End of March Wrapup

Well... I did it. Finally finished the Empress Brits. The last of the clearcoat is drying as we speak and I will put up photos tomorrow.

This means (drumroll please)... I finished another month's project goals! Hooray! At least, I finished all the VSF goals. We will tastefully ignore the lack of discipline which led to only one goal of the other painting projects to be finished.

Look for a new edition of Reginald's soon, complete with photos of the British. Really. Would I lie to you?

Regarding the monthly poll, I was a little surprised at the overwhelming support for a built in canal. I suppose I can give it a shot. I think painting the a dark brown dye on the cloth with a foam brush ought to give me the nice dark line I am looking for.

Next month's VSF goals are not very ambitious, because I will have other projects I am very concerned with getting something accomplished with. They are:

• 10x Masked Minions [Parroom Station]
• 4x   Masked Minion guncrew [Parroom]
• 1x   Smoke Launcher (gun) [Parroom]
• 10x Halfjack Automatons [Privateer Press - Cygnar]
• 10x Halfjack 'mines' [Privateer]

The Halfjacks and the mines should be easy and quick. I already have the paint scheme figured for the minions. The smoke launcher should not prove terribly complicated either. Artillery pieces are usually pretty straightforward.

Coming to the Wire...

...on the monthly goal. And I am doing well. If I can get the last few highlights done on the British infantry and get them based and clear coated by Wednesday night, I should make my VSF goals for the month.

One more thing. I would like to promote my new blog here for a second. If you like my VSF stuff here on Victoria's Boys in Red, a lot of it will be reproduced there, but I am also including all of my other gaming interests. This means Old West, BattleTech, Car Wars, Warhammer, VSF, terrain building, RPGs... pretty much anything and everything I do gaming related. The blog is The Scattergun Gamer, which pretty well sums up my inability to focus and tendency to spread a little bit here, a little bit there, a little pretty well everywhere.

I'll try to get a few photos snapped as soon as I finish the British. They look pretty nice, but I am a little disappointed in my painting on them. I am not sure my brush skills are quite up to the level of these figures. All in all, though, I am pretty happy with them. I think I need to get a few more packs so I can practice up on them...

Possible New Shipyard

Our intrepid investigators have discovered the existence of two new shipyards.

Parroom Skyrunners - a racing game designed by Bob Charette.
[Image lifted from Brigade Games's website - please let me know if you mind, but I thought it looked too cool and hopefully will send more customers your way...]

Recreational Conflict - by scrolling about two-thirds of the way down, you may see a photostatic image of the prototype under construction.

Exciting stuff, what?

[Editor's Note: At $25 for the "Scudder" ship pictured above, I will certainly be interested in obtaining one of these. The Recreational Conflict one looks nice at this point as well.]

Defensive Items Available!

Quantum Gothic is a British terrain manufacturer. They make some really nice looking resin 'gothic' 25mm sci-fi terrain. But to be honest, I think most of it could easily be used for VSF gaming. When I finally convince my wallet that I have not been abusing it (this may take a few months), I want to remember these models. I especially have my eye on the forcefield pylons, the comm array, the armored gate and the watchtower.

Professor MacGlarrigy's Galvanic Defense Field Focussing Array Pylon

Note: Photos taken from Quantum Gothic website for illustrative purposes only.

I neither claim nor challenge ownership of these pieces or their design, nor am I affiliated with Quamtum Mechanics.

I just think that they look awesome and hope you will buy some, too! Free advertising!

Aethergraphic Relay Station

Anti-Saurian Rocket Defense Turret

I found these fellows sort of by accident whilst rummaging about on TMP tonight. And my wife thought I was wasting time. Harrumph!

To quote Doctor Henry Cavor, "Imperial! Absolutely imperial!"

Newly arrived...

More Mechanical Monstrosities!

In what is sure to be a calamity for the Crown Colony, additional metallic monstrosities have been developed by Doctor Maton! These so-called half-jacks actually have human pilots sealed within them! Malevolent midgets manipulate the machinery of these dastardly devices of death and destruction.

Photostatic evidence of these fiendishly clever devices have yet to be developed, but word has reached this journal through highly placed sources in the Government House Office of Threat Assessment that ten half-jacks have been built by the Mad Belgian. It is further rumored that the steam-powered contraptions are capable of burying themselves in the loose rocky red soil of Mars in a matter of moments, making detection of them extremely difficult until they choose to spring their ambuscade.

More information on this dangerously developing story (and photostats, if possible) will be relayed to our Dear Readers as soon as it is available.

[Editor's Notes: I got a shipment of ten of Privateer Press's half-jacks in the mail on Saturday. I think these will complete the mechanical portions of the Automaton army. The only additional purchase I am currently considering is more masked minions to give Maton a larger human element. All I have to do now is paint them, paint the ten masked minions, their leader, their gun crew, and finish the vehicle I have to convert for Maton. That's what, 25 minis or so? Wow. A project actually nearing completion. Color me surprised.]