Additional Protection from Aggressive Saurians

   British subjects and Texican citizens on Venus may breathe a little easier, sleep a little more soundly tonight, as additional pylons for the Anti-Saurian Galvanic Barrier have been completed and are ready for emplacement. These additional pylons will significantly increase the area of protection from pesky carnivorous dinosaurs, lizardmen, Germans, etc.

Four repeating posts. (Two more already finished elsewhere)

Two powered posts.

Primitive Fortifications on Venus

   This journal recently received photostatic evidence of a primitive fortification built somewhere in the jungles of Venus, the Veiled Planet of Mysteries. As our dear readers are no doubt aware, Venus is home to at least two indigenous intelligent lifeforms. Though both the lizardmen and the parrotfolk are savage tribalists, they display a degree of cunning that must be taken into account when venturing forth from the safe enclaves of human habitation.

   See below the apex of Venusian engineering...

The human figure in strange attire and armed with primitive weapons is unknown.

Perhaps he is a French agent, a coureur du bois or voyageur?

A lookout tower of some sort. Apparently, it is unfinished at this time.

[Editor's Notes: The fort has been sitting a long time, a gift from a fellow VSF enthusiast in the Houston area. I painted and flocked it, but Dan built it. I built the tower using leftovers from the fortress. It is almost done, needing only the base - an old CDR - to be flocked, and some sort of overhead covering to be done. Speaking of which, I am considering a roof over at least one of the two bastions in the fortress. What do you think?

  I plan to use these for games of In Her Majesty's Name and other VSF games. It could be a jungle on Earth as well as Venusian. My son said the fortress looked a little barren for a jungle, but I reminded him that one does not allow undergrowth or trees near one's fortification. A clear field of fire is a necessary asset in these cases.]

Yet more Amphibian/Reptilian Foes!

   The good gentlemen at Khurasan have warned us of the impending approach of a terrifying new amphibian threat...

15mm, and lovely.

Swarms of Venusian Lizardmen!

   I found these the other day, and forgot to mention them. I think they are absolutely worth mentioning for anyone considering 6mm VSF, especially if you plan to head to Venus or the depths of the Amazonian or African rainforests. They are produced by Microworld, and like all 6mm figures, are pretty inexpensive for the number of minis you are receiving.

 

Ankylosaur Ballista. 3/$5.50

Armored Brachiosaur. $12.00

Ceratopsid Guard. 2 poses, 20 ea. 40/$10

Command Group. 6 ea., except mounted leader (2) (26 total)/$5

Archer. 60/$10

Spearmen. 60/$10

Triceratops Battlewagon. 2/$6.50

 

 

Optional Shaman Topper for Triceratops (included)

 

Lizard Ogres. 2 poses, 8 ea. 16/$9

Look like Anthropoid Ankylosaur

Closeup of Officer from Command pack

Pachycephalosaurus Cavalry. 2 poses, 10 ea. 20/$10

 

Lizardmen Warriors. 2 poses, 30 ea. 60/$10

 

   After I get back from Historicon, I can foresee a solid $100 purchase here. For that, I imagine I will have an entire army. Not shabby.

 

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.

Beastmen Update

Torgo's Trench Raiders

   Now available to pre-order in metal from Victoria Miniatures' shop, a set of six modular Broolian beastmen, with weapons which make them nicely suitable for VSF, I think. I have previously mentioned how they fit in with my VSF universe's fluff. Think genetic manipulation in Victorian era. On Venus. Secretly, and under the noses of the German colonial officials.

 

 

 

 

   $29.90, in US funds, with free shipping worldwide. Not bad for six figures these days (which is a sad comment on how expensive this addiction/madness/hobby is getting). After payday I will order two sets. Maybe three.

 

   I don't have the official fluff, but I plan on writing up something for myself when I add these to my forces.

Varduvian Beastmen on the Horizon

   If you have been following the storylines I developed here, you will know that I have two mad scientists in my VSF universe. The first, Herr Doktor Professor Otto Maton, is a Mechanickal genius and a would-be Emperor of the Solarian System. He uses automatons to do the majority of his dastardly bidding, though there are some human minions working for him as well. Maton is hiding and plotting somewhere on Mars.

   The other evil genius is Professor Vardu. Vardu lives on Venus, where he is an established member of the German Venusstaadt colony's scientific team. His specialties are biology and medicine. He has discovered that all life is started by what he calls 'threads' of proteins, woven in such a manner that each individual combination creates each unique individual creature. Certain groups of combinations create humans; others create plants, others animals, and so on. Vardu has become fascinated with experimenting in ways to combine the weaves of different creatures to create new beings. In modern terms, he is manipulating DNA sequences to create chimeras. His first success came with various plants. He has since moved on to animal/human chimeras.

   His first speicmens were created from drunken aethermen and goats. The results are powerful and horrifying. And I finally have a source (almost) for purchasing these figures. Victoria Miniatures is  working on a set of beastmen that I will be buying at least ten of, and probably twenty. Perhaps even thirty. I like them very much. Here are the preview (green) photos:

Captain Torgo, part of the swag for Adeptiocn 2013

I sincerely hope she will sell some afterwards - I need one.

WIP Shot. I will need several of these.

   It looks like the line will be produced similarly to the rest of the Victoria Miniatures, where you order it by pieces and assemble as you like. Works for me!

[Editor's Note: These images are not mine. I will, of course, remove them if Ms. Victoria asks, since the products are hers. However, they are just too nice not to share in the meantime.]

Bring on the Lizardman of Tribe Khurrasssann

   You see here the entirety so far of the lizardmen of the Tribe Khurrasssann. Thirty of the buggers (not forty, as previously reported), ready for battle. Now I just need to work on their support troops, the salamanderi, and the heavy cavalry. My thanks to good friend Tom, who painted up twenty of these for me. Tom is lightning fast with a brush, I gotta say.

The entire horde.

Comparison shot of mine and Tom's.

Tom's needs static grass and clearcoat.

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."

Fin Men of Venus

Rebel Minis just announced it's 15mm Deep Ones and though they certainly would work as such, their armament and long tails make them equally and perhaps better suited as yet another denizen of the jungle World of Venus. While they could be used as just another race of lizard men, I came up with a cool idea of them being some sort of swamp dwelling species that would be feared by all - the fin men.

Fin men would be a species of Venusians that would dwell in the murky water, their pale grey flesh melding them into the silt and muck, rendering them invisible to all bu the keenest eye. They would prey on the other beings of the jungle world, ambushing them when they ventured to close to the water's edge, taking them with club, claw and their long, jagged, snaring teeth. When fighting in force, it would be in the form of raiding parties, slipping through the dark jungles at night, pouncing on unsuspecting settlements and dragging their victims back to a certain doom beneath the quiet surface of the gloaming marshes and mires.

-Eli

"E" is for...

EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

   Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875 - 1950) was an American novelist, most famous for his Tarzan and John Carter of Mars series, although he wrote more than seventy books in his lifetime. While Tarzan is a great character and a fun read, he properly belongs to pulp adventure. John Carter, however...

I own this edition.

I own this one, too.

   For many VSF enthusiasts, John Carter's Barsoom is Mars. Flying ships, vast deserts, warring city-states, swordsmen, beautiful women, huge four-armed Green Martians, and on and on. The first novel in the series, A Princess of Mars, was published in 1912. It introduced us to the world of Barsoom and many of its important features: the red and green Martians, the city of Helium, the hordes of the Tharks and Warhoons, the flying ships held aloft by the ninth ray, and the incomparable Dejah Thoris. In all, Mr. Burroughs would write 11 Barsoom novels. 

   Burroughs also wrote about Lost Worlds (The Land That Time Forgot) and a hollow Earth, Pellucidar (At the Earth's Core and its sequels). Pellucidar is another favorite setting among the VSF gaming crowd, with the weird pterodactyl Mahar ruling the barbaric humans. Finally, from a VSF perspective, Burroughs also wrote about Venus, or Amtor, as it is called there. His hero, Carson Napier, who is somewhat more cautious (and scientifically minded!) than John Carter, the fighting Virginian cavalryman.

   I doubt that anyone would ever call the works of E. R. Burroughs great literature. But that's okay. As long as they can call the novels fun to read - and I can't imagine a young man who wouldn't like to read these stories if they read at all - then the books have done their real job. A hundred years after the first printing of the John Carter books, Disney films released a live-action film of, essentially, A Princess of Mars, titled John Carter of Mars (2012). While it seems it was destined to be a financial failure due to massive cost overruns and poor marketing, just the fact that it was made shows the enduring escapist fun to be had from Barsoom.

Who's a good calot? Woola is! Woola's a good calot!

News from Venus!

   Via Black Hat in Britain. It seems that in April there will be a new development in the lizardmen offered up, as per this notice on TMP. Available soon in the States by way of Mark "Extra Crispy" Severin and Scale Creep Miniatures.

   Um, yeah... these will complement my Khurasan lizardmen and salamanders as yet another tribal grouping of the lizardmen of Venus, a somewhat more civilized group armed with firearms! Oh yes, Venus is getting rather crowded.

Typical Infantry with Guns.

Lizardmen Priests. My favorites of the lot, actually.

   Images from TMP and Black Hat Miniatures, and not my own. If anyone objects, please let me know and I will remove. I just think they're brilliant.

New Khaki Uniform Approved for Cytherean Use

   The Horse Guards has approved issue of a new uniform for British troops bound for the tropical jungle climate of Venus. Officially designated as the Cytherean Pattern uniform, the color is not the traditional redcoat for Tommy Atkins. Instead, the cloth is specially treated cotton, which refuses to take further dyeing, and remains a drab khaki color. However, the special treatment of the fabric does enabloe it to withstand the rigors of the Cytherean jungle, and it is estimated that the uniforms will last a full three times longer than current issue on Venus. The savings in shipping costs alone will pay for the new issue.

   Below, you can see a few examples of the new uniform as it is being tried out in the field for the first time.

Officer's Kit

NCO and Other Ranks

   As you can see, the uniform seems to be wearing well. Troops have also appreciated the cooler aspect of the light cotton cloth as compared to the usual tunic. Officers have commented that the khaki color actually is better suited to aiding in concealment on the Veiled Planet, though why any of our stout boys need to conceal themselves is quite beyond this journalist!

[Editor's Note: These are some Old Glory (I think) 25s that I bought, already painted, along with some other items from eBay. They have been sitting collecting dust for over a year until I decided that they might work on Venus, if not on Earth or Mars, where the redcoat still identifies one as a British soldier of the Queen. All I have done is add some stuff to the bases to match my other Cytherean troops of the German, Lizardman and Varduvian varieties.]

Texican Camp on Venus

  Our good friends and allies the Texicans have shared some information on the construction techniques of their Venusian outpost. Due to constant rain and frequent torrential downpours leading to flash flooding, each of the huts being constructed has been raised several feet above the ground on stout wooden pilings.

Typical SET Hut

  It has been quite a while since we last heard from our friend Sergeant Cox of the Republic Marines' Engineers, but this fits within the descriptions he has provided on prior occassions.

[Editor's Note: The photo is from Acheson Creations. I am considering buying three or so of these to make the Texican camp on Venus. They also make some nice-looking Meso_american and Egyptian stuff that I would probably use for lizardmen construction. I have a few projects to work on first, though. But I thought they were neat, so I shared. Oh, and the reason we haven't heard much from the ol' Gunny Cox is that his creator, my buddy Jim, has been swamped with schoolwork the last few months.]

Science Gone Mad!

  The photostats below are indications of many future troubles from Science Gone Awry. The first image is of a devilish new device from that mechanickal madman, the master of steam mayhem, the Mad Belgian, herr Doktor Professor Otto Maton. Through some cunning means, Maton has managed to enable an automaton to balance on a single wheel of India rubber. The resulting 'monowheel' device has unprecedented speed and agility - faster than the fleetest Arabian, and as surefooted as a mountain goat! And to top it off, the thing appears to be armed with Tesla rifles, reducing recoil to maintain stability at speed!

  This second photostat is of a development even more disturbing than the first: deliberate mutilation of the human frame. The photo was found in the camera of a missing correspondent to this journal, one Mister Kevin O'Doyle. A reward for information leading to his rescue or the apprehension of his abductors and/or murderers is offered. The camera was discovered in a pile of trash behind a ramshackle warehouse in the downport of the Venusstadt Kolonie. We believe that the limb in the hands of the great monster was that of our missing correspondent. Sadly, it appears that the damage the camera took has affected the color and clarity of the image. Still... horrifying.

[Editor's Note: Okay, I got a little clicky crazy here. The monowheel is a BattleTech clicky monocycle. A dash of paint and a rebase and its good to go. Just need a few more to make a full unit. They can be used for any of three scales, being large vehicles in 6mm, full scale automatons in 15mm, and small ones in 25mm. The big fella is a Lucahdor from HorrorClix. He's getting some greenstuff to adjust his tights to a loincloth and primitive boots, and the arm in his hands may get replaced as well. The paint job will convert to a more Frankenstein's monster kind of look. The idea is that he's an experiment by Vardu. The news doesn't know about it because Vardu's evil has yet to be uncovered. Our correspondents keep disappearing when they get close to discovering the truth.]

Prussian Line

6th East Prussian Regiment Nr. 43:

Deploying to Venus?

  Reports have been filtering in via aethrgraphic relay that a new regiment of German Imperial troops is mobilising for departure to the Venusstadt garrison. This regiment, the 6th East Prussian Regiment (Nr. 43) has for years been brigaded with the elite 1st Grenadier Regiment (Kronprinz). The increase in German presence on the Jungle Planet is worrying for Her Majesty's government. Sadly, the militaristic history of the German Empire leads many to believe the worst of them and their motives.

   To date, it is known for certain that the regiment has been practicing aethership loading andaether-transport drills. It is the sincere hope of this journal that the Hun is not thinking of reaching his dirty paws out to grab for territory rightly belonging to Her Britannic Majesty (God Bless Her!) on Venus or elsewhere in the System. Though surely he would receive a well-earned thrashing, the expenditure of gold and blood on such a venture would be unfortunate for the Empire.

[Editor's Note: Jingoistic as it may be, I do have some Prussians coming off the painting table soon. A good twenty of them hav ebeen started, and are nearing completion, but the hour got late last night ere I could complete the task. Perhaps tomorrow, as tonight I have other nefarious plans.]

Interesting Figures

I saw these figures from SuperFigs and thought that they might make interesting 25mm VSF figures.

  These first figures are called Shark Troopers #1. At $10 for a pack of 5, not a bad price. I think they look like Atlanteans or possibly Venusians, depending on your brand of VSF. They also have a Shark troopers #2, which appear to be armed with some sort of projectile thrower. Look for them in the Henchmen section of the site.

  These little lovelies may only work for my botanical mad scientist, but I think they are pretty great. Plus, what with Halloween coming up, they work real well for that, too. I will probably be buying a couple of packs of these as soon as I can find the money. Again, 5 for $10 is a pretty good deal, and two packs will set me up for the unit. They are called Devil's Knight Henchmen.

  And here is the Devil Knight himself, looking like an awesome leader for the unit. You can find him here. He's a bit pricier at $3.95, but hey, it's a hero figure, right?