Some cool stuff

Here is a cool thing that I found in the National Archives while doing my research. Its a schematic for some sort of still. I don't know what its for. there doesn't seem to be any documents around it that describe its function. It looks like its for distilling some substance that is stored in a tank under ground. I found this in a box of treasury documents. Judging by the age of the documents around it, its from 1770.

Anyone out there have any guesses as to what it is or what its for? I'm not using it in my dissertation, but I am curious about it.

So it Begins....

Things have been quite a while around here. I just got back from a three week visit to the States. Now its time to really get cracking on my dissertation. I have 600+ document images that need to be sorted and organized. Things will continue to be slow around here. I'll be posting some game pictures and hopefully some cool document images I find.

See you all on the other side.

Greetings from The Humungus! The Lord Humungus! The Warrior of the Wasteland! The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla!

Here's a quick picture of some 15mm Wasteland Raiders for my 15mm Post Apocalypse project. The figures are from Rebel miniatures. I tried to give them an appropriately scavenged look for the figures, giving them clothing that could be scavenged from a destroyed department store or army base.

On the Road Again...

The blog has been quiet for a while since I have been away doing dissertation research. Here are some 15mm Post Apocalyptic bikers from Rebel Miniatures. I have done a few conversion by swapping torsos with their PA gangers and a few head swaps using GZG heads. I really like these models. The casts are really clean and the bikes are ooze detail.

These are the first figures in a new 15mm PA project I'm working on. There are several good PA projects out there in 28mm but not too many in 15mm. Stayed tuned for more 15mm PA.

A fair bit of comparison

From left to right, West wind(heavily modified), GW, Privateer Press, Four A, Heresy

I wanted to post a quick review and size comparison of the new tophat miniature from Four A miniatures. Four A is a new company based out of county Durham. I'd like to add that, even though Andy at Four A and I are realtivly close in proximity, I am in no way affiliated with the company. I have only met Andy recently and I have never gamed with him. Rest assured this review is objective and independent.

Tophat is arguably the most promising figure form the new range. I was immediately drawn to the figure as a substitute in Malifaux for Hans, since I was not too fond of the stock Wyrd miniature. What I really like about this figure is that it dosent go overboard with the steampunk elements, somthing that Privateer and Wyrd have been guilty of in the past. This figure suits me fine. The details are crisp and the casting is very clean. Although, I would expect this since its coming out of brand new mold.

The figure is listed as being 38mm from the feet to the top of the hat. This has drawn some flak on the LAF, being rather large for a 28mm figure. The turth is that this is a very large 28mm figure, but a 28mm figure none the less. You can see from the comparison above, that Tophat is much taller than other heroic 28's. That being said, the proportions are similar to the more popular lines out there. I think he'll fit into my existing figures as a taller man.

Overall I would recommend this figure for any steampunk or sci-fi gamer. Despite its size, it fits well with most existing line and should fit even more with official Malifaux miniatures. I hope that all of Four A future figures are not all so big, but I think this one provides some good variety in a Malifaux crew. A great start for the fledgling miniature company.

A Thin Skin Against the Void

I've begun a new 15mm sci-fi project. Skirmish being my first love, I wanted to utilize the benifits of 15mm's small size. I designed these paper ssci-fi corridors and textured them with free sample textures that I got from Marlin Studios.

Some of you may remember my ship sections built around junction boxes. I really like the results I got from this method, but it was too expensive and slow. I designed the paper corridors in order to cover a 4'x4' table quickly and cheaply. The complex above cost me £6 and took me the better part of an afternoon to cut and assemble. Its not quite finished. I need to make more door clips and lots of stuff needs to be black lined. But it is playable as is.

I also made some adverts and signage for the corridors. I wanted this terrain to have blade runner/star wars feel. I imagine that residents in the had city would be constantly bombarded with advertising and holographic images. Right now, I only have signs printed on paper. Once I figure out to print hem onto acetate, I will hae a whole bunch of holo screens and signs.

I have three sizes of section so far. a 4"x4", a 6"x4" and a 2"x7". I plan on making other sizes. The system works by butting these whole sections against one another and connecting them with door clips. The door clips are made out of styrene with a paper texture pasted to them. I'm really pleased with the system.

The Unusual Suspects

Here are some pictures of some 15mm sci-fi stuff I have painted recently. These are mostly Critical Mass Games mercenaries with some 15mm.co.uk stuff thrown in.

I really love the Critical Mass aliens. They are not only the cleanest models I have ever taken out of a package, they are a joy to paint as well. Simple but characterful. I wish critical mass would make a few more packs for this range. When it comes out. I would love to play AE Bounty in 15mm.

These models will be residents of a 15mm sci fi city I have in the works. I have been designing some paper ship/installation corridors similar to my plastic ones I made over Christmas. I hope to get some posted when I get them done. Hopefully paper will enable me to make them faster and cheaper. My goal is to fill a 4'x4' table with them.