In Her Majesty's Name

View Hallo Chaps! Gladstone's whiskers it's been a while but when Her Majesty calls ect. Harrumph! Any hows old beans some exciting news for you Little Wars fellas, you should be aware that those wags at Osprey Publishing are releasing one of your gamebooks in April entitled "In Her Majesty's Name" (stand straight there fella!) but new intel has appeared on my Babbage Engine about some toy soldiers to accompany it (all from those johnnies at North Star and post free for you fine chaps across the Empire in distant climes where the sun never sets like Australia).

Ragnarok 59

Is here - and a great issue it is too!  Thanks indeed to Steve B for stepping into the Editor's shoes for a third time to make it happen.  Contents include:

Aftermath - a Fantasy Warriors scenario

Burning Down The House - a Dirtside II scenario

The Drake Incident  - a Star Trek scenario

Mesing About on the Water - a generic fantasy campaign

To Keep Man, Man! - the Instrumentality of Mankind by Cordwainer Smith

The World Needs Heroes - inspiration for superhero wargaming

Aeronef Over Guahan - a secnario for Aeronef

Crush Your Enemies - recreating Conan the Barbarian in miniature

Assassination - a secnario for Kill Zone

Far Trader - Traveller ship statistics for Full Thrust

Fall of the Goblin Empire - a set of fantasy air wargame rules

Merry Christmas 2012

Very best wishes to you!

Anti-Aeronef gun

In 1911 the threat of aircraft was already apparent, as this lovely light anti-aeronef prototype mounting shows:

"Rear Admiral Nathan C. Twining of the United States Navy is spending all his energies to make air craft unsafe, at least in warfare, while H. La V. Twining, brother of the Admiral, is seeking daily to improve aerial navigation. Rear Admiral Twining bas just invented a gun (see below) which, it is believed, will meet and prevent the menace of bomb-throwing airmen." ("Studying Airships in War; H. La V. Twining Builds Planes - Admiral Twining Has Gun to Destroy 

New range of Victorian coastal craft!

Now here is something that has caught my eye - a range of 1/2400 scale Victorian/ACW era craft by Tumbling Dice.  Cant see to find any pics of the range at the moment though:

ASV1 1st Rate 120 Gun Converted 3 Decker (1856) x1

• ASV2 1st Rate 120 Gun HMS Victoria (1859) x1
• ASV3 2nd Rate 90 Gun HMS Hero (1858) x1
• ASV4 2nd Rate 100 Gun HMS Duncan (1859) x1
• ASV5 Frigate HMS Phoebe (1859) x1
• ASV6 Frigate Souveraine (1859) x1
• ASV7 Frigate HMS Diadem (1857) x1
• ASV8 Small Frigate HMS Arrogant (1840) x1
• ASV9 Large Frigate HMS Galatea (1859) x1
• ASV10 Very Large Frigate HMS Mersey (1858) x1

http://www.tumblingdiceuk.com/product-category/12400-naval/victorian-period-acw

British Frigate HMS Mersey

Scandinavian Fleet takes to the air!

Those clever chaps at Brigade Models have released a new Aeronef Fleet: The Scandinavians!

In our (unofficial) Aeronef timeline, Sweden and Norway have been joined in a union by Denmark and control most of the Scandinavian peninsula, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroes and of course the Kattegat, Skagerrak and the Danish Straits between the Baltic into the North Sea. The Union is a primarily defensive organisation, with no expansionist agenda, merely a desire to look after the territory and peoples of the three countries. here>

The initial releases for this force include:
VAN-2301 Oscar II class Battleship £6.50
VAN-2302 Lillehammer class Battlecruiser £6.50
VAN-2304 Frederiksborg class Heavy Cruiser £3.00
VAN-2307 Udbye class Destroyer £1.50
VAN-2309 Scheele class Corvette £1.00
VAN-2310 Vanern class Torpedo Nef £0.50
VAN-2311 Glomma class Patrol Nef £0.50
VAN-7231 Scandinavian Heavy Turrets (x12) £1.50
VAN-7232 Scandinavian Light Turrets (x12) £1.50
VANF-2302 Swedish Union Flag £0.50
VANF-2303 Scandinavian Union Flag £0.50
VANF-2502 Norwegian Union Flag £0.50

http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Aeronef/Scandinavian%20Union.html

Dystopian UUUULLLLAAAA!

Thats right, the Martians are coming to Dystopian Wars!

"As gamers of Dystopian Wars you know that the nations and factions of the world are locked in a bitter and gruelling World War with one another, with two major power blocs striving for supremacy, and many lesser nations flocking to support one or other of these great alliances. But what about this question: what would it take to pull all of these warring factions away from each other’s throats, and force them to stand together in common cause? Well we think the answer is a simple one. And it goes something like this: An invasion by a power not of this world, using technology so far advanced that it makes even the greatest achievements of Man seem like child’s play. And to make it worse, these invaders don’t want to simply win the war, they are hell-bent on cleansing the planet of the inferior race they see as infecting the world!"

And so we present the story of the Invasion of Earth by a hostile alien intelligence, known to humanity only as ‘The Invaders’. These mysterious beings command extraordinary powers, but are utterly inimical to all earthly life, seeking only to destroy it and alter the very world itself to suit their own needs. The events of this campaign are speculative – it is not intended to be part of the plotline of the Dystopian Wars game, which we are rapidly developing and expanding in our campaign books and other publications. Instead, it provides an account of just how the human nations of the world might react when faced with such a mysterious, deadly and relentless enemy."

"It is also a chance for you, the players, to pit your forces against the military might of a terrifying new foe from beyond both the stars and human understanding. Or perhaps you will choose to side with the Invaders in their attempt to purge this valuable jewel of a planet of its current unworthy residents. Either way, you must marshal your forces, stand fast and load heavy ammunition – the Invaders are here"

http://www.spartangames.co.uk/

Custer's Last Jump

Aero Squadrons and dirigibles during the American Civil War, biplane and mono wing fighters transferred to Cherokee and Sioux Indians, the US 505th Balloon Parachute Battalion attached to Custer's 7th Cavalry - this short story bu Stephen Utely and Howard Waldrop has it all!

A quick and fun read any advocate of Alternate History and clever chaps in flying machines will approve of!
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/u/steven-utley/custers-last-jump.htm

Space Captain Smith, by Toby Frost

Just saw this book reviewed online - hadn't heard of it before but sounds like something I'll be looking out for:
http://bookswithballs.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/review-space-captain-smith-by-toby.html

Happy Birthday to me!

40 years young today!

There is Nothing beneath me!

Found this awesome work by Shadowking today - a great Mole model (though I prefer to describe such contraptions as "Terranefs" myself).  Go check it out, along with a 28mm scale Aeronef and some nice Pulp figs here:
http://shadowking-shadowkings.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/aeronef-mole-pulp-goodness-finished.html

PS This is the 800th post at Yours in a White Wine Sauce - Huzzah!

Russian Coalition sighted!

Latest offerings from Spartan

The Juggernaut of the East Arrives!

This summer promises to be an explosive one as the fearsome Russian Coalition, Dystopian Wars seventh devastating nation, enters the ever-escalating war. The battle-hardened Russian Coalition has been one of the most highly-anticipated releases of the year, possessing many powerful and unorthodox models, all crafted with a distinctly industrial aesthetic.

With the release imminent, you can now plan your Russian Coalition land, sea and aerial forces as you seek out your enemies and destroy them using iron and steel forged by this giant nation.

These models will be shipping from August 1st 2012. 

Battlefield Dominance

Watch with awe as the Kursk Class Land Dreadnought bulldozes through the enemies frontline with frightening and unparalleled might, shaking the very foundations of Dystopian Wars.

Nations should fear the land forces of the Russian Coalition. Vigilence is called for if you want to avoid the armoured vehicles of this nation from crushing you beneath their tracks.

The ships of the Russian Coalition are brutal, with turrets arranged into forward-facing salvos, and hulls matching the angular forward momentum of their deadly style of combat. They are covered with ablative armour plating, forcing enemies to break their Critical Rating before they can even think of damaging them. Not only does this give them an intimidating profile, but it makes them extremely difficult to break down in battle.