French Gunboats

Thinking of adding some maritime firepower to my Colonial French force with a gunboat, which would add some serious ability to dominate trade on the canals of Mars.

Wanting to use historical designs where possible, I came across the Revolver class gunboat:

Revolver gunboat in Tonkin

Hull schematic (no cockpit) - the real version show greater cutdown at the bow

Typical of the period, and also the experimental nature of smaller craft, armament varied but was broadly one large cannon up front and a few smaller weapons for close in defence. 

Earlier designs had larger calibre forward guns, but these were later reduced to a 140mm gun, with two 37mm Hothkiss revolver guns fore and aft on the superstructure.

Conveniently, this model is available from Gringo 40s and looks great:

I also quite like this turreted ironclad gunboat style: The Acheron Class

Four of the class were built between 1882 and 1890, and they continued to serve until 1912

Acheron was armed with a single 274 mm gun (!) in a conical turret as the primary armament, plus two 100 mm, two 47 mm and twenty 37 mm guns. Probably more a harbour defence cruiser than a gunboat, but definitions of the era were rather flexible.

Very cool, but a bit too high end for Mars though? Would make a nice option for a scratch build. 

Slightly different track but equally cool is the Cerbère class Ironclad Rams - 4 of which were built in the 1870s

In the limited confines of Martian canal networks with limited manoeuvre room, her ability to take out enemy ships by ramming (and thus preserving valuable main battery ammunition) would be valuable.

French ironclad ram ships Cerbère and Bélier, 1866-90

Deliberations continue. The Italians probably need a gunboat for Venus too...

Avanti Italia - to Venus!

The Italian Army on Venus? Who saw that coming? Not me either. 

But someone has to fight my Russians if I deploy them to Venus, so a good opportunity to branch out. Hmmm...maybe some of the Afrikan German colonial troops also...

Here follows some a notes for a potential project as the mood strikes me, given there isn't much out there for the Italians on Venus. Indeed, in the Space 1889 niche, Venus is seemingly rare for tabletop gaming. On the topic, GDW's Soldier's Companion (1990) states only that:

Separately, the later Ubiquity edition of the Venus Sourcebook (2014) states:

Rather than seeing that as a restriction, I see it as opportunity to mix and match! After all, the Bersaglieri and their flank guard/recon roles would be right at home in the jungle protecting vulnerable convoys and working with native (lizardmen) guides.

An Italian Infantry regiment of the period typically consisted of 3 battalions, although some formations had 4 (specifically Bersaglieri). Each battalion comprised 4 companies. A regiment was around 1,500 men at peace footing, expanding to roughly 3,000 men on a war footing.

Thats probably what the 7th Infantry Regiment "Cuneo" / 7º Reggimento fanteria "Cuneo" looks like, though I'm sure a few Bersalgieri and other small units from the Italian military are there also, if not in force.

While it was established in 1891, if there are troops of Venus it makes sense to establish the "Regio corpo truppe coloniali de Venere" and sweep all the troop on Venus into it under the Italian Governor's authority.

Uniforms

Researching late 19th Century Italian Colonial forces, the Italian colonial army (primarily operating in Eritrea) wore a mix of white or khaki tropical uniforms, commonly featuring a white cork helmet with an azure-blue band, or the traditional red tarbush(fez) with a turban for native ascaro troops. Native soldiers often wore white linen tunics and sash combinations, armed with Vetterli-Vitali rifles.

Key Aspects of the 1890s Italian Colonial Uniforms:

• Colonial Units (Askaris/Native Units): Native Eritrean troops commonly wore a red tarbush (fez) with a blue feather/turban, a white or linen-colored tunic with insignia, white trousers, and sandals.
• Italian Officers: Wore white tropical tunics and trousers, often with a white cork helmet ("salacot") decorated with a blue band.
• Note Officers in Italy wore white pants with a Dark Blue jacket with black piping around the collars, cuffs and red edges, and white leather equipment, which might add variety
• Fatigue Uniforms: In barracks, troops wore "dirty brown" canvas fatigues, which were more durable than their white parade dress.
• Distinctions: Light blue distinctions were often used on helmets and uniforms for colonial troops.
• Arms: Soldiers were often armed with the M1870/87 Vetterli carbine, M1874 cavalry sabers, and traditional local knives in their sashes. 

These uniforms were specifically adapted for the climate in East Africa, shifting away from the heavy wool uniforms used in the Italian mainland at the time, which featured dark blue coats and grey-blue trousers. So these would naturally appeal for the steamy jungles of Venus!

Infantry Captain, Truppe d'Africa, 1896 service dress

Bersaglieri were a high mobility light infantry and skirmishing force, originating in Sardinia before being incorporated into the Italian army when th Kingdom of Italy was formed in 1861. In the 1895 period, in tropical climates such as Abyssinia and Eritrea, they tended toward the newer khaki style uniforms with sun helmets and their distinctive plumage of black feathers.

Bersaglieri Lieutenant, marching order

In the 1860 period, Bersaglieri wore a Summer Campaign Dress of white trousers and dark blue jackets (see first picture in this post) with wide brimmed hats.

In Somaliland (and others) the Italian colonial forces made good use of Tribal irregulars, many of which were equipped with their tradition spears and shields, and a limited amount trained to use firearms. I think that tradition would continue with local tribes of lizardmen

Wargames Atlantic plastic Lizardmen from "Gisby's Gaming Blog"
(https://gisby.wordpress.com/2022/02/17/space-1889-lizard-men-of-venus/)

So yes, a new Army and a new planet to contrast to our adventures on Mars.

Would love to hear people's thought on the subject, or Space 1889 on Venus in general.

And while we talking about Venus do remember that on this planet, Germany is the strongest Colonial force...

Schutztruppe militia in the outback of the German protectorate

ANZAC Day 2026

 

Ode to the Fallen 

They went with songs to the battle, they were young, 

Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow, 

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted, 

They fell with their faces to the foe. 

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: 

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning 

We will remember them.

Russian Fleet reinforcements

A small Cruiser squadron to reinforce my growing Russian Dystopian Wars fleet.  

Disclaimer: I have used AI to generate a more contextural background.
The models themselves are unchanged and are my own work.

Like the rest of my fleet these are an Ebay rescue, and as a bonus they came with nicely magnetised turrets. I've painted them up in more grungy wartime colours to contrast with the rest of my Fleet. I used historical paint schemes again, this time from the Russo-Japanese war. I think of these ships as offensive night patrollers - going out to screen the main force against marauding torpedo boats

This looks good

But this looks better!

The search for more models from the old Spartan Games era continues...

Dystopian Wars Russian Fleet!

I've been planning a Dystopian Wars renaissance and while the new rules by War Cradle Studios are much improved, I much prefer the older Spartan games era ships in their highly detailed resin. These are quite bit smaller in scale to the newer plastic ones and don't mix well so I'm staying with resin, though they are getting harder to find.

Yes the background is AI generated but how cool is it!

A few years ago I bought a painted Prussian Fleet at CANCON Bring & Buy, and James has a few others of his own, namely Brittanic, Covenant of Antarctica and American. New chum David also has some VERY NICE Brittanic plus Italian States fleets too! Surely this would be enough?

So with this post I start another fleet: Russians! Obvious really....

These are an ebay rescue - a modest fleet for a small battle, and I'm naturally planning expansions. All painted in colours of the (real world) Russian Imperial Navy Pacific Fleet of the pre-dreadnought period.

Moskva Class Dreadnought looks like a floating citadel more than a ship! This is large enough to fit in the Admiral's voluminous drink cabinet and dining set.

Borodino class Battleship -the manufacturer proudly states that "this industrial nightmare will forever haunt the ambitions of anyone who dares cross the path of the Russian Coalition". 

3 Suvorov Cruisers - "the harsh, unbending anvil against which foes are crushed" - characteristically subtle

9 Novgorod frigates "operate in a radically different fashion to the majority of frigates around the world, boasting a curious circular hull that affords it unmatched manoeuvrability." These guys provide AA and close range support for the bigger ships.

Luckily, its only 14 years since I first spied this release to actually getting some painted and ready...

https://pauljamesog.blogspot.com/2012/06/russian-coalition-sighted.html

Painting Notes

Undercoated in White, and washed in thinned Nuln oil (GW)

Contrast for the decks and then planks re painted with Zandri dust (GW)

Hulls worked back to the Celestra White (GW) using a makeup sponge. 

Funnel stacks are Averland Sunset washed in Reikland Fleshshade (both GW)

The Defence of Melbourne, Redux?

Great to catch with a gaming mate recently (lets call him Dave, mostly because thats his name). Of course was showing him my recently completed Crimean Russians, to which he said "put those against my Maori Wars British and we can play the Defence of Melbourne". Mind. Blown. 

Of course we could- we should! We Must!

Real life constraints (such as living in different countries and indeed hemispheres) make this a slower burn project for 18 months or so) but regardless the neurons have been enthusiastically fired, so I'm in research mode now and revisiting this long enjoyed topic topic but with alt-history in mind instead of VSF flavour (at least for now anyway!)

Since I last considered this topic (admittedly a decade or more ago) a local historian has done some fabulous research and self published the outcomes, particularly in these two volumes:

This is interesting to me as I used to live in Hobson's bay and walk past this battery frequently

A review of this latter title here:

https://www.mhhv.org.au/lines-in-the-sand-hobsons-bay-defences-of-williamstown-sandridge-1854-1871-by-keith-quinton/

Both are available from here - unfortunately like many print on demand/low print count the costs for hardcopies are...considerable. However, the author Keith Quinton has kindly made pdf versions available at cup of coffee prices, which I am enjoying now.

https://au.blurb.com/user/keithquinton

Of course I did suggest to Dave that perhaps an assault on the colonial fortification of Fort Scratchley in Newcastle might be a good initial fight. But like me, he grew up in Melbourne and wants to do the big one!

In the meantime, I'll get cracking on the next Russian battalion!

The ‘Right Battery’ at Williamstown, Fort Gellibrand. 

(Image from the Military History and Heritage Victoria website)

The Tsar on Mars!

Presenting my first two Russian line infantry battalions - primarily for my Crimean War project but also deployable to Mars!  

Two Battalions with Regimental officers advancing in Attack columns 

I used different shades across the greatcoats to show varying wear and quality in pre dye-fast colours, and gave the units some identity with one unit sporting a mix of helmets and forage caps (mutzes) which became more common as the war progressed, and another with more strict NCOs ensuring all the troops wear their issued helmets! 

1st Battalion (white shoulder tabs) - all in helmets

I enjoyed a good dose of the inevitable "basing dilemma", badly overthinking it before deciding to go with groups of poorly drilled troops with intermingled casualties, representing both bad training and a stoic intent to get to grips with the invaders regardless of cost! 

2nd Battalion (red shoulder tabs) with mixed helmets and forage caps

Figures are mostly plastic Warlord figs with some metal models by Great War Miniatures mixed in. The former are relatively monopose, but the seperate heads let you impart some great character with modest turns. The latter are wonderful sculpts and mixing them in gives a more dynamic look. Colours by Battle-Flag.com

Normally I hate doing faces but these were very satisfying to do

The army grows!