Some Photostats of Summer Work

   Not entirely sure if I have posted these photos before. This is some of what I did manage to accomplish this summer.

A granary, for Venusians

A French Armoured Dig, for either 6mm or 1/1200

Two stout English lads, on Mars. (Empress Figures)

Doctor Vardu, who manipulates the very thread of life into unnatural weaves...

A heliograph section (15mm, Peter Pig)

The Colonel seems to have something on his coat sleeve. 

"Hmmph. Bloody lazy batman."

Now on the Table: Scout Aeronef

   I have just primed (in dark grey, if you must know) the casting of the Ironclads Miniatures Scout Aeronef that I purchased last month from Messer Skrapwelder. Soon it will be receiving the attentions of a brush!

Ironclad Miniatures's File Photo

   I like the model, but it has some casting flaws, especially around the portholes where it is thin. I am going to remedy this on the lower deck by making the portholes into gunports! A pair of Hotchkiss Revolviing Cannon in each broadside will teach Johnny Martian a bit of respect for Her Majesty's imperial authority!

   I also want to install a railing around the deck, a QF deck gun, another railing around the superstructure, possibly armoring the (currently) open superstructure instead. Maybe add a Nordenfelt up there as well? Any tips on how to do the railing would be appreciated.

"Z" is for...

ZEPPELIN

   Zeppelin (n.): a rigid cylindrical airship consisting of a covered frame containing multiple gas cells, and with a suspended compartment for passengers and engines.

   There was, of course, no way not to mention the Zeppelin and other forms of flying ships when discussing Victorian Science Fiction. You may as well leave out Her Majesty (God Bless Her!) as flying vessels! The idea of flying ships was written about by Victorian writers (Jules Verne published Master of the World in 1904, just a few years after Edward took the throne).

   Graf Ferdinand von Zeppelin started designing the style of airship which would bear his name in the 1870s after seeing airships used by the Union in the American Civil War and the French during the short-lived Franco-Prussian War. The first real zeppelin (LZ-1) was built in 1899. Zeppelins were used as bombers in World War I and as commercial vehicles after the war until the Hindenberg crash in 1937 ended their popularity. (Oh, the humanity!) In my VSF universe, I have Zeppelin retiring from the military at a younger age due to injuries sustained, and getting into the development of airships sooner as a result. Zeppelins fitted with more powerful engines and using a wondrous lifting gas (hydrium, an idea copied from Kenneth Opel's Airborn novels) are commonplace in the late 19th century of my little universe.

   Besides zeppelins, which are just really cool, the VSF enthusiast has a variety of airships to choose from. Most use some for of lighter-than-air technology, which is often non-gaseous in nature, thus eliminating the need for huge gas bags to provide lift. Liftwood, cavorite, and unobtainite are some examples of this. The problem with massive gas cells is that they are, well, massive. Big, relatively slow targets, which can't be significantly armoured due to weight considerations. Using liftwood, etc., eliminates that liability and makes armoured airships much more practical.

A small 6-man gunboat
[Laughing Ferret, 25mm conversion]

    Some airships are small gunboats, intended to swiftly enforce the will of the Great Powers which build them. The British Naval Air Service's ubiquitous Aphid-class is a prime example of this type. Others are massive behemoths of armourplate and turreted 14" naval guns, bristling with batteries of quick-firing light guns, and cruising slowly through the air, dominating the sky. The Class IV dreadnought is one of these types of airship.

HMS Aphid

<> 

Dreadnought Class IV Airship

   I know of several good rules sets that exist for VSF airship fleet battles, in alphabetical order:

• Aeronef, by Wessex Games
• Dystopian Wars, by Spartan Games
• GASLIGHT Compendium, by Palmer and Surdu
• Sky Galleons of Mars, by GDW (and Heliograph)
• When Dreadnoughts Ruled the Skies (not commercially published that I know of)
• When the Navy Walked, by The Arm Chair General (I helped write these rules).

   I have played in games using all of the above rules except for Dystopian Wars, and enjoyed them all. Except for When Dreadnoughts Ruled the Skies, all of them also have associated ground forces rules suitable for playing air-to-ground engagements and mixed actions. If I have inadvertently left any systems you are aware of out of the above list, please let me know and I will be happy to add it!

Naval Zeppelin

Report: Historicon 2011, Day 3

   I know it has been a few days, but I am just now fully recovered from my relaxing stay in lovely Pennsylvania. Not that I saw a whole lot of it, because I spent most of the time indoors.  But you don't want to hear about all that - you want to know about the games!

Beautiful terrain from Miniature Building Authority.

  So by now it is Saturday, the last real day of games for Historicon. I have a game at 0900, a WWII game using a rules system new to me called NUTS! It's from Two Hour Wargames. The scenario was pretty simple: D-Day, American Airborne forces approach a village held by the Wehrmacht. Wehrmacht must hold village. Didn't enjoy the game. One of the main opponents was a 'psychic.' Always knew what my troops were doing even if there was no way for the troops to have such information. I didn't like the rules either. One of my troops dropped a hand grenade into a room full of Amis, rolled the best result possible, and the result was that two of the GIs charged up the stairs and killed not one but three Germans at the top. One of the Germans was my second best guy, and a 'Hero', unloaded his SMG at the GIs, while waiting at the top for them to approach, and missed totally. An unbalanced scenario maybe, and a bad opponent for sure, but any result that leaves a group of people in an enclosed area in which a grenade has gone off totally unharmed - not stunned, not anything? Needs work.

Amis appear in the woods and ambush a Wehrmacht patrol

  My next game wasn't to be until 1900, so I thought I'd hit the vendor's area and Wally's Basement (the flea market). the boys, on the other hand, were headed to their game at 1300; a game of Car Wars. I've been playing the game off and on since about 1983. Even been planning on getting a Matchbox scale game set up. So the boys take off; about 1305, I get a call from Greyson and they need another player since there's only the two of them there to play. Had a pretty good time. Killed Greyson's car, got rear-ended by a ramplate but survived (barely!), got revenge on the rammer by virtually eliminating him. Time was just about up so we called it, and I won (only 'kill').

My car. Twin MGs and a bumper trigger.

Dane in red, Greyson in green, myself in the rear.

   My last game was one of the ones I most anticipated since registering: a G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. fleet battle. Simple scenario was that a new German aircraft carrier was damaged by a storm, and the British are trying to capture it while the Germans seek to prevent that.

Patrol boat HMS Courageous (fore) and cruiser HMS Essex

   I liked the game. It was very similar to Battles by G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T., and so it was familiar, with a few changes which had to be made in order to accomodate the third dimension. It seemed impossible to get to the carrier (the Valkyrie) before she made it off the table, and it proved so. Highlights of the game include the performance of HMS Cossack, one of my patrol boats absorbing fire from two German patrol boats and a German cruiser. After several turns, she was a wreck, and had three commanding officers killed aboard her. Finally, she settled to the surface, with no guns, no engine, and no officers left! Things looked very bad for the British side until the battleship finally got within range. Three German capital ships were crippled or destroyed, and three escorts, to the loss of three escorts on the British side. The Valkyrie did manage to escape, however.

The Valkyrie.

  The Valkyrie is a total scratch-built job, except for the mast and the flight stand. Absolutely beautiful piece of work. I especially like the raised hangar on the flight deck.

For Fans of Aerial Warfare

   Here is an interesting telephonic connection location to peruse: Dirigibles and Dreadnoughts. While it is sadly not a very active sort of place, there are some lovely things to see there. For example, this German torpedo cruiser, built by the owner of the site:

   Odd sort of cloud cover below that cruiser, what?

New Space: 1889 Minis Coming Soon

   According to Frank Chadwick, the creator of the iconic Victorian Science Fiction setting Space: 1889, a new line of miniatures will be produced for the game.

   Actually, two lines. One, in 15mm (HOORAY!), for adventurers, and another, in 1:1200, for cloudships, etc. I certainly hope that we will finally see 15mm High Martians on the market as part of this new line. I need them. I need them or I will explode. That happens to me sometimes.

   Here's the link to the straight dope.

*SNIFF* I love that new toy smell...

   I arrived home from work this afternoon, after a long and exhausting day, to find not one, but two (joy!) packages awaiting me at home.

  The first came from Ironclad Miniatures in the UK. A new steam tank, some Prussians I think will be used as aethermarines, and a couple of officers. One British officer and one Prussian. Well, actually, i got two of the same British officer.

Steam Tank, disassembled.

Prussian aethermarines

Officers: Prussian, left, and British, right

   The other package came via a purchase on TMP. The entire boxed set of Sky Galleons of Mars by GDW, complete with ships and a surprise extra! I only paid $50 for this and am extremely happy.

Sky Galleons of Mars!

The Extra

   A complete set of RAFM's Space 1889 Victorian Adventurers! I took this photo from RAFM's site; the minis I got were not as nicely painted and show a  lot of wear. But they are in good condition, just need new paint! These go for $10/set on RAFM's site, so I got the SGoM for an equivalent $40. And I have always wanted to get some of these figs, so real bonus result!

Brigade Models Sale

Brigade Models, the makers of Aeronef ships, plus Iron Stars and Land Ironclads, is having a sale for one week. Until August 13th, you can have 15% off pretty much everything they make.

British Fleet (From Brigade Models website, w/o permission)

6-Aug-2010 Summer Sale - We tried a summer sale for the first time last year and it turned into a very successful event, so we thought we'd repeat it again this year. The format is very simple - 15% off everything we make, in all ranges. The only thing it doesn't cover is items we have to buy in such as books, bases and dice. The discount is deducted when you add an item to the shopping cart, the website still shows the full prices. The sale will run for one week, until next Friday (August 13th), so don't hang about !

February Wrapup

Well... it took a lot of work in the home stretch, but I got a lot of it done. Just waiting on weather to clear coat, so I call them finished. Point by point:

• 10x German Atherbattalion (28mm): Done.
• 10x Vardu (var.): Done.
• 4x Venetian Aeronefs: Done.
• 1x Power Supply: Done.
• 1x Lizardman Stegadon (28mm): 75%. Still working on crew, probably 100% by weekend.
• 10x Feral Martians (28mm): Done. January Leftover
• 40x Zulus (15mm): Done. January Leftover

I also worked on other projects, which were not included in the monthly goal. These included:

• 2x Unobtanium deposits (resin): Done.
• 4x Flagellants (GW Empire - for my sons): Done. Need to do about 8 more...
• 1x Grandmaster of the Knights of the Blazing Sun (GW Empire): 50%. Horse is good, armor is done, still working on details, basing, etc.
• 1x Hydra Miniatures Destroyer Warbot: 33%. Primed, and assembled, and mounted on base. Paint job is a simple one.
• 1x War Wagon (GW Empire): 5%. Still working on paint scheme.
• 1x Castle (28mm): 25%. All I have to do is paint it, and it is nearly primed (black vinyl housepaint) so I can spray the foam safely.
• 2x Artizan Texas Rangers (28mm): For Owlcon Gutshot game

All in all, I am gonna call February a successful month. The only thing I didn't finish was the stego crew, but the other items made up for it, I think. So, at this point, we're batting .500 on the year. That'd get you in the Baseball Hall of Fame. I'll put up the March goals in a few days - I want to see how the poll goes for combining the blogs first.

Goals for February 2010

As part of my ongoing commitment to getting a dent in the lead pile (which grows daily, somehow, even though I have sold off things and traded away others), I am trying to set achievabel goals to complete each month. Some of the things I will do are projects already started but never actually finished. Some are totally new.

Without further ado, the list for February:

• Finish current vessels for Republic of Venice's Aeronef fleet (need some more ships)
• Finish ten Hydra Miniatures Vardu sprout warriors
• Finish projects from January that are undone
• Repaint on old edition of GW Skink Stegadon for Venus
• Ten 28mm Copplestone German Marines as Atherbattalion
• Armorcast Gothic Laboratory Power Generator

It's a short month this month, so I think that's a good amount. Wish me luck!

Weekend Progress

Actually got a bit of brush time in this past weekend.


The Papal States vessels of the Italian Confederation Combined Aeronavy are almost done, even with the changes I made to the paint scheme. All that is left is one cruiser that needs a bit of detailing and a dig battleship that needs touchup. Then all eight vessels are off to be clearcoated.


Also got a good deal of work done on the 15mm Luftschiffetruppen. All that is left is basing on a few (six or so) and then clearcoating. Mark this unit down as 90% complete. Pictures later this week.


I am also in the process of rebasing many of my Mars-based units to a standard style. I did both Sentinels and several other figures (15 in all).


So, with only one weekend left in the month, I am skeptical about meeting my monthly goal. The Zulus are taken care of, though not finished yet. The Nefs are going pretty well, and the Luftschiffetruppen. But I got to get on those ferals!


Oh well. Must sleep now.

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.]

First photos of Papal Aeronef fleet

This first shot is of a Prinz Eugen-class cruiser, now in service with the Papal States. Technically on loan from the Austrian KuK Kriegsluftmarine, the Prinz Eugen and her sister ship, the Herzerzog Karl, are in essence a permanent part of the Papal fleet. The three turrets each mount twin 10" rifled guns.

The two smaller vessels shown are part of a flotilla of five bomb laden aeronefs. Built by Japanese 'Nef yards due to the appalling lack of industrial capacity in the Papal States, these ships are very similar to the Type 97 Bomber. They have been dubbed the Cherubim-class, and are too small to be given names, having numbers only. Pictured are S-01 and S-02.

Another view of the Prinz Eugen, showing the Papal colors on the rear vertical stabilizer mount. Please ignore the giant plantman that appears to be standing underneath the Prinz Eugen.
More photos later.

Painting... actual painting!

Okay, so I finally took up a brush for an hour or so this evening. First time in ages.

I worked on several projects:

• The first three vessels of the Papal aeronef fleet are just about ready to go. They still need flags. [Brigade Models]
• Professor Vardu, a biologist working on Venus. [Reaper]
• Frau Frobisher, assistant to Professor Vardu. [Copplestone]
• Two members of the Kaiser's Fliegenjagers, an officer and a trooper. [Eureka]
• A start on the prototype of my 28mm Aetherbattalion regulars. [Copplestone]
• A little work on some of the Aetherbattalion KFG. [GW Mordians]
• A little re-base work on Herr Professor Maton and a Mysterious Egyptian Gentleman.

Nothing finished, quite, but some actual progress on several projects. Feels nice. I took photos, but the camera is just about out of a charge, so pictures later. Plus, it's late and I am knackered. Still, progress marches on!

Aeronef Fleet - Knights of St. John

I think I have mentioned this project by "Dampfpanzerwagon", aka Tony before. He has just posted the finished fleet on his blog. You owe it to yourself to check it out if you are at all interested in flying VSF.

http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.com/2009/04/aeronef-knights-of-st-john.html

Aeronef News

As you may or may not know, I purchased a number of Brigade Models's Aeronef minis a month or so back. I've not been doing much in the way of painting the last several weeks, so little progress has been made upon them.

However, I have been inspired to get back to them today, by an announcement on The Miniatures Page (TMP - http://www.theminiaturespage.com/) regarding the first of a new fleet painted by Tony, aka Dampfpanzerwagon.

Tony has begun a new fleet project, the Knights of St. John, aka the Knights Hospitaller, aka the Knights of Malta. Above is a photo of the first ship in the fleet, and she's a beauty! The really amazing part is that she's a scratchbuilt, as are most (if not all) of Tony's ships.

Find out more here: http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.com/2009/04/aeronef-new-project.html

[OOC] Pledge Updated, New Scale added

Okay, I finally updated the 2009 Pledge. Doing pretty well, for so early in the year, but Historicon is coming, and I am planning on replacing all of my current 25mm British colonial regulars with the absolutely beautiful ones produced by Empress Miniatures at Historicon. So, that's a good 30 or so more to do.

Almost done with several of the Imperial German Secret Weapons guys. That'll help the 25mm count as well.

Only have to glue the bombardment rockets on the second Sentinel to be finished with that project, finally!

Inspired by a trip to Austin's Great Hall Games, where I found a good deal of Brigade Model's Aeronefs on sale, I have bought into them. 34 2mm scale Aeronefs now await painting, and have been added to the Pledge as a scale category. 7 have been primed and will be painted as the Aeronavy of the Holy See of Saint Peter. These are a mix of Austrian and Japanese (!), and I will also be adding an Italian Carlo Alberto-class dig to the Papal fleet. I also have a decent number of German 'nefs. Plans for future include British, French, and some fixed wing aircraft. Only rules I have right now is a copy of "When Dreadnoughts Ruled The Skies" given to me at a game at Little Wars almost two years ago now. Am considering purchasing the Aeronef rules from Wessex, and integrating with Land Ironclads at a later date. The tiny scale means they should paint up pretty quick.

In 15mm news, I have finished another 5 deathrays. No photos yet, because I am re-working the bases to magnetize them. Be a couple of days until that sub-project is completed. I discovered I don't have enough rays to finish, either! So, I have to hit eBay and get two more. I also finished a mounted officer on octosaur for the Martians.

All for now. Maybe more news later this weekend, and hopefully a few photos.