Unobtainite At Last!

ORE FOUND IN CROWN COLONY

Viceroy Claims For Britain

As our more scientifically savvy readers can tell, the photostat above reveals the site of a massive source of unobtainite, the wondrous mineral that sunders the fetters of cruel gravity, binding all things to the planetary surface. Merely energize the smallest fragments of this fantastic substance with [CENSORED BY VICEROY'S OFFICE] of pure galvanic energy and soar into the heavens, shielded from - nay! repulsed by! - the gravitational force dragging us all to the core of the planet.

These crystals and the land surrounding them have been seized under law by the Viceroy himself. The discoverer of the deposit, Mister Clyde Abernathy, formerly of West Stoking, currently residing in Singh's Songhouse, Victoria Landing, has already filed suit to maintain his properly filed deed of claim on the property. The Viceroy's son-in-law and principle advisor on commercial legal affairs, speaking to our correspondent solely under the condition that his name would not be printed, revealed that the courts have already been influenced by the Viceroy, and the suit would be summarily dismissed.

Maton's Mechanical Monstrosity!

Herr Professor Doctor Otto Maton, the brilliant but utterly ruthless and maniacally despotic mechanical genius, has been at the drawing board again, developing a larger, more dangerous creature of unlimited power.


Here is the result: a massive mockery of Man in mechanical menace! Note the massive galvanic collector coils mounted on the giant's back. They supply power the matched pair of magnetic disruptor cannons which replace the infernal device's arms.

The photostat presented here was taken by Miss Eugenia P. Whistlebum during her brief but unwilling stay with the Belgian Madman. Miss Whistlebum smuggled the exposed photostatic plate out of the fiend's lair under her petticoat bustle when she was released following the undisclosed but reportedly very hefty ransom paid by her father, her fiancee and her future father-in-law.

[Editor's Notes: Back at it at last. I have some new terrain. The old handwavium crystals were made of pink foam cut with a hotwire, then painted. This unobtainite (blue, not handwavium green) is a resin product from Armorcast. Pyrite crystals, if I remember rightly. The new automaton is from Hydra, one of Matt's pulp sci-fi line Destroyer Robots, or Warbot Destroyer, or something like that. So far, it has been assembled and primed black. I hope to get a bit of painting time tomorrow night, so it may get brassy by then. The chest plates may get steel instead, to protect the delicate inner workings. Red eye? What do you think, HAL?]

Photos of some of today's efforts...

First up, a blue and yellow Gater... the skin is Vallejo Dark Prussian Blue and the bony scutes are done in Vallejo Intense Yellow. Lots of work still to do on hiim, of course (and on all of these, actually...)

Her Royal Majesty's Viceroy for the Crown Colony of Mars, His Lordship Sir Gerald Blythingham, 1st Earl of Mons Olympus. Working on the tweed jacket and the pinstripe trousers still. And brass buttons on the waistcoat, I should think?The Right Honourable Mister Percival Harlod Windsome, the Viceroy's rather useless son-in-law. Mister Windsome fancies himself quite a rugged outdoorsman, but would sulk terribly if he went on safari without his fine bone china and a decent cup of coffee, as shown here.

Here we see the first glimpse of the High Martians, strange creatures capable of flying! Though obviously related in some way to the more common Martians of the cities, steppes and canals, there are significant physiological and sociological differences. These primitives have retained a fleshy membrane much like a bat's wing, and generate hydrium naturally, which is then stored in the large hairy hump above their shoulders.

Well, that's it for tonight. Hope you liked the photos. I enjoyed getting them done and posted!

News from Exotic Earthly Islands

Kingdom of Hawaii in the Sandwich Isles

An interesting piece of news from our correspondent Mister Eli, from the Sandwich Isles in the warm Pacific waters. He has provided in his own journal [I See Lead People - check it out!] some interesting articles regarding the development of the Kingdom of Hawaii's armed forces. I thought it might be of interest to our readers who follow the development of Her Britannic Majesty's allies around the globe and throughout the solar system. His Excellency the Viceroy had this to say:

"Jolly good! Nice to see a bunch of primitive wogs learning how to behave properly, what? Her Majesty can always use a friendly puppet regime - er, mean to say, a good solid ally in the vast Pacific waters. Good for trade, and good for Britain! I wonder if they've sent any pineapples along? I do so like a nice sweet pineapple..."

Seen above are the provincial militia of the Hawaiian kingdom. While hardly proper professional soldiers, I am sure they can settle for any pirates that might come calling in their quiet island homes.

[Editor's Note: I snagged the photo from Eli's blog - hope you don't mind, Eli! - and I think they look great. If you haven't been following the development of the Hawaiian military, you should immediately go to his blog and check out all 8 (!) installments of the discussions there. Some really interesting imagery and ideas being tossed about.]

Game Set for Historicon

I don't have a day or time yet - yet! - but I will be running a game at Historicon this year.

Storyline:

The British Viceroy for the Crown Colony of Mars has been funding prospectors seeking out deposits of handwavium. One such prospector hit paydirt and sold the mine to the Government, then moved back to Earth a wealthy new peer.

The ore from Earl Blythingham's mine is now ready to be carried to Victoria Landing. Unfortunately, there is no rail service to it yet. So the ore is packed onto mules and carried out.

Many Martians do not welcome these wet-world devils. And the handwavium was meant by the Spirit Below for the use of good Red Martians, not pale-skinned freaks from another world! A group of fanatics, supported by "rogue" regular troops of a Martian native empire, will try to seize the ore for their own use.

Finally, a new menace is rising on Mars, seeking to begin conquest of a new world. Who is it? What do they want? And whats with all the hissing and clanking coming from around the bend?

Sign up for the game to find out!

We'll be using the GASLIGHT rules with a few house rules for concealment and other stuff, and six players.

Wish me luck - this is my first ever convention game and I am really nervous. I had to go and try to do it at one of the biggest cons in the country, right?

A Minor Cultural Difference

Martians Riot Against German Troops!

Cultural differences can be difficult. It seems that some Martians in Galfor objected to the uniforms of new German troops arriving in their city. These Hun soldiers are from the elite Ätherbattalion Regiment II (AR.2) recently sent as reinforcements to the so-called advisory cadre the Kaiser sent to Galfor last year.

Ätherbattalion troops in tropical climes wear the new black and white uniform tunic. And therein lies the problem. You see, in Galfor, the wearing of the color black is a privilege of royalty. Seems the Johnnies assumed the black trim meant a weak link to the imperial family, and thus that the wearer was a noble of some stripe or another. Galforrian commoners were enraged when they learned that the German troops were not all low ranking nobility.

Order was restored after a three-day riot left dozens of Martians dead and several buildings gutted by fire. The Emperor of Galfor has decreed that the sumptuary laws of Mars do not apply directly to humans, and thus the uniforms are permitted.

When news of the disturbances reached Viceroy for the Martian Crown Colony, Sir Gerald Blythingham, 1st Earl Mons Olympus, he had this to say:

"Haw haw! Any fool knows the Martians only let their nabobs wear the black! Haw haw! One in the eye for the Hun, what?"

Only time can tell what the long term effects of this riot will be on the relations between Galfor and her German 'allies.'