Cloud Effect markers

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I know many Aeronef players out there have been looking for ways to integrate weather and cloud effects iunto their games. Some have produced excellent cloud models, but not everyone has the time or inclination to do so.

I saw these smoke markers today (with an appropriately VSF-ish clockwork machine next to it!) and thought they may fit the bill for some players. They are Gale Force Nine’s Warmachine Cloud Effects Markers: "designed to effectively denote continuous Cloud Effects on the table top with a dynamic 3-D marker while still maintaining playability."

There are are two kinds, the smoke marker and this "wall of smoke" marker.

Be warned that they aren't cheap, and they may not be your cup to tea (...even with a slice of lemon added!) but if they do tickle your fancy, you can find out more here:

http://www.gf9.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=338&osCsid=5f447fe20ef4c32096b00df2d5b82f96

And here:
http://www.gf9.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=320

Skyland

This is the 200th entry at 'Yours in a White Wine Sauce' - Huzzah!

I came across a rather good show today. Well the kids did, I just happened to walk past as they were watching really.

Its called "Skyland" - a PulpSF version of Aeronef!

Unlike most anime style shows, its not Japanese, but a joint French and Canadian venture. Briefly, it set in the 23rd Century, the Earth has been shattered into chunks of rock which now float around a core. There are some rather right wing chaps called the sphere, some renegade style pirates, some kind of mystics, most importantly lots of cool flying ships and battles. very transportable to a VSF setting, just insert Prussian, Anarchists and cultists respectively.

This the the St Nazaire, the man pirate vessel in the show. Actually, its much more Neffish in the show than this rather poor picture. It looks more like somethig out of Star Blazers here (not that that is bad, just not aeronef-like).

As well as the series there is a movie currently in preproduction and scheduled for release late next year.

You can read more aout the show and its characters here: ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyland And there is a rather well done website here: http://www.skylandtv.com/

Let me know what you think!

Steampunk Desktop

For the erudite gentleman who takes his decor seriously!


How to...
http://steampunkworkshop.com/lcd.shtml

Review of new Brigade releases

Its always an exciting time when a package arrives, its even better (IMHO) when its from Brigade Models!

Anyhow, as I went to open it I noticed that fellow Wine Wine Saucer Zophiel was online (on messenger as 'Major Magik'), so here is the text of the first (recorded) web-live Brigade model opening and review! Typos left in to embarras the typing challenged (me!)

Paul says: OK, time for live opening and review of Brigade purchases!
Major Magik says: woot

Paul says: I'll have to put this on the blog!
Paul says: OK - first thing plain white envelope...nicely weighted!
Major Magik says:heh

Paul says: Inside - minis all in a plastic ziplock, not the usual video or plastic boxes or blisters.
Paul says: Lots of goodies in here...
Major Magik says: heh

Paul says: OK I couldn't wait any more, contents are all over desk in small zips. Taking them 1 at a time...
Major Magik says: heh

Paul says: First, the Aerial redoubt:
http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Frames/VAN/Items/VAN-510.html/
Very crisp and clean, no flash at all. Lovely detail.

Paul says: Next, Aerial Battery:
http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Frames/VAN/Items/VAN-509.html
Again very crisp and clean, but a little bit of flash (minimal though) some of the barrels are slightly bent but fixable. 3 of these guys.
Major Magik says: nice

Paul says: Turkish War Balloons:
http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Frames/VAN/Items/VAN-2012.html
Major Magik says: I got 5 of those.

Paul says: Again 3 of them. They are quite a bi smaller than the Aerial batteries - the platform is about half the size. A little bit of flash on the balloons but again the detail is very crisp. These will look great in a bright colour with some Turkish decals
Paul says: Next- fighters and bombers> Turkish Kindjals (the ones that look like Taubes)- 2 packs, very clean. Love the look of these, they are just dying to bepainted up in bright colours like a German WW1 'Circus'
Major Magik says: heh, yah.

Paul says: Now I have 2 packs of generic fighter and 1 of bombers. I dont remember ordering those!
Major Magik says: heh.

Paul says: I'll have to check my order. No doubt they'll come in handy somehwere anyway!
Major Magik says: truly.

Paul says: next: 4 engined bombers 92 packs) - these are awesome and HUGE compared to the ohers
Major Magik says: I haven't gotten any of those yet
Major Magik says: 92 fighters?! that's a lot of planes

Paul says:(2packs) rather!
Major Magik says: ah, k.

Paul says: Top wing comes seperately but minimal issues to fit it. Waist guns are very clear, these will paint up nicely
Major Magik says: woot

Paul says: Pack of US single turrets for conversions - nice. 12 of them on sprues of 3 each.

Paul says: Onto the Nefs, Russian Strashchni class Destroyer:
http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Frames/VAN/Items/VAN-511.html
2 of these. Lovely little ships, guns everywhere including fore and aft twin turrets. The detail again is very crisp (one of the benefits of getting models from new molds I guess).

Paul says: Turkish Sakarya class Destroyer (x2):
http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Frames/VAN/Items/VAN-2011.html
Major Magik says: yah, those are sweet.

Paul says: these are bigger than I thought they would be, a full 6cm from stem to stern. A little more flash but not much and again very crisply detailed
Major Magik says: yeah, they're bigger than they look in the photo.

Paul says: Yeah, It'll be interesting to match them up to other DDs, especially the German Dig ones
Major Magik says: when does LI launch? I suspect that new nef will appear after that.

Paul says: Next: Turkish Muin-I-Zaffer class Dig Cruiser (x1) - smae as my last one, but this time destined for my Russian Far East Fleet as a captured vessel pressed into service:
http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Frames/VAN/Items/VAN-2003.html
Major Magik says: heh.
Major Magik says: I'm eager to see some new ones, like a Chinese ship.

Paul says: Not sure yet, Wessex Steve is still sick so its on hold for a bit. Cant wait to get my hands on some of those LIs!

Paul says: AH Huszár class Destroyer:
http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Frames/VAN/Items/VAN-707.html
Looks really nice, and will be the Leader for my small AH Squadron. I use a small AH escort type flotilla as the fast element for my slower german Dig Fleet., Again crisp and with barely any traceably flash at all.

Paul says: Brazillian Júlio de Noronha class Cruiser:
http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Frames/VAN/Items/VAN-806.html
Lovely ship, great lines, very sleek and lethal looking. More in line with the French style if you like. Dunno whose fleet of mine it will join, but I love the model!
Major Magik says: nicely designed. I might have to get a Brazilian fleet going once there's more in the range

Paul says: Turkish Gemlik class Frigate:
http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Frames/VAN/Items/VAN-2009.html
Very much in the German style, about half the size of the DD we mentioned earlier. I have some other Sth American vessels, not becasue I have fleets, but because I like the models. my Aerial Pirate cabal might end up with them
Major Magik says: I have at least one of every Turkish thing they make. I'm waiting on the release of that twin-dig thing.

Paul says: The Twin Dig BB? Me too!!!!
Major Magik says: it looks fantastic.

Paul says: sure does!

Paul says: Turkish Turgut Reis class Cruiser:
http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Frames/VAN/Items/VAN-2008.html
Again in the German style but large for a cruiser, more a battlecruiser type size. No flash even visible.

Paul says: French Fléche class Light Raider:
http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Frames/VAN/Items/VAN-416.html
No pic on the site
so I have been very keen to see what these are like.
Major Magik says: I won't order one if there's no pic
Major Magik says: a quirk of mine

Paul says: Very much a smaller version of the L'Eee with a large turret on the Forcastle and a few smaller side batteries. neat light cruiser sized vessel.
Paul says: I dont usually either, but then Ive yet to be dissappointed by a brigade design too. I ceratinly wouldnt buy from a new company without pics
Major Magik says: right.

Paul says: second last: US Twin-turret pack (it was hiding under th last behemoth...) very crisp and again 12 turrets on 4 sprues of 3 turrets each. These wll be great or conversions
Major Magik says: I want the turrets for other nations.

Paul & Lynette says: All in good time!
Major Magik says: "good time" would be sooner.Paul says: hehe.

Paul says: Last, is a Turkish Abdul Aziz class Dig Battleship:
http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Frames/VAN/Items/VAN-2001.html
Major Magik says: love that one.

Paul says: It's a monster, but the important bit is that about 18 months ago I bought th Turkish Fleet pack when it was released, like many others who had been waiting!
Paul says: I looked at it, said 'sweet' and got on with thatever I was paintign at the time. About 6 months later when I got around to my Turks, I realised by Dig BB was missing. Brigade Steve was great (as always) and offered a replacement, which I said could wait until my next purchase to save him the shipping. Well off back to sea I went and forgot all about it until last month.
Paul says: He honoured our agreement without a word or batting an eyelid even though it was well over a year later. THAT'S customer srevice for you!
Major Magik says: wow, a missing BB.

Paul & Lynette says: No longer!
Major Magik says: That's something I think I'd have noticed right off.

Paul says: Of course, I was waiting for you to let me know what shipping was costing so I could insure I paid you fully.
Major Magik says: You were lucky in the response.

Paul says: Truly.
Paul says: Having checked my order, I now realise the 'extra' fighters were Japanese Shinden Fixed Wing Fighters. Should have known that!
Major Magik says: ahh.

Paul says: well there you go, our first 'out of the box' Brogade Aeronef review!
Major Magik says: woot, that was fun.

Paul says: I'll clean it up and post it to the Blog
Major Magik says: very nicely done.

Paul says: Overall, another nice package of goodies from Brigade, but exceotionally good casts this time, because they are all new models I think. not that the usual Brigade stuff isn't good, but this is exceptional.
Major Magik says: The war balloons are special.
Paul says: Oh yeah - awesome!

Paul says: OK mate, you to bed and me back to Real Life and essays etc
Major Magik says: take care, my friend
Paul says: Ciao.

Dr Grordbort's Infallible Aether Oscillators & other Marvellous Contraptions!

An incredible website, selling all manner of revolutionary equipment including the latest in steam powered rayguns, including the MANMELTER 3600ZX Sub-Atomic Disintegrator Pistol and the GOLIATHON 83 Infinity Beam Projector, shown here by Dr Grordbort's lovely neice Leila.

Even if you arent in the market for the latest in death ray breaththroughs, you must check this site out!

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Also includes a "Bestiary of the Cosmos" section with the latest zoological discoveries, including the Vesuian Double Backed Shrovel and the Mountain Meat Beetle.

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http://www.wetanz.com/holics/index.php?catid=4

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Thanks for the great link Maks!

It pays to be a student of History...

"It is disgusting to notice the increase in the quantity of coffee used by my subjects, and the amount of money that goes out of the country as a consequence. Everybody is using coffee; this must be prevented. His Majesty was brought up on beer, and so were both his ancestors and officers. Many battles have been fought and won by soldiers nourished on beer, and the King does not believe that coffee-drinking soldiers can be relied upon to endure hardships in case of another war."

- Frederick the Great of Prussia (1777)

Now here is a quote to live, fight and die by!
Just look at his eyes and you can see the DTs setting in...Huzzah!

HMAS Platypus revealed!

That Mad Genius Vanmullikan reveals his latest works!


Fans of Dr. Who will know of the establishment of the Torchwood Institute in the latter days of the reign of HM Queen Victoria. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchwood_Institute)


A few ships have on occasion been assigned to Torchwood, in particular during the Martian invasions and the Venetian incident. This includes the HMAS Platypus flying the Torchwood flag. Now all I need is a police box of the same scale.

Another great and original peice from Mssr Vanvlak - thanks for sharing matey!

OTTENSteam

Today I received the following delightful telegram:

Dear Sir,

I visited your excellent blog, and I thought that my own website might be of interest to you---OTTENSteam features articles and galleries about Steampunk, Dieselpunk, and Retro-Futurism and may be found at the following address,

http://www.robsacc.nl/_ottens/steampunk.html

You may notice that OTTENSteam is part of a much larger website, named simply OTTENS, which also offers a History section featuring architecture, the occult, and articles about the mysteries and wonder weapons of the Third Reich.

Yours Faithfully,

"Ottens"

---------------------------

Thankyou Ottens, I really appreciate your message. I like your website too.

For those who havent yet been there its described as:

"Welcome to OTTENSteam, offering articles and galleries about Steampunk, related genres and Retro-futurism. Recent additions to this section are listed below. Updates to this section will be announced on this page.

Steampunk is a subgenre of speculative fiction, usually set in an anachronistic Victorian alternate history setting. What is known today as Steampunk has its beginnings in the early days of Victorian penny dreadfuls and the encyclopedic novels of Jules Verne's Voyages Extraordinaires. An increasingly literate public took advantage of the opportunities for adventure and high romance offered them by Verne, H.G. Wells, H. Rider Haggard, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Rice Burrougs, as well as the macabre tales of Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and others. Steampunk is in part a nostalgic reclamation of Victorian and Edwardian Scientific Romances, imperialist adventures, Edisonades and Voyages Extraordinaires, reminiscing about a more elegant age of adventure that never really existed"

VSF Spider Robot

I picked up a nifty VSF spider robot the other day, from the Star Wars collection. Its a "Guild Homing Spider Droid" - minimal conversion required only IMHO. Just add a smokestack for steampunk!

Victorian Names For Heroes, Cads & Others!

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If you’re looking for an authentic name for your Victorian-era characters, heroes and cads, here are a couple of sites that may be of assistance:

“Victorian Era Names circa 1840’s-1890’s Being a compilation drawn from old census and vital statistic records” offers a lengthy list of the same

This site also has some crackers!
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~poindexterfamily/OldNames.html

Enjoy!

The Martian War

The other book I read while touring the Kingdom of Thailand was this:

The Martian War: A Thrilling Eyewitness Account of the Recent Invasion As Reported by Mr. H.G. Wells
by Gabriel Mesta (AKA Kevin J. Anderson)

This is a very different take on the WOTW concept, one in which all of Wells's stories are based on factual events. Working for the secret Imperial Institute in London, he cannot divulge his adventures in any fashion other than fictional stories for the paper. Cavourite spheres, invisibility potions, germ warfare, lunar beings, tentacled Martians, battle tripods, Professor Huxley, Dr Moreau, Percival Lowell - it's a grand cast of period characters and materials.

The plot of this book is therefore a completely different one to the traditional WOTW stories and I found it quite enchanting. An easy read in the Victorian period literary style, I found it quite compelling and hard to put down.

I give it 9/10

You can read other reviews of this book at Amazon here:
http://www.amazon.com/Martian-War-Thrilling-Eyewitness-Invasion/dp/0743446550/ref=sr_1_2/102-9120740-3087328?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179136658&sr=1-2

War of the Worlds: Next Millenium

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War of the Worlds: New Millennium

by: Douglas Niles

I just spent 10 days in the Kingdom of Siam, enjoying this book that Maksim, fellow White Wine Saucer and ace reporter, most kindly sent me as a gift a few weeks ago. Thanks awfully, old boy, and to thank you, here is White Wine Sauce's first ever book review!

The traditional WOTW story translated into a contemporary context, but it is NOT a novel of the recent Tom Cruise film. Think more Wells with Tom Clancy techno-military detail.

Its a very easy read with a fast paced and engaging story, though some technical blunders along the way do marr it just a little (...then again, VSF'ers aren't normally too interested in such nuances!).

Almost all the plotlines of the original Wells masterpeice are represented here including the Battle of Maybury Hill, the Artilleryman, the Thunderchild, etc. but are not the same as the original. Spotting the similarities was fun. The only one I couldn't see was the parson episode and being trapped under a cylinder. Without spoiling the plot, the ending also has a nice twist on the original.

Overall, an absorbing and enjoyable read which stays true to the spirit of Wells.

I give it 7.5/10

You can read more about it here:
http://www.amazon.com/War-Worlds-Millennium-Douglas-Niles/dp/0765311429/ref=sr_1_6/102-9120740-3087328?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179115096&sr=1-6

Thanks again, Maks! I haven't read a novel for ages and this was just the tonic I needed for a bit of R&R!

Zeppelin Raid Safety Tips

I'm off for a week or so on Her Majesty's service, so I'll leave you to ponder this safety tip in the meantime!

When the Zeppelins Come
A FEW USEFUL HINTS FOR PERSONAL SAFETY

The following rules of what to do in case of a Zeppelin raid are given on the authority of the Home office:-

Get indoors as soon as you hear the first bomb fall or the first gun fire, and stay there until the firing is well over.Find the best cover you can. Go down to the lowest floor-the cellar, if you have one. Keep away from the window. Flying splinters of glass are highly dangerous.

Make sure of a plentiful supply of water to put out fires due to incendiary bombs. Dry fine sand and dry fine soil are useful for putting a fire out, but water is the easiest and best safeguard.

Never touch an unexploded bomb or shell.

If you are in the street when a bombardment begins keep cool and make for the best cover you can find. Excitement and thoughtlessness are as bad as fright. If no shelter be available and bombs are dropping near you, throw yourself down on your face. You thereby reduce the mark for rising splinters, and you have a better chance of saving your face.

Do not be in a hurry to come out of your shelter. Remember that even when the Zeppelin had passed over you a shell aimed at her miles away may conceivably drop missiles into your street.

[Shropshire Archive reference: Shrewsbury Chronicle, 16 February 1916] http://www3.shropshire-cc.gov.uk/roots/packages/war/war_z06e.htm

Hollow Earth Theory

The Hollow Earth Theory, long discussed by the cleverest minds of our time, but never proved by anyone who came back that it, has been patented!

United States Patent 1096102:The Hollow Earth Theory
by Mark Harp
http://www.nemesi.net/patent.htm

More on Hollow Earth theory here:

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

http://www.hollowearththeory.com/articles/hollowEarthHistory.asp

VSF Rules Updated

Patrick's draft VSF rules have been updated:

"I have some a few more tweaks to The Colonel and Co. located in the shed annex. Mostly just some streamlining of the turn sequence and fiddling with the morale charts. I also separated the templates from the charts.Check them out if you get a chance and let me know what you think.We need another play test, though. I might enlist the boy to help me tonight."

Patrick's Hobby Shed: Updated VSF Rules

If you try them be sure to drop Patrick a line and let him know what you think