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.

Another Kickstarter Project

   Rob Angell of Curious Constructs is taking part in another Kickstarter for 28mm heavy equipment suitable primarily for a Game of Grim Warfare Set in the Far Future.

   However, his focus in that game is on the troops of Praetoria, who exhibit a distinctly neo-Victorian aesthetic. And so, they are quite nice for fans of Victorian Science Fiction, such as myself.

   I had been aware of this project for a few weeks, but had not really looked into it. Then I saw a posting about it elsewhere with a piece that I simply had to have. So I am now backing this project. The usefulness of the pieces - for me, in particular, the non-weapon pieces - is just too much for me to not order. In particular, I mean the searchlight and the barrage balloon winch. I envision these as a galvanic heliograph and an airship tether respectively.

  Should you be interested, the Kickstarter project has still a few more days until it funds. You may find it at this location.

Pardon me, sir, but some gentlemen have arrived.

   Some indeterminate amount of time ago, I participated in the crowdfunding (via Kickstarter) of some miniatures for the Empire of the Dead game. I don't currently play Empire of the Dead (hereon, EotD), but I liked the figures for the Requiem expansion, so I bought in to the project. Naturally, as with most Kickstarter projects, everything was delayed, partly by the number of stretch goals reached and partly by the problems that spring up in any project. Not being in a tearing hurry, I was for the most part okay with it. When I duly received my package of lead, I was quite pleased with the contents.

   I started painting up the Lycaons first, which I believe have made previous appearances here. Now I am working on the Gentlemen's Club. I can absolutely see me making an Adventuring Company for IHMN out of these figures as well. I chose a theme color of blue for this faction. Thus, the Sapphire Club of Marylebone was born!

I am particularly fond of the Clockwork Butler.

Members of the Sapphire Club.

More Sapphirians. I like the fellow in smoking jacket and fez a lot.

The fellow in the overcoat is actually a club porter, not a member.

As if such a ruffian could be a member!

   One thing that I didn't like to paint, but which I think looks 'right' for these figures is the preponderance of black. Black trousers, black coats, black toppers. Not as bad as all white (snow blind me, will ye, ye damned Napoleonic Austrians?!?!), but still. I am glad I went for a brighter blue to help break the monochromatic issue.

   I have two more members to paint up (currently on the table) and that will be mostly that for this faction. I am finishing up what I think is the last of the Lycaons as well. He's just a human servitor, a hunter with a crossbow. After that, who knows? Maybe finish up the latest unit of automatons, which I have five completed and five remaining...

The Dead Arise in the Empire...

   Which is to say, I received a package yesterday afternoon. It was covered with curious and arcane labels, "Par Avion," "CN 22 Customs Declaration" and the like. After listening carefully for any ticking sounds, I assigned a trustworthy lad the duty of cutting the tape which sealed the plain brown card box.

   Then we waited. After a sufficient time passed, the boy showed no signs of ill effects from his daring actions. It was therefore determined that the box could most likely have its lid (hinged on one side) lifted, exposing the contents. A well-lit room was selected for this task. The fact that it was an exterior room with minimal load bearing walls was also considered.

   The brave lad was again employed for the vital yet potentially dangerous task. Using a long stick, and prepared to leap behind the hastily raised barrier of sandbags in the opposite corner of the room, our young hero lifted the lid. 

   Still, nothing happened. No monstrous explosion, no loud report, not even a puff of brimstone-scented smoke. Nothing.

   Summoning all of my wits and courage, I removed the sandbag barrier blocking the door to the room and entered the danger zone. The young lad tugged his forelock and withdrew to a respectful distance. Peering inside the opened box, I saw... werewolves! And armed gentlemen. A myriad of weapons, some common, and others fantastical. Uncle Thulu. A group of Sir Robert Peel's constabulary. A clockwork servant, and a steam-powered hound. Ned Kelly, that Irish rogue. Lightning Jack. A pair of boffins with odd guns. A half dozen odd-looking fellows, one who is almost certainly no gentleman, two that smell quite abominably, and one that may once have been human, but is certainly not any longer. An equal number of equally outlandish ladies, including some bestial primitive and a Celestial! And Her Majesty (God Bless Her), toting a Gatling Patent Mk. I Light Portable Multi-Barreled Reciprocating Rifle, more commonly known as a Mini-Gatling. All represented in one inch tall lead statuettes.

   Astonishing.

[Editor's Note: I got my Kickstarter rewards from West Wind's Empire of the Dead: Requiem project yesterday. 55 25mm miniatures, plus some tokens and additional weapons for conversions. Lots of VSF goodies to keep me quite busy, and I still have the Society of Thule to start and Lord Curr's Incorrigibles to finish for In Her Majesty's Name. Plus that 25mm steam tank. I need to get painting!]

Steampunk Pirate Playing Cards? Yes, please!

   Earlier this year I backed a Kickstarter project for a deck of Steampunk Cthulhu playing cards. The art was done by a fellow named Nat Iwata out of Portlandia. I got them in (a bit late, but only about a month - not bad for a Kickstarter project) and really like them.

   It turns out that Nat really likes making playing cards. He has another set on Kickstarter now that I am about to go back. This time, we are still 'steampunk', but the subject is PIRATES! This is perfect for anyone who likes the idea of airship pirates (Rob, I am talking to you!). Here's a sample picture.

Looks like a Knave to me.

   At any rate, you can find the project at this link: Steampunk Pirate Cards Kickstarter. We've already missed out on the Black Flag Limited Edition sets, with foil embossed cards and a special coin, which look pretty neat. And the Kickstarter is only three days old! But, I'll be sending him my $11 (includes US shipping) and hope that I see some pirates in me mailbox come Februarrrrry!

Kickstarter Received!

   Actually, by the time you read this, it will have been a few days ago, and I will be somewhere in the midst of the Gulf of Mexico, on a rather large ship, heading for tropical climes. No, the feds and the revenuers are not on my trail (yet...). Just taking the memsahib on a well-deserved break from work and kids. However, I would hate for all of you nice folks to have nothing to read about, so, as a public service and a sign of what a heck of a guy I am, I scheduled this post.

  But it is a short one.

  What you see below is the deck of cards I received from Nat Iwata, a rather good artist. The plan is to use them for Victorian Science Fiction games using a card activation system.

Da Box

Reverse of the Cards

King of Hearts

King of Clubs

King of Diamonds - Steamthulhu!

King of Spades - the Great Elder One Itsself

   And, just to prove what a Prince of a Guy I am... here's a little song...

   For the record, I chose this one because it was a good audio version of the tune...

Space: 1889 Re-launch

   In case you have been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks, I thought it would be prudent to make it known that the classic Victorian Science Fiction roleplaying game, Frank Chadwick's Space: 1889, is in the midst of a revival on Kickstarter.

  A German edition of the setting, complete with new rules approved by Frank has done quite well in Europe, it seems, so the good folks who made it are porting it over to English for us. Financing is being done via Kickstarter, as I mentioned, and is going very well.

   Yes, I already pledged my part. You should, too!

Space: 1889 Kickstarter Link

*Click Me!*

*Go on... Click Me!*

*You Know You Want To...*

A VSF-suitable 15mm OGRE Mk.III?

   Part of the All Quiet on the Martian Front Kickstarter going on for about 5 more days. I pledged a dollar just so I could get this for 55 more as an add-on. I think it makes for a good Mk.III OGRE substitute in VSF terms. One Main Battery, four secondary, and a load of AP (Machineguns). No missiles, and two too many secondary batteries. Maybe convert the midships secondary turrets into rocket batteries?

HQC Kickstarter Update

World Beneath the Clouds Kickstarter Update

 

 

   With 24 days still to go, this project is already 84% funded. Terry and his minions have been slaving away at stretch goals and the like, too.

 

   From TMP, regarding stretch goals on the Kickstarter, Terry had the following to say:

 

  I'd like to take a couple of minutes to talk about our first stretch goal. This will be the Fighting Machines and Artillery book. This is our second technical book to support the Hive, Queen and Country universe. In this, we will provide data for around 20 historical vehicles, such as steam-traction engines, and some of the early fighting-machine concepts. In addition, we will be designing dozens of Victorian Science Fiction fighting-machines, steam tanks, walking machines, mono-wheels, and other fascinating devices, which will flood the markets and battlefields of our alternate Earth, Mars and Venus. We will also have over 100 historical artillery pieces, from 37mm automatic cannons to Mallet's 36-inch mortars. Late Victorian period artillery has been very poorly documented. We will fill that gap with data on weapons that saw service between 1880 and 1905. Little-known weapons like the U.S. Army's 7-inch siege mortar, the Spanish 8cm Sotomeyer, the Japanese 75mm Type 31 field gun, that have long been forgotten, will be detailed with statistics and illustrations. We will also "steampunk" things up with numerous "experimental" pieces and "scientific artillery" systems. To round the artillery section out, we will bring some of the more interesting weapons from the Great War back in time for use against the deadly enemies that the brave men and women of Earth will face. So we will include field, mountain, cavalry and horse artillery railway guns, naval landing pieces, machine cannons, siege guns, and rocket artillery.
 
   If you are a VSF gamer, this will have plenty for you. If historical gaming is your bag, we can help feed your thirst for accurate historical data. Let everyone in your community (historical or science fiction) know about this project, please!

    So what is the great big bonus? With Arun's skill as a draftsman and the availability of converting 3D drawings to 3D printed models, that means that as a side effect, all the artillery and vehicles we do drawings of will be available as 3D printed models!

   The Flying Machines book generated over 100 different models in scales ranging from 15mm to 1:600th.

    This means that for free, the wargaming and modeling communities will get dozens of models of fighting machines and artillery that have never been available before. If you have wanted to field the United States Army Siege Train from the Spanish-American War, you will finally be able to. Everyone can put 3.2-inch breechloaders on the table, but up to now only a scratchbuilder could deploy 5-inch siege rifles!

   If you have a favorite artillery piece or primitive armored vehicle, let us know. We might have already included them, but you might have one we haven't seen yet. Also look at our rewards. There is the opportunity to have us flesh out your design! These will be certain to be done in 3D drawings, so you will get to put them on the game tables as custom-designed 3D miniatures. Everyone likes to personalize their armies - what could be more personal than an armored vehicle you designed that is custom-drawn and 3D-printed for you?

 

 

For the record, I have no personal stake in this project. No money, and no part of it is from my work. Just doing Terry a solid here.

All Quiet on the Martian Front

  Another interesting Kickstarter project has begun, and is off to a rousing start! All Quiet on the Martian Front is a 15mm scaled War of the Worlds sort of game. The setting is in early twentieth century, and the starting forces available will be American and Martian, although other forces are in planning.

 

  The miniatures look quite nice, and you can get some as a backer reward starting at $80.00.

  As per usual with Kickstarter, the more you pledge, the more rewards you get. And it seems like a pretty good deal, as well. Eli Arndt, over at I See Lead People, is getting into it pretty deeply. I trust his judgment on All Things Small But Cool. However, I am not sure that I am going to get in on this Kickstarter because, well, I have been backing a lot of them in the last few months and my budget is pretty well tapped, at least until Historicon.

   The Kickstarter page can be found here.

 

Colonel Gravis Artillery

   I backed Colonel Gravis's artillery piece Kickstarter, which ended yesterday. While originally designed for a Grim Future of War in the Fortieth Millennia, Gravis has a distinct Victorian feel to his products, because he loves Praetorians. At any rate, here are a few pictures of the pieces i will be receiving. These are from the Kickstarter updates, so they may not be exactly what ends up arriving in June, but they should be pretty close. I will be receiving three carriages and three of each barrel except the Nebelwerfer. I ordered only one of those. Also, I will be getting six crewmen. With shipping, it ran me about $81 for all - not a bad deal at all.

Double Barrel Autocannon

Gatling Cannon. I love the drum feed.

Tesla Cannon

Probably my favorite.

The Nebelwerfer

The Rocket Tube. Comes with spare rockets!

Anti-tank Lascannon

The Original Design.

   Colonel - I know I pulled these from the Kickstarter website without your explicit permission. However, since I believe you intend to offer these for sale to the general public as well, please consider this more a form of fanboy gushing and advertising and less an attempt to hijack your IP. Which it isn't. Oh, and for the record, the sculptor of these magnificent pieces is Kit Burrows.

Kickstarter for Hive Queen and Country!

   The World Beneath the Clouds is the Venus supplement to Terry Sofian's Hive, Queen and Country Victorian Science Fiction setting. To help launch the product, there is a Kickstarter project running right now. You may find it here.

 

Some spiffingly good art!

 

 

   I have been remiss in mentioning this not because I lack support for HQC, but because pressures of school and family have been more pressing recently. I beg that Mr. Sofian accept my apologies for the delay.