6mm Dr Who meets the Triffids!

It was the eve of the annual Lower Throckmorton Village Flower Show, and in the back garden of number 13 Lambert Lane, John Verity was showing off his latest prize bloom:

"I dunno John, I don't like it, it's sort of weird-looking, and what's that awful smell...where on earth did you get it?"

"That's a trade secret love, I had to have something that had a chance of winning best in show....if that Ted Baker thinks he's gonna beat me again this year, he's got another thing coming...."

So John Verity hid the fact that he had truly no idea where this spectacular yet oddly disturbing plant had come from, having found it seeded amidst the rhododendrons three months previously. He knew in his heart that something was not quite right about it, yet the image of the arrogant face of his nemesis Baker, once more besting him at the Flower Show, made him ignore his own unease.

Later that Summer night, something stirred in the shrubbery:

The day of the Flower Show dawned, and the villagers gathered in the gardens of the Hall to see battle commence at the most hotly contested competition of the social calendar (well, it is a small village....).

"So, come on then Verity, where's this wonder plant you've been bragging about then? can't see it beating my gladioli this year...."

Verity did his best to ignore the annoying grin on Baker's face.

"You'll see Ted, you'll see....."

" 'Ere....what's this then, Johnnie, some sort of joke, don't think this is funny, you know....did that plant just move? No, it can't be....it....oh my god......."

The charming rural atmosphere of the village was rent by screams, as from all sides, from out of the undergrowth, swayed the obscene orange blooms of the Triffids!

"Run...run for your lives!"

Within hours, silence reigned over a scene of carnage, and only the local Police Riot Squad stood between the evil vegetables and victory....it was an unequal battle, fought bravely, but ultimately hopelessly.....

The next day, U.N.I.T. arrived in the deserted village, but without proper intelligence as to the exact nature of the threat (garbled tales of killer plants.....!), the troops enter by a single narrow lane, and are ambushed......

"Doctor, I thought the Brigadier said he would meet us here, but there's no sign of anyone....it's awfully quiet don't you think......hey.......did that plant just move......?"

To Be Continued.......

A quick photo montage then, of the SF10 Tripedium Linguatum (Stinging Type) from QRF. Lovely little sculpts, these, that could do duty as threatening plants in any number of scales, but with 6mm, look suitably monstrous!

I found them a little fiddly to put together, in that although the bases have a cast hole into which the flower head fits, this was a little large for the prong that is part of the head, and the weight of this causes a problem in trying to balance it whilst the glue dries - in future, I think I would trim the prong somewhat, and perhaps fill the hole with modelling putty, inserting and glueing when this was almost dry - would make for an easier bond.

The stingers themselves also look potentially tricky, but actually, there is a deep hole cast in the heart of the flower into which they fit nicely, I just found that sharpening the end with a file, and bending them a little with needle-nose pliers beforehand, helped the balance whilst the glue was drying, and gave them a suitably 'lashing out' kind of look.

Not the best paint-job in the world on view here, but I was keen to get them done - probably should have taken more time over them - they'll also eventually be mounted on two-pence coins to aid stability - the stingers are always going to be a weak point when handling them.

Overall, though, a nice addition to my 6mm monsters, and a great mini from a lesser-known range at QRF.

Chemulpo: After Action Report

Rear Admiral Uriu's ultimatum to the two Russian vessels anchored in the Port of Chemulpo, Korea, is about to expire, when to the west of Yo-dol-mi Island, the silhouettes of two ships appear in line ahead, heading straight for the Japanese.

The after-action report then, on the re-fight of the last stand of Varyag and Korietz, using Phil Barker's "Damn Battleships Again" rules, with a few adjustments of my own thrown in here and there.

In order to balance the inevitability of the Russians being overpowered, we deployed a 'cunning plan' involving two of the neutral ships; as described in my last post, the French Pascal and the Italian Elba. These vessels made an interference run in the direction of the Japanese, ostensibly as neutral shipping under the rules.

I was hoping also that wind and weather might become a factor, but unfortunately, and perhaps typically, the die rolls gave us 'Light airs and calm', and of course the time of day also did nothing to mask the Russian breakout attempt.

Rudnev, commanding the Russian flotilla was rated as type 4 gallant/mad, whilst Uriu was type 5 cautious.

To further mask the strength of the historical Japanese fleet, I resolved to employ only the models I had for actual vessels, rather than using proxies for the remaining ships, so this served to limit the firepower available. The balance of Uriu's fleet, including the Torpedo Boats, were judged to be further out to sea, watching for any Russian reinforcements approaching from Port Arthur.

Meanwhile, to the East of the Island, Varyag and Korietz, make best speed for the open sea:

Much to his annoyance, the shapes of the ships approaching Rear Admiral Uriu's Naniwa resolve themselves into two neutrals, and he furiously crosses their bows in order to prevent them from masking his line of battle, and the all-important guns of the armoured Asama.

The Japanese battle line resolved itself into the Asama, Takachiho and Akashi, and a tentative long range shot from the 6" guns of the Varyag failed to make any impression on the armour of the foremost Japanese cruiser; things were not looking good when in reply, Korietz was immediately damaged. Instead of puffs of cotton wool, I am using the 1/2400 shell splashes, CM36, available from Quick Reaction Force.

Thunderous fire from the Asama and Takachiho bracketed the two Russian vessels, and in a few cruel minutes, both were damaged, whilst ominously the Akashi began to pull away from the Japanese line, moving to cut off their enemy's escape route ahead:

Not dismayed, however, Rudnev's gunners fought back against the smoke and flame, and loading their weapons like men possessed, found the range against the Takachiho: a hit!

The intervention of the neutrals had effectively put Naniwa out of the fight, and some inspired rolling meant the Russians could actually strike back against the better armoured Japanese, whilst they in turn had some hideously low rolls, failing to make a dent, even on the 4SP Korietz.

The bit between their teeth, the valiant Russians turned into the approaching foe, and the range narrowing all the time, let loose a barrage of torpedoes, only to be damaged in turn by a rain of Japanese shells:

Varyag was damaged for the second time by the Asama, but incredibly, both gun and torpedo hits were made on the Akashi, however, with her impetuous turn into the enemy, Varyag was now effectively doomed; the weight of fire incoming meant she was going to be in real trouble.

The only bright spot was it meant that Korietz was able to pull ahead, whilst her companion took the heat.

Then, disaster! Blinded by smoke and torn and wrenched by weight of shot, a cruel blow was inflicted on the valiant Varyag, and she is crippled by the fire of the enemy....

The nobility of Rudnev's sacrifice means that the weaker Korietz, bloodied but unbowed, can make good her passage toward Port Arthur and immortality:

To be frank, the Japanese at this point could have closed in for the kill on the smaller ship, which was going to be easily outpaced by the cruisers, but in good gentlemanly fashion, Uriu refused to engage such a weakened opponent; whether the TBs waiting out to sea would have been as kind, remained to be seen....

Honours, even, then, the vast armoured bulk of the Asama, unscratched by the lighter guns of the Russians, is chivalrous enough to allow the brave Korietz to pass:

The immortal Varyag and Korietz:

So, having weighted the game as much as possible away from favouring the Japanese, the Russians, mainly due to some very fortunate dice, gave not a bad account of themselves. In reality, however, just as historically, there was not a lot they could do against the ships with greater defence factors; closing the range gave them a better chance to hit, but of course this works both ways!

The combat ranges were adjusted downwards, to allow for the 1/3000th models, and the engagement easily took place on the 4x4 foot sea mat, although more shipping would have made things rather tighter.

The neutrals declined to take an active part, but had they got into the fight, things might have been more even, or at least made very interesting for the Japanese.

Good fun as a game, not least in paying tribute to the valiant and gallant fight put up by Rudnev and Belyaev, and of course things ended without the need to take on board the inevitable scuttling of the Russian ships that was to follow....

Dr Who in 6mm: More Dinosaurs.....and Triffids!

Well, having thoroughly enjoyed putting together some Pre-Historic enemies for the doctor to tackle at the end of last year, I was itching to add a few more types into the mix, and began casting around for some possible candidates.

Sometimes you find the best things in the strangest of places, and I think that I can say that this definitely was the case when I happened upon the Dinosaur range from QRF.

Rightly renowned for their 15mm figures, I was surprised to find that they also do some great Pre-Historic monsters, and also some suitably menacing evil plant life!

The Dinos can be found here:

http://quickreactionforce.co.uk/catalog/index.php/cPath/140

and the carnivorous plants are lurking amidst the 15mm Sci-Fi:

http://quickreactionforce.co.uk/catalog/index.php/cPath/24_55_347

The dinosaurs offer some really interesting types at very reasonable prices, so I invested in some baby Plateosaurus, some quadra-ped Placerias, and the giant Phytosaur.

The Phytosaur, TR07, can be seen below, a mean looking crocodilian type that weighs in at around 53mm long, so could play well as even a 15mm or larger crocodile for all those 'back of beyond' or Pulp games:

From menace we move to cuteness, with the TR06 Plateosaurus young, that provides you with eight of the little fellers for just Uk £2.00; sweet aren't they:

Or are they, how about a horde of them engulfing you, all at once?

Yes, never turn your back on a dinosaur! I'm hoping to put these alongside some scratch-built nest sites with eggs made from modelling clay.

Moving slightly away from the obviously reptilian, I also bought some TR02 Placerias, which Wikipedia has down as a form of hybrid mammal, perhaps an ancestor of the modern Hippopotamus:

I found a great image of how these may of looked:

http://critters.pixel-shack.com/WebImages/crittersgallery/Placerias1.jpg

From a brilliant set of recreations online, invaluable if you're looking for inspiration on those Dino colour schemes!

http://critters.pixel-shack.com/GalleryP.htm

I think if you could get hold of some suitable riders or smaller scale Howdahs, these would make great Fantasy beasts as an alternative to the more usual Elephant/Mumakil.

Next, what could these constituent metal parts be? mmh, let's see, base with tendril-like legs, large, hooded flower head, and a vicious looking stinger.....

Yes, be afraid, be very afraid, it's a 'not' Triffid, to whit the SF10 Tripedium Linguatam (Stinging Type)!

These come in a pack of four, with two slightly different base sizes, again, as with the crocodilians above, could be used alongside any number of scales/size of minis, depending on how big and dangerous you want them:

Yes, I like mine very big and dangerous:

Obviously, these are not strictly canon if deployed as Triffids, but to be honest, who could resist? I loved the John Wyndham book, was a massive (if petrified) fan of the BBC TV adaptation starring John Duttine back in 1981, and well, suffered through the various Big Screen film versions, as well as the recent BBC remake......maybe draw a veil over that one......

A quick introduction, for those of you who have no idea what I'm on about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x0rdtAv9jg

Believe me, truly terrifying when they get going, although admittedly a little slow in the perambulatory sense!

So, more to play around with here, and hopefully February will see some painted examples appearing - far too much bare lead on this Blog recently, something I hope to correct in the near future!