Tiny Towns!

Martian Towns Seen From On High!

From high above the Martian city of Gwalli-Andor, at night. The town is quite dark.


The villa of Kez Ra Tohnassi, the wealthiest merchant prince in Gwalli-Andor.


The Tower of Righteous Harmony and Conduct, a cross between city hall, royal palace and a temple.

All of these magnificent vistas were photostattted by our Lead Correspondent, Mr. Eli Arndt. He took the photostats from the highest of altitudes aboard a native kiteship. You can see the acres of shining white kur plants, whose fibers make an astonishingly sturdy fabric, lightwieght and airy. Something like a cross between cotton and silk, it is one of the staples of Martian dress.

We are looking forward to additional aerial photostats from Mr. Arndt as he travels across the Red Planet. As always, his despatches are eagerly awaited by our hungry audience.

[Editor's Notes: Eli has been making some 1/1200 Martian terrain from scratch for Land Ironclads and Aeronef gaming. He showed me these pictures of the work in progress, and, well, I thought they were absolutey brilliant and deserved a wide audience. I made up the names and background material for this post, but I hope he uses the town name at least - I know I will be using it more in the future.]

Lest We Forget...

In America, today is Veteran's Day. It was once known as Armistice Day, commemorating the end of the First World War, then simply known as the Great War.

In the United Kingdom, it is Remembrance Day. More solemn, I think, than Veteran's Day. More like our Memorial Day, which is a day to commemorate the fallen.

Most of my readers like to play at war with little toy soldiers. A harmless enough pastime. But let us never forget that real wars, unlike those we fight in an afternoon across the tabletop, leave real casualties: wounded, maimed, mad and dead. Their sacrifice - their willingness to sacrifice - is what we honor on this day.

So to all veterans, of any branch of service, in any conflict or in peace, and of any nation friendly to the United States (that especially includes you Brits and Commonwealth types!), you have my most profound gratitude, and the gratitude of my wife and two sons, who live in peace and safety thanks to you.

I wish that the only wars we still fought were those on tabletop, but mankind just doesn't seem to be wired that way. Maybe one day we'll get a software upgrade that will resolve the 'bug'. Until then, thanks again for watching out for the rest of us, ladies and gentlemen of the armed services.

Martian Construction Projects

Two New Buildings Begin Construction

Two new native Martian structures are under construction at this time. They are made in the traditional manner, of fitted stone covered in a layer of gritty stucco. They also have the familiar 'dust lip' threshold around the structures to prevent the fine dust deposited by the numerous sand storms across the Red Planet's face from entering the building at ground level.

A manufactory, with large vents in the ceiling to release the heat and noxious gases of industrial production. These vents can be quickly shuttered in case of storm activity. The central node houses the elevator equipment that leads to the subterranean manufactory.

An opulent home in construction. Notice the large water vapor extractor unit on the roof of the building. Luxury indeed, to provide your own water. It is believed the owners may soon begin selling water to their less fortunate neighbors.

[Editor's Notes: These are nominally going to be in 25mm, but nothing scale-specific has been added yet.]

Giant Catapult Threatens Texians!

Massive War Engine Endangers Texas!

The massive war engine pictured above, in its nearly completed state, threatens to demolish obects along the Gulf Coast of Texas! Though difficult to tell in this photostat, it is taller than ten men, and can hurl a six foot boulder hundreds of feet! Flee in terror!

[Editor's Note: The picture above is of the trebuchet my son and I built for his science fair project. In 1/72 scale (1" = 6'), it would be about 80 feet tall. It throws a golf ball about 50 feet with a ten pound weight and a 18 inch throwing arm. We tested it with different lengths of arm and different counter weights. Ain't science fun?]

Photos of some of today's efforts...

First up, a blue and yellow Gater... the skin is Vallejo Dark Prussian Blue and the bony scutes are done in Vallejo Intense Yellow. Lots of work still to do on hiim, of course (and on all of these, actually...)

Her Royal Majesty's Viceroy for the Crown Colony of Mars, His Lordship Sir Gerald Blythingham, 1st Earl of Mons Olympus. Working on the tweed jacket and the pinstripe trousers still. And brass buttons on the waistcoat, I should think?The Right Honourable Mister Percival Harlod Windsome, the Viceroy's rather useless son-in-law. Mister Windsome fancies himself quite a rugged outdoorsman, but would sulk terribly if he went on safari without his fine bone china and a decent cup of coffee, as shown here.

Here we see the first glimpse of the High Martians, strange creatures capable of flying! Though obviously related in some way to the more common Martians of the cities, steppes and canals, there are significant physiological and sociological differences. These primitives have retained a fleshy membrane much like a bat's wing, and generate hydrium naturally, which is then stored in the large hairy hump above their shoulders.

Well, that's it for tonight. Hope you liked the photos. I enjoyed getting them done and posted!

Paint That Hath Touched Brush, Hath Touched Lead!

Finally.

Did a bit of painting today. Took the day off. Originally, had a class to attend, but that got cancelled, and as I already had a substitute lined up for the day... I decided that I needed a mental health day.

So, I broke out the paints and primed lead. Started four figures:

• the leader for my black and red Gaters, with a spear
• the leader for a new set of Gaters, in blue and yellow, also armed with a spear
• His Lordship Sir Gerald Blythingham, 1st Earl Mons Olympus, Viceroy for the British Crown Colony on Mars [Colonel Marbles figure]
• Hon. Percival Harold Windsome, the Viceroy's son-in-law [Foundry DA series], a classic upper-class twit

I also primed ten High Martians from Space 1889's Kraag Warriors box set [RAFM], which I purchased this summer at Historicon's flea market. As long as I was out there spraying stuff, I put the matt finish on the lizard dogs and some pigs (15mm), with two stands each for Mars and Venus. The men have to have something to eat, after all.

Finally, I started working on a large palace piece of terrain. It's an interesting bit of computer box cardboard being spraypainted to fit in the Martian landscape.

So, after a long (too long!) hiatus, I had a productive day of gaming endeavours to report. It feels good. Maybe I'll keep it up for a bit.

Diorama for school = Excuse to buy terrain toys

Good evening, friends. I would like to tell you about a wonderful thing: the 8th grade diorama.

You see, my son has a project due tomorrow for his Language Arts class. They read the book Uglies, and had a choice of projets to do in relation to the novel. Greyson chose a diorama based around a scene in the book. The scene: two teens making a very long jump on hoverboards (think flying skateboard) off a cliff to the roof of a secure building built halfway into a hillside.

Enter Daddy, with pink foam and hotwire cutter! We made a long cliff that will look smashing on Venus when the project is returned (if it is returned - it looks good and teachers always keep the nice ones). And a low hill to boot.

And best of all, Momma didn't complain about me buying foamboard and spray paint and such, because it was 'all for the school project.' Naturally, the scraps won't go to waste. I love it when a plan comes together.

Frogmen!

FROGMEN OF THE AMAZON!

Or somewhere, at any rate. Obviously, these fellows may be relatives of the bloodeye frogs of Venus. My eldest son, Greyson, found these at Historicon and bought a good number of them. It is his first real painting project. I think they look great for a 13 year old. Much better than I managed at the same age, I promise you!

I'm not positive of the sculptor, but the minis are avialable only through Eureka Miniatures. Nic Robson, the owner, came to H-con all the way from Australia, and was a really great guy. He seemed to enjoy talking with my boys all twenty times we visited his stand, and even sent along some rules for the amphibian lads! You can buy some direct from the US distributor at http://www.eurekaminusa.com/. Go now, and tell them I sent you! Look at the turtles too. We have some of those still waiting to be primed....

They still need to be based ( I need to get some bases ordered!), but I think they look awesome.

Finally, below is a shot of the newly based (but not yet dull coated) lizard dog thingy that I got from Splintered Light at Historicon. It is part of their 15mm Lizardman army, but the fellow manning the booth (whose name escapes me at the moment - sorry!) was very obliging when I asked if I could get just a few of these fellows. I love the three eyes.

A gift for the memsahib, perhaps?

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5785678

Steampunk jewelry. Some of it is pretty neat. So, if your memsahib is a fan of things steamy and punky, you might check it out. Sadly, She Who Must Be Obeyed around my home is not into that look.

Hope it helps.

And look, a real post!

Another Zero Month - But Not Dead Yet!

First of all, an announcement of crucial importance:

THIS BLOG IS NOT DEAD

I am truly beginning to hate this time of year. I am so busy, every night after work and all weekend long, between football with the boys and church commitments...

I haven't done anything but wish I had time for gaming activities. Not a drop of paint has been used. Not a single game played. the closest I have gotten to gaming in the past 30 days is bitching about not having any time to do it with my friends.

As for blogging, well, with no gaming going on, the blogging has slowed down. My small amount of free time has been wasted on Facebook, which is evil. And addictive. Ought to be a controlled substance.

This blog is NOT dead.

I promise it will be revived. My thirteen year old did paint up some of his Eureka frogs he bought from Nic at Historicon (Hi Nic!). I'll try to get a photo or tow of them posted. They are very nicely done, especially considering his relative lack of experience at painting. Honestly, much better than my stuff at the same age. MUCH better.

And I have actually thought about priming some of the Space 1889 High Martians I got at Historicon. Plus, a good buddy locally has been hinting we should paint up the 100 15mm Zulus I have laying about so we can play some TSATF colonials. Gotta get the juices flowing again!

Well, ladies and gents, all for now, but please come back around in a week or so and see if I have made any progress. And if not, let me know about it!

-J