Craving your own Hereditary Title?

These chaps can fix you right up as a Laird (Lord) of your own estate in Scotland!

Sure its cold, indeed it is bleak and desolate, and yes its hard to get anything but a fine malt wiskey, but it is a nice way to introduce yourself!

http://www.scottishhighlandestates.com/?gclid=CIyzjK7ks4kCFST9YAodqFLNMQ

Not sure about the kilt though....

WOTW Tripods and Flyers

If you havent seen them before (and I hadnt), Studio Bergstrom offer a range of WOTW Flyers and Tripods, directly out the the 1953 Film. Neat!

A review by Thomas Pope said:
"The sculpting is pretty good. Nothing spectacular, but then again, there isn't much detail here that needs to be replicated. The tripods are much closer in style to the invaders from the movie (sleekness of the lines, etc.) than they are to the book cover illustration.

Casting was much better than I had expected. I wasn't sure about this "tumble bright finish" he mentioned on the web page, but it didn't hurt the detail at all and did saved me a lot of work with a file. Mold lines were present but easily cleaned off. One word of warning, the alloy he uses is extremely hard! I almost broke my drill bit trying to drill a hole for the flight base. On the plus side, the relatively thin necks of the invaders were not damaged in shipping and look very sturdy.

A final note on the castings. The tripod legs were not cast in pewter. Instead, they are pins soldered into the body exactly like his prototype. I actually prefer this, he did a neat job of soldering them and they are much stronger than pewter legs would be."

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Meteor/4155/index.html
You'll find the details on the Order form page

Spring clean at Brigade Models website

Brigade have updated their website:

"Welcome to 2007 and to our updated website. We've given the place a spring-clean and a lick of paint. I'm afraid we've also had to introduce the previously-threatened price increments to compensate for the rapidly rising price of white metal and also the Royal Mail's new pricing structure which has affected us more than we thought it would."

The updated site looks great and the increases are very modest. Well worth it for their high quality products and in my experience their customer service is unequalled. They have replaced models damaged in transit without question and been very courteous and friendly.

Italian Monitor unveiled!

Peter Fulgoney has posted pic of the wonderful 1:700 scale Regia Marina monior 'Faa di Bruno' in its WW1 configuration.
A concrete reinforced sunken buildng, it sports a whopping 15inch gun turret! Designed by drunken Italian naval architects, it sprints at a bone jarring 3 kts and it likely to be swept away in any king tide!

http://www.steelnavy.com/RFaaDiBrunoPF.htm

The Steel Navy site is a great place to spend an hour or two, particulalry with G&T in hand!

Champagne pouring tips!

"In victory, you deserve Champagne, in defeat, you need it.” Napoleon Bonaparte

Just to make sure you get it right, lets spell it out now:

Chill the Champagne to 45°F, usually three hours in the refrigerator or 30 minutes in an ice bucket (silver or pewter look the nicest). Cut the foil and remove.

Wrap a towel around the bottle; this will help to keep the cork from flying away and to catch any Champagne that might spill. Hold the neck of the bottle while securing the top of the cork with your thumb.

Twist off the cage; it takes about six turns to undo it. Remove the wire cage while you are still holding the cork. Hold the bottle at a 45 angle. Hold the cork with one hand and the bottom of the bottle with the other; turn the bottle (not the cork) slowly and carefully. Release the cork gently, and pour the Champagne.

Use flute glasses that focus the aroma, rather than coupes.

Pour the Champagne down the side of the glass to give the champagne fewer "head bubbles."

Don't shake the bottle; it increases the internal pressure and the Champagne will have less "fizz" when you serve it.

Of course for the truely stylish, you can open it with a sword: hit the glass ring at the top of the bottle below the cork and the weakest point of the bottle seam - NOT for beginners!

Cricket scores update!

[Though this reads very much like the results from last week's 4th Ashes Test Match in Melbourne (where England was crushed by an innings and 100+ runs in 3 days!), it is in fact from The Illustrated London News, July 1, 1882, p.10 - sound familiar chaps?]

As the match between the Australians and the Gentlemen of England excited such universal interest, some 50,000 spectators being present at the Oval during the three days of play, we append the full score:—

It cannot be denied that the result was a sad disappointment to all partisans of the English team, for though the unaccountable error had been committed of making up the eleven without a single fast bowler, such a group of batsmen looked like making at least 300 per innings against any bowling that could be brought against them.

As it turned out, only Grace, Patterson, and Leslie, played anything like good cricket in the first innings, and the follow-on was even weaker. Let us hope that the combined eleven of Gentlemen and Players will make some amends for this crushing single innings defeat.

In the match between Kent and Sussex the former eleven ran up 521 at their first attempt. Lord Harris (176), Lord Throwley (82), G. G. Hearne (64), and Mr. C. Wilson (not out, 62) were the chief contributors to this gigantic total, and, though the Rev. F.J. Greenfield (107) batted exceedingly well, he had little assistance from the other Sussex men, who were eventually defeated in a single innings with 175 runs to spare. This week, Lancashire has beaten Derbyshire by an innings and 47 runs. Mr. Hornby (79) was the only large scorer for the winners, and Mr. Foster (52) did most for Derbyshire. Cambridge has won the Inter-University match by seven wickets.

Remember where we parked...

Tas and I had a conversation online last night and I informed him of some of my new projects — one of which includes Aeronef-specific buildings. He indicated that he'd like to see some Dig sheds (we call them hangars over here) and I informed him that that was first on the list.

A few moments later, I found this:

http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl=en&langpair=de%7Cen&u=http://www.papiermodelle.de/component/option,com_remository/Itemid,81/func,fileinfo/id,142/

It took quite a bit longer to determine how to download this paper model. You'll notice the phrase, "British Airship Shed regard and to expressions." This is the link that will take you to an intermediate page. Scroll down to "To print your own model." and click "Go to the down load PAGE."

Here, you will finally find the images and instructions needed to assemble a paper model Dig shed. You will, of course, have to scale it properly. I recommend measuring your largest Dig and adding a few mm on either side. Hangar One in Lakehurst New Jersey, for example, would need to be scaled to about 80.5% of an inch for length.

When the cast versions are ready, of course they will differ from this representation. I plan to make the front and back ends as separate pieces with a sort of modular middle — allowing the structure to be extended. But for now, enjoy the paper models...

Happy New Year!

Best wishes to everyone for a great evening tonight in Welcoming in the New Year!

I'll be dining in the Mess with a rare and warmly welcomed appearance by Colonel Rowley Birkin, a former Regimental Commanding Officer, who left the service after our return from the Martian plains to take appointment as a barrister with the prominent firm Pratt & Sons.

An eloquent man with a brilliant vocabulary, you can always rely upon him to regale with tales of adventure and high spirited hijinx, where inevitably he freely admits.....he was very, very drunk!

Your own peculiar aristocratic title!

Lady Fortune the Absurd of Greater Internetshire presents your opportunity to receive your very own eccentric British aristocratic title: http://www.masquerademaskarts.com/memes/peculiartitle.php

Mess dinner placecards look splendid with this kind of thing, says I,
Grand Duke Tas the Mad of Menzies on the Minges!

Reporting for duty...

I must first offer apologies that this post provides you with no stereopticon images. But according to Tas, if I may speak for him, my presence here is long overdue. Perhaps I shall create a proper calling card shortly after making this post.

By way of introduction, I'm 42 years of age and I live near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA) with my wife of 14 years. We have no children by choice but do tolerate the presence of three cats. VSF has long been a passion of mine; I believe "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" was my first science fiction novel experience.

As far as VSF Gaming is concerned, most of the story of my exposure to it is told here: http://majormagik.livejournal.com/15246.html and in 208 posts on Brigade Models' forum (where I've taken to calling myself the "Anarchist for the State".

You may have noted Tas' mention of the 1910 World Map and the new banner. I'd love to hear comments on either.

Your friend,

Zophiel

Lost World Safari Tours!

Ever wanted to hunt big game?

REALLY Big Game?

Game that can outrun you, squash you and gobble you all up in 2 mouthfulls?

Well this is the Safari adventure for you!

Swill gallons of wine and brandy in the company of short lived friends as you tour the jurassic throwback of the Lost Valley. You'll REALLY have a talking point trophy in your Dining Room at home afterwards (if you live).

So go grab the biggest gun you can find, hire some luggage bearers and contact Lost World Safari tours here: http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/lostworldsafari/

This group isn't devoted to any one game system, more the Dino Hunting genre in general, from the VSF to Pulp era.

Saurian Safari - 2nd Edition

Personally, when hunting extinct beasts from antiquity at grave personal risk, I prefer to use the free flowing Saurian Safari 2nd Edition rules, available from a number of suppliers.

Easy to use with lots of animal encounter sheets, random activities for the beasts and conveniently with a plasticised cover to wipe off any spilled brandy.

Keep a large supply of ammunition handy and Good Hunting Chaps!

Argentinian Carrier unveiled!

You may recall the dispatch I posted earlier in the year (21st April), announcing the arrival of the Argentinian Escuadron Independencia. Rumours of carrier support to this squadron have now ben confirmed and the Aircraft Carrier A.R.A. 9 de Julio is ready for action!

Here she is with escorting Torpedo Frigate A.R.A. Rio Negro and a fighter squdron on Combat Air Patrol.

And for the Fleet review flypast, here she is in all her glory:

In making the Carrier, Francisco says he:

"used the Albion flight deck which was just about the right size for the Buenos Aires class cruiser hull.

To make it look less like the Albion and more like a different ship I cut the back part of the flight deck (that is why my flight deck is a bit shorter).

The island comes attached to the flight deck so I took the bridge section of a Mendoza class destroyer, took the secondary guns off and put it looking backwards behind the Albion's island.

To paste the full flight deck to the cruiser hull I had to do quite some work to shave the main turrets of the cruiser ! Being my first ever conversion I was afraid at some point that I would end up with two ruined ships ! but it turned out ok. A little modeling paste insured a good fit from the flight deck to the shaven hull of the Buenos Aires cruiser.

Final touch I attached the tail fin of the Albion to the tail of the Buenos Aires cruiser to disguise the model a bit more. I am quite happy with the end result.

I would have prefered a flat deck so that I could put the island to one side but the Albion's flight deck was the only good fit and since the Island is attached there is nothing I could do. "

A lovely ship, a cunning conversion and some detailed modelling notes - thanks Francisco!

You can see the whole thread at Brigade Models about his Argentinian Squadron here: http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=242&start=0

And of course it is his Aeronefs that grace the covers of the recently unveiled "When Dreadnoughts Ruled the Skies" Nef rules.

Subscription updated

Chaps,

the nice fellows at Blogger have offered me a new subscription to their fine periodical and I'm in the middle of moving to the new version. Please bear with me durng the move as thingies flick on and off! Note too the new ability to use categories for entries. Quite tiddly.

One day I trust I shall have the skill and fortitude to rebuild this Blog into awebsite proper. But thats only a Campaign dream for now I'm afraid.

Thanks awfully to Zophiel for the great new Blog Banner at the top. And yes, that is a pic of the Sands of Mars he used as a backdrop - smashing work Old Bean!

New Links

I have rearranged and added a few links today, including one to Langton Miniatures, manufacturer of exceptionally high quality models and terrain. They have some brilliant Napoleonic era 1/1200 coastal scenery, including harbour defences, buildings and martello towers. Just look at this pic of the "Toulon Tower" from the Langton site (ref RB1):

The site says: "The models were all built for an 8ft x 4ft diorama, the larger items being cast in resin, the rest in white metal. Some are based on actual buildings in Toulon while others are generic in design. Their style is appropriate to the 18th/19th century and so could be used in a variety of settings."

As for anything, you get what you pay for. The prices may be higher than other companies, but having bought and handled some of Rod's work at SALUTE a few years ago, I can promise that you are buying the best I have yet seen (no I'm not getting kickbacks!).