Percival Lowell's Globe of Mars

Percival Lowell was an American businessman and astronomer who founded an observatory in Arizona in the late 19th century.  He was convinced of the existence of the Martian canals and studied the Red Planet extensively to chart their positions.

I was thrilled this week to find Percival Lowell's globe of Mars at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.  A great pity they dont sell reproductions in the gift shop!

In an interesting post script, Lowell was also one of those who predicted the stance of a planet past Neptune and his observatory went on to prove the existence of Pluto after his death:

The Centenary of ANZAC

Today is ANZAC Day and this year marks the 100th Anniversary of the Allied landings at a small place in Turkey that nobody in Australia and New Zealand had heard of.  Now the word Gallipoli is a deep part of Australian and New Zealand heritage. Today we celebrate the human spirit - the spirit of ANZAC.  We thank those original ANZACs for their courage, sacrifice and example. Lest We Forget.

Basing for Land Ironclads

I saw this very impressive array of 2mm Napoleonic armies over at the excellent "Lead doesn't Bleed" blog today and it got me thinking about options to base LI units, and infantry in particular.  When I started my own infantry units I went with positioning the figure blocks in different formations for easy recognition, but I think this is a much better and more effective way to go.  I'd be interested in other options that might be out there too.
http://leadnobleed.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-teeny-tiny-grande-armee.html

Review: CSS Appomattox

CSS Appomattox
by Chris Stoesen

Amidst the slaughter of the American Civil War, recognition of the South by both France and Great Britain sees a negotiated settlement and the formal succession of the Confederacy.  An uneasy Cold War ensues with each side seeking European Allies to bolster their economies and access world trade markets.  The Union finds itself a friend in Germany, a growing power seeking overseas possessions and resources to fuel its industries.  The Confederacy finds its own ally in Spain, and when Germany tries to seize Spanish holdings in the Caribbean, the Confederacy finds itself toeing a diplomatic tightrope of supporting its ally while not triggering another general war with the North.

Enter Captain Thomas Devareaux of the Confederate Navy and Captain of the dirigible CSS Appomattox.  Let loose upon the expeditionary fleet of the German Navy operating in and around the Eastern seaboard, he leads his crew on raids and strikes to harass the enemy and solidify the South's alliance with Spain.  Along the way there is international and domestic intrigue, glimpses of a shadow war with the North and a cast of characters with a divers range of backgrounds.

I really quite liked Chris's alternative history world and the way in which he describes a team of men trying to harness new technologies to do their duty in tough situations.  Yes it is a self published with a few hiccups and no it is not a Bernard Cornwell novel.  But it is a fun and easy read which I really enjoyed - I am looking forward to the next instalment in the adventures of Thomas Devareaux.

CSS Appomattox is available electronically here for less than a price of a beer.  If alt history and riding zeppelins appeals to you (and if you are reading this Blog then that is probably likely!) then do yourself a favour and give it a go.  You'll be thinking of wargaming the scenarios before you realise it!

Austro-Hungarian Salzburg Class Carrier

Jack M recently posted some pics of this lovely Austro-Hungarian conversion, which he has named the Salzburg Class.  I am quite taken with this (one doesn't see too many AH conversions) and asked him if he would share the modelling tips of its construction here.  He kindly agreed and here it is:

I based it on a Ferdinand Max class Battleship (see here) but left out the main gundeck to give me the room to place a runway down once I'd offset the smokestacks.

I cut a couple of the sponsons from the Ferd Max and added them to rear superstructure to provide some guns. I felt this wasn't enough for a ship of this size so I cut down some spare masts to make the tiny turrets seen on the main deck and the upper rear of the Nef. With the spare rod from these masts I also added the twin guns on the prow as well as the fuel drums on the flight deck.

Finally, I added the main masts and a pair of Lohner-Taube's to complete the look and got it painted!

Great conversion Jack and thanks for sharing the modelling tips with us all!
Hope to see more of your fleets soon :-)

French Aquanefs

Some wonderful modelling inspiration here!

Montgolfier, Brumaire class submarine (link)

Vendémiaire, a Pluviôse-class submarine 

The Eterna Files

What Ho! chaps,  how you toodling? One has been busier than a Pathan ambushing a column of Guides of late can't say too much, Mum's the word etc, by let's say some of the Boche will be eating their bratwurst through a tube for a while, pip pip!

Anyhow, a fine gentleman (for a colonial type) of my acquaintance, Thom Truelove Esq,  has been reading a jolly interesting sounding penny dreadful by a female wordsmith called Leanna Renee Hieber.

Personally I'm not sure this is quite the thing a young lady should be doing in civilised company, but these colonial types have strange ideas not quite being British and what. Anyhow chaps, this is what Mr Truelove had to say about the young lady's efforts:

"I have recently spent time in a new universe. This gaslamp fantasy – crafted by pioneer of that genre, Leanna Renee Hieber, could easily have become a horror novel à la Koontz had there been a few more left turns than right. This finely blended tale of grim determination has true suspense. The atmosphere calls for vigilance from the characters. They behave as believable Victorian heroes, diligently trying to save Humanity while taking important steps toward understanding it.

Nearly all of Ms. Hieber's boldly selected and fine-drawn characters believe in the magic and mysticism that surrounds them and their decisions. This makes the occult described in The Eterna Files much more understandable and almost inviting.

The lives of these characters, particularly Clara Templeton, do not begin with the first opening of the book. They have all been living lives long before I started reading about them. Ms. Hieber makes it very easy to visualize the world(s) surrounding these spellbinding lives.

On a map of novels, I would place Ms. Hieber's stories – starting with The Eterna Files – about four blocks west of the intersection of Lovecraft and Poe. I am glad to have stopped there for coffee."

Updates from Brigade Models

A couple of snippets from Brigade Models in the past week.

First up, some new releases in the shape of a nice Dig Battleship for the Austro-Hungarians plus some escorts for the Brazilian Nef forces:

The largest model in this release is the Austro-Hungarian von Parseval dig battleship (for those not familiar with the terminology, a ‘dig’ is shorthand for dirigible – a hydrogen-filled airship). Giant airships are used to terrorise opposing populations as they fill the skies and rain bombs down on innocent civilians. The resin-cast gasbag is over 4″ long, making it almost as large as the German Schleswig-Holstein.

The other two models come from the other side of the Atlantic, with the addition of the Tamandare torpedo cruiser and Paraná class frigate to the Brazilian fleet.

VAN-712 – von Parseval class Dig Battleship – £6.00
VAN-807 – Tamandare class Torpedo Frigate – £2.00
VAN-808 – Paraná class Frigate – £0.75

And secondly, the Aeronef stats have all been updated:

I’ve just updated the Aeronef Profiles Page on the website with stats for all our our recent Aeronef releases, including the von Perseval and Brazilian models released last week. While I was there I made a few fixes and updates to the profile generator software – all of the stats cards are generated automagically by some code I wrote years ago that takes the profiles of each model and formats a GIF image, but this seems to have suffered from code rot and a few bugs had crept in.

All of the stats cards can be downloaded from the profiles table, and they’re also in an updated Zip file so you can pull them down at one go. They’re designed to be roughly the size of a business card so when printed out can be cut out and laminated or stored in a vinyl pocket

Bison Tank 'Brooklyn'

Introducing another Vanvlak Industries creation!

Bison tank 'Brooklyn', attached to the Fernandea expeditionary corps, with Col.Smith (from the Lincoln Island expeditions) standing alongside. The painted eye protects 'Brooklyn' from any evil, and was painted on by Maltese sappers attached to the expedition. 

Col. Smith and his colleagues form part of 'The Embassy' a military expeditionary force sent on the more esoteric missions required by their loosely allied countries - Great Britain, France, Turkey and the United States. 

Model by Tobsen77: http://tobsen77.de/products/bison.php

9 Years on!

Good gosh! Its nine years since we set up camp at this Blog - thats three times longer than that first stouch we had with those Afghan chaps!
http://pauljamesog.blogspot.com.au/2006/02/new-officer-reporting-in.html

Over the years the rate of blog entries has waxed and waned in cycles, and at once or twice I contemplated closing it down and merging the content into my generic wargaming blog.  However, with a little encouragement I decided to keep the blog and its theme going, and I'm glad I did.

So from Aeronef to Land Ironclads, Tripods and Gatling guns - thanks for being part of the madness.
Here's to more in the years to come, and I'll have to hunk of something neat to celebrate the 10th Anniversary next year!

The Space 1889 Planet Project

Now this is very cool - a Google Earth adaption for the Space 1889verse.
Find out more here: http://space1889.dereglobus.org/english

 

I love that they used Holst's The Red Planet as the music background, one of my favourites

Captain Darling's exploits in the antipodes

I have just spied this VSF blog by fellow antipodean Captain Darling.  Of particular interest is his 28mm campaign "The Russians are coming!" following the Tsar's villainous enterprise to expand his corrupt empire by capturing the Imperial Colony of South Australia - the cheek!

"This picture purports to be the Russian invasion fleet soon after departing St Petersburg"

4 Battalions of veteran Russian troops from the Russo-Turkish wars supported by Cossacks have now landed.  Meanwhile, a squadron of Armoured Cruisers and a ironclad turret ship support them from seaward.  Can the South Australian forces repel them? Will reinforcements from the other colonies reach them in time before the Russians can consolidate?  I will be watching with great interest!

http://captaindarlingsminiaturesemporium.blogspot.com

Portrait of Captain Darling

Actually, I am delighted to see this as it is very similar to something I had in mind based on the Victorian colony's almost obsessive fear with a Russian Invasion - see here.  Coupled with the Eureka stockade rebellion, there are wargaming opportunities aplenty!  I have copious notes from historical archives and plans to do this in 2mm for a combined Aeronef/Land Ironclads campaign.  One day...

HMS Steady

H.M.S. Steady, possibly the most inappropriately named vessel in the Royal Navy and built under contract by Vanvlak Industries. The Monopaddlewheel is seen patrolling offthe coastof Fernandea with a Sopwith Archaeopteryx drone ready to be launched. 

Another great scratch built creation by Mssr Vanvlak, this time in 15mm.  
I particularly like his addition of signal flags!

Back to the Land Time Forgot

Today we welcome back Mssr Vanvlak, of Vanvlak Industries, who had been missing presumed inebriated for some time.  Turns out he was touring the Dark Continent, and has returned with the following photoimageographic evidence:

Col.Smith stares down a Nobs' Krooted Bustard at the start of the 'Land that time forgot' expedition. (The 'atomic chicken' is actually a Forgeworld Kroot beastie, lovely model.)

Lt. Poincare's field of view is blocked by a Duhrer's Rhinoceros as the expedition prepares to leave for the 'Land that time forgot' expedition.  (The Rhino comes from a print by Albercht Durer, another grand model. )

Ismet Okyar aims at a giant crocodile on the way to the second camp on the 'Land that time forgot' expedition. (The croc is a Tamiya kit.)

Welcome back Mssr V - you've been missed!

The Anniversary of the Passing of the Great White Queen

On this day in 1901, her beloved Imperial Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, Empress of India and Defender of the Faith passed away.  Rest In Peace Victoria et Imperatrix.

Her legacy lives in the former colony of Australia, which became a federated and sovereign country separate from Great Britain on 1 Jan 1901 mere weeks before her death.  At that time the citizenship oath was written as loyalty to 'Queen Victoria, her rightful heirs and successors'.  The wording of that remains unchanged to this day.