The Prince is Ready!

Whorled Deathray Cavalry Take to the Skies

At long last, His Highness, Prince Musta Gopotty has finished training the first of the golden whorled deathrays for cavalry service. Eleven more brave Martians have volunteered to train with the Prince in the art of aerial cavalry. Some are armed with guns, some with lances, and two are known to have been in possession of musical instruments when they volunteered. Perhaps once a few more golden whorled deathrays are captured and saddled, they will be seen practicing their graceful yet deadly art in the skies of the Red Planet.

Photostats of this momentous occasion in Martian military history are forthcoming, awaiting only proper lighting conditions for a better quality photo.

"Ghost" Archers Sighted In Outlying Agricultural District

In other news, we have sighted a few Martians dressed in strange headdress and carrying bows sneaking about the countryside. Martian militia units have also been sighted in the same area, armed with a mix of guns and swords. Only time will tell the intent of these furtive figures, but this journal would suggest that the Government send patrols to the Ukana District.

Sentinel #2 Preparing for Service at Orlock

From Orlock Ironmongery of Mars, reports filter out that bombardment rockets for the long-awaited Sentinel #2 are in development. Only time shall tell what form these terror weapons shall eventually take, as security has been extremely tight (good show, that!) and many copies of misleading evidence have been allowed to be discovered, in order to confuse the spies of Napoleon III and Kaiser Wilhelm.

[Editor's Note: I must remember the silly names I give these Martians, for continuity's sake. I rather like Musta Gopotty, though. Be careful to wear nitrile gloves when pouring resin. It does not come off of skin easily. Please let me know if you like the 'new' look of the posting - more like a newspaper, I think. It won't be every post I make, but...]

The Pledge, as of October

Well, gentlemen, I find myself in trouble in regards to the Pledge. If you recall, I Pledged I would paint mroe than I bought this year, and that solemn oath is in serious danger of being broken.

Some would say, "Oh, but surely your illness this summer justifies your failure to whittle away at your immense stores of unpainted miniatures." To them I say, poppycock. A few days in hospital here or there certainly doesn't eliminate one's word of honour!

Others might remind me that the storm certainly disrupted what seemed a promising period of accomplishment in the reduction of the lead mountain. Coupled with the additional inhabitants of the domicile since the storm and pursuant lack of space and freedom from distraction, it makes a good excuse for limited progress. Again, I say twaddle! A few days without civilised comforts and a few weeks with four extra houseguests cuts no hay with me, sirrah!

Then, to add to the problem, I use the newly restored telephonic differencing engine weave to place order for several additional figures. If the lack of progress in reducing the previously accumulated stockpile was possibly forgiveable, the lack of discipline in not purchasing additional figurines is most certainly not.

Gentlemen, I need to get back to work, and that is an end to it! Enough fiddling with terrain bits - they cut nothing off the Pledge numbers. Wish me luck, as in the next two months I foresee a difficult time setting aside the necessary hours. But I shall endeavour to keep my sacred bond.

Venus + 1

20 October ….

After a long day of cutting trees and trimming limbs the men are exhausted I had an additional half pint added to their ale ration for appreciation of a good day's work. One timber tower was 90% completed and only lacked a roof covering of plant leaves and tree branches. Sergeant Garcia and I shot more grades and set markers today with our prized transit, while also driving markers for the post holes to be dug. We have picked good terrain that is thirty feet above the surrounding land. This hill we are on is of good size and will be sufficient enough for the original camp to double for expansion.

Mr. Griggs went on an expedition today and has drawn many pictures and documented new species of plants and animals. So far we have been lucky and have not encountered the Carnivorous Reptilians other nation's parties have been attacked by. Around noon during our lunch break Private O’Rourke pointed out flying reptiles in the distance. He was using my telescope to get a better view when a flight of three flew close enough to our position to hit with a rock. The things are humungous and would feed a company for at least half a week. I'm guessing they would taste like chicken if fried up. Sapper Jones (not to be confused with Private Jones or Lance Corporal Jones) wants to go hunting for them with his Martini-Henry as he is anxious to shoot something. He is one of my best scouts and can hit a target at 500 yards with little trouble, so maybe this Sunday after services I will let him and another go with a Black Leg patrol. We will see what time permits however as we are very busy.

The Black Legs are changing watches in the tower and the perimeter. I must say they are probably competent enough but I would have felt safer with other Marines manning our perimeter. I still do not understand how the War Department came up with the crew mixture for this journey; but I suspect it has something to do with the Chief of Staff Major General Pummel being a Black Leg himself. Well, enough for this evening as I will walk the lines with Sergeant Garcia and Corporal Cromwell, before the sun sets.

[OOC] Other Projects in the Works/Planned

There has been a sort of request to mention all of the plans I have for VSF gaming, as I listed all the aerial stuff previously. So, here's the ground and riverine stuff. Note that this does not include all the stuff already completed (which is as nothing compared to the nefarious grand plan)...

15/18mm:

• Pontifical forces: Zouaves, Infantry, and Artillery [Freikorps]. Purchased via Little Wars on Saturday, awaiting shipment of the order. Call it 45 minis.
• Texicans: Already have the minis [Freikorps Span-Am War Americans], just need to paint.
• British: Lancers, already have Old Glory minis, just need to get to painting them. Need to finish repaints on purchased naval brigade troops.
• Sidewheeler gunboat: Purchased. I have been adding wooden decking to it, and some cladding. Totally unpainted and still in need of lots of work. Will have interchangeable flagpole.
• French. Need some kind of cavalry and artillery. They only have infantry [Stone Mountain FFL] and one walker, though I have parts for more. Want at least one more officer figure for use with native troops if I give them over to the French for a scenario. I need pilot figures, though. Hmm...
• Steam launches. Technically, could be used as small boats for 25/28mm as well. Assembled, working on paint. Three of these, one pretty much done, except I need to rig up the sails, and come up with some kind of boiler. I am trying to make it where I can rig it either way - sail or steam. In addition, you can change out the flags to change nationality. Otherwise they are pretty non-specific.
• German Armored Suit. A "paint, flag and coal bunker" conversion from a MechWarrior: Dark Ages figure. Flamer and big slashing blade harvester thingy. About 2/3 finished.
• Martians. Black Hat, via Scale Creep. Just ordered some Ghost Archers to try out. Also, some Imperial Martians with guns and more with swords. I probably ought to do some more Imperial Guards, too. Two guns is enough, though.
• Dinosaur Howdahs. Have 9 Schleich Triceratops, which I want to mount platforms upon two or three. Rest are wild. Will be used with 25/28mm as well.
• Dinosaurs. Need at least three more Schleich Velociraptors. No, they are not to scale. So what? Will be used with 25/28mm as well.
• Germans. I have one German officer. That's it so far. Need at least one more officer and some troops, probably 20 or so, plus a gun.
• Prof. Maton: Have a mini, started painting. Assistant? Minions? Still need those. I do have a generic Oriental woman, maybe she's a mysterious Eastern assistant/spy for Fu Manchu? You can never trust your fellow evil geniuses...
• Personalities: Her Majesty, God Bless Her. Theodore Roosevelt. More mad scientist types (Tesla, etc.)
• Zombies. Yeah, I gotta have some of them, too. Raised from the dead by a fiendish device of some mad scientist, or the ancient technology of the Martians (Black Hat's Martian Thought Projector? Hmm...)

25/28mm:

• Sentinels conversion. One essentially done, only needs dullcote and pennant. Other completely untouched, although I have started to try to sculpt the big bombardment rocket launchers for it.
• AT-ST: Convert Star Wars Miniatures AT-ST to German walker. On hold.
• Steam-powered cavalry. Lots of different MageKnight toys being used here. Horses and rams (US or Texican, not sure yet), and cats (French). Need cavalry figures to mount on them, bases, paint touch-up, and so on. Essentially, nothing done but getting the mounts themselves.
• Martian Askaris/Sepoys: RAFM Colonial Martians. Ten down, nine to go (I think). Painted in neutral khaki, can be used for any native troops, be it German askaris, British sepoys, or even French tirailleurs martienne.
• Masked Minions: Purchased, but not even undercoated yet. These are the human minions of Professor Otto Maton. Need a special weapons figure or two.
• Clockwork Men: One down. Have one more, need to get a few more from London War Room. Maybe three or four more. Also used with 15/18mm.
• Hoverbots. Technically aerial, I guess, but not mentioned previously. Hydra Miniatures, IIRC makes a great hoverbot that I want to get for these - ten of them. I am going to add some details (maybe a clockwork key) and they will be Maton's flying minions. Also will be used with 15/18mm.
• Steam Spiders. Wyrd Miniatures. Nine of ten done. Also used with 15/18mm.
• Prof. Maton, Himself. Almost finished. Basework, a highlight on his massive wrench, and dullcote, he's done. But he needs an assistant or two. Need to find one (or two).
• Venusian Lizardmen. Two types, gex [GW old skinks] and gaters [GW old saurus]. Probably have about all the gex I need, but have a lot to paint still (about 40 or so left.) Way short on my gaters. Need to get enough to finish second unit of regular gaters and then I need Temple Guard for elite gaters. Also used with 15/18mm.
• Pappegaivolk: Have the parts for ten [GW Kroot]. Have begun on the project, but... slow progress. Eventually want 20 total. Could be used with 15/18mm, but are really too darned big for that.
• Germans. Mordians for VSF weapons, need more of them. Want grenade launcher, a few riflemen, sergeant and officer, have several mortars and flamethrower. Also, just need some good Seebattalion or Schutztruppen. About 20 or so of them would be good. Do have a good commanding officer in dress uniform, Herr Oberst Hans Klarkopf.
• British. Just about done. Have to finish up a few Praetorians that I (and everyone else) will use for VSF weapons (the voltaic rifle, the flame projector, the Portable Shoulder Mount Miniature Congreve Launcher, the Caloric Ray Emitter, etc.)
• German Landship. Got to either scratchbuild or purchase one of these. Leaning towards building.
• British Landship. Backburner, but definitely want to do one eventually.
• Martians. Parroom Station Martians. I want to get some Sverdvolk or whatever they call them, and Royal Infantry (maybe 40 or so of them). Also, I have a few of their characters, and want more civilian types. RAFM as well. Real mixed bag on the Martians.
• Turks. Over the Wire figures wanted.
• Texicans. Searching for suitable figures. Leaning towards Boxer Rebellion US Marines or Span-Am American infantry.
• French. Foreign Legion (Legion Extraterrestriale), Spahis or some sort of cavalry to mount on steam cats. Probably one gun. Leaning towards Askari Figures.
• Pontifical. At least some Zouaves. Need to find figures.
• Plantmen. Hydra Miniatures has some really cool looking plantmen, the Vardu, that I am dying to use as well. I may just get the smaller ones and use them with 15/18mm though, as I already have two major races in this scale for Venus.
• Personalities: Her Majesty, God Bless Her. Theodore Roosevelt.

Sadly, there are probably at least a half dozen more ideas and projects currently on the boil. Plus terrain. Add in the dabbling in 15mm Napoleonics (check that out on my other blog www.leadwellington.blogspot.com), and the straight Colonials (also in two scales!) and... no progress, it seems. I also want to get in some Aeronef stuff, eventually. Maybe in 2009.

I hope this list helps to spur up some creative juices for all of you guys and gals. Goodnight, Irene.

Land Fall on the Veiled Planet

19 October …

After two weeks of flying through the Aether we have finally made landfall on our new home for the next eighteen months. It was strange to see the Veiled Planet from a distance; first it was just a mysterious marble and each day she grew, at night we would take our daily ration topside and view our new home.

On one of my evenings spent trying to make out land features and checking maps, Mr. Griggs caught me topside. We chatted about the famous explorers of our Earth and wondered how Christopher Columbus felt when he reached the Americas. I commented about the Vikings making it to the Americas first. Mr. Griggs stared at me for a moment then asked me finally where I had went to school. When I told him my mother was a school teacher and we (my brothers and sisters) were required to read after dinner and how I was always interested in history, and how my mother visited Dickinson Women’s College every week and had brought me home two history books to read. This seemed to be quite surprising to the subaltern as he had the impression that all enlisted men were from farms or fishing boats on the wharves and were unable to even attend school, much less graduate.

After spending a whole day searching for a proper site to make camp, this morning we started work on our new home Fort Houston (the men refer to it as Fort Humid). The clearing of trees has been a horrible task. I cannot believe Fort Anahuac is less humid than this place! I think I have sweated more in the last two days than I have in my entire existence above ground. The Army “Black Legs” have been busy pulling security and scouting the terrain as us Marines have been working on the construction of the SET Huts. After a few huts have been finished, the construction of a moat and perimeter fence will begin. My chief concern is how we are going to build suitable roads in this environment.

Last night Private Jones produced an official Rugby Ball - God Alone knows where he stowed it as space was very limited aboard the Santa Fe. The men played for about thirty minutes and Mr. Griggs played a little as well, seems as though he was an eight man on the Academy's team.
Well, I must turn in as tomorrow will be a long day.