The Colonel's Been At it While I was Napping

  I can not fathom that anyone who reads this blog is unaware of the Colonel's awesome work in creating toys for a Victorian Science Fiction universe. Last semester, while I was up to my eyeballs in readings and papers, I missed out on several of his 'smaller' projects. Now that I have a moment, I feel obliged to share them, in case you have also been occupied. No pithy commentary, I will let their awesomeness speak for them. You can find a link to a post regarding each of the photos just beneath the picture.

  Thanks again, Colonel O'Truth, for all your amazing and inspiring work.

Mk. I Hydrothermicopter

Wutha F'kawe Dinosaur Cavalry

Lord Smudgington Smythely-Smythe and his Mk. III Magna-Lectric De-Fleshulising Porta-Cannon 

(aka "Ethel")

Her Royal Brittanic Majesty's Armoured Shock Troops

There, I think that has covered them all...

"V" is for...

VENUS

   Really, what else could it be? I mean, since I have already mentioned Her Majesty, Queen Victoria (God Bless Her!)? Following Mars and the Earth, Venus is undoubtedly the third favorite planet for Victorian Science Fiction games and stories. There is something about the mystery of what is on the surface of the Veiled Planet, the Planet of Mystery, the Jungle Planet: VENUS!

   Modern science tells us that nothing we recognize as life could survive on the surface of Venus, such is the density and composition of the atmosphere. Bah! Frank Chadwick and Edgar Rice Burroughs may not have the science on their side, but they do have the advantage of being mroe interesting. No, my friends, the surface of Venus is covered with oceans, marshes and jungles. A few highland areas thrust upward from the trees and wetlands, more comfortable for humans to live than the incredibly hot and humid lowlands.

   The fertile soil of the Venusian jungles has given rise to many strange creatures. Dinosaurs roam the rainforest. Lizardmen, anthropomorphic reptiles and amphibians live in small villages throughout the lands. In the trees, a race of parrotfolk make their nest villages. Animated plants move through the underbrush. German zeppelins cruise the skies over Venusstaadt, and British, Italian, Japanese, and Texican colonies dot the highlands. The riotous biology of the planet has even brought respected scientists like Doctor Vardu to Venus to study the life forms.

One of the Varieties of Parrotmen
[GW Kroot, converted, from Lead Adventure Forum]

   The Parrotfolk of Venus and the Lizardfolk do not get along well. Some tribes of Parrotmen are allied with European powers. This provides the Europeans with scouts, and gives the birdmen firearms. These weapons help the parrotfolk defend their nest villages high in the trees from the ravages of the far more numerous lizardfolk and dinosaurs.

Venusian Manticore Rose, a deadly plant
[QRF, personal collection]

    Much of the flora of Venus is as deadly and dangerous as the fauna. The manticore rose, shown above, actually fires barbed and envenomed thorns from the bulbous head at the top of its stalk. Any creature coming within a few yards is the target of a deadly barrage.

One of many Lizardmen found on Venus
[Khurasan Miniatures, 15mm]

   As previously described in the "A to Z", there are numerous sorts of lizardmen. You can find more out about them here.

Plantmen, Vardu's Sprouts
[25mm Vardu, Hydra Miniatures]

   The final denizens of the Cytherean jungles are the plantmen. No one knows much about these strange creatures. They are the object of much study by the eminent xenobiologist Doctor Vardu. Unknown to pretty much anyone else, Vardu is actually creating plantmen and animal-human hybrids as part of his studies. He has gone quite mad, you see.

   Venus: the Veiled Planet. Planet of Mystery. Also the subject of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs (though less popular than the Barsoomian series). A great place for adventure, exploration and danger! Plus, lots of neat terrain to put out on the table.

"D" is for...

DINOSAUR

   Whether on the Jungle Planet of Venus, or high up on the Lost World plateau of the Deep Amazon, on the Mysterious Island, or in the Hollow Earth, dinosaurs are very popular in Victorian Science Fiction. I think this may in part be a result of the discovery of many species in the Victorian era, and the so-called "Bone Wars," an intense and bitter rivalry between two prominent paleontologists. Prince Albert even established a museum for the big beasties (or at least, for their fossilized remains). And I can't imagine that there are none in the Regent's Park Royal Zoological Gardens.

Stegosaurus, drawn in 1896

   The 'terrible lizard' is always a welcome sight in VSF. I use them for random dangers in games, beasts of burden, even aerial mounts for lizardmen. One of these days, I'll get around to painting up the Germans on pterodactyls even - the dread Stukasaurus! With the abundance of good looking dinosaur toys in all sizes, there is no good reason not to have them somewhere in your VSF universe. In my VSF universe, I have dinosaurs on Venus. In the universe of When the Navy Walked, which I helped write and edit, the lead author (Rob Adams - a great guy) put them in Earthin, the inside of our hollow Earth.

Stukasaurus, by Eureka Miniatures.

I plan to exchange an Imperial German cross for the one used here.

 

Triceratops "Fergus", with cargo platform
[From author's collection]

Brontosaurus "Bertie", in harness for the British on Venus

[From author's colection]

   Towering over the jungle, "Bertie" allows Her Majesty's valiant men a vantage point the Hun can only envy. Close enough to the ground to see the smallest detail, yet high enough to see clearly for a great distance. The inclusion of dinosaurs brings out the kid in all of us.

First Sunday on the Veiled Planet

26 October ….

Today was an interesting day, to say the least. We started off nicely with a wonderful Mass from Father Flannigan, followed by a nice lunch of grillag. It tastes quite well as our cooks seem to be able to create a seven-course meal from the most modest of resources. Unlike Earth, where it seems that everything tastes like chicken, grillag tastes somewhat like an alligator tail as the meat has different flavors. The men followed lunch with a friendly game of rugby, matching Marines versus Army. A few black eyes and muscle strains occurred during the match, but it was a good way for the troops to unwind.

On the interesting side it seems as though one of the Army patrols was ambushed by a bunch of ‘Blood-eye’ frogs. Private Allen was on point when one of the beasts jumped on him, thankfully for him, Corporal Garza was on point as well and is a reliable shot with his Martini-Henry rifle. Garza was able to kill the beast with a single shot through the beast's blood red eye. We had heard of these dangerous giant frogs during one of our briefs by British Royal Marines while at Fort Anahuac, but were not really sure of their existence. After all who would believe that frogs are carnivorous? I mean, more than just bugs and such? One of the Black Legs is a ‘Combat Correspondent’ and he managed to take a picture of three of the amphibian beasts. They were relentless and their burping sound echoes just before an organized, wolfpack-like attack. Thankfully, only Private Allen was hurt during the exchange, suffering a grotesque bite and a broken shoulder. It also seems the saliva from the beast is of some sort of an acidic substance as the skin has a slight burn around the bite.

Tomorrow morning the Officer with a squad of men are off to Camp Trafalgar and will get to see how the endurance of the Pachysaurs maintains over the long trip. Mr. Griggs is estimating it will be a week to ten days on the trip total. Personally, I think it will take longer, as the undergrowth on Venus is like nothing I've ever seen. RSM Taggart will be in charge of the Black Legs and I will be over my Marine Sappers.

Today while making rounds Sergeant Garcia was with the Triceratops, and it is amazing to me the way he has with animals. I have seen the way he can tame a wild horse and wild dogs, and I would not have thought it would be the same with a six ton Triceratops, but to my amazement he literally had the thing eating heart fruit right out of his hands. When I asked Garcia about it, he says his family has always been able to speak to animals. He told me a tale about how his grandfather when he was a boy tamed a pack of wolves near the Guadeloupe River while he was fishing.

Well off to discuss schedules and plans with my Army counterpart RSM Taggart. I must close and will write more next week.

Royal Xenological Society, Vol. 1

Triceratops Tamed!

On the steamy jungle planet of Venus, great lizards very much like our own long extinct dinosauria still roam the surface, fly through the skies, and make water travel very... exciting, to say the least. One such creature is the immensely powerful, but moderately docile Triceratops. Recently, a group of Texican Marines operating south of Her Majesty's Camp Trafalagar location have reported the domestication of a trio of the gargantuan beasts. Surely, our friends and allies the Texicans will be forthcoming with their training methods for the better utilisation of animal power on Venus.

Bloodeye Swarm in Swamps of Veiled Planet

The carnivorous amphibian 'Bloodeye' frogs (Rana venustica phlegboptica ) are swarming through the southern swamps of Venus. Seen below is a photostat captured by a Texican journalist who is part of their recent military expedition to the Veiled Planet. As you can see, the amphibians are quite large, and have no fear of mankind or our weapons. Thankfully, they are thin-skinned, and a round or two from a rifle will do for them.

Martian Volcano Peppers - A Fiery Sensation!

A staple of Martian cooking, the volcano pepper is becoming increasingly valuable as an export item to Earth. The fiery hot fruit of this plant is quite popular in Texas and India. Additionally, the wood of the plant secretes an oil which is flammable, and useful as a fuel substitute to coal on the Red Planet. It has, in fact, been used to heat homes through the cold Martian nights for millennia. Our photostat comes from a typical farm in the Ikora District of the Martian Crown Colony.

[Editor's Notes: The Triceratops is a Schleich, which I purchased over the summer while they were on sale at Target for $0.96 each. I added a small scratchbuilt wooden platform to its back and some fine brass chain and rings for control, and there it is. The bloodeye frogs are just tiny little plastic frogs I got at the Dallas Zoo gift shop, 10 for $1! Finally, the volcano peppers are snips from an interesting fake flowering plant I saw at Hobby Lobby, superglued to some resing root stumps I sculpted for the specific purpose of utilising resin overages. I pour the extra resin into the mold with several roots in it, then cut out.]

Photostats from Venus!

The first plate here shows a small tribe of hunting gex as they move effortlessly through the underbrush. While much smaller than their gater cousins, gex are just as vicious. Their envenomed bite merely adds to the danger of encountering these primitive brutes.



















On this plate, some of Her Majesty's soldiers, in the Research Platoon, ride upon the back of a large saurian transport. From this secure vantage point, they can avoid smaller carnivorous dinosaurs, the more dangerous flora of the Jungle Planet, and find their main foes, the savage lizardmen of Venus.


















A small herd of Triceratops feeding on the jungle growth. These large creatures are herbivores, but like the Earthly hippopotamus, are large, powerful and very territorial. Extreme caution is advised should a traveler on the surface of Venus find himself confronted by even one of these beasts. If there are young about, I would recommend that you flee the area as quickly as you can without drawing attention from the herd.


















This last photostat shows a gater, mounted on a carnivorous lizard, possibly Deinonychus, as he exits the brush line. These gaters are extremely dangerous, remorselessly bloodthirsty savages. When encountered, I recommend they be treated to volley fire by platoon. Thankfully, most of the gaters encountered thus far on the Planet of Mist are not powerful enough to dominate a mount such as this one. The few that are, however, are even more dangerous than their bretheren.

We are expecting our first photographs of the giant Parrotmen of Venus in the near future, good readers, but were unable to obtain any prior to publishing today. I shall, however, publish portions of a short paper by Doctor Fritz Hammacher and Professor Heinrich Schlemmer, both of the Imperial German Institute for Extra-Terrestrial Study (das Deutsche Kaiserliche Institut fur AuBerirdische Gelehrten), in the very near future, perhaps even this afternoon.

Dinosaurs sighted!

Even more dinosaurs have been seen on Venus! A trio of triceratops has been acquired for Her Majesty's Zoological Gardens at Regent's Park. The Minister has decided not to transport any of the large carnivores to Earth, fearing what might happen if a T. Rex were to escape his enclosure!

Negotiations are taking place to locate a tribe of spear-armed lizardmen, of the smaller variety which many journalists have begun to label "Geckos" or just "Gex." (Old Skinks, actually) These fellows are deep in the bush, and have proven difficult to locate, but a new explorer has offered to lead me to some in exchange for various lead-based considerations. Wish me luck in this exchange!

In additional Venusian news, we have received additional samples of flora from the Jungle Planet. It seems adventure upon the Veiled Planet is just around the corner.

The painting table has been sitting without an occupant for many, many days. Almost no progress has been made since the last posting in this journal. Seems that every time I sit to paint (or compose an entry for the journal) I am immediately interrupted. Bother!

Finally tonight, the editor is in search of a single steam-powered spider manufactured by the Wyrd company. If any of our readers know where a single spider may be located, I would be most appreciative.

Until next time friends, remember to keep your cartridges in the rubberised canvas boxes while on Venus!

Venusian Megafauna Domesticated!

Remember, good readers, that you heard the news here first.

It appears that at least one of the giant herbivorous dinosaurs of Venus has been tamed and put to serving Her Majesty. My scientific assistant tells me that the beast in question is undoubtedly one of the great saurupods, probably brachiosaurus, but perhaps apatosaurus. Difficult to distinguish from the photostat.

From that high perch on the howdah, Her Majesty's troops can safely move through the teeming jungles of Venus without worry. I am hoping that the man who trained this remarkable beast shall be prompted to train additional dinos for purchase at auction.

I apologize for the paucity of posts again this month. This time illness, and not crushing workloads has been the main malefactor. I've been flat on my back for the best part of two weeks now. But I am improved, and hope to post more in July. Watch for a new monthly poll very soon.

I've Been Absolutely Worthless...

...for three days, gentlemen.

I still have a bit of a bug, but at least the fever's down somewhat!

For goodness' sake, my last journal entry was begun three days ago and only just now been posted! Damn this Venusian Sinus Fever! Never should have gone to that wet hellhole. Oh certainly, the dinosaur hunting was a grand lark, mind you, but between the belligerent natives, the Kaiser's presence in the best hunting areas and the fevers, it just wasn't worth it. The new Holland and Holland worked out well, though. Bagged a pair of deino's (deinonychus), a clubtail (ankylosaurus), and a truly inspiring three-horn (triceratops) bull. Can't wait to mount that trophy on the wall. Horns four and a half feet long, what!

Haven't done any work at all on any project. The landship has barely received any paint, and the Johnnies are getting restless on the table. Twenty of them have base skin tones, but virtually nothing more. But at least the Major General has agreed to compromise on the landship. Blue she will be, with one panel painted for St. George. The Scots engineers who have been re-assembling it have a rather sneaky look about them, so I fear they may be up to something. Well, whenever they finish up, I shall endeavour to make photostats available.

Until then, dear friends and readers, its off to the bathhouse to sweat out the last of these ill humors from Venus. Give me nice, dry Mars any time.