Decision Making Time

   Alright, I have already made the decision and spent a few bucks in the pursuit of some 15mm Sci Fi, after years of holding out. The basic plan is to keep things relatively small scale, unlike my other grandiose projects, so that I can get a sense of accomplishment that will spur me forward. I am thinking a company-sized force on each side as the largest I want to field. That would be three infantry platoons of about 20-30 figures each, a command section, and a few support elements like a trio of grav bike scouts, a squad of power armour, or some crew-served weapons. Artillery will be off board, period, except for mortars. Just an observer team in play. Add in a few vehicles as well, no more than a platoon (3-4 vehicles). Figure eventually a hundred-ish figures for a side. Going to start with a platoon or so of each force and work my way up. Probably only do two or three factions (definitely two: Chuhuac and a human force).

   I have three decisions to make at this point, that will affect how I proceed. I thought mulling it over publicly and entertaining suggestions and polling the public would help me decide.

DECISION #1: RULES

   I have downloaded FUBAR. Not bad. I like the simplicity of it. I have also purchased Gruntz 15mm, which has a decent following on TMP and elsewhere. Also, not bad, and fairly straightforward. I like straightforward. So, I am looking for any other suggestions. I could always use GASLIGHT as well, since I have always liked how those rules work. I'm pretty sure there is even a mod for Flames of War into a Sci Fi game out there on the interwebs somewhere. Any other comments or suggestions?

DECISION #2: BASING

   FUBAR seems pretty straight-forward individual basing. That's fine for games with no more than two or three small units like I plan on starting with, but if I have to start moving a hundred or more figures a turn (like a company of infantry), that's going to take too much time. Gruntz has an optional rule, very simple, to go from individual basing to squad basing. This is making me lean a bit towards Gruntz. However, I don't want to always play a company-level game, either. For a platoon-level game, I don't want to have just seven or eight stands for maneuver elements. Finally, I would rather do one or the other, and not have some on stands and some on individual bases. That just makes more work for me to find, buy, and paint. So that's poll #2.

DECISION #3: HUMAN FORCE

   I need to decide on my Terran Hegemony force. I like the looks of both Khurasan's Federals and Critical Mass's ARC fleet. Definitely like the HALO-esque vibe. I am also a fan of Ground Zero Games's Neu Swabian League and New Anglian Confederation. All three manufacturers have pretty extensive lines so getting the figures I need shouldn't be a problem. Khurasan is in the US, which is an advantage, but has that issue about closing his website down sort of randomly and for unpredictable lengths of time.  I can't even show you pictures of the troops right now because it's down. Both Critical Mass and Ground Zero are in the UK, so I have to deal with currency differences and international shipping. I don't know if either has a US distributor, but that would help their cause.

GZG Neu Swabian League Panergrenadiers

  Then there is the question of vehicles for the Hegemony. I like Ion Age's line of vehicles, but also Critical Mass, Ground Zero Games, and Khurasan vehicles as well. This is easier to mix and match, though. Definitely want some bike-mounted recon units, an APC platoon, a C3 vehicle, and maybe a trio of tanks. Maybe a VTOL as well. Not sure if I want grav tanks or tracked. Not wheeled (for tanks), but wheeled for transports and C3 is fine.

Neu Swabian League Fan bikes

Three new projects considered...

Greetings all!

I am suffering from project paralysis at the moment. I don't really need a new project to distract me further from the dozen or so ongoing ones in which I am currently involved (some might say 'mired'). But, three things are currently tickling my creative juices a bit.

15mm Spanish Civil War. Zach wants to do this. He has another friend of ours, Gerald, already sold. As in, he's already purchased miniatures. I have not bitten down yet. It is intriguing, but I am not sure that I am enough interested in it to take the plunge.

15mm Sci-Fi. I would really like to do a science fiction game. Aliens (I think the Chuhuac) versus humans, battling for control of colony worlds. A campaign across several worlds would be even better, fighting out the First Chuhuac War. I also like a lot of Khurasan's aliens, too, so I may go total space opera with tons of alien cultures all warring against each other.

28mm Post-Apocalypse. Thinking like Across the Dead Earth, or an adaptation of In Her Majesty's Name rules to post-apocalypse. I think it would be simple enough, as the rules are very mod friendly. I like the skirmish/gang level. Campaign system would be cool here, as well, with rival gangs fighting over scarce resources and valuable territories.

So I thought maybe I would get some help from my faithful readers, some input, to help break the lockup. Naturally, a poll sounds like a good way to go about gathering data. Plus, of course, you could respond to this posting with pertinent comments. I'd like to avoid discussions of the merits of Russian neo-punk versus Pushtu Rave bands, if you don't mind. At least this time.

In other news, I got an email today informing me that an Ogre Mk. III was on its way to my happy home. Which will be happier still once I have the Mk. III in it.

Voting begins today!

  Today is the start of Season 8 of the world-famous and highly prestigious Lead Painters' League competition! {pause for wild applause and cheering}

   So everyone be sure to go and vote! {more cheering}

   Each week, a new set of matchups will be ready to vote upon. All you have to do is register (it's free) and get voting! {more applause}

   Where do you go to vote? Well, right here. Thank you, and God Bless 'Merica! {wild cheering and applause}

Ogre Poll and Some Painting Pics

   Look at the top of the blog and you should find a new poll about Ogre factions. I'm curious as to which is your favorite, if you have one.

   And some photos of recently completed work. I should have pictures of my first two 8th Army 25-pdr guns and crews for Flames of War sometime early next week, so keep an eye out for those, too. As always, comments welcome!

15mm Naval Brigade

Bases are my Martian Standard.

A rear view.

A Reaper Bones 'Eye Beast'

Rear view

Beauty (and death) are in the eye of the beholder...

Very British Civil War Quandry: Vehicles

   I am currently caught in a dilemma. I cna really only afford to get one vehicle to start this project, though I am sure I will be getting at least one or two additional ones. These are the selections I think I have it down to, with photos from the retailers. Please vote in the poll I'll be starting to let me know which you think goes best with the Welsh Nationalists faction as described so far.

   First is an armored truck with a Heavy MG. It comes with a choice of gunners, and I think I can make either the Red or White Russian work. This model is available from Brigade Games. I like it because it shows the lack of sophistication for the Welsh Nationalists, but I worry about its actual performance as well.

   Another vehicle available from Brigade Games, this is a Mk.I Rolls Royce armored car, the 1924 model with solid wheels rather than spoked ones. Again, the armament is light, but a good deal more protection. I see this as having been posted to an RAF base in Wales for security, and then taken over by the Nationalists when they captured the airfield. Sadly, most of the aircraft were flown away by their English pilots.

   Next is a Tank, Cruiser A9. I like the multiple turrets. It is also the most heavily armed of the vehicles I am looking at purchasing. This one is available through BEF MInitaures in the UK. Disadvantage is that its pricier, and has to ship overseas, rather than possibly picked up at Historicon next week. I haven't seen a US stockist, though I may be wrong. Anyway, it's a great model.

   Last on the list, but not necessarily the last I want to buy, is this Light Tank Mk. VI, built by Vickers. Another BEF Miniatures product. Carries two machineguns, and is both fast and fairly well protected (compared to the truck and the Rolls). Only getting one, though, not the squadron shown in the photo!



   So please vote in the poll. I need something to jar me out of my indecision on this critical issue.

Regarding Historicon Poll vs. Purchases

The results of the Historicon poll were very close. 25mm Martians came in first, followed by Masked Minions and then Germans. All the rest lagged behind a bit.


So, let's compare that to what I bought at Historicon.


As far as Martians go, all I purchased was a box of High Martians (the flying guys) [RAFM]. My son also bought some Mage Knight cannons that will probably be pressed into Martian service, as they are sort of primitive looking and bulky and just look 'right.'


For the Masked Minions, I purchased a 4 figure gun crew [Parroom Station]. I also bought a Smoke Launcher [Parroom Station] for them to crew. The gun may be used by others, of course. And it may not always be a Smoke launcher. Suppose I need rules for the poisonous cloud that it fires off. Maybe a blast template that wanders with the wind? Green-sprayed battening on an old CD base? Bears thinking about.


For our third place contestant, the Germans, I bought infantry and a massive artillery piece. Again, the artillery piece could be used by anyone, really. It is the Steampunk Cannon [JR Miniatures]. Having a stubby, mortar-like appearance, I also want to make a barrel extension for it (removable, of course) so that it can be made to look like a big fortress piece. Shouldn't be too difficult, as the barrel of the original mortar is tapped quite deeply. I'll explain my idea for it when I get around to doing it. The infantry I chose were the Prussian infantry of Parroom Station.

So, that's it for now. I have gotten a few minis primed and hope to get something painted up today or tomorrow so that I can work on those Pledge numbers I can already see I will be needing more bases. But that's going to wait at least a month for my bank account to recover from our show purchases and travel expenses.

New Month, New Poll...

So, the poll question is this: After Historicon, what VSF project should I concentrate on next?

• 15mm Germans - I have about twenty or so Aetherbattalion [OG Boxer Seebattalion] to paint up already, plus I need to get some regular line infantry, artillery and probably some cavalry as well.
• 25/28mm Germans - I have a few (5-6?) Aetherbattalion KFG troops [GW Mordian Iron Guard] left to paint. Need to buy 8 more fliegerjaegers [Eureka Minis], plus a good twenty Seebattalion to turn into Aetherbattalion regulars, and another twenty or thirty line infantry. Plus artillery, vehicles (already have some hulls for that), and again, thinking about cavalry. Yes, I like cavalry. I just hate painting horses. I could put them on my steam horses, which are already painted [Mage Knight].
• 25/28mm British & Sikhs - Need to finish the R&D Platoon (4-5 left to finish) [GW Praetorians], plus seriously considering the Empress Miniatures to replace my older Minifigs redcoats (20-ish). I have ten or twenty Gurkhas [Ral Partha?] and about 17 Sikhs [Foundry] in bare metal as well. Oh, and 9 more Martian sepoys [RAFM Space 1889]. Get some Bengal Lancers, and mount them on some mechanical cats I already have [Mage Knight], perhaps painted like Bengal tigers?
• 25/28mm Martians - I have ten shield gunners, ten Gashant riders, and twenty archers [All RAFM Space 1889] in need of paint. Plus the previously mentioned sepoys. I want some sverdlinker fanatics [Parroom Station], maybe 20 or so of them. And some plain sword-toting Martians.
• 15mm Texicans - I do need to work on them some more. I have some minis already [Freikorps' SAW American Infantry], but will need more if I am going to fight real battles using the Texicans.
• 15mm Papal Troops - Also not a high priority. I have the lead, but not the focus on them right now. Should I reconsider?
• 25/28mm Masked Minions - These are human mercenaries, originally for Professor Otto Maton. I have ten of them, making one GASLIGHT unit [Parroom Station minis], all bare metal as of now. I want to get ten more, plus an artillery crew, the machine gun team (maybe 2) and some of the weird artillery, and 8 more Clockwork Soldiers [also Parroom Station]. If I do this, I need to get the Weird Scientist artillery crew as well, so I can use the weird science artillery for other armies. While I'm at it, I ought to get more steam spiders [Wyrd Miniatures] and toolbots [Reaper Miniatures, Chronoscope line] for Maton's mechanical menaces. And a vehicle (or two) of some sort.
• 2mm Aeronef - I have about 27 of these in totally bare lead. [Brigade Models] I have five painted up for the Papal States, 2 more almost done (just need flags and dullcote).

Give me your opinions please! Or should I concentrate on something totally different?

Woefully Behind...

I find myself woefully behind these days. Haven't touched a paintbrush in two weeks. Nor have I setup and run the playtest games I need to do before going off to Historicon in only (gasp!) ten weeks or so. Not a lot of painting to finish, really, but I need to get more terrain fixed up.

I see that RSM Cox (my good friend Jim's VSF alter-ego) has been lax about journal entries from Venus as well. Do you think we should spin those off to a seperate blog? Maybe a poll or two out of what I ought to focus on here... don't be too surprised to see something like that in the near-ish future.

There has been a lot of thinking about how Hawaii fits into the alternate history, courtesy of our friend Eli. Very interesting stuff. Check out I See Lead People, his blog, for more.

I have a lot of thoughts and ideas, even a few plans for scenics and terrain that have been percolating through the old tapioca. Maybe I need to focus on that a bit, get some work done. I know if I buckle down and finish something, it always prompts me to get more work done.

Last thought before I run off to bed: I have some minis being painted right now by a service in the US. They are supposed to be finished in the next couple of weeks - I am looking forward to it, as I would love to have more Gex that I can put on the table. Maybe I can finally set a game up on Venus. Oh, wait, I'd need either more Texicans or Brits done for that... or even Germans, which I still have quitea lot to do with. Maybe them first. I posted WIP shots (of the skinks aka Gex) a few weeks ago of the first unit. Bah, rambling now. More later.

Interesting Poll Results

Sorry for the long delay. Things have been... hectic at work and home the last few days.

So, people seemed torn between a simple breathing mask and a full helmet setup. Personally, I lean towards the breathing mask and goggles, with a heavy coat to keep warm out in the intense cold of the aether.

But nobody (granted, out of only 22 responses) believed you could survive - at least for long - unprotected in the aether, nor did most anyone opt for a full-fledged 'aethersuit.'

Now, as always, in My Victorian Universe, the required equipment is waht I say it is. Which is breathing mask, eye protection, and a coat (at least for anything more than a very brief exposure).

So my masked minions are kitted out for aether service as well as anonymous feats of anarchy and terror. So I just got to get them painted. I figure that will be sometime this summer, maybe June-ish?

[Added Note: I think of a breathing mask as just covering the lower face, providing air, but not eye protection. Goggles would be needed to protect eyes.]

New Poll

It's been a good while since I posted a poll.

This one relates to the comments on other planets: What protective gear does one need in the aether (or ether, if you prefer)?

Me, I am leaning towards breathing mask, goggles, and warm clothing - like bomber jackets, dusters, leather flying helmets, that sort of thing. But definitely NOT a vacuum suit.

What do you chaps (and ladies, naturally!) think?

German Uniform Question

So, the big question is this: feldgrau blouse or white blouse for enlisted men?

First, the feldgrau blouse, with red trim. No, this miniature is not finished, and yes, it is a GW Mordian Iron Guard mortar crewman. The Imperial German Secret Weapons Institute is developing such a terror weapon. The large brass shell holds a fair amount of incendiary chemicals.

Second, the white blouse, again with red trim (which I am not totally sold on). I really like the contrast here, and the seebattalion troops on which these fellows are very loosely based wore white blouses. This is a re-paint of a mini I got via eBay.

I'm afraid the white blouse makes them look too colonial Russian and not Imperial German enough. I kinda like the red trim, intended to indicate Mars service. But what if I want to use them on Venus as well? Yes, I care, and no, I don't want to paint up two sets. I guess I could go with a black trim, to indicate Ätherbattalion service, as part of the Kaiserlichätherischflotte (Imperial Æther Fleet), rather than to indicate any specific planetary force.

Officers are in white blouses, by the way. I know it makes them easier to spot on the battlefield, but it has a certain panache that I love.

Anyway, please vote on the poll at the top of the page. It's only up for a week, so please hurry!

[OOC] New Year! Let's Review, shall we?

First: Happy New Year!

Now that is out of the way... man, I did okay on the Pledge, but not near as well as I started off. I can tell where I got behind, and it was where I thought I would really get ahead. Last summer. So, it looks like I just about broke even on 15mm, but I was way off on 25mm stuff. Well, hopefully I'll do better this year... look for the new Pledge '09 soon. Think I should include the stuff I got for Christmas?

The poll results are in for December. Not a widely supported poll, I grant you, with only 14 votes. But I made up my mind somewhere near the halfway point that I was going to use the lance armed fellows as the 'regular' deathray cavalry, with a few carbine armed guards. The lancers also carry pistols. And I think their lances will have the 'spar torpedo' option for anti-airship operations.

We've got a good series of articles in the last two or so months from Jim, about the beginnings of Texican settlement on Venus. I wonder how much longer before Texican civilians will begin to appear to develop the colony? I need to get to editing and cleaning up his latest posts, though.

All in all, I am fairly happy with the last year, but look forward to more gaming hopefully this year. A trip to Historicon may be in the works as well, and I am looking into New Orleans area conventions as well. If I get enough work done, I may even run a couple of small games at either OwlCon, AggieCon, or MilleniumCon XII this year. Only time will tell...

Thanks for reading the blog. I hope we keep you guys and gals entertained for another year.

About the poll...

I usually run polls for a long time. I like to get plenty of responses to pretend its a decent sample size of the target audience.

So this one runs until one minute to midnight on New Year's Eve. I stopped it at a minute till so that the diehard geeks (you know, like me!) could step away from the Internet and go kiss their significant other at midnight. Call me a romantic.

So, let me know what you think. My vote is already cast.

Poll Results for August, and a new Poll

Well, I see that we are all quite Conservative in our naming conventions here at the journal. Red Planet, that old stand-by, has won out in a massive landslide victory over the other options. I think it ahd something to do with Her Majesty using the phrase herself a time or two in official releases to the Press.

Well, this month, I pose a similar query, and no help from Her Majesty is forthcoming, I assure you! To date, my information does not include any reference by Her Majesty to the planet Venus, so we'll have no pro-royal bias on this poll! Not that I am one of your screaming anarchist anti-monarchist types! Far from it! Queen and Country, by jingo!

The recent storm activity in the Atlantic has kept us all busy around the manse, but our friend Gustav has cleared off, leaving us unscathed in his passing. Best of wishes and our prayers to those who were caught in his path. All that remains to do around here is keep a watchful eye on Hannah and Ike, who seems likely to come in as well.

Egads! A new month already?

May already? Egads! That testing schedule has your correspondent all turned about. After my many assurances that I shall endeavor to provide my readers with more constant fodder for their entertainment and edification, I find that I have yet again fallen behind. It seems that a weekly posting to this journal is all that I can seem to muster these days.

I am not sure if I have mentioned it before now, but it seems that there shall be a re-fight of the battle previously reported here in March. This second battle of Ghola will, one hopes, be better chronicled than the last, though circumstances being what they are, and my lackadaisical attitude towards adding to the journal lately have, I am sure, earned me few new readers.

For fun, I am putting up a new poll today. Not the serious and weighty matters of the monthly survey, but a light-hearted affair. The monthly poll has not been decided upon as yet, but rest assured, it is being considered. It will, perhaps, appear later this afternoon. Check again before the month ends, would you?

I shouldn't blame my once-faithful readers if their interest here has waned. The lamentable lag between postings does make it difficult to care about continued subscription, even at the price (free of all charges, gentlemen!). I do hope that what few of you remain shall persevere until the summer months, when I shall be on vacation and therefore shall have more time both for both organization and preparation of additional forces for battle. Haven't even begun on the parrotmen of Venus, for example. Found I need more parts for them. I think our friend Neal at the War Store shall be receiving yet more of my hard earned shillings.

Until next time, good and faithful friends.

I Knew It!

Ladies and gentlemen, the results are in.

We really do like the redcoats better than the eminently more practical yet completely un-stylish khaki uniforms which the Horse Guards keeps nattering on about. You would think the buggers had stock in Indian khaki cloth factories the way they prattle on about how marvellous the stuff is. Hmmm, perhaps a Parliamentary inquiry should be made...

That khaki stuff may do for our native troops - after all, who can blame them for lacking an Englishman's innate sense of style, propriety and civilised dress? Not their fault they're foreigners, what?

Red was the plain winner in the scientifically run poll. Wide margin of victory, which eliminates all doubt as to which is preferred by the public.
So, there you have it. You heard it here first.

01 February 2008

Again, gentlemen, I apologize for the dull title. Nothing terribly witty to say, I suppose. Must have used it all on the little blighters this week.


I'll need to post a new poll. I think that it shall be a once a month proposition from now on. Any suggestions would be marvelous, and all will be seriously considered.


Speaking of polls, the most recently finished poll shows that most of my few readers (at least those that bothered to vote!) feel that "Native Contingent" is the proper term for my Martian troops in service to the White Queen. Personally, I think I prefer sepoys. I will definitely not be tagging them as askaris anymore, unless they serve the Queen's grandson Willy.