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Top Aces of WWI Playing Cards

Created by Jody Eklund

"Fight on and fly on to the last drop of blood and the last drop of fuel, to the last beat of the heart" - Manfred von Richthofen (AKA...The Red Baron) In World War I many saw being a pilot as a glamorous role. A position that would take them away from the mud and blood of the front lines. Aviation attracted young, energetic recruits who were keen to be trained in this new way of warfare. The need was high and the training was minimal. If you survived, you had the opportunity to be one of the elite, the "Flying Aces." A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more. Inspiration My fascination with flight started with my grandfather who was a "Jack of all Trades". One of my grandfather's greatest loves was flying. This project is dedicated to his joy of flying and to the many flying daredevils who risked their lives for that thrill. Join this fascinating quest and my passion for historically profound characters, and larger than life sagas.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Top Aces of WWI | January Update
over 6 years ago – Thu, Jan 11, 2018 at 11:01:04 AM

Happy New Year everyone!

Yes it's 2018! I just want to give you a quick update on what's going on right now with Top Aces.

  • All files for playing cards are with Legends Playing Card Co. awaiting digital proofs.
  • BackerKit was sent out and about 94% have completed their surveys. (if you haven't filled out your survey or don't remember if you have, please contact me and I will let you know)

Please message me if you have any questions or just want to chat :) Have a great start to the New Year!

- Jody

Your BackerKit Survey's Have Been Sent!
over 6 years ago – Thu, Dec 07, 2017 at 07:06:22 PM

BackerKit Surveys Sent!

I just sent out your BackerKit surveys. If you do not receive your survey in the next 24 hours, please check your spam folder, because sometimes it gets in there. If it's not there, please let me know and I will resend it.

Pre-Orders!

For those you who know someone who might have missed this campaign please check out the Pre-Order page: https://top-aces-of-wwi-playing-cards.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

People can get to the pre-order page from this message, Top Aces of WWI Kickstarter homepage (at the top of the page) and the Black Ink Website.

Dealer Coins

My apologies, I spoke to soon. The funds are pretty tight for this project, so I will not be producing the dealer coins. Believe me, this disappoints me, but I want to protect the integrity of the project.

As always, if you have any questions or problems with your survey, please message me. Have a great week!

Jody

We're FUNDED! Thank you! So...What's Next?
over 6 years ago – Thu, Nov 16, 2017 at 02:13:40 PM

Hey all! WE ARE FUNDED! Thank you so much for your support!

Good News! I know we didn't get to our first stretch goal, but it was close. I have decided to produce the dealer coins anyways. So all of you who pledged in one of the rewards that stated you would receive a FREE Dealer coin, will now get it as a part of your reward. I will send you all another update with the coin design soon.

Timeline

I've Included a timeline and next steps, so please take note of what is needed from you. Also, the timeline is a rough estimate, so there might be some adjustments along the way. My goal is to get your rewards to you by the end of November, if not sooner.

November - January

  • Production files sent to printing factory in Taiwan 
  • Transfer Kickstarter Money to business account Surveys sent to backers Receive digital proofs - proofed and approval Receive samples - proofed and approval 

February - March 

  • Production Starts and completes (takes approximately 20-30 days) 
  • Shipped from Taiwan to fulfillment warehouse in US (takes approximately 20-30 days to ship on a freighter) 

April - May

  • All rewards have been received by Warehouse for fulfillment 
  • Backer surveys are finalized and sent to factory for fulfillment 
  • Fulfillment of Kickstarter rewards start and completes with in 22 to 30 days from the first shipment that goes out. 

Next Steps

In order to start production and to ship your Rewards, a few things need to happen.

  • First Kickstarter needs to transfer over the funds so I have the money to make the rewards (this will be about 14 days from the end of this Kickstarter campaign). 
  • Second I have to find out where I need to ship the pledges.

I will be sending the BackerKit survey out to collect this information once the money has been collected. I will give you a heads up before I send the survey so you can watch for it. It is important that when you receive the survey, you get it back to me as quickly as you can. My ability to make an order depends on receiving this information.

You do not need to make a login and password to fill out your survey, just fill it out and you’re all good to go! If you want to go back to review your info, just click on the link in your email again or input your email into our project page for another survey link.

If you prefer, you can just message me your info, but I STRONGLY SUGGEST using BackerKit as you will have the opportunity to add ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS on to your current pledge and help me make the shipping process SEAMLESS! This will help out this project tremendously, and help me get your rewards out to you quicker!

  • If you used Facebook to login to your Kickstarter account, the BackerKit survey link will be sent to the email you used for your Facebook account. If you have another email you prefer it to be sent to, please message us. 

 I will be continuing to send you the bios of these amazing people. Again, thanks for all your support. I can’t wait to send all of you your rewards!

Jody

Count Francesco Baracca 

(9 May 1888 – 19 June 1918) was Italy's top fighter ace of World War I. He was credited with 34 aerial victories. The emblem he wore side by side on his plane of a black horse prancing on its two rear feet inspired that of Ferrari. 

Baracca scored his first victory, holing the fuel tank of an Austrian Hansa-Brandenburg C.I and wounding its two-man crew. This was also Italy's first aerial victory in the war. 

 It was around this time that Baracca adopted as a personal emblem a black prancing horse on his Nieuport 17, in tribute to his former cavalry regiment. This prompted some to call him, "The Cavalier of the Skies". Flying the Nieuport 17 and then, from March 1917, the SPAD VII, he scored both individually, and in combination with other Italian aces. 

Baracca saw little action in 1918, but he added more victories, for a total of 34, before failing to return from a strafing mission on the Montello (hill) area on 19 June. The Italians were taking advantage of their air supremacy to fly treetop ground attack missions into a storm of small arms fire. In the 0630 troop support mission, Baracca and rookie pilot Tenente Franco Osnago were hit by ground fire and split from one another. A few minutes later, both Baracca's home airfield and Osnago saw a burning airplane fall. Some days later, on 24 June, after an Austro-Hungarian retreat, Baracca's remains were recovered from where they lay, four meters from the burnt remnants of his Spad VII. 

 His body, when found, reportedly bore the marks of a bullet to the head. His pistol was out of its holster, but away from his body, leading to suspicions that he elected to take his own life rather than die in a crash or be taken prisoner.

Billy Bishop | King of Hearts
over 6 years ago – Tue, Nov 14, 2017 at 07:34:19 PM

All artwork for Top Aces will be turned in for production tomorrow. I will be putting up all of the artwork today and tomorrow on the Kickstarter page, so be sure to check them out. Also, I will still be sending updates with each of the Top Aces.

Here is the next Top Ace:

Billy Bishop | King of Hearts

 Air Marshal William Avery Bishop, (8 February 1894 – 11 September 1956) was a Canadian flying ace and Victoria Cross recipient of the First World War. He was officially credited with 72 victories, making him the top Canadian ace of the war.

Bishop quickly became frustrated with the mud of the trenches and the lack of action. In July 1915, after watching an RFC aircraft return from a mission, Bishop said "it's clean up there! I'll bet you don't get any mud or horse shit on you up there. If you die, at least it would be a clean death."

On March 24, 1917, after crash landing his aircraft during a practice flight in front of General John Higgins, Bishop was ordered to return to flight school at Upavon. Major Alan Scott, the new commander of 60 Squadron, convinced Higgins to let him stay until a replacement arrived. The next day, Bishop claimed his first victory when his was one of four Nieuports that engaged three Albatros D.III Scouts near St Leger.

Bishop's no-hold-barred style of flying always had him "at the front of the pack," leading his pilots into battle over hostile territory. Bishop soon realized that this could eventually see him shot down. His new method of using the surprise attack proved successful; he claimed 12 aircrafts in April alone. The successes of Bishop and his blue-nosed aircraft were noticed by the Germans, and they began referring to him as "Hell's Handmaiden". Ernst Udet called him "the greatest English scouting ace" and one Jasta had a bounty on his head.

Hobo Coins - Series II 

Inspired by hobo nickels from the Great Depression, Hobo Coins are heritage you can carry! 100% Made in the USA.

My friend Chris Ovdiyenko has a new coin project on Kickstarter called Hobo Coins - Series II. His work is so amazing! I especially like the Aviator Coin. Go check it out!

 

 

 

 

René Fonck | King of Clubs
over 6 years ago – Wed, Nov 01, 2017 at 09:42:16 PM

Hi everyone!

For the past two weeks I have worked really hard to finish all of the art for this project and it is now ready to be sent to Legends Playing Card Co. to be put into their cue for production. I am really excited to get this project made.

I have also decided to make a WWII version of Top Aces which will be slated for Kickstarter in the Spring of 2018. My desire is to get the artwork done for version II in the next couple of months, put into the production cue and only have maybe two months after the Kickstarter before it will be delivered to all of the backers. I hope that you all will be apart of Top Aces II in the Spring. If you haven't already, to get the latest information, please subscribe to my newsletter on https://blackinkplayingcards.com.

René Fonck | King of Clubs

 Colonel René Paul Fonck (27 March 1894 – 18 June 1953) was a French aviator who ended the First World War as the top Allied fighter ace, and when all succeeding aerial conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries are also considered, Fonck still holds the title of "all-time Allied Ace of Aces". He received confirmation for 75 victories (72 solo and three shared) out of 142 claims. Taking into account his probable claims, Fonck's final tally could conceivably be nearer 100 or above. He was made an Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1918 and later a Commander of the Legion of Honor after the war.

Referenced from Wikipedia

- Jody