Pax Britannia: Moving Pictures

Genetlemen, it has been brought to my attention that those of you of a more modern disposition are able to view a short "movie" (I think that's the term) made with one of those chronophotographic cameras on your personal Babbage engine about the Pax Britannia penny dreadfuls.

Personally one would rather watch Così Fan Tutte down the Garden but there is no accounting for taste.

Pax Britannia: Leviathan Rising

Spiffing day out by the mere today chaps, snagged a couple of trout which chef is now preparing, so I'll sit down in the drawing room with a fine malt to warm the bones and tell you about the third Pax Britannia book.

Leviathan Rising is another Ulysses Quicksilver by that Green chappie and a jolly wheeze it is too, the best of the three penny dreadfuls I've read so far.

Quicksilver is invited to join the party on board a giant passenger aquanef on its maiden voyage, but before you can go "watch out for that iceberg" we're on a rollicking adventure with ocean bed cities, inquisitive ladies of the press (a bit too inquisitive for some - hurrumph!), nefarious oriental agents, giant squid and a plot of murder and sabotage that would thwart that Holmes bod!

As with the previous volume we get another cracking short story with Quicksilver entitled Vanishing Point, full of weird science, that bally spiritualism Conan Doyle blathers on about and some of those pesky Nazi Prussian types.

Overall gentlemen, heartily recommended and a must be found in any discerning fellows library.

Pax Britannia: El Sombra

The Memsahib picked up the second Pax Britannia penny dreadful for me which I've sat down and read after my evening constitutional. I must say that despite a fine tawney port and spiffing cheese board I did not enjoy this yarn as much as the first.

Entitled El Sombra and written by some chap called Al Ewing, it is the story of some Mexican chappie who wears a mask and battles some baddies called Nazis (a kind of even nastier than normal Prussians with steam weapons) in Mexico. The Nazis are so bad that obviously any gentlemen would defeat them, even one who is not British. Despite having gargantuan steam conveyances, automatons, flying baddies and lots of derring-do it was not as good as the previous volume Unnatural History but passed an evening away.

The good news though was the inclusion of a jolly exciting short story at the end of the penny dreadful called Fruiting Bodies written by wordsmith Jonathan Green. This sees the return of our hero Ulysses Quicksilver (hurrah!) in a mystery set at Kew Gardens that threatens the Empire. I won't spoil it for any gentlemen planning to read it but suffice to say I won't be entering the arboretum without the twelve bore in a hurry!

Pax Britannia: Unnatural History

After a hard day's work defending the Empire or out hunting there is nothing more than a gentleman likes to do than sit down with a good port, a fine cigar and a cracking H. Rider Haggard adventure. Sadly with Haggard being dead and all, he won't be writing any new yarns and one can only read King Solomon's Mines so many times without becoming a tad bored. Fortunately the old Memsahib has come across a new series of penny dreadfuls that she spotted whilst looking for the latest bodice-ripper.

Under the banner of Pax Britannia, the first one I read was called Unnatural History by a wordsmith called Jonathan Green (who is a teacher during the day and hopefully gives the whelps in his workhouse a jolly good thrashing before meals). The novels are unusually set at the end of the twentieth century in a world where the sun never sets on the Empire and Queen Victoria still sits on her throne (hurrah!). There is some weird scientific romance stuff to explain all this including babbage machines (a kind of thinking typewriter) and aerial ships.

The hero of our adventure is one Ulysses Quicksilver, on the surface a bit of a dandy, but secretly an agent for the Queen. His mission is to track down the Professor of Evolutionary Biology who has gone missing from the Natural History Museum, but soon he is fighting villains on the London Overground, hunting down escaped dinosaurs through the streets of London, fighting anarchists in flooded Underground tunnels and uncovering corruption in the heart of government and a threat to Her Majesty!

All in all a spiffing tale to be enjoyed by gentlemen (and boys of an appropriate age) after dinner in the drawing room once the Memsahib has retired, preferably with a glass of port or a stiff brandy (for the gentlemen only).

Dispatches from the edges of civilised places

Erudite fans of this blog will have noted the blasphemous time since the last post. I have nothing to offer but a sincere mea culpa and beg forgiveness based on other gaming diversions and the brewing of beer.  Somehow though we have grown to almost a hundred followers, so I guess some of the content endures in utility. 

Instead I present this offering, posted recently by Mssr Blease to rekindle the spirit of adventure and daring-do!

'Ere's To You Fuzzy-Wuzzy

David Manley kindly invited me around for a game of his fledgling Sudan rules (Don't Throw, Bloody Spears, At Me!) tonight. Fast play simple rules they worked really well using a random card based move sequence (that almost worked in my favour in the end game) which gave a very good period feel.

I took the role of the "pore benighted" Madhists against the pride of the British Empire and decided to dispense with convoluted tactics advancing to contact as quickly as possible. Unfortunately one fuzzy-wuzzy unit seemed very reluctant to enter battle and kept rolling half movement for most of the game!

Contact was made on both flanks quite quickly. On the left DM's cavalry squadrons took out half my camel unit but came unstuck against a heroic band of fuzzy-wuzzys who managed to destroy both squadrons (the Madhist cannon picking off the sole survivor at long range with a lucky die roll). Unfortunately on the right my cavalry disintergrated after one volley from the Naval Brigade.

The card based activation system dictates whose move it is and I managed two simultaneous moves before DM pulled the Joker ending the turn without the British moving. I then pulled another black card so had a third move whilst all the British could do is defensive fire.

This run on the cards allowed me to seize the initiative and I managed to overrun and destroy one British infantry regiment, who had formed square after my surviving camels got behind the British line, however I did not quite have enough to break the second British regiment before DM managed to pull a card allowing the British to move again. The Naval Brigade swung into action and in a volley of Martini and cannon fire the Madhist centre was ripped apart with the Madhi himself dying as DM ordered rapid fire!

Overall an enjoyable game and it had a wonderful colonial feel with the plucky Brits managing to stand firm and grab victory at the end despite the breaking of one square and the incompetent behaviour of their cavalry.

So 'ere's ~to~ you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your 'ome in the Soudan;

You're a pore benighted 'eathen but a first-class fightin' man;

An' 'ere's ~to~ you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, with your 'ayrick 'ead of 'air --

You big black boundin' beggar -- for you broke a British square!

Aquanef sighted!

If you havent been keeping track of Mssr Blease's blog, you must go check out the goodies he has been preparing for the Aquanef demo game at SALUTE!

http://bleaseworld.blogspot.com/2010/04/french-aquanef.html

http://bleaseworld.blogspot.com/2010/04/escadrille-de-aquanef.html

http://bleaseworld.blogspot.com/2010/04/aquanef-sighted.html

http://bleaseworld.blogspot.com/2010/04/countdown-to-salute.html

Cant wait to see the action pics from SALUTE!

Little Wars Melbourne

Melbourne's Annual Wargames Participation Event is coming up next month.
God (and families) willing, Owen and I shall be in attendance!

We have signed up for "Jurrassic Reich" in the AM:



By late 1944 German scientists have developed the technology to breed dinosaurs, and ‘Dino’ de Laurentis had been induced to begin filming a documentary on the new pride of the German Army “Krieg-X”



American War Correspondent Ginger Snaps has been kidnapped and coerced into appearing in the film to lend it credibility. A special command unit headed by Sergeant Stone has been tasked with rescuing Ginger and destroying Project Krieg X. Can you help? Your country needs you!





To be then followed by some VSF War of the worlds action in the PM. This will be using the GASLIGHT rules, whichI havent tried before but am looking forward to!







Looking forward to it!



http://www.littlewars.net.au/

His Majesty's Secret Weapon

Report from our Special Correspondent now, currently with His Majesty's forces on the Western Front:

"Somewhere near Cambrai, France....

Rumours have been circulating for some time amongst the troops at the front that a startling and powerful new weapon was to be unleashed during the coming offensive. This correspondent has heard many such tales during his time here, and most are nothing but idle gossip amongst the old sweats, however, this morning at 04:00, I saw with my own eyes the incredible truth behind these tall tales.

Crossing unhindered by the torn and scarred surface of No Man's land, a steel leviathan crawled, nay wormed it's way forward, bristling with guns that spat flame in the direction of the Prussian lines. A many-sectioned body of segmented iron casemates, atop a whirling line of metal tracks made up the whole of this incredible new weapon, impervious to enemy fire, and able to cross the deepest trench or obstacle; some wag at the depot had painted a leering face at the front of the beast, and it resembled nothing more than some great, lumbering iron caterpillar as it tore into the enemy positions.

Due to the understandably stringent nature of military censorship here at the battle zone, I am unable to accompany this report with a photograph, however a talented artist amongst the troops hereabouts has drawn a stunningly accurate representation of this wonder, and I include it here for the reader's perusal; the panicked reaction of the enemy, when faced with this awesome contraption, is most faithfully recreated...."

Oh, alright then it's actually a contemporary postcard by the Tuck's company from it's Oilette series, subtitled "some tank!", artist unknown; a comic view of the no doubt mysterious nature of the armoured vehicles then being used to break the deadlock of the First World War.

Certainly gives ideas for a possible scratch-build for use with Land Ironclads....perhaps a whole class of 'organic' weaponry?

New Nefs

...but no, not from me!

I found this new blog with a new foray into Aeronef with some nice Japanese and US nefs, as well as a home made Nef.

http://mwowm.blogspot.com/2010/03/aeronef-starter-fleets.html

Thanks TWIW

A big thanks to Ken at "This Week in Wargaming" podcast for his plug for Aeronef over the Aegean: Wrath of the Syren in the latest episode (AT-6). The project has now raised over USD$100 for the relief effort in Haiti.

So many thanks to Ken and everyone who has d/led this product- hope you enjoy playing it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
http://thisweekinwargaming.com/

Tis a week to be Published!

Hot on the heels of the release Aeronef over the Aegean, I received my copy of Ragnarok 56 today. And a cracking read it is BTW!

In there in the "Melting Pot" section (for miniatures reviews) was a review I did of Brigade Model's HMVS Cerberus which I put together last year and frankly forgotten about! So my first modest written contibution to SFSFW has been published (I have had a picture in there before)- open the Gin!

BTW - one of the two surviving Guns from Cerberus lies less than a km from my new house!

Aeronef Over The Aegean

Huzzah and Hurrah - Aeronef Over The Aegean (formerly over the Carpathians) has now been released in PDF format!

Its available at Wargame Vault for a nominal $1, with all Wessex Games' royalties will be donated to charity. The first charity will be the Doctors Without Borders Haiti Emergency Fund.

Brigade Models also have minaitures pack vailable to play all the campaign games;

http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Frames/VAN/Items/VAN-050P.html

Chuffed and proud authors have wet the baby's head with Gin and French bubbly! Well this one has anyway...

Update: sales of AotA have now raised $100USD for the Haiti victims - thank you gents!

Ragnarok 56 out and about

Issue 56 has been published, containing:
Allies and Mercenaries In Warhammer 40,000
Fantasy Air Wargaming
Competition: Fantasy Air Wargaming
If Rome Had Not Fallen
Tusk
“Tighten the Line” Scenario
Sub-Loque
Space Vixens: Divine Wind
Space Hrud
The Rules of War - 3rd Edition Space Hulk reviewed
The Melting Pot - Miniature Reviews

SFSFW members should see theirs soon!

Open the Gin...again!

The Factorium is still boxed up but the bar is unpacked and we are back online in a secret new location in the southern provinces of the colony!

The new residence (a true heritage syle mansion I must say) even has its own lemon tree for the freshest GnTs possible - lovely!

[and I see we cracked 60 followers in the meantime - welcome lads!]

Once more into the Hindu-kush!

The baggage is packed and the bearers are ready. A small yet well furnished palanquin has been prepared for the ladies travelling with us. Time to depart for the new abode - I will rejoin the YIAWWS team once the bar has been erected at the new estate!