Thursday, March 31, 2011

First VSF Battle

And with a teaser title like that:

Rick, Bucky, Belgians, David, Mike Ottoman/Native alliance. Both sides did some spectacular good and bad dice rolling. The Belgian Spark fired some awesomely dangerous weapon and vaporized a unit of cavalry, and walked out to the explosion, dusting him self off saying "that went a little better than expected".
I suspect Mike will post battle pictures and commentary over on the Lead Adventure Forum.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Cytheran Ruins..Under construction and Finished Photos

Fast post of new project that will fill a missing terrain piece for our Venus VSF campaign.

Flower holder with spike removed. Figure is for scale. Next step is the collapsed portion of the structure. Lots more to fill in there of course, but have to wait for some of the Spackle to dry before trying to glue more bits to it. Will be covering a lot of the structure in creeping vines and other types of over growth. Danger may lurk in the husk of the tower!

Got a little more work done roughing in the basic ground structure as it were. Then applied spray paints and pva glue, put it in a box, dumped flocking in a couple inch deep. The pressed down firmly all over it to get the flocking mixed into the glue. I have, over time, found that pressing the flock down gets better coverage after shaking off the excess, than simply letting it dry and tapping it off.




The unmodified plastic flower holder in the back ground shows the size when lying down for comparison as to how I laid out the fallen tower pieces. A figure for scale is included, he may see some action tonight, maybe. When this is fully dry, glue and paint, I will launch into the putting creepers on with the hot glue gun. Then the jungle brush and ground creepers of course. The goal will be for them to be Very over grown. I am working up a few wires and other "interesting bits" to have just partially sticking up out from under fallen slabs of ancient technological items....


Now the finished shots:


Sunday, March 27, 2011

Completed Picture of Self Propeled Artillery and Handler

Did some more work and thought to post a shot:

The human is, oh, about 6 foot 10 inches, with gas breathing device, those bugs do exude some pretty power full stink, and his controller unit. He has to avoid the stink, enemy fire and the hot brass cartridges raining down from the weapons mount.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Completed "Organic Artillery"

Usually Organic means included in the table of organization for a suitable sized brigade etc. My take on it was a little more... out there. So, I first had to scratch build 2 Gatling guns and 2 light artillery pieces to mount on my "self propelling units".
I successfully raided the styrene and bits box for items to assemble the assorted guns with. The mind control units are from space Marine jet packs. Not happy yet with the over all color scheme of the bugs and am open to suggestions.  Otherwise, not to bad for mind controlled, self propelled artillery "units".

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

New "Organic Artillery"

So steam power, Spark powered, horse drawn, artillery comes in many forms, now; ORGANIC
On the left are the start of 2 Gatling artillery pieces made from plastic stock. To the right is a picture of the guns nearly ready to be mounted on their "self propelled unit".  I removed the rider and his legs, cleaned up the saddle area a bit. I will be adding a "contraption" to the brain case of the giant insect next, for "remote control" . I'm tempted to put a few more Bits here and there. Also working up 2 that will have 3 pound-er guns on a mount similar to these.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Contemplations

All my VSF miniatures are done, tinkering with a few officer figures, but otherwise they are all done. Possibilities are work on:

Work on more Fantasy Rules army re-basing
Finish some Nordics
Maybe open and count all figures in each category to be finished.
Work on the permanent storage system by lugging more stuff from the old shed...
General clean up of the Hobby room
Inventory, sort and separate hobby supplies.. hmmm

So many choices...

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

To Funny

Found the League of Steam on Youtube, they do some really nice steampunk skits, here's one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDYOP9Pmr1g&feature=fvwrel
there are several others, some funnier than others, costumes are really nice!

The Rocketeer Force Assembled, finally...

2 Companies of Rocketeers join the arsenal of Kaptain Kneemo's Expeditionary forces. And on to finishing their bases.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Formation Flying

Thought to get something done, been way under the weather for a week now, so here we go:

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Rocket Exhaust, which to Use

Here's a shot of all 3 types of rocket exhaust I came up with:

One on the right is hot glue only, no paint. Second from the right with the khaki pants is central hot glue with some grey paint smeared on and let dry, then coated over with lots more hot glue. Finally on the 2 figures on the left are hot glue formed then painted with white/grey/black. Actual rocketters are in various stages of painting, I'm really, at this point, only considering which type of plume to use.

Post comments about which you prefer and why if any reader is so inclined, thanks.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Rocketeers Part 2, Bases

Okay, so I was not thrilled with the heroclix see thru plastic peg stand on black, had to go. But, what to use? Run a wire up, paint it black? or Grey? Stopped, kicked back with a cup of coffee and thought what do rockets that are flying do? I mean their low tech, not super efficient... sooo they trail smoke.  !   !



First problem, what to make a smoke trail out of? Wire and cotton? Naw... thought about the muzzle flash I did out of Hot Glue.... Picture to the left shows the basic build up for the smoke trails.









This picture shows the smoke columns attached to the figures and their base. That was a bit tricky as they are currently being based on cardboard....funds are tight at the moment for metal bases.....so, onwards. Filling in around the attachment points to give more support and more weight to the bottom of the figure to help hold it upright.






Final shot of the night has basic colors slapped on the smoke columns to give a better view of how they work and look. I can vary the heights to allow for the size of the figures, and can blend the bottom of the two smoke columns in the middle where they meet as well. Have to paint the proper uniform colors to match the standard colors I have selected for Kaptain Kneemo's forces.







Sunday, March 6, 2011

Rocketeers

Kaptain Kneemo's automated factory has just completed its first production run of flight packs for select infantry units.
On the left is the original hero clix figure. On the right with the addition of a Perry's pith helmet and basic repaint we have the Rocket Troopers. Helmet fit perfectly after I took off the antenna skull cap bit.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Kaptain Kneemo's Campaign Characters

A friend of mine worked up bit bio's for my starting characters for our VSF campaign, in which each player is receiving 6 characters to utilize to their benefit during the campaign. Without further ado:

* * * A Flash Report from the Greystone Space Station orbiting Venus * * *




The mysterious and intrepid Kaptain Kneemo late of Poland, the Orange Republik
and Siam, and many parts unknown, made a spectacular appearance to introduce his
staff at today's luncheon. Resplendent in his Polish Naval Dress Uniform, the
good Kaptain took advantage of the presence of this reporter as well as the rest
of the off-world news team to showcase the men and woman he brought with him to
fight the evil and corrupt British Empire here on Venus. After a brief speech
about the need to crush the British Imperialists and their campaign to enslave
Venus, he turned the floor over to his Aide de Camp Jatinder Aloysius Carnehan.
A man of obviously mixed blood with excellent English skills, Kaptain Kneemo
calls him Peachy for some reason. Reportedly he is a pagan from Kaffiristan,
but an eminently civilized one.


First in line is his discovery officer, a renowned frontier scout at home on the
river, in the mountains or in the jungles of South America, Major Tristan Pitt,
late of the Chilean Army. American by birth, handsome by heritage, the roughly
hewn but innately charming Major Pitt has led a life of adventure, including a
2000 mile trek hunting dangerous fugitives from Helena, Montana deep into
Mexico. Having an unerring sense of direction back home, it remains to be seen
if he can translate that skill into mapping the largely unknown Venusian
terrain, or if his skill as a polyglot will serve him well in learning the many
native tongues spoken by the varied civilizations of Venus.


Colonel Augustus Retief, a retired Boer commander, known to have the best
disciplined and most successful command in the rearguard battles of the great
trek north will be the Kaptain's second in command. His famous inspirational
leadership and pattern of success in all past campaigns should serve the
expedition well. At a full two meters tall, he will be hard to miss (except
hopefully by the enemy marksmen) as he directs his command into action against
the British and their allies.


Lt. Colonel H. B. Finn will command the mechanical cavalry division of Kaptain
Kneemo's small but talented army. The Lt. Colonel is known for his selfless
loyalty and dedication, no matter the cost. His horsemanship is superb, and his
brilliant analytical mind adapts rapidly to the chaos of the battlefield. Also
known for his strong anti-slavery stance, he has vowed to help Kaptain Kneemo
free any sentient people bound to slavery under any guise by the Empirical
British.


The Third Division, some equipped with the revolutionary electric powered
flechette pistols and boasting five companies of robotic Infantry will be
commanded by Doctor Major Cornelius Clausewitz-Bergstein, a German Nobleman of
superior breeding and education. The robot soldiers are his design,
manufactured by his partners in Austria. Major C-B was retired from the
Austrian Army for taking chances far beyond those considered sane, even though
he is said never lost a battle.


Exploring areas considered too dangerous for human habitation will be Captain
Patricia Hazzard, late of the Hawaiian Islands. The daughter of Norwegian
refugees, the 1.87 Meter tall blonde golden tanned Amazon-like beauty has
recently returned from exploring parts of southeast Asia previously unknown to
the western world, her pamphlet on the wonders of Nepal and her partial ascent
of Mount Olympus is still on the New York Times best seller list. Known for her
linguistic skills, she hopes to be the first to communicate with civilizations
yet unknown to the Children of Terra. Her hatred of the Raj, having seen
British troops massacre whole villages in the Punjab, is seen as obsessive by
some, though the good Kaptain says he values that in an associate.


A surprise last minute addition to the team is the dashing recently retired
Portuguese Diplomat Ricardo Roarke. Drifting in from his latest assignment at
the Royal Court in Moscow, Ambassador Roarke announced he would leave his Island
home in the Azores for this fantastic adventure with the mysterious Kaptain
Kneemo. Celebrated for his skill in the kitchen, as a vintner, and on the
ballroom floor, this well-rounded public servant should not only be able to
communicate well with the other ambassadors, but improve the morale of the
Kaptain's army.



Yours in service to the World Free Press, Ole Jameson of the New York Daily Globe.



(*side note is that Ole Jameson is Aka Kevin Fury)

Thursday, March 3, 2011

The Whole Swamp

Thought to take a picture of All the swamp pieces on a single table, in this case a Card Table:
Table is roughly 3 foot x 3 foot in size, plenty of pieces that can be laid about on a 5 x 9 table. Thinking to make a bunch of 1x1 inch markers with grass on one side and numbers on the other;
2:4 or 3:6 etc for how much infantry and vehicles pay in movement distance to go 1 inch across the edges of the over all bases of the swamp pieces. Then these markers could be randomly applied next to each piece used so No one would have any idea, other than it would Probably have a penalty in movement speed.. hmmm at least one marker would be  0:0 meaning infantry and armor pay no penalty in that piece... hmmm.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Finished Swamp Terrain Piece

Finished several sections of Swamp pieces. I kept the amount of foliage down to a minimum to facilitate placement of troops stands that will be placed on and around them yet blend in with some of my filler jungle pieces. Nothing like a deadline to get the work done.

Reflective surface of the watery areas works pretty well. Thought I might have to use some Woodland Scenics Water or something but feel the existing surface will work out fine.

Venus Terrain Update

Since the lower lands of Venus for the Campaign will be swampy, I set out to create some fast, easy swamp pieces that will cover lots of ground, cheaply.  A 2x4foot sheet of textured florescent lighting cover was only 5$. I broke it into odd shapes, and rounded the corners with a set of heavy scissors. Next step was to lay them out, spray the edge, couple of inches where possible, in green, center areas is blues and browns.
Here is a picture of the stack of bases that I broke, trimmed and sprayed in about half an hours time. Next step was to break out the flocking and PVA glue. Some time was spent squeezing a ring of glue around the edge of each piece, then using my finger to spread the glue. Placing a glue ready piece on a disposable flat surface piece of cardboard I heaped green flocking onto the white glued areas, then used the side of the Closed glue bottle to roll press the flocking into the white glue. Inverting the piece immediately I tapped the excess flocking off. Rinse and repeat each piece.





Here is a shot of the pieces ready for the next step, adding bits of grassy knolls to the wet areas and some foliage bits around the edges and centers. Such foliage as I add will be very low and sturdily attached so that I can store all the pieces by simply stacking them one on top of the other, to minimize the overall amount of space needed to hold them for transport. The only snag in the process was running out of flocking! 2 pieces to edge and centers to add bits to.


And there you have it.

Movies not yet released, but oh my! Ha

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1611224/

and
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1430132/   The Wolverine

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1764651/   The Expendables II

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1289401/   Ghostbusters III

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1646987/   Wrath of the Titans

Die Hard 5, Underworld 4: New Dawn, Kick-Ass 2 and lots of others

Gah! how about:

The Kitchen Sink : Premis: The Breakfast Club meets Zombieland

"Why? Well, the plot follows a bunch of high school kids who are attacked by zombies. While they're on the run, the zombies are then attacked by vampires. Before aliens land on Earth, and everybody has to band together to fight them."


Nuff said!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Painting Update

Thought to take a short break and post on what I have been working on.

Friend of mine is pushing to get his US Marines done for the VSF campaign, so I have pitched in and have almost finished 3 companies for him. Flesh wash and highlights and mounting on bases to go. He is working on more down the table from me and gets a tiny bit annoyed when I say, "what color next?" while he is plugging away. 

Oh and in the background are more Native lifeforms for Venus.... possibly for the pictured Marines to encounter..