Rising like a Phoenix...

   This is the Quadcycle that was destroyed a few weeks ago by my puppy. 

   Actually, it's the Quadcycle that Elderac very kindly sold to me to replace the one eaten by my puppy. I changed the paint a bit to match my existing minion forces and put it on a base.

   But from tragedy comes renewal - I finally got that piece finished and it's ready to grace the table as soon as I stat it up for either GASLIGHT or IHMN.

Canine Automatons

   Found these whilst perambulating aimlessly across the telephonic interweb of differencing engines. This blighter has some canine automatons for sale. An American chap, obviously, selling them off at 3 for the price of $7.00. He's some cats as well, but I'm an Englishman, not my spinster Aunt Amelia.

28mm scale

Crossover Miniatures Robo-Dogs

Clockwork. Flying. Monkey.

It must be mine.

It may be purchased online here.

Tin Man isn't bad, either...

More Mechanickal Menaces from Maton!

Maton's "Manikins" Emerge from A Martian Cavern

   The despicable and dangerous Herr Doctor Professor Otto Maton has been at it again. A new sort of automaton was seen recently. Unlike the majority of Maton's mechanickal menace, these diabolical devices are armed with modern magazine rifles! Fearless, cold, ruthless, and deadly accurate, the Army has dubbed them 'manikins'. This journal can only hope that the Mad Belgian has reached his limits.

[Editor's Note: Sorry about the delay. Grad school has been a bit tense the last month. These fellows, the first half of a unit of ten, were painted up for Round 6 of the Lead Painters' League Season 8. One of the rules is that you can't advertise while the team is in competition, so I had to wait to post photos. Hope you enjoy them.]

New Issue of The Aethergraph!

   At long last, I have published the new issue of The Aethergraph. You can find a link to it on the left hand column, right at the top there, or simply click here. I would like to thank my contributors, and the gentlemen that offered me submissions that I didn't have room for this time around. I'm hopeful that, especially with more submissions, I can produce another issue this spring - perhaps in April or May.

   I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think, and if you are interested in helping to produce The Aethergraph, email me at aethergraph@gmail.com.

Clock-a-dile?

   Just a quick post tonight. I've been eaten up with grad school work the last week or so, and no time for much fun stuff. But I took a look around the internet tonight before i run off to bed and saw this. It is for Spartan Games's Dystopian Legions game. I still think the decision to make them in 32mm scale was a bad one - it puts them off my purchase list, for the most part. But the mechanical alligator here might be fun for any VSF game, and well, how big is a mechanical alligator, anyway? Scale neutral. You could even use it for 15mm or 6mm (!) games.

   Picture is from Spartan Games's website. You can order the fellow there. And he's on sale right now (1/3 off - not bad).

Popular Mechanicks, Issue #8

Otto Maton's "BS" Alloy

   If you've been reading our paper for some time now, you may be familiar with the diabolical maechanickal works of Herr Doktor Professor Otto Maton, the Belgian Mad Scientist on Mars. His fiendish creations have often graced these pages, and wreaked havoc upon the peaceful peoples of the Crown Colony of Mars. For some reason, Herr Doktor has a particular dislike of the British. It probably has something to do with the fact that a British aethership disabled his vessel on approach to Mars, and trapped him there.

   However, if you have seen Maton's handiwork, you must have noticed the preponderance of brass used in their manufacture. This may lead one to ask oneself "Why brass, for God's sake? It's either too soft or too brittle, depending on the zinc content! And heavy? Not half!" The problem with your complaint is one of perception. While Maton's brass may seem to be perfectly ordinary alpha-beta brass (consisting of more than 35% zinc), it is not. In fact, Professor Maton has created a special alloy of brass which, though it requires hot working, is equal to fine steel in strength, and immune to rusting. He calls the alloy Brassified Steel, or "BS."

Maton's Foundry, in an Undisclosed Location

   BS is not a perfect metal for all applications. Its manufacture is a closely guarded secret of Maton's. After all. It is known to contain traces of certain rare elements not found in common brass including cerium (Ce), aluminum (Al), gadolinium (Gd), and handwavium (Hw). While it possesses impressive qualities, the expense of its manufacture limits its use. Plus, no one knows how to get these elements to alloy other than Maton himself, and perhaps one or two of his most trusted lieutenants.

   And an older photostat, from an after action report, for those of you newer to this journal. In it you can see a trio of Doctor Maton's flying automatons attacking a Martian Death Ray cavalry officer. In the background, far below, a column of another sort of automaton is marching across the red sands. Notice the outer shells of BS on both models. Like all of Maton's mechanickal devices, these are powered by handwavium reactors. The flying "hovertons" also utilize unobtainite crystals to repulse gravity.

[Editor's Note: It's been a while since I posted an article feature, and this is one I have considered more than once. Why do I use so much brass? Really, it's because it just looks warm and Victorian to me. Popular Mechanicks is one way of explaining away all of the Weird Science that goes on in my VSF universe with pseudo-scientific terminology. The real reason for any of the VSF silliness that I indulge in is much simpler: I like it. Now, back to studying Charlemagne. ZZZzzz...]

IHMN: Mechanickal Menace Company

The Adventuring Company of Herr Doktor Professor Otto Maton

(The Mechanickal Menace)

Type	Pluck	FV	SV	Speed	Cost	Talents	Basic Equipment
Otto Maton	2+	+2	+2	+1	69	Leadership +2, Engineer, Controller*	Faraday coat, Pistol, Club (Spanner), Arc Generator, Breath Preserver
Mister Fez	4+	+3	0	0	48	Leadership +1, Engineer, Controller*	Magneto-static Waistcoat, Arc Generator, Swordcane (rapier), Breath Preserver
Minion Captain	3+	+4	+4	+1	61	Leadership +2 (May choose up to two Talents at additional cost)	SRC Breastplate, Mauser pistol (carbine), Sword, Breath Preserver
Minion Sergeant	4+	+3	+3	0	31	Leadership +1	Brigandine, Military Rifle, Bayonet, Breath Preserver
Minion	5+	+2	+2	0	22		Brigandine, Military Rifle, Bayonet, Breath Preserver
Steam Spider	6+	+3	0	+2	40	Automaton**, Nimble***	Arc Node****, Electroclaws (All-Electric Truncheon), Grenade (gas)
Clockwork Soldier	5+	+1	+4	0	100	Automaton, Strongman	Arc Node, Patent Kelly Suit, Machinegun
Large Clankers	5+	+2	0	0	40	Automaton	Arc Node, Steam fist, Steel Breastplate (equivalent)
Industrial Clankers	6+	+2	0	+1	27	Automaton	Arc Node, Large Improvised Weapons, Chain Shirt (equivalent)
*Unique Talent: Controller. 5 pts. Allows the figure to control automatons. **Unique Talent: Automaton. 12 pts. Combines Fearless and Antivenom. Must remain within range of an Arc Generator or active Arc Node, otherwise it collapses, just like Tod-truppen. ***New Talent: Nimble. 5 pts. Reduce movement penalties for Difficult Terrain by 2. ****New Weird Science Device: Arc Node. 7 pts. When within the range of either an Arc Generator or another Arc Node, the Arc Node extends the range an additional 4 inches. At least one Node in the chain must be within 8” of a functional Arc Generator.

OPTIONS

·         Minion Sergeants and Minions may replace their military rifle and bayonet with an Arc rifle (-3 points).

·         Minion Sergeants and Minions may purchase the Marksman Talent (+5 points) and/or the Bayonet Drill Talent (+2 points).

·         Minion Sergeants may purchase the Tough Talent (+5 points).

·         Minion Sergeants and Minions may purchase gas grenades (+6 points per grenade).

·         Two Minions may exchange their military rifles and bayonets for a pistol each and a machine gun – one fires while the other loads. This team costs 37 points.

Some new(-ish) Selections (Hiding in my Drafts)

   I spent a few mintues perusing the Reaper and Wyrd Miniatures online shops, and found the following items which I thought might be of interest. Many of them are suitable for multiple scales as automatons.

Reaper: Dr. Darius Hellstromme, 59003

Reaper: Mad Scientist, 59014

Reaper: Mad Scientist (Female), 59009

Reaper: Xiufang, 50260

Wyrd: WYR1017

 Part of the Guild Faction.

Wyrd: WYR1028

Guild Faction

Interesting as an Automaton bodyguard, perhaps - the large shield used to protect the patron more than the construct.

WYR1029

WYR1030

WYR1037

WYR3035

Arcanist Faction

WYR3040

Arcanist Faction: Soul Miner

   I see this being used for a 6mm large tunneler vehicle.

WYR3041

Arcanist Faction: Large Steampunk Arachnid

      Not my favorite steam spider. But big.

WYR3043

Arcanist Faction

   This fellow could be a major hero for an automaton force. I like others better, but it is certainly a striking mini that would be a centerpiece figure.

WYR3051

Arcanist Faction

An alternate to the original steam arachnid swarm. Personally, I think these are too sleek, more sci-fi than steampunk. But still a nice figure.

New Machines

   For the first time in months, progress has been made in the mechanickal works. Pursuit of further education has certainly slowed progress to a glacial pace.

   Our first offering is the Iron Mole. The product of Otto Maton's fevered imagination and advanced mechanicks, the Iron Mole can bore through the hardest stone in mere moments.

The Iron Mole

   Next up is one of a pair (both are completed, with slight variations) of self-propelled field pieces. These can be used in any of the three scales I play in (6mm, 15mm, and 25mm). I purchased them painted over a year ago, in a greenish-black scheme. I touched up the paint, added the brass touches and finished the bases up. I left the two in their neutral paint scheme so that they can be included in any VSF force, however, the bases are not really suitable for a Mars-based game. I need a name for these, too. They were originally designed for the Warmachine game, but I don't want to use their designations. Maybe call them 'Cataphract-class Self-propelled Gyro-stabilised Field Artillery'? Any other suggestions?

????

   So, there you have it. The first content post of 2013. School begins again in a week, so don't expect this to continue too much, but I will try my best to create more this semester.

Out of my Cave for a Moment...

   I have been woefully absent from any sort of gaming for the past three months or so, thanks largely to my nasty grad school habit taking up almost all of my free time (time not spent working, eating, sleeping, or spending time with the family). But today I took a few moments to peek about some of my old haunts, and found some treasures.

   Parroom Station makes some of my favorite VSF minis. And Bob Charrette there is rolling out a new game, called Secret Science. I have played in one of the demos at Historicon a couple of years ago, and enjoyed it. But the game is about to be made available, and there have been postings at the Parroom Times Despatch that include many photos of upcoming miniatures. Lots of goodies, one of which I have snagged (sorry Bob, hope you don't mind the publicity) to show you what I mean.

Ol' Number 17

   One of the neat things that they are producing is a set of exhausts for the automatons, to indicate different motive forces. Another awesome thing is the expansion of Masked Minions, with alternate heads (comes with the old style as well, which I will keep to, personally). And finally, a preview of some 'enslaved' troops, with freaking mind control helmets. Mind control helmets! I must have some. Exactly the sort of thing the Tsar would do to political dissidents...

   I was going to ask for guns for Christmas this year. Real ones, not models, that is. But... I may have to have some toys. I mean, really... just add more to the Lead Mountain in the game room.

French Automata?

   I was perusing the telephonic differencing engine web this fine Saturday morning, simply gadding about, you know, when I came across a few mechanickal designs that interested me. I believe the attached photostats will give you an excellent idea of what is made. They come from a "Cygnar," which certainly sounds French to me. That, and their somewhat medieval-gothic design also reminds me of the sort of thing the French would admire, a throwback to the days of chivalry and all that.

Cygnar "Lancer"

   The medieval nature of this automata (or is it, perhaps, piloted?) is evident in not only the design of the 'head', but also the weaponry chosen. The long (probably galvanically charged) spear would be quite dangerous if it were to get close enough to one of Her Majesty's landships or armoured walkers, and the heavy defensive shield would provide some protection to allow it to get close.

Cygnar "Minuteman"

   This lighter "Minuteman" machine is obviously quite speedy. Armed with a pair of light cannon and six (!) mortars mounted in the shoulders, I can imagine it would be effective assaulting an infantry position. The downward pointing vents also hint at some sort of limited flight capacity, or perhaps are a braking mechanism for an assault by airship?

Cygnar "Cyclone"

   The last machine which I shall discuss today is the "Cyclone," so-named for the storm of bullets it appears capable of delivering. Twin rotary guns mounted under each arm would enable a veritable hailstorm of lead to pour forth from this fiendish device. Imagine the slaughter if our noble cavalry were to be found in the open before this monstrosity! Happily, it is a slow beast, and not as well protected as the Lancer. Still, it is sure to dominate any battlefield area in which it is given an open field of fire. I would suggest targeting the Cyclone with artillery until it is eliminated.

[Editor's Note: All three of these are available from Privateer Press for their Warmachine game. I cropped the photos from their website. No challenge is intended. I just like showing off neat minis and thinking of ways to use them in VSF games. I need to pick these up when I get started on the French. Maybe before then, so they don't go out of production before I am ready to go. Could be used as piloted for 15mm, surely, but not sure about it for 25/28mm - probably have to be automata in that scale.]

Place, Show and Also Ran, Part 1

   In the recently completed "A to Z" feature that I posted here, there were many times that more than one idea came to mind for a particular letter. However, being limited to choosing only one, I had to set aside these ideas for the time being. And many of them were good ideas. So, I have decided that I will do a series of "also rans", starting with this one. Each will be pretty short, and there will be multiple entries in each part of this series. I hope you enjoy.

"A" is also for... AUTOMATONS

Dr. Otto Maton's "Destroyer"-class Automaton
[Warbot Destroyer from Hydra Miniatures]

   Call them mechanickal men, or robots, or automatons, they are all essentially similar: mechanical creatures that do the bidding of their masters (usually). I have already gone into a bit of detail about my automaton forces in other posts, but I love the buggers. So, I chose to go with Aether for the original "A is for..." because I knew that automatons would show up later anyway.

"B" is also for... BARSOOM

      Barsoom, the Martian name for their own planet. The home of the incomparable Dejah Thoris, and the adopted home of the mighty warlord of Mars, John Carter, once of Virginia. Since Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote about the planet almost a century ago, it has captivated readers. The recent film by Disney showed it to us in a new light, and although the plot of the film was a weak amalgamation, the visual scope was great (except for the white apes. Oh well.). Barsoom also fell victim to the "I will cover this elsewhere" bug that got automatons - a theme that you may see several times throughout this series.

"G" is also for... GERMANY

A Prussian Guards banner

   I skipped several letters to get to "G," as I do not have anything written down right now for the letters in between "B" and "G" on the 'official' list of ideas for the "A to Z". Does that last sentence qualify as quotation marks abuse? back to topic: Imperial Germany is often used as the OPFOR when facing the British in a VSF setting. As others have pointed out, this is a bit anachronistic, as the real rivals during the reign of Her Majesty (God Bless Her) Queen Victoria were the Russians and the French. Germanophobia didn't begin to develop until the very end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th, when a series of invasion novels starring the Germans as the invaders of Britain were published. I thought that Germany (or Prussia, as some would have it) was sufficiently covered with "K is for Kaiser".

   Enough for now - I will be back in a day or two with more, starting with "H is also for..."

"O" is for...

OTTO MATON

   Herr Doktor Professor Otto Maton, a Belgian mechanickal genius, is the designer of many of the wondrous mechanickal devices that inhabit my Victorian Science Fiction universe. Some of these inventions are in use by a variety of empires and nations. A partial listing of his impressive works includes:

• Whirlifliegertornister: the whirling flying backpack used by fliegerjaeger
• Voltaic pistol: a sidearm which discharges a ray of intense heat and light
• Maton's Aetherpropeller: smallest known aetherpropeller
• Sentinel Walker: A British light armoured steam walker.
• Anti-'Nef Rocket: A set of barrage rockets specifically calibrated to shoot down flying vessels
• Steamhorse: a mechanickal horse, powered by steam, of course
• Sono-troller: a hypersonic projector which controls automata at a distance
• Black Smoke Projector: a fiendish artillery device
• Magneto-gun: using electromagnets, it fires a high velocity steel projectile

   Automatons are, not surprisingly, his specialty. He has built hundreds of them, to serve him in all capacities. They operate under programs written by Maton or his assitants and then inserted into their mechanickal brains. His work with mechanickal beings has left him quite unhinged, however, and Maton is currently in hiding on Mars. His goal is to set himself up as Otto the First, Solarian Emperor.

Brass Soldaten [Clockwork Soldiers, 25mm, Parroom Station]

Hovertons
[Hoverbots, 25mm, Hydra Miniaturs]

Limpet Spiders
[Steam Spiders, 25mm, Wyrd Miniatures]

Destroyer
[Destroyer, 25mm (and HUGE), Hydra Miniatures]

Half-Jacks
[25mm, Privateer Press]

Toolbots
[25mm, Reaper]

   Maton is served by several nefarious characters of biological origin as well. His primary lieutenants are a Celestial woman named Yuko Oni and a French madamoiselle named Luci D'Amonds, both of whom he has trained extensively in the programming and control of automata. He has another assistant, the mysterious figure known only as Fez. No one is sure where Fez comes from. Many human mercenaries also serve the cause of Maton, in hopes of gaining a position of importance under his Empire. To hide their identities, and protect themselve from the poisonous gasses that Maton is fond of using in his diabloical schemes, they wear elaborate breathing masks.

The Mysterious "Fez"

Masked Minions
[25mm, Parroom Station]

   Maton imagines himself to be a serious threat to the Solar System. To date, he has been more of a nuisance in the badlands of Mars than anything else, although many nations regret the loss of his particular brand of genius. Germany would be very happy to capture him and force him to develop new weapons for them, as would the Tsar.

   From a gaming perspective, one of the nice things about automatons is that they are really pretty scale-neutral. I use the same figures for 15mm and 25mm. In 15mm, they are just bigger and scarier. I also make mine a bit... unpredictable. While they know no fear, they can malfunction. Rules for using Automatons in GASLIGHT can be found in Vol. 1, Issue 1 of The Aethergraph.

   As a side note, every photo in this post comes from my personal minis collection.



Returning with More Mechanickal Insects!

   Ladies and Gentlemen, I know there has been an extended lack of new content from this journal. For that, I do most humbly apologize. I hope this new missive finds you well. As for the delays, sadly, personal issues have been in the way of good journalism. Well, perhaps 'good journalism', in regards to this journal, is stretching the bounds of credulity a bit. Would you accept the use of the term 'interestingly diverting' in its place?

  At any rate, I have found something of interest for those of you who find mechanickal monsters interesting. It seems that some mad genius has built flying clockwork-powered wasps!

  The spinning rotor and clockwork power system reminds one of the German Fliegerjagers, with their clockwork powered packs that enable limited flight. They were, of course, developed by Doktor Maton. This device is newer, and more powerful. Her Majesty's Government suspects that it is a development of the older flieger technology, perhaps fabricated by one of Maton's subordinates.

[Editor's Note: Okay, I have got to get a unit of these. And here I thought I was done with the Automatons. Available from Fiendish Fabrications in Australia for AU$8.00. I'll be checking into US distributors, and may contact the manufacturers directly to order the number I need minus the fancy (but not fitting for my plans) clockwork base. It is a nice base. But I want the sands of Mars below mine.]