Plastic Zulu War Miniatures Previewed

Warlord Games have posted pictures of the work-in-progress British 3 ups from the forthcoming 28mm plastic Zulu War range they will be producing in conjunction with Empress Miniatures...

Conflict on Mars released

The new Mars supplement for When the Navy Walked has now been released as a pdf download: 

When the Navy Walked: Conflict On Mars! is a miniature ruleset that covers an alternate history set during the colonization of the Red Planet of Mars by the Great Powers. As the Great Powers vie for control of the planet's few resources and the Red Planet's native Red, Green and White Martians make tenuous treaties with them, something older stirs in the depths of the planet. Something dark and terrible that has been hidden for eons in forgotten creches locked in a stasis of bloody dreams of conquest.

The Overlords are awakening from their deep slumber and returning to the planet's surface once again! The Gray servants of the Skvani are gathering their Tripod War Machines! The future of Mars bears dark days of war!

WTNW is more than just a Victorian Science Fiction game. It is a springboard for imagination and a high-level game of tactics and battles set amongst a 'what if' world inspired by the classic authors of Victorian Science Fiction and Retro Science Fiction. In WTNW, players take the reins and command massive armies of men, fantastic beasts and steam-driven vehicles of leviathan proportions. In the end, the thunder that cascades across the battlefield to settle in the souls of the fighting men will only be assuaged with the assistance of the landship.

This Conflict on Mars supplement is not a stand-alone game. You will require the full version of When the Navy Walked, Second Edition, to play the game. So grab your goggles and your Aethertech, and get ready for a good time filled with steam and adventure!

More here: http://www.wargamevault.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=3206&filters=0_0_0

The Birth of Naval Aviation

100 Years Ago, January, in San Francisco, Eugene Ely invented naval aviation. One hundred years is a very long time. Yet in the hierarchy of modern marvels, the ability to recover and launch aircraft from the deck of a moving ship stands out as one of our signature accomplishments. Which just goes to show you: Some tricks never grow old. Naval aviation was invented one hundred years ago, on January 18, 1911, when a 24 year-old barnstormer pilot named Eugene B. Ely completed the world's first successful landing on a ship. It happened in San Francisco Bay, aboard the cruiser USS              Pennsylvania, which had a temporary 133-foot wooden landing strip built above her afterdeck and gun turret as part of the experiment. Ely accomplished his feat just eight years after the Wright Brothers made their first flight at Kitty Hawk. His aircraft was rudimentary: aCurtiss Model D "Pusher" biplane, equipped with a 60 hp V-8 engine that gave the aircraft a 50 mph airspeed. To get a sense of how simple it was, behold a contemporary replica of Ely's 1911 Curtiss Pusher that was built to celebrate this 100th anniversary: But back then, innovation was afoot. Ely's Curtis Pusher had been fitted with a clever new invention called a tailhook. The idea was to quickly halt the aircraft after landing by using the tailhook to catch one or two of 22 rope lines -- each propped up a foot above the deck and weighted by 50-pound sandbags tied to each end -- strung three feet apart along the Pennsylvania's temporary flight deck. Mark J. Denger of the California Center for Military History has written a tidy biography of Eugene Ely which narrates the historic day: On the morning of January 18, 1911, Eugene Ely, in a Curtiss pusher biplane specially equipped with arresting hooks on its axle, took off from Selfridge Field (Tanforan Racetrack, in San Bruno, Calif.) and headed for the San Francisco Bay. After about 10 minutes flying North toward Goat Island (now Yerba Buena), Eugene spotted his target through the gray haze – the PENNSYLVANIA. Ely's plane was first sighted one-half mile from the PENNSYLVANIA's bridge at an altitude of 1,500 feet, cruising at a speed of approximately 60 mph. Now ten miles out from Tanforan, he circled the several vessels of the Pacific Fleet at anchor in San Francisco Bay. The aeroplane dipped to 400 feet as it passed directly over the MARYLAND and, still dropping, flew over the WEST VIRGINIA's bow at an height of only 100 feet. With a crosswind of almost 15 knots, he flew past the cruiser and then banked some 500 yards from the PENNSYLVANIA's starboard quarter to set up his landing approach.  Ely now headed straight for the ship, cutting his engine when he was only 75 feet from the fantail, and allowed the wind to glide the aircraft onto the landing deck. At a speed of 40 mph Ely landed on the centerline of the PENNSYLVANIA's deck at 11:01 a.m. The forward momentum of his plane was quickly retarded by the ropes stretched between the large movable bags of sand that had been placed along the entire length of the runway. As the plane landed, the hooks on the undercarriage caught the ropes exactly as planned, which brought the plane to a complete stop. Once on board the PENNSYLVANIA, sheer pandemonium brook loose as Ely was greeted with a bombardment of cheers, boat horns and whistles, both aboard the PENNSYLVANIA and from the surrounding vessels. Ely was immediately greeted by his wife, Mabel, who greeted him with an enthusiastic "I knew you could do it," and then by Captain Pond, Commanding Officer of the PENNSYLVANIA. Then it was time for interviews and a few photographs for the reporters. Everything had gone exactly as planned. Pond called it "the most important landing of a bird since the dove flew back to Noah's ark."  Pond would later report, "Nothing damaged, and not a bolt or brace startled, and Ely the coolest man on board." (NOTE: Safety first! Check out Ely's inner-tube life preserver!) After completing several interviews, Ely was escorted to the Captain's cabin where he and his wife were the honored guests at an officers lunch. While they dined, the landing platform was cleared and the plane turned around in preparation for takeoff. Then the Elys, Pond and the others posed for photographs. 57 minutes later, he made a perfect take-off from the platform, returning to Selfridge Field at the Tanforan racetrack where another tremendous ovation awaited him. Both the landing and takeoff were witnessed by several distinguished members of both U.S. Army and Navy, as well as state military officials.  Ely had successfully demonstrated the possibility of the aircraft carrier. Indeed. The US Navy's first aircraft carrier, the USS Langley, was commissioned in 1922, eleven years later. But Ely didn't live to witness the milestone; he died just a few months after his historic flight, on October 11, 1911, when he was thrown from his aircraft during a crash at an air show. But 100 years ago, he merged the power of naval warships and aviation in ways that remain cutting-edge, even today.

Regimental Mascot

In watching the Royal wedding this week I was quite taken by the splendid mascot of the Irish Guards - this magnificent Irish wolfhound, named Conmael.  Impressively, this hound even has a medal!

It was a big day for everyone...

And so it occurs to me that in building my next HQ unit, perhaps I need to add an appropriate mascot.

Tripods Attack!

Rob from WTNW sent me some sneak peeks of artwork to be featured in the forthcoming Conflict on Mars supplement. 
I really like this one (click for bigger version)

Lest We Forget

German Zyklops Landship

The Armchair General has sent me these great pics of his German Zyklops Landship, which is a 15mm(!) scale leviathan being produced by JTFM.  She has nice detail and at CAD$35 looks like a great acquisition. Click for Larger pics

More here:
http://theminiaturespage.com/news/337611/

St. George's Day

Regardless of the YIAWWS's antipodean time setting it's still the 23rd April in England...

Bally Martians Again!

Egad! There I was researching the recent Martian invasion for my magnum opus on my Babbage Engine when I came across this chronophotographic scientific romance adventure for young boys set fifteen years into the future after the First Martian War! Looks a jolly wheeze one must say but I think the bally war elephants are a bit strange, though I would have liked one up Whereizitstan when one was fighting the dirty fakirs I can tell you, what!

"Dam the Torpedo's and Full speed Ahead"

Any VSF fan attending Salute 2011 could not have been but inspired by the jaw-dropping Aeronef game being run by Arbuthnot's Aeronautical League of Gentlemen.

"Dam the Torpedo's and Full speed Ahead" was a surprise attack by Imperial Japanese forces on the American coaling and R-matter station on the Solomon Islands.

The game featured many beautifully painted and super-detailed aeronef models, many being rigged and a number had anti-torpedo net booms.

Additionally a number of the aeronef were conversions including an exquisite American aeroplane carrier. Apparently there are a couple of Japanese mega-carriers (converted from 1/700th kits) to be introduced at shows later this year.

The terrain was equally fantastic with some beautiful islands and a scratchbuilt refuelling station that made a great target for the Japanese. A nice touch was the flashing LED lights under kapok smoke, that twinkled like fires after the Japanese had bombed targets.

Unfortunately my photos aren't fantastic and don't really do the game justice and it is worth going through other people's Salute photo albums to see more photos of this excellent game.

Truly inspiring, "Dam the Torpedo's and Full speed Ahead" should also receive run-outs at Colours and SELWG this year...

Shock and Surprise!

A usual, TMP has a bunch of polls going. One of them at the moment is [what is the] "Most Popular Painting/Wargaming Site Besides TMP?" Well blow me down if I didn't find this blog listed there as one of the selections!

And not only that, but 4 people (OK, me and 3 other people) voted for YIAWWS - Huzzah!

Make your vote count, whatever it may be, here:
http://theminiaturespage.com/polls/1792421011/

EDIT - Well blow me down thrice because YIAWWS totalled 13 votes for 2% of the overall vote!

New Portable Babbage Engine

What ho chaps! Just found out that some clever boffin chappies have made a portable Babbage Engine that is just perfect for talking on expeditions up the Congo and to Waziristan. This moving picture show illustrates what a jolly clever device it is eh?!

G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. Compendium - the video!

G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. Compendium

Exciting news - if you aren't already into GASLIGHT, read this:

Chris Palmer and I recently completed the cover for the upcoming G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. Compendium. It is ready to go to the printer by the end of the week. We are just giving it the last once-over and review.

The G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. Compendium meets all your VSF and Pulp needs, from skirmish and roleplaying to large battles and airship fleet actions.

Victorian Science Fiction (VSF) gaming is set in the world in which the predictions and visions of men like Jules Verne, HG Wells, and H. Ryder Haggard are true. In G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T., Main Characters and Extras battle in a world of steam-powered vehicles, fantastic weapons, lost worlds, and terrible creatures. Pulp gaming pits steely-eyed, flint-jawed, barrel-chested, two-fisted, deadeye, tough as woodpecker lips, stud among studs, no kidding, stuff-of-legends hero-type guys against colorful, charismatic, egomaniacal, dastardly, nefarious villains and their mindless minions. The G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. Compendium has rules for the creation of characters, the construction of vehicles and weapons, and the generation of fantastic creatures. This open-ended approach is one of the reasons G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. has been so successful over the past eleven years.

The G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. Compendium includes material from four books: G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. (for skirmishes), Battles by G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. (for larger battles), Adventures and Expeditions by G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. (roleplaying), and To Be Continued… by G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. (Pulp). All the systems are completely consistent, allowing players to tailor their G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. VSF or Pulp games. In addition, The Compendium includes new rules for airship fleet battles and more detailed rules for aerial vehicles in G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. or Battles by G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. The vehicle hit charts have been revised and combined, and there are specific vehicle hit results for walking, driving, flying, and legged vehicles. The record sheets used during game play have been completely revised. The book is 190 pages with color throughout.

We are looking for a July release, in time for Historicon. The book will also be available as a PDF download.

http://theminiaturespage.com/news/363264/
http://bucksurdu.com/blog/?p=441

HML Leviathan Test Shot Miniature photos

Dont walk- RUN -to check out these pics!

http://monstersinthesky.com/2011/03/30/hml-leviathan-test-shot-miniature-photos/