Pulp City Block Growth

After considering and discarding quiet a few options I settled on geomorphic ground tiles to use for the basis of the city block. Each rectangle is 14 by 9 inches. Large enough for either a very large building or a mix of small narrow store fronts.  Each will be edged on 3 sides with side walks to allow for maximal changes in placement but keep the side walks in place. I had tried the idea of separate side walks but it was resulting in way to many small pieces to place and keep in place.. especially hard when they are cut from foam board (super light weight).

The empty corner building will have to its other walls added but this quick layout gives the look of the block. The streets are 6 inches wide, not wide enough for parking but wide enough for 2 way traffic. With a smaller filler tile I can have no intersections or shuffle and have a 4 way intersection.

Building Interiors. Thinking that the "top floor" will be the "action" level for the building, rather than have multiple levels since the "bad guys" are usually located in one place in a building. Having this floor be the top floor will make it easier to reach with fingers! Also, borrowing on an idea from Skrapwelder, I figure to try to have a series of small "room" that are a couple of inches square for figures to be placed into, each having a number 1 to what ever story levels are in the building. The function of the small boxes is to have a physical record of what floor a character or party is currently on, rather than being distracted and then trying to remember where they, he or she was.....

The Foam block its all resting on will have channels cut for the Subway track, Sewer, Basements and secret passages. This will give it a dungeon set up so to speak. Cut out thin placards will cover each area to hide what might be lurking in it. Also have to mount the foam board on some other stiff board... back to the design pad for that.

Pulp Action City Block

Kicked off a new project, to make a city block intersection arrangement on a 2 foot by 4 foot board to feature a street with 2 side intersecting streets, but no cross roads. The street will be lined by brick buildings done with printed brick sheets. Some ally's will also be included as well as basement stairs, brownstone stairs, shop fronts, street lamps etc.

First picture of first building in progress:

Our lone hero is in what will become a shop front with windows and doors in the set back. The rest of the front will be a generic office front with apartment in the above floor level.  Tricky but not impossible will be the fire escape on the next building to abut to the right side of the 2 started.

A 2 inch thick Styrofoam board will go under the city to have the basements, and sewer system with secret passages linking some basements and to the sewer system, or........... subway train system.....

NEF Fleet Ready for Paint

And here they are after a long arduous laboring:

Plan is to spray them medium grey, black wash and then paint the decks in a wood color.

NEFs Under Construction

With the Lunar Campaign about to explode in war....finally... I need NEFs models at hand and ready, but with plenty of scratch building supplies and a want to make them duel purpose, air or land, I'm sticking to a more conventional build for the moment:

So first lets make a 4 inch long battleship hull. Six of them at once, clamp and file sand all the hulls...
For those not in the know, NEFs are a type of air borne ship of war in an alternate universe gener, sailing in the atmosphere and when battened down, sailing to the moon and other planets where their VSF armies wage war for expansion.

Here are the first 2 hours efforts from myself and the Mrs, working diligently away. After taking the picture she said they need barrels on the turrets..........so back to cut cut cut cut and she put on the magnifiers, grabbed the tweezers and glue bottle...

So, allow to dry fully and then prime and some dry brushing, put on a up lift base of some sort...hmmm probably cut some clear thin acetate and put a peg base under them for now.

VSF Lunar Campaign Kicks off with the World Background Info

THE WORLD SITUATION...Lunar Campaign

The year is 1881, in this timeline Garfield was assassinated by his wife when discovered in bed with some Senator’s wife by his own wife, and before he won the presidency. The president of the UUSA is Winfred Scott Hancock, a handsome and diplomatic ex-general (and Presidential candidate in our own timeline).

The USA and CSA have a tentative peace, unhappy and some border disputes, but they are at peace. The Mason Dixon line now extends from sea to shining sea. The Swiss Ambassador is serving as an intermediary because Switzerland is neutral and economically involved with both countries. President Hancock (USA) has repeatedly stated that he will only go to war if attacked first. President William Mahone of the CSA has ended slavery due to recent technological advances that made supporting slaves more expensive than just hiring them. President Mahone makes the same claim, he will not attack first.

Quebec is at war with Canada, this is very recent. The USA has not declared but is only selling weapons to British Canada, and not to Quebec. The French have declared for Quebec, the British of course support Canada, and the declaration of war between the continental powers is expected momentarily.

The CSA is trying to annex what we would call the New Mexico Territory, and reinforce their claims on the State of Southern California, including Baja. The Republic of Texas (Sam Houston III, hereditary president of Texas), Mexico (which now consists of the States about even with Mexico City on down) and Spain all object. Italy is throwing out feelers for their support.

The Duchy of Phobos is at war with Germany. Germany admits to some tensions between them. The Phobos war fleet is inbound, unknown to most everyone on Earth.

Britain, under the continued Queen Victoria and her beloved Prince Consort Albert (note, in this timeline Albert survived much longer) Britain has expelled all members of the Marxist Society. Marx and Engels are currently imprisoned in Milan for heresy and petty theft. Marx is very ill. Albert has brought a strong German cultural presence into Britain starting with the introduction of his personal guard in 1860 and adding “guard battalions” for each of their now 19 Children. The German and British Royalty are very close friends and family and there is growing talk of both a permanent alliance and a revolution against the Germans.

Prussia has been taken under Disraeli’s wing. The assassination of the Hohenzollern Royalty and their immediate heirs in 1878 left a power struggle that Britain settled with an invasion, err, peace keeping force that happened to be nearby. The German influence is growing in Prussia even as it loses territory to Germany.

Germany is also in a cold war with Russia that could flame into a full fledged hot war in an incautious moment.

The Ottoman Empire is at war with most of the Middle East and Greece. There are changing alliances between the countries at war with Greece. There are some of the world's finest sparks sponsored by the Ottomans, Persian revolutionaries are at war with the Ottomans, something the Ottomans do not even deign to notice..

The current situation in the Lunar Colonies is very fluid. The Germans have, against international treaties, imported thousands of domebusters. They have used one, in an “accidental” destruction of the Phobosians dome. This is according to Germany the cause of the tension between the two powers. Phobos sees it differently, they see it as Imperialistic murder of their people and have pledged to make Germany and anyone who aids them pay 10 score.

The Duchy of Grand Fenwick is allied with the CSA.

The Seward purchase never happened, Alaska is Russian. British Canada is moving settlers in trying to change that. Rumors of the discovery of gold in the Klondike are surfacing. No official announcement of anything yet.

Switzerland is still the international bank for all intents and purposes.

Belgium has invaded the Netherlands and is at war there. Belgium has declared war on and been ignored by every other country in Europe. Belgium has laid claim to all previously unclaimed territory (by European countries) in Black Africa (very few troops there, most of whom are happy to be as far away from their King as possible). Belgium has invented drone blimps that are piloted by programmed robots. Belgium’s monarch is thought mad by most of Europe. He is, but mostly because he is an aggressive spark of more than moderate talent. The rest of the world doesn’t know of the thousands of acres of underground storage filled with his war machines, many of which actually work.

The Kingdom of the Danemark (King Gustav Adolfus V and Queen Anna Maria) has entered an alliance with Japan, and is at war with China. At this pointing time it mostly means supplying Japan with metal and gunpowder at their Okinawa manufacturing facilities. Danemark makes regular protests that it is only helping Japan, not actively at war and that the volunteer troops of Scandinavian commandos working in China are rogue volunteers and not an official armed force of the Kingdom.

Tibet is still a closed Kingdom. Mystical warriors have lately appeared in various places in the world, assassinating the most evil Sparks and joining campaigns against Belgium. Anyone calling them ninjas does not survive the day they make that vile accusations.

Nikola Tesla, a brilliant 24 year old Spark, is cultivating patronage and is currently based in Chicago, Illinois. (written for me by a good friend Kevin F.)

....................................................................................
This constitutes the Genre setting for this campaign, changes will be happening as the world devolves into WAR!!!

Its Gotta Move Damnit!

Berated by the Missus, "well just how does it get about?" So back to the Endless Bits Box...and tread system positioned. Have to work on some major support elements to keep them in place and balance the model so it doesn't tip one way or the other.

Maybe add some "support legs" that would be deployed in the forward corners. Also waffling over the choice of company color / markings. After this picture, I added a rear Deck next to the ladder for crew access to the cab. So many things I can add.... hmmm...

Lunar Mining Facility Crane

Lunar Campaign is kicking off and so is the need for a Crane to represent the mine head facilities that form the main target of the opposing forces; seize other powers resource mines , deny them resources and gain them for their own power.

Couple hours of kit bashing and I just have to suspend the bucket to the end of the chain. ... and paint the bloody thing!