Issue with the Poll

   Did anyone else not see the question, or is it just me? I hope that was the cause for the lack of responses!

   I'll try again later, but the question was "What is your preferred/favorite faction in Dystopian Wars/Legions?"

No Love for the Black Dragon

   At least, that is what the results of the poll I ran at the end of last month say. Of the 'official' Adventuring Companies, Lord Curr's is the most popular, followed by Scotland Yard. No one voted for the Black Dragon Tong. Personally, I don't care for them. The minis are nice, but the idea just leaves me cold. I am sure that some folks love them.

  I like the Servants of Ra, though, and the Society of Thule, and they didn't do too well in the voting, either. What's wrong with you people? *grin*

Azog Treadbike Previewed

   Over on TMP, the madman known as Tango often clues folks in on the newest and neatest stuff out there on the internet for gaming enthusiasts. Today is no different - what does he do that he has this much time to cruise the internet? I dunno, but I am happy he can, because this is one of the things he pointed out for us today. Although designed for a Weird War II setting, the Azog Treadbike, from Mad Robot Miniatures, could be made Victorian Science Fiction very easily, methinks.

   Perhaps replace the machinegun with a spar torpedo? Or mount the boiler up front in its place? Combine with a lance-carrying arm from either Victoria Miniatures or Curious Constructs, swap the head... oh yeah, I am liking this.

   Which nation does it best suit, though? That begs for something I haven't done in ages around here... a POLL! (Cue the ticker tape and cheering crowds of adoring fans.) So, look to the left. No, your other left. That's it. Vote in the poll. Make your voice heard!

Name the Scout Aeronef

   She needs a name! I've started a poll to help, but not sure I have all the names that I liked on it.

   Wikipedia lists all the gunboats of the Royal Navy here.

   Vote in the poll, and if you chose "Other", give me the name in the comments here, please.

Railing poll for the Unnamed Aeronef

   Ladies and gents, as I am suffering from over-analysis of a minor detail, I turn to you for assistance. At the top of the journal, you should see a poll. Please choose which option you think might look best for the scout aeronef. A few pictures here should help with your visualizations.

Roped Stantions. From Baron Von J.

Stantions available from Reviresco - with solid rails

  Any other thoughts, please feel free to comment!

A Foolish Question

Okay, so I guess I have to ask... what is the consensus on my painting skills. Constructive criticism is the only way to improve, right?

So please vote on the poll, and be honest. If you have comment, please make them here.

Personally, I think I fall in the 5 to 6 range, with occassional flashes of 7.

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.

Painting poll results are quite interesting

According to the poll, almost as many of us pay someone else to paint the little lead boys and girls as paint them ourselves. Most of us that do paint our own lean towards quality over quantity (I myself fall into that category), which I did not find surprising at all.

I suppose I was surprised by both the relatively large number of responses for one of my little polls (the other polls are doing well also) and the number of gamers that apparently send their miniature soldiers off to be painted. I have considered it many times, but have yet to bite the bullet. I have a hundred Zulus in 15mm just dying to get painted so they can die in droves while rushing Her Majesty's invincible Thin Red Line, for instance.

I wonder if its lack of time to paint, or lack of interest in painting that leads one to pay for it. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I would probably do it myself if I had more money. At least for big lot jobs, like the Zulus, where I mostly just want to get the little buggers painted and on a table.

Added poll and other features.

Loyal followers of this Journal can now create subscriptions through feed services, located in the lefthand margin near the top of the page. I hope that this will keep you more informed and give you the news you need, when you need it. You may also (at the bottom of the page) ad yourself as a Devoted Follower of the Journal.

The October poll is up and running, so feel free to speak your mind on this important topic. Please note that you may choose more than one response.

There is also a new counter. I set it to start at 1300 hits, since I was above that mark when the old one died on me. Shoddy Oriental workmanship, I suspect, rather than proper British Engineering! With luck, this one shall produce better results than its predecessor.

Finally for tonight, I am toying with the idea of renaming this 'blog.' The one year anniversary is coming up, and I feel that it might be time to shake things up a bit. Expect a short-lived poll on the subject very soon. Perhaps even tonight.

Another month, another poll, and results discussed!

Well, good friends, we see that another month has passed. The storms have cleared, and life here in the Colonies is returning to normal.

This month I'll post a new poll that coincides with the common October theme of horror. So be looking for that in the next day or two.

The September post had a rather low number of responses, and a surprising result. Venus shall henceforward primarily be referred to as the Veiled Planet. Truthfully, I was shocked to see "Jungle Planet" lose out, as it had started strongly and maintained its lead quite well throughout the month. In the last few days, however, the eventual winner pulled out in front and finished strong. Rather exciting, for a silly journal poll, don't you think?

I still have only limited access to the journal, and also restricted access to my workstation for progress on any of my multitude of projects. Perhaps this weekend, though I shall also be occupied in observing my youngest son's athletic endeavours on the field.

Until next time, good friends, I remain your faithful correspondent.

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.

Problems with the Poll?

Is anyone else having problems with this month's poll?

Technology. Bah.

Interesting Poll results

A tie between the Tsar and the Republic. Very interesting.

I already have some Texicans bought and painted. That's old news, but I need more. A trip to Little Wars (a fine retailer and the source for Freikorps in North America, and its on the other side of town from me! Hurray!) next week may be in the offering. On second thought, what with the current cost of gasoline and the hour to 90 minute drive to get across town (Houston, as capital of the Republic, is rather large). it might be less expensive to have the figures posted to me. I used Freikorps' Spanish-American War figures, by the way.

What figures to use for Russians of the late 1800s though? Crimeans would be too early, I think. I'll have to do a little research and ask about on TMP.

The Holy Father will definitely have a mission on Mars. Must set to work converting the heathens and all that, what? And naturally, he'll send a few good Catholic boys along to protect his missions. So, Papal Zouaves or somesuch, I think. The Zouaves should be simple enough. Just need to find a good ACW or FPW 15mm Zouave. Monks, on the other hand, I don't know a source for. I'll check Freikorps or LKM's Ancients line. Perhaps something will be there.

Japan and Belgium tied for second place. Not sure if I will do them in 15mm. I suppose some Boxer Rebellion Japanese infantry would work for rank and file. But I do like the look of the Japanese soldiers and the 'smoke-stalkers' put out by the London War Room under the Parroom Station line in 25mm. So there's a likely unit or two as well.

Poor little Austria (which was not all that little back in the late 1800s, if you recall your history) came in next to last. It was a fairly major empire then. So we may have to make room for them as well on Mars. Or perhaps Venus? The Imperial Germans have a fair presence there. An early attempt at Anschluss, perhaps?

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.