Confederate Aquanef

Hot on the heels of the Tsar's designers are the Confederate Aquanef builders!

CSS David Charleston 1865 - public domain image

Confederate inventors were the first on the board when William Cheeney developed a small three man submersible in the James River of Virginia in 1861 shortly after the outbreak of hostilities. A second, larger craft was developed by the same team and was similarly experimental. Cheeney’s craft were unsuccessful and were poorly documented although their existence was reported by Union spies. They were the first of a long line of curious craft...

Read more at Suite101: Confederate Submarines of the Civil War: From The CSS Hunley to the CSS David | Suite101.com http://christopher-eger.suite101.com/confederate-submarines-of-the-civil-war-a121370#ixzz1cXvIhRTT

http://militaryhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/confederate_submarines_of_the_civil_war

Tsarist Aquanefs

I borrowed a book from the library this week: "Submarines of the Tsarist Navy: A Pictorial History", Edited by Spassky and Semyonov, 1998

http://www.ajarmsbooksellers.com/cgi-bin/ajarms/10922.html

This is a wonderful little book, delivering exactly what it promises with pictures and diagrams of the Russian Imperial Navy's submarine fleet up until the Bolshevik takeover.  Lots of great Aquanef inspiration inside and two designs which have caught my initial attention are:

Osetr (Lake) Class, 6 boats in class, built by a US firm 1903-106

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osetr_class_submarine

Delfin - the first Russian battle submarine, launched in 1902

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_submarine_Delfin

The Case of the Malevolent Mummy

A fantastic looking game "The Case of the Malevolent Mummy, run at Hurricon 2008 in Orlando, FL"

See all the pics here:

http://www.pbase.com/alex757/mal_mummy

200,000 Erudite Gentlemen

have now visited this humble abode in the five years since its inception.  Egads - who would have thought it!

We of the White Wine Sauce salute and thank you most sincerely for your patronage.
Open the Gin!

Turtlegg

A masterpiece of egg modelling indeed!

http://mastermodels.blogspot.com/2011/04/turtlegg.html

First Clash over the North Sea, 1890.

John's Battle Report from the Anglo-Russian War of 1890, fought with his own VSF rules, is posted at his blog here: http://johnstoysoldiers.blogspot.com/2011/09/first-clash-over-north-sea-1890.html

VSF and 15 mm Science Fiction Gaming: Colonial Wargames (Up Date)

VSF and 15 mm Science Fiction Gaming: Colonial Wargames (Up Date): Bob the webmaster of this splendid site has done some up dating.... http://www.colonialwargaming.co.uk/

Big game hunting on Venus

Its been awhile since I heard about a cracking good hunt, but some intrepid chaps recently went to Venus!

Hunt Report
http://laughingferret.blogspot.com/2011/07/big-game-hunters-safari-on-venus-battle.html

Rules:
http://laughingferret.blogspot.com/2011/07/venus-skirmish-game-big-game-hunt.html

Princess Viktoria and Friends

2025 EDIT: After a sad period of non availability, the Hinterland ranges has been picked up by Dragon Bait Miniatures! Now available again here: 

https://www.dragon-bait-minis.com/hinterland-archive/

A wonderful range from Hinterland miniatures received some more additions last month.  If you aren't aware of it, here is the intro blurb from the website:

On 22 October 1909 Princess Viktoria-Luise of Germany received her commission as Colonel-in-Chief in the 2nd Leib Hussaren regiment.  The 28mm-scaled miniatures available on this site are intended to represent a fictitious unit of female Hussars, serving at the end of the 19th Century, up to World War I.  Although these miniatures wear the famous Death's Head Hussar insignia on the busby, they could be painted to represent a variety of Hussar regiments.  I hope you enjoy these products.
                                                                      - Jason

Have a look at the great range here (all pics from this site, not mine - unfortunately!)
http://hinterlandminiatures.weebly.com/storecart.html

If you go to the customer gallery section, you'll see these great VSF style conversions by Froggy from the Lead Adventure Forum - he has added breathing tubes for the harsh conditions on Mars (maybe even Venus?)

Then delving further into the www, I found that Froggy had gone further, making this Martian Cavalrygirl (note she is even riding sidesaddle)

http://www.lead-adventure.de/index.php?topic=27526.0

https://shadowking-shadowkings.blogspot.com/2014/06/hinterland-miniatures-painted-up.html

Or....they have some in sailor style uniforms!

https://inhermajestysname.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/hinterland-miniatures/

Thanks to Der Feldmarshall for the heads-up on this figure range!

Note to self for painting: Imperial German tropenhelms (tropical helmets) from c.1910. Left: Full dress helmet with brass helmet plate and fittings. Right: Field service version with white metal helmet plate.

Dragon Bait Miniatures also sell these rather nice British female soldiers:

https://www.dragon-bait-minis.com/shop/miniatures/sculptors/david-soderquist/british-infantry-squad-nco-ten-models/

https://www.dragon-bait-minis.com/shop/miniatures/sculptors/david-soderquist/british-rocket-artillery/

As well as some less conventional (and fun looking) options!

British Guard Maiden Clockwork Cavalry Trooper with Sword

Golfing during Enemy Action

Ironclad Tunneling Machine

Egad! News from the front and that smart chappie at the Kings Sleep blogging site has spotted a dastardly infernal machine at the Newark Little Wars show designed by those clever chappies at Ironclad industries. Here is one of the chronomatic images taken by the Kings fellah...

Seems the wallahs have had a few teething problems getting it into production (probably some engineer been on the sauce again, give 'em a good thrashing I say!) but the Sleep chappie reckons it'll be in production as soon as next week. Harrumph! Now one will have to worry of that rumbling is my tum after some mutton and port or the bally Froggies tunneling under the Channel!

Lovecraftian Jen

Being Jen Haley's jaw droppingly magnificent diorama of the Steampunk Adventuress figure by Dark Sword Miniatures.

http://www.paintrix-miniatures.com/gallery.php?sub=Dark%20Sword%20&group=manu&img=201

Doctor Drake's Patented Aerial Steam Carriage

Whilst perusing my Portable Babbage Machine to see who the Old Etonians have signed before the latest association football transfer window closes an electronic missive popped into my incoming box from those clever chappies at Fat Dragon Games that will be of interest to the cleverer bods amongst you who play that H G Wells wallah's Little Wars game.

Seems the Dragon chaps have produced a paper model of Doctor Drake's Patented Aerial Steam Carriage which would have been jolly useful on campaign in the mountains of Dodjibottistan I can tell you (the Aerial Steam Carriage not the paper model, well thinking about it and those blooming curries maybe the paper model as well, harrumph!).

Swift wallahs who get a move on can get a 20% discount at RPG Now and you can print as many as you want. What ho!

Indomitable Armoured Siege Tower

What ho chaps! With the ever present threat to our fair isle from the nefarious Froggies and bally Sausage Eaters across The Channel it is reassuring for all English gentlefolk to be rest comfortably in their beds knowing that the factoriums of fair Albion are filling the our arsenals with the best ordnance in the world! Witness the latest weapon to trundle out of the Rotcod Factorium, the Indomitable Armoured Siege Tower!! They will be quaking in their boots in Paris and Berlin I can tell you eh what?!

John Carter

Taking a break from watching England thrash the bally Indians at The Oval I sat down with a fine port and piece of game pie at my portable Babbage Engine this afternoon and came across this chronophotographic adevrtisement for a forthcoming feature about that Yankee bounder who we came across on Mars (he'd gone bally native don't ya know).



Harrumph! Whatever, it put the wind up one to see one of those bally four armed green Martians again I can say, time for a stuff one what?