attend, please let us know what frequency you will be using so that we can avoid any conflicts. Thanks. Mikey
Our Treaty boats are ready for the September event in Xenia. The Battlestations Strasbourg and Mogador are being worked on at this time, and we anticipate that they will both be ready for sea trials on Friday, and battling on Saturday and Sunday. Mikey
At this time we have a few big-gunners interested in dropping in at the event in Xenia. But we are not sure there will be any big-gunners will battle-ready boats. Mikey
All Thought I would post an up-date for the Sept 7-9 event in Xenia, Ohio. According to the database it looks like we will have the following on the water for this event. Friday Sept 7. 8-10 Treaty boats. 4-6 Battlestations boats. Saturday Sept 8. Around 17 Treaty boats. 7-8 Battlestations boats. Possibly 2-4 Big-gun boats. Sunday Sept 9. 12-15 Treaty boats. Around 6 or so Battlestations boats. I think there is a very real probability that there will be some convoy action going on with both Treaty, and Battlestations at least on Saturday, and Sunday. If the Big-gun folks do show up, this will be the first time in several years that we will have had a Big-gun battle in our region. So this would be a big step in our being able to promote the Big-gun format and try to get it going again. As for the Battlestations. Last year we had our very first Battlestations battle in our region. I think we had 3 boats on the water for the battles. So it looks like we will have doubled the number of Battlestations boats since this time last year. As for the Treaty battles. I think the record for the number of boats on the water in a battle is around 13-14 armed warships with a convoy ship or two. So if everyone that says that they are attending with Treaty boats shows up, we have a very real chance of setting a new record for Treaty boats on the water. In addition, we have picked up some new interests at some of the battles and displays in the area lately, and it looks like most of them will be attending this event. So we anticipate a pretty good turn-out as far as spectators. We have one week to go before the event. Mikey
All The group has been able to arrange for all of the food, CO2, drinks, ice, and other items needed for the event. So there will not be an entry-fee for this event. All captains participating in the event will need to make sure that they either have their current Namba card with them, or utilize the one-event insurance form (which we will have on-hand). We will be taking up a collection at the event for the owners of the battle site, so that we can get them some gift certificates for the hobby shop and eateries. So folks can pitch in for that if they want. We will also do the grab-bags at this event. So captains participating at the event are asked to bring along any items to throw in these, and we will most likely pass these out on Saturday after the battling. We have one week to go. We look forward to seeing you there. Mikey
More event info. Three-day Battle Task Force 1 Multi-format event with Treaty and Battlestations taking turns battling. Big-gun format invited as well. Namba required. Location: Xenia, Ohio battlesite Street: 1880 Turner Road City State Zip: Xenia, Ohio 45385 Phone: (937)-620-6053 Spectators welcome. Safety-glasses (with side-sheilds) required. Street: 1880 Turner Rd. City State Zip: Xenia, Ohio 45385 Phone: (937)620-6053 Hotel info. Knights Inn - Xenia 38 S. Allison Avenue Xenia, Ohio 45385 (937)352-0067 Regency Inn 600 Little Main Street. Xenia, Ohio 45385 (937)372-9954 Camping. Spring Valley Frontier Campground 9580 Collett Rd., Waynesville, OH, United States 45068
Thought I would take the time to post an up-date for the event this weekend. According to the database we are looking at 19-20 Treaty boats on the water on Saturday. Around 8-12 on Friday. And 10-14 on Sunday. We are not sure that there will be a Battlestations battle on Friday, but the Battlestations boats will be there probably at least running trials and such. If there is a Battlestations battle on Friday, we are probably looking at 4-6 boats on the water. For the Battlestations battles on Saturday and Sunday, we anticipate 6-8 boats on the water. We did hear that the big-gunners from up north will probably not be attending. But we anticpate several of the old MBG group attending. Some will be bringing their old boats, but we are not certain that they will be battle-ready. We are looking to start the first battle at 10 am on Friday, and Saturday. Perhaps around 9 am on Sunday. We can stay as late each day as we like. So there may be more than two fleet battles. We hope to see you all this weekend. Happy hunting! Mikey
Treaty had a three sortie battle with no sinks or penalties. The Jean Bart almost sank in the third sortie after the Roanoke shot a large hole just above the waterline. Battlestations did not have a battle yesterday. But there were two Battlestations boats on the water running sea trials. One was a new secret build by Mark. I won't spoil his surprise for now. Treaty then had a one sortie battle. Nikki ran the Jean Bart with Mark's Roanoke, against the Bismarck and Montcalm. Nikki got some really nice shots into the Bismarck with the hidden stern cannon. And when she asked how the Roanoke was doing against both axis ships while she figured out the sidemounts the reply was that he had the axis surrounded. No sinks or penalties in that battle. Lots of fun. We had a few minutes of rain, but then it quit. We are heading out to the site now. There may be a Battlestations battle today. But my two boats will not be there. They will both be ready tomorrow. Mikey
All I wanted to take the time to thank everyone that supported our event this past weekend in Xenia. It was a great success on several different levels. And each and every one of them was because of the support that the event received from all of the folks. We had quite a few captains have to drop out due to life getting in the way at the last minute. We also got off to a slow start the first two days for unexpected reasons. But everyone that attended seemed to have a great time. We had some very interesting battling during the days, and some heavy duty building during the evenings. And the end result was some great Treaty battles on all three days, and some Battlestations battles on Sunday. So thanks to everyone that played a part in the event. Not only the captains and spectators that attended, but also some folks that couldn't attend, but were still able to find ways to show their support, and make the event all that it could be. A special thanks to the club's officers for all of the work that went into putting the event together, and making sure that it went well during the weekend. I will try to post some up-dates and such over the next couple/few days. But thanks to all. It certainly was a great time for us. Very well done. Mikey
I have been invited to write up the battle report for this event. That is kinda scary. No notes, and missing photos. Should be fun. I will try to get it posted in the next day or two. Sorry for the delays. But we are building a new Frenchie! Mikey
Fleet Battle #1 Friday Sept 7 Allied fleet. USS Pennsylvania (Gerry), USS Florida (Matt), USS Michigan (Val), and USS Roanoke (Mark). Axis fleet. DKM Bismarck (Roland), FNS Jean Bart (Mikey), and DKM Von Reuter (P-cruiser) (Phil). In the first sortie the Roanoke and the P-cruiser seemed to be concentrating on each other, while the battleships went at each other. In the second sortie the Jean Bart tried to help the P-cruiser deal with the Roanoke leaving the Bismarck to deal with the slow allied battleships. Occasionally the battles would cross paths, and shots were exchanged between all. It seemed like the cruisers were giving out lots of damage, and receiving less. In the third sortie the Roanoke got some really nice bow shots into the side of the Jean Bart and was able to group them together to the point where a large hole was opened up just above the waterline. Everyone was pumping to some extent, but it didn't appear that anyone was in trouble and sinking, so I decided to break off and try to avoid getting sunk. So I headed for open water. The Roanoke gave chase, but with a little help from my team mates I was able to survive my five minutes. The battle ended with no sinks, or penalties on either team. So it was a draw. But it was a great battle with lots of fun. Mark had his brand new Battlestations Henri IV battleship there which nobody new about. He does that sometimes. It is always fun to see what he brings out to the events that he has been building in secret. The Frenchies have really been leaning on him to build some French ships. For the most part, he seems less than interested at the build-sessions and such, but then shows up at the events with a new secret boat. Occasionally it ends up being French. Which tickles us. Very good. Nikki was able to make it out for our event, and was there helping everyone out. Matt and family had to depart early. So the rest of us got our boats turned around for a one-sortie battle. Bob was able to drop in and see the combat. His Baltimore was not finished yet. Fleet Battle #2. Allies. USS Roanoke (Mark), and the Jean Bart (Nikki commanding). Axis. DKM Bismarck (Roland), and the French light cruiser Montcalm (Phil). Nikki was able to utilize the stern gun pretty effectively early on in the sortie when the Bismarck tried to bring the big Frenchie to battle. The Roanoke and Montcalm seemed content with concentrating on each other early on. But eventually, the two axis boats both went after the Roanoke, which seemed to tickle Mark, and Nikki brought the Bart into the action with some sweeping passes that allowed her to utilize the sidemounts. Everyone was having great fun, and as the ammo ran dry all of the boats survived their five minutes and came off of the water. No sinks or penalites. So another draw. I think that Mark ran some sea trials with his Henri IV, but I can't remember for sure. I think that Dustin may have ran his brand new Gustav V as well. But I can't remember for sure. We received word from Mike M. He was arriving after the battling, and was heading directly to my boat shop for some last minute finishing touches to his boat. He listed his Richelieu, Erin, and Verite as possible boats. I was hoping to see something French. We also heard from Carl D. He had run into car issues, which had slowed him down. He was also heading directly to the boat shop, and would meet us there. So we loaded up and headed home. Upon arrival at the boat shop Mike M. was as busy as a beaver working on his boat. The DKM Scharnorst. What? No Frenchie? We didn't even know he had a Scharnhorst. As it turned out. He had thrown it together over the past few days, and was trying to get her finished for the next days battling. Oh well. The teams had been stacking up with a huge allied advantage in numbers. So at least Mike and I would be able to run together on the axis team. Even if he didn't have a Frenchie. Dustin or someone informed us that the folks from the BBS (Buddy and Don F.) would not be able to make it out for the event on Saturday with the South Dakota, and Indefatigable. Life had gotten in the way. The allies had just lost a pair of capitalships. Bummer. Carl showed up and got to work on his Battlestations Shimikaze (I think). I was hoping to work on my Battlestations boats, but spent most of my time working on Treaty stuff. We had pizza, and put on a war movie (not In harms way), and had a very enjoyable evening hanging out together chatting up the boats. Everyone was excited about Saturday's battling. It seemed like everything was working up to a great event with a huge turnout, great weather, and fairly low gas prices. It seemed like the planets were aligning for us. Lights out at a reasonable hour, so that we could get some rest for the day ahead. Good night John Boy! I hope I didn't forget anyone. If I did. I appologize. Mikey
Saturday Sept 8. Battle report. Well. Between Friday afternoon, and Saturday late morning we heard from at least 7 captains on the database that would not be able to attend the event for various reasons. Two from the BBS. Buddy and Don F., due to life getting in the way. Three from Lexington. Jeff C., Kevin, and his brother. Work got in the way. And two from the Dayton area. Blair, and Matthew, due to schedule conflicts with other life stuff. Bummer! Over the years we have learned that you can't worry about the folks that can't attend an event. The show must go on. So we tightened our belts and tried to get back on track. In addition. Some of the folks that were able to make it out ran into car trouble and such, and it looked like we were going to get a late start. And the USS Ohio was down with a bad radio. The good news was that the two trouble-makers that we had intentionally not invited to attend our event were not going to be there. That was good. Very good. Fleet Battle #3 Saturday morning . Allies. Alsace (Dustin), Pennsylvania (Gerry), Michigan (Val), Florida (Matt), and Roanoke (Mark). Axis. Bismarck (Roland), Impero (Phil), Scharnhorst ( Mike M.), Jean Bart (Vance), and Richelieu (Mikey). I don't recall a lot about this sortie, other than that the Scharnhorst and Jean Bart seemed to concentrate on the Alsace, and my Richelieu spent a lot of time hanging with the Pennsylvania a lot, and the Roanoke a little. The Alsace went dead on a couple/few occasions for some reason, but after several seconds was back under control, and stayed in the combat. I do not recall any sinks, or penalties in the first sortie. After the first or possibly second sortie, the Alsace withdrew from the combat due to power-outage issues or something like that. With the big allied ship off of the water early on in the battle, there was a lot of discussion about having an axis boat swing over to the allied team. We don't really like doing this between battles, as we were trying hard to keep the axis and allied ships on assigned teams during the entire event. Perhaps because we had run into issues like friendly-fire, and that sort of thing in past events after having ships change teams. But in the long run, it was the axis as much (or more so) than the allies, that thought something needed to be done. So it was decided to have the Richelieu swing over to the allied side for the rest of the battle. And when Vance mentioned that he wanted the two French battleships to run together on the same team, it was decided that he could go over to the allied side as well. So we got the next sortie going. Whichever one it was. Second, or third. I decided to try to tie up the Scharnhorst, which was working magnificently, for being a brand new boat, while Vance was under orders to try to avoid her, and go after the Bismarck or Impero. On several occasions I found myself being sandwiched by the Scharnhorst and Bismarck, and late in the third sortie I was pummeled by pretty much the entire axis team when I got in too close to the cove while trying to bring my sidemounts into action with the Scharnhorst, and had difficulty backing out. I was low in the water and although not in a sinking state at that time, I decided to break off the engagement and try to retire from the action. The Scharnhorst took up the chase, and before long the Bismarck was in hot pursuit as well. I made it to the far end of the pond, but was in bad shape by then and only made it about half way back to port when the Richeleiu rolled over on her port side and sank right in front of the spectator area (which was full of folks). As some of the spectators were taking many a photo, I let the Richelieu go under for the cameras. They appeared to love the show. My only claim to fame perhaps. The sinker! And the stinker! Oh well. Where was I? I think that one of the other allied battleships may have sank or withdrawn as well. But I am not sure. But it was certainly a huge victory for the axis team. Vance did really well with the Jean Bart, which is normally my boat. The pump was set up to stay on all of the time. He was having a grand old time. Very good indeed. Mikey
After the morning battle was finished, Gerry got the grill going and cooked up lunch. There were some Treaty and Battlestations boats hitting the water for some sea trials, which was very exciting. Some where brand new, so we got some photos and such. At some point Bill P. and his sons showed up with their Big-gun British Monitor Abercrombie (I think). Although that may have been on Friday. But we did our best to keep the spectators entertained throughout the event. We checked the weather forecast again. Good news. The two troublemakers were keeping their distance. One was running around in circles in the gulf, and the other was trying to get lost in the Bermuda Triangle. The rest of Saturday looked great. And Sunday would be even better. Back to the battling. Mikey
Fleet Battle #4 Saturday afternoon. Allies. Jean Bart (Vance), Richelieu (Mikey), Pennsylvania, Michigan (Val), and Roanoke (Mark). Axis. Bismarck (Roland), Scharnhorst (Mike M.), and Phil (Impero or a French cruiser). Seems like I am missing someone. An axis boat perhaps. I don't recall a lot about this battle, except that I think that the Bismarck was sabotaged at the launching pad while being launched, and sank. But Roland was able to quickly get the big guy back out in time for the start of the battle, and then at some point in this battle allowed the sabotour (whos name will not be mentioned) to captain the ship. I think Bob was loaned the Pennsylvania for at least one sortie in this battle as well. I seem to recall passing astern of the Pennsy at what seemed like a safe distance, only to get some ranging salvos from her stern gun landing aboard. At first I wasn't exactly sure where the long-balling was coming from, but upon hearing Bob break out in laughter, I quickly left the scene for safer waters. I remember before this battle Vance asked me why I wanted him to stay away from the Scharnhorst. I told him that the Scharnhorst was faster than the other large axis capitalships, and could turn better, and was also harder to hit, due to a lower profile. Vance suggested that we team up on the Scharnhorst for this battle, and try to sandwich her. This is a tactic we often use when playing our gaming consol. I was supportive, but skeptical. We would give it a try. The rest of the axis fleet would be targets of opportunity. I do not recall any ships sinking. Or any penalties. But on several occasions the two big German ships were able to get one of the Frenchies in a sandwich while we were trying to do the same to them. At least one time we had all four big ships all parked or running side-by-side exchanging sidemounts. It was absolute carnage. I think the Germans worked better as a team than our Frenchies. But it was great fun. At the end of one sortie, the Bismarck slowly drifted into the cove and was certainly in a sinking state. The allies were out of ammo, so we crept in close in order to find a nice position for the photo opp that was sure to come. It didn't. The big German was listing nicely with one side almost awash, when his pump took hold, and he leveled out just so slightly. Just enough to survive perhaps 3 minutes that he had remaining. Some sorry dog mentioned prop-washing, which drew a big laugh from everyone. Oh how I do miss that. So I am not sure if either team scored any points in this battle. I am pretty sure that we had some of the Battlestations boats on the water during the course of the day. And some were testing their cannons. But I am not sure that we had any Battlestations boats shooting at each other. We did have a lot of folks trying their best to get the Battlestations boats ready for a battle. Either for late in the day, or certainly for Sunday. I think we had three of four Battlestations boats on the water during the day. They did a fine job of entertaining the spectators while the Treaty boats were being re-armed. So we headed home for some grub and some serious ship-building. Mike M., Dustin, and Carl showed up at the boatshop, and we set to work trying to get our Treaty and Battlestations boats ready for Sunday. We had our work cut out for us. Both of the big Frenchies were beat to a pulp. But all of the systems were good to go. So after a patch job on the Treaty boats, I got the Battlestations Strasbourg down and got to work on her internals. Mike M. was working on the Scharnhorst. Carl was working on his Japanese destroyer (I think). Dustin was pulling double duty, helping Carl with his ship, and trying to get Vance's Mogador finished. Unfortunately the Alsace was done for the event. What a bummer! I love that big ship. We were getting close to being ready for our first Battlestations battle of the year. To be continued. Mikey
Guys, I'll own up to this (I don't recall a lot about this battle, except that I think that the Bismarck was sabotaged at the launching pad while being launched, and sank. But Roland was able to quickly get the big guy back out in time for the start of the battle, and then at some point in this battle allowed the sabotour (who's name will not be mentioned) to captain the ship. ) What happened was, i asked Roland before the battle even got start if i can Take him out so i can how he handle if i ever got one! Well be being stupid, I got a bit to close to the moss patch, and i was about to get out, but not before i moss on the Prop, and if i had the brains, i would have pined the cannon and picked him up and set him on my Lap to clean the moss off the props, O well, you live and learn from something like that! and two this day I can't live it down Nikki
