Final construction

I used scrapbook paper to make the wallpaper and the tiled interior floor. The backside was painted black to darken the windows.

I also have a shop from them which is the next piece of terrain on the list. I hope to get around to it before the end of the year, but that seems unlikely.

One More Gaming Project: Fall-In Report: Happy Birthday General Grant by GA...

An excellent battle report from our correspondent at the Fall In event last weekend. Chris Palmer describes the strange events that took place on one day in the American Civil War.



One More Gaming Project: Fall-In Report: Happy Birthday General Grant by GA...:   Friday night at Fall-In I ran my "Happy Birthday General Grant by GASLIGHT" game, using 25mm figures and GASLIGHT rules.   I had...

Construction Begins

   I picked up two laser-cut MDF buildings from the Gaslamp Alley line at Historicon last summer. One terraced house and one terraced shop. I punched out the terraced house and primed it a couple of weeks ago. Dry-fitting it left me reasonably impressed with the quality of the stuff.

   And then I stalled out.

   But I purchased some lovely brick-red craft paint in two tones yesterday at Hobby Lobby, and a stiff stencil brush. The plan is to paint the lighter tone on each brick, leaving the black lines between bricks as grimy mortar. Then, using the stencil brush, I will stipple in some pattern of the darker tone over each brick. I used the same technique (on a grander scale) when I made sets in high school and college for the theater. It worked pretty well then.

  I also bought some scrapbooking paper to put on the insides as wallpaper and flooring. Might save myself a few minutes of time that way, what? White wooden trim, of course. The door? I was thinking a nice green on the house. Perhaps blue for the shop when I get to it.

   I will take a few photos as I go along, and post them soon-ish.

Guy Fawkes Day

Remember, remember

The Fifth of November

The Gunpowder Treason and plot!

I know of no reason

Why the Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot!

By Jove! That's a Lot of Peelers!

   I finally finished these thirteen Bobbies and their associated infernium hound from the Empire of the Dead Kickstarter. So, now I have a force of flat-feet to harass Adventuring Companies and other ne'er-do-wells on the streets of Ol' Blighty! 

Gorillas in the Gunsmoke

This here is Cactus Joe, a Gorilla Gunslinger. He's a crazy wild west mutant ape, armed with a pair of Colonel Colt's finest revolvers. He also wears a serape and chews a cigar. I like him.

But is he maybe too off the wall? Is that even possible in VSF? 

First thought is he could be used for one of Vardu's mutated minions. I definitely need to add to that group. I can't even really field a decent IHMN Company for him yet. Joe's actually more in period than good ol' Ape-X, who is currently dedicated as the evil scientist's bodyguard. This fellow might be more suitable.

Oh, and if you like Cactus Joe, you can get him here.

New Martian Surface!

  Some nice American chaps who work in a cigar store have, for some strange reason, created this rather lifelike representation of the surface of Mars. The whorling red and ochre hues capture the essence of the deserts on this dying planet with startling accuracy.

  The product is available in a 4' x 6' configuration, for the quite reasonable sum of  about sixty-nine of your American dollars. Something every true aficionado of the Red Planet should plan to purchase, I should think.

  You may direct yourself to their telephonic store HERE.

[Editor's Note: I own a Cigar Box Battle Mat already, and like it a great deal. I will be ordering this as soon as funds are available. The material drapes well and is quite color-fast. It's also lightweight and doesn't seem to hold creases badly. I give it two thumbs way up.]

Three Cheers for Her Majesty, the Queen!

Hip hip

HOORAY!

Hip hip

HOORAY!

Hip hip

HOORAY!

   As of today, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has surpassed her great-great-grandmother Victoria I (God Bless Her!) as the longest reigning monarch in British history. Her Majesty's reign began in 1952, with the death of her father, King George VI. She has been Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for 23,226 days.

Her Majesty at work.

Probably my favorite photo of Her Majesty.

   Naturally, some one has to ruin the party. That someone is this fellow (and his pals).

Graham Smith

  Smug looking grumble grumble... Mr. Smith and his compatriots would like to do away with the monarchy. He's taken this occasion to call for an end to the hereditary succession. Could you not give it a rest for the day? Good taste doesn't allow me to describe my thoughts. It may seem strange that an American such as myself would think that's a terrible idea, but I'm also a historian, with a reverence for traditions. Heck, I'm an Aggie - and we are chock full of tradition.

  Anyway, enough about that guy. Congratulations to Her Majesty, and best wishes for her continued good health and long reign.

Three Pages Shy

   That's all I need to finish up the next issue of The Aethergraph, plus a bit of editing.

   Help!

Vardu's Greatest Triumph to Date

   One of the two major mad scientists which threaten the peace of the Solar System, Doctor Vardu twists the very threads of life itself to create warped monsters. He has a fascination with merging human characteristics with those of animals and even plants! In this instance, the base creature was a mighty Venusian Marsh Oak.

A crude intelligence simmers in the orange eyes of the mighty beast.

As you can clearly see, the Marsh Oak is host to a variety of

other plants and fungi.

[I added Meadow Flowers and Wilderness Tufts]

[Reaper Bones: "Spirit of the Forest"]

FSA Revere-class Corvettes

  Finally a few new things to show you. And of course, the photos are terrible. Definitely need to get a new camera and a light box. I hear good things about the Foldio (?).

Revere-class Corvettes

New home for the FSA's capital ships

All Quiet on the Martian Front: Nell

All Quiet on the Martian Front: Nell: A Headless Body Production All Quie t on the Martian Front In troduction : Nell   Game : All Quiet on the Martian Front Writer : Phi...

More Federated States and Aethergraph Update

   The enclosed photostats provide evidence of the great deal of work which has been going on behind the scenes, as it were. The LP delayed my issuance of these photos, although they have appeared elsewhere on the telephonic differencing web. 

   I'm beginning to think that I should, perhaps, roll this blog into my other, more general blog. I see that many of the subscribers are the same. It would reduce the amount of work, and probably therefore increase the frequency of posts. Posting has become a bit of a slog for me on VBIR lately.

   In other news, I am still working on the next issue of Aethergraph, after a lengthy hiatus for professional reasons. Upon returning, I saw that in fact, I had more to do than I had previously believed. This is causing additional delays, of course. Should any of you dear readers have ideas, articles, photos, or whatever that might be of assistance, I would appreciate it if you would contact me at aethergraph@gmail.com. I still need four or five pages, I think.

28mm Project Review: Her Majesty's Forces

   Just to keep track of what's going on, I worked up a bit of thought on just what I wanted to accomplish for 28mm VSF forces. Thought I would share that with you all, starting with the British.

   The basic idea is to create factions large enough to fight platoon-level games. That is, I want to have at least four units of troops, plus some leaders, support weapons, and vehicles for each faction. Using GASLIGHT as my template rules, that means some 40-50 figures, plus the support weapons (and crews) and vehicles (and crews).

   At any rate, here are the units and odds and ends which I have, mostly completed.

• Gurkhas (x10)
• Sikhs (x20)
• Martian Sepoys (x20)
• Martian Sepoy Gashant Cavalry (x10)
• British Line (x20)
• British Line, Venusian Uniform (x20)
• British Ensign bearer
• British Officer (x4)
• British civilians (x4)
• British Aerocav (x10)
• British Airship (Aphid-ish) and crew
• 9-pdr Gun and RA crew
• Hale Rocket team, RA crew
• Gatling Gun and RA crew
• SWORD Unit (x15)
• SWORD Artillery (x3, plus crew)
• SWORD Scout Walkers (x2)
• Metropolitan Police (x10)
• Landship

   Note that these units do not include Lord Curr's Incorrigibles, an Adventuring Company with strong British ties, nor the Gentleman's Club for EotD.

HMLS Dreadnought by Captain Darling

Captain Darling has slipped through my network of reporters previously, but this time, we have him! His report on the new landship HMLS Dreadnought, can be found here.

More information about landships and the arms race between Britain and the Russians can be had here and here. I shudder to think the Russians may be able to use this information in their own quest for imperial domination...

[Editor's Note: I like the photo effect used here. Nice looking bit of kit, and I am now following this blog, which had in fact escaped my attention previously.]

Possible for 28mm?

Prussian Empire Teutonic Knights

Spartan Games

   Although designed for the Dystopian Legions game, which inexplicably uses a noticeably larger 32mm-sized figure, I think these battle armor suits might just work for 28mm games. Has anyone tried this? I would love to see pictures of them next to a 28mm figure for size.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Or, as I like to call it, Mexican Import Beer Day!

Great cartoon, though I prefer Dos Equis myself.

   Figures from Shadowking's Blog, shamelessly stolen and ported here just for today. He did a really nice job on these, however. You might be interested in taking a look over there. This is a Mexican/French Adventuring Company for In Her Majesty's Name.

Round 2 Entry - 17th Lancers Aerocav

   Since this round is also over, I can share these. I posted the original one many moons ago, but I only got around to painting up the remaining nine back in February. I think they came out well, and look forward to using them in a game.

   This is the 17th Lancers' F-Troop, mounted on the new Guernsey Patent Steam Ornithopter. Nicknamed the "bug boys" for obvious reasons. Note how the 'eyes' glow green? That's the handwavium reaction providing heat for the steam power. Vents out the tail, in controlled bursts for charges. Also, they are armed with the explosive limpet lance. Just the thing for blowing big holes in the delicate liftwood panels of Martian kites.

Federated States Aerial forces

   Painted about two months ago, but had to wait for their turn in the Lead Painters' League competition to end. Which it did last night. So... here are some of the Federated States of America forces I have.

  I also have some naval forces, but I may need them for later in the contest, so I won't show them yet. They include a dreadnought and a double-deck carrier, though. Which is pretty cool.

Back to it?

   Almost.

   The semester is almost over, and I am just about done grading term papers. Finally.

   This means I can start considering the final touches to the next issue of The Aethergraph (Vol. 4, No. 1, for those of you keeping score at home).

   This issue is somewhat free-form, as it does not have any specific theme. I'm hoping to see another article or two come in, or perhaps some photos or art. I may need to go raiding the blogosphere for something to write about. We'll see.

Colonel O'Truth's Miniature Issues: Back On Board!

   The good Colonel is BACK!  By far the most outrageously visionary and grandest in scale of any Victorian Science Fiction model builder of which I am aware... after a long hiatus, he returns to the construction of his sextupedal masterpiece.



   You could say I am right chuffed about it.



Colonel O'Truth's Miniature Issues: Back On Board!: Hi, All! Archibald Phunk enjoys a stroll on-deck, reassured by a sturdy new hand-rail. After something like a fourteen month break, I...

Steam-powered Foo Dog, Anyone?

In case anyone needs one... I think I do. Available here, from Spartan Games.

I imagine it would work in different ways for any scale from 1:1200 to 28mm.

OwlCon Report

   This was the year of VSF for me at OwlCon, the annual science fiction and gaming convention held at Rice University in downtown Houston. I played in three games on Saturday the 7th, all VSF-related.

  The first game was a four player Dystopian Wars 2.0 matchup. I took the Danish fleet in support of Prussian allies, against a combined British and Antarctic fleet. First time with the Danes, and I did terribly. I have to figure out a better way to use those mines than as virtual suicide bombs. Also, the first time with DW 2.0 rules. Not a lot of changes that affected my game.

   The valiant forces of Prussia and Denmark failed to carry the day, unfortunately. However, to brighten things up, I won the drawing for a free box set of minis. I am awaiting delivery of some Federated States forces to beef up my new fleet. Thanks to Garth Bragg for putting on the game and providing the prize.

  Oh - I was so busy playing that I didn't take any pictures!

  My second game was another first, All Quiet on the Martian Front. I took the Martian side in  a massive game. I had some twenty-odd tripods to handle, and got the hang of it pretty quickly. Which was good, because one of my opponents couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the rules and had to be reminded what to do each time. Honestly, he was an older gentleman, and seemed a bit... fuzzy headed, let's say. Pleasant enough, but his attention (and body) wandered away from the table many times. The other player for the Human side (FRY HUMAN SCUM!!!) was more attentive and took up the slack.

   I managed a squeaker of a victory, by not concentrating on eliminating enemy units entirely. A couple of more shots concentrating on eliminating entire units would have seen a solid Martian victory. However, as far as special victory conditions were concerned, I managed to nearly get one tripod off the defended edge of the Human side. My power node was never endangered. Thanks to Coab Evans for putting on this game.

Yup, that's me.

Protecting the Power Node

At the Beginning...

   My third and final game of the convention was an evening of In Her Majesty's Name. The scenario was simple: two rival groups of archaeologists trying to get into the tomb of an ancient god-king. Of course, it wasn't that simple: the local natives didn't want anyone to wander around their countryside, looting antiquities. Also, the god-king has a devoted cult, who didn't want unbelievers defiling their deity's most sacred precincts.

   I took the British Museum's Expedition, complete with native porters, eminent scientists, adventurous American archaeologists, and a Great White Hunter. The GWH drew first blood at extreme range, taking down one of the natives as he bounded across the plains, intent on mischief amongst the porters! I then stupidly allowed myself to get bogged down in hand-to-hand combat, but my valiant porters did quite well against a superior foe. "Tenty" went toe-to-toe with an assegai armed Yahoo for at least four rounds, even knocking the Yahoo down once before finally being double-teamed and skewered from behind.

   In the end, I managed to get the American archaeologist, Ohio Smith, into the tomb on the very last turn of the game. The remainder of my expedition was wiped out to the last man (and woman). Came in second or third on points (out of five), but had a good time nonetheless. Thanks to the fellows from LSHM who put it on (Andy!).

Issue with the Poll

   Did anyone else not see the question, or is it just me? I hope that was the cause for the lack of responses!

   I'll try again later, but the question was "What is your preferred/favorite faction in Dystopian Wars/Legions?"

Artizan Miniatures' Midnight Workshop

   Artizan Miniatures has been rather quietly creating a rather nice little line of Victorian miniatures in 28mm. It is titles "Midnight Workshop." 

   Some are suitable for a straight Victorian tabletop, and others useful for a VSF table. I have captured a few of the images form their website and added them below. At 2.60 GBP each, they aren't exactly cheap, but they look quite nice. I believe I will be ordering some at some point this year, to add to my Metropolitan Police Force if nothing else.

I believe we have seen this fellow before.

Quite a nice paint job on these, as well.

This peeler looks kitted out with an Arc Rifle.

The gasmask makes me think they've got tear gas a bit early?

This is Mr. Wells, one of four armed civilians, members of the

Martian Free State Raiders.

Kickstarter Strikes Again

   I follow the Bleaseworld blog (and you should, too). If you don't you may have missed the announcement of a Kickstarter for a new VSF game in 28mm scale. The designers call it ACW: The Alternative Civil War. While I have a hard time swallowing some of their timeline (yes, I said that), some of the minis look intriguing.

    The images are from the Kickstarter page. It looks to be going fairly well, and I am really liking the looks of the Union coil gunners and the Confederate hoppers.