Soldier of the Queen and New Figures

Hello all,

It's been a while since my last post, but I'll admit I haven't had as much time as I would have liked to get some painting in. I did manage to get one chap done, a private soldier of the British Army, wearing a snazzy red coat and foreign service helmet.

Front view

Back view

This a RAFM figure from their Riel Rebellion range. His rifle is wrong for 1890 (he's carrying what I would assume to be a Snider rifle where he ought to be packing a Lee-Metford), but I was willing to look past this to get figures wearing the home service helmet. Back home I already have a unit of British troops from the Zulu War era wearing white foreign service helmets, so I wanted something a little different. I've painted this stalwart chap with dark blue facings, but have yet to have assigned him a Regiment to belong to... any suggestions?

Also, I've managed to acquire a few more miniatures, this time on the cheap. One of my favorite gaming supply websites has a discount section, and I was able to pick up these two packs at discounted prices:

West Wind: Dracula's Evil Cossack Guards w/ Muskets

Spartan Games: Federated States of America HMG Section

I plan on using the Cossack Guards as the personal bodyguard of a Russian officer... which I have yet to name or purchase a figure for. Ostensibly he and his Evil Cossacks have been dispatched to track down the Russian prizefighter-turned-steam-mechanic Ivan Moscova.

The HMG section, even though it is marketed as belonging to the wonky Steampunk U.S.A. proxy "The Federated States of America," will not be joining my Americans on Mars, but instead will b the start of a French contingent. I'll have to come up with some kind of explanation regarding the weird twin-Gatling/Maxim/Hotchkiss/Mitrailleuse weapon system these guys are rocking... again, any suggestions? I know I don't have many readers, but maybe I'll get lucky and someone will come up with something.

Coming soon: I still have a bunch of dudes on painting stands awaiting to be painted and/or half painted. Really all I'm fighting right now is my mojo... need to get it back.

Questions, comments and criticisms are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

Fenian Command

Hello all,

I managed to finish up two figures over the past couple of days, and both of them make up the command for the Fenian forces under Major Benton: "Captain" Sean Kilrain and Peter O'Malley.

Front view. "Captain" Kilrain on the left, O'Malley on the right.

Rear View

O'Malley is painted up in a uniform worn by soldiers of the Fenian Raids into Canada following the Civil War, with short, green jacket piped in yellow, light blue Federal trousers and dark blue kepi. I saw many different uniform plates on the Internet depicting this uniform. "Captain" Kilrain's uniform is a bit of an invention, but inspired by uniforms worn by officers of the Union Irish Brigade.

Both of these figures came with the large, mixed lot of assorted American Civil War miniatures that I bought off of eBay. O'Malley is a Sash & Saber figure, while I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Kilrain is an out of production Foundry figure, from their old Hardee Hat Command pack. Both are mounted on 20mm clear plastic bases.

For information regarding these characters' back stories and where the fit within my Space
1889 campaign, check out the "Cast" tab at the top of the page.

Coming soon: I have a US sailor from the landing party halfway painted, and some others on the painting stands.

Questions, comments and suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

US Marine/Navy Landing Party Howitzer and Crew

Hello all!

It's been a while since I've posted anything here. All I can say is that work has ramped up quite a bit and I don't have as much free time as I did a few weeks ago. Sometime last week I finished up the field gun and crew, and I managed to snap some pictures of them today.

The (rather blurry) Crew: Sergeant Owens, Corporal Richie, Private Jenkins and Seaman Sherman.

Working the gun.

As I mentioned here, the gun is from Minifigs and the crew is from Lyzard's Grin. The Crew in kepis are painted up as Marines, wearing white dark blue fatigue shirts (with insignia), summer trousers and kepi covers. The sailor is wearing blue trousers, white shirt, "bluejacket" and straw hat, with tarred brim and black ribbon sporting the sailor's ship. The gun is inspired by a number of pictures of Civil War era Dahlgren boat howitzers on field mounts, with grey carriages, black iron and brass fittings and a brass gun tube. All are mounted on clear plastic bases.

Coming soon: I've got several figs on painting sticks ready to be painted. I'll try to get some of them painted over the long 4th of July weekend.

Questions, comments and suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

German Character Conversion: Part 2

Hello all!

After some time to let the greenstuff dry from the work I chronicled in my last post here, I got to work once again on Herr Major Rittmeister Manfred von Strickland, this time with the intent of finishing him up. So here we go:

The cut-down Maxim gun.

First I cut down the Maxim gun (which was mounted on a pintle for use aboard ships) so all that remained was the gun itself. This I glued to the Major's left hand with a viscous and very strong superglue. While that was drying I started work on the epaulettes, which I formed from greenstuff. I think they turned out rather well, if I do say so myself; I have never been a very good modeler with any kind of putty. I did attempt to extend the belt of ammunition to the box on his left hip, but this did not work out so I let it be.

So after letting the epaulettes and glue on the maxim set overnight, I am left with this:

Rear

Front

Ta-da! Conversion complete! All I can say is that I am really pleased with how he came out. There have been times in the past where I try a conversion and I end up wasting a lot of time and some money, but the Major turned out looking really good; I guess that's what happens when I take my time and don't try to finish it all in one day! All that's left now is for me to paint him up. Currently he's next in line, right after the field gun for my Marine/Naval Landing Party. Speaking of which...

The past two days in a row I've gotten my two biggest figure orders in, one from RAFM (who own the original official Space 1889 figures as well as a host of other figures) and another from eBay.

RAFM Space 1889 and Historical Figures

EBay lot of mixed Renegade and Sash & Saber figures

The RAFM order included their Space 1889 Victorian adventurers, a couple of Martians, some British soldiers in Home Service helmet from their Riel Rebellion range, and some greatcoat wearing Union troops from their Civil War range. The adventurers will be painted as citizens of several nations, while the Martians will serve their home planet, the British troops their Queen, and the Union chaps will be US Marines stationed aboard a cloudship (it gets cold at altitude--just ask that chap that first climbed the Matterhorn).

The big eBay lot of Civil War figures are a mix of Sash & Saber and Renegade miniatures. Quite a bit beefier and stockier than some of my other figs, they will form the bulk of a US Marine company, the Confederate ex-pats and Fenians on Mars, and the start of a US Navy command group. Forty figures at a very decent price, and most of them already primed up and ready for paint.

Coming soon: look forward to seeing some pained figures in the near future.

Questions comments and suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

German Character Conversion: Part 1

Hello all!

Today the postman delivered several parcels, which, fortunately for me, contained all of the orders I needed to get cracking on a little conversion I had in mind for a German character. After several hours of careful fiddling, I can post a bit of progress!

Most folks out there that are interested in VSF wargaming know of the legendary Major General Tremorden Rederring's Colonial-era Wargames Page which, unfortunately for all, was taken down from the web. Thanks to the Internet Wayback Machine, however, the site is still accessible here. One of my favorite games of their was their Sher-Li Temple game, which as a surprise featured a German Zeppelin and a squad of "Luftkommandoes" under the able leadership of Herr Major Rittmeister Manfred von Strickland. This He-man carried around a sword and a first-model Maxim gun, which he fired one-handed. I have always wanted one of these figures for my collection, so I tried to tack one down.

As it turns out, the site's originators had converted an old out-of-production Citadel Mordian Guard figure for their von Stickland, which I could not track down cheaply. So I decided to take another route and design my own figure in the same spirit. I briefly considered doing him in all plastic from GW parts, but then I found this (also OOP) old Citadel Imperial Guard Commander figure on eBay which I liked and was relatively inexpensive; I also thought that his cuirass would be interesting and fitting to the character's Teutonic nature. A few bits and bobs later, and I had what I needed.



Citadel IG Commander body, GW Empire Militia pistol arms, Broomhandle Mauser from Ironwind Metals, and a Maxim gun from Brigade Games.

First things first, I took a sharp X-acto knife to the figure to remove unwanted detail. I know there are some out there that cringe at cutting up OOP figures, but I won the auction and they didn't. I removed the big dumb eagles, the modern pistol and holster, the commander's headset and sunglasses, and some sci-fi detailing on his boots, leaving me with this:

Front

Back

Next I started work on the plastic pistol arms. I removed the big flintlocks from both arms. For the right hand I left enough of the flintlock in his hand to represent the pistol grip which was on the back of the first model Maxim, but for the right hand I completely removed the pistol entirely, leaving an open hand which looked like it should be holding a pistol. I trimmed the grip on the Ironwind Broomhandle Mauser (which I had separated from its wooden holster/stock) and inserted it into the hand, which fit snugly and looked like it belonged. I secured hand to pistol with a small drop of super glue. I then trimmed both arms so they would fit flush against the figure's body at the angles I wanted, leaving me with this:

Arms modified and ready to be attached. Note how well the Mauser fits in the right hand... I'm rather pleased with how it came out, if you can't already tell.

With the major cutting and shaping work done it was time to move on to greenstuffing. I added an Imperial German cockade to the Major's field cap, attached the Mauser's holster/stock to his right hip at the belt, and attached his arms. Here's where I left off tonight:

Front

Back

Side

I'll let the greenstuff dry for a day or so before I continue working; the Major still needs epaulettes and his Maxim gun.

I've made the Major a member of the elite Garde du Corps heavy cavalry, hence the cuirass, riding boots and straight sword. He should be quite impressive when the conversion is done and he's all painted up.

Also, I received another figure for my project with my Maxim guns today: a British officer holding a cup of tea. If that's not in the spirit of Space 1889 then I don't know what is.

He's from NorthStar's "Tea Time" range of figures. I look forward to painting him.

Questions, comments and suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated. thanks for looking!

-Chuck

First Painted Characters and New Figures

Hello all!

Finished up the first two character figures over the weekend:

Captain William Johnson, USMC

Major Marshall Benton, Ex-CSA

Check out the "Cast" tab at the top of the page for more detailed bios of these characters.

Both figures are from Chinstrap Miniatures, sold through Left Hand Miniatures, LLC here in the States. Both are very colorful sculpts and were a joy to paint. My only quibble was that Johnson's scabbard did not get completely filled in the mold and is truncated, which is a pity. Both are mounted on Litko 20mm clear plastic bases, which is a first for me. As such I overestimated the amount of super glue I needed on Johnson and a big white frosted spot ended up surrounding his feet. I learned my lesson and Benton's base looks much better without as much glue.

I also got in a few more figures today: a 3-inch Ordnance Rifle and artillery crew, both off of eBay.

Lyzard's Grin (Houston's Civil War) Fort Artillery Crew

Minifigs 3-inch Ordnance Rifle

Both the crew and the gun are true 25mm figures, as they say on their respective packages. They are just a hair shorter than the Chinstrap figures, but I don't mind mixing figures of different heights. The gun came with a sprue of tools, which is fortunate because the crew figures are cast with open hands and did not come with tools of their own. The crew members for the gun (there are four of them) I shall paint in USMC and US Navy uniforms to go along with Captain Johnson's landing party. I've already assembled the gun and crew, so al I have to do is prep the figs for painting and get to work!

Questions comments and criticisms are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

Rulebooks and the First Figures

Hello all!

This Victorian Science Fiction project first came about after I decided that I might wish to do a bit of pen-and-paper roleplaying on the side. While I already have lots and lots of D&D books back at home (which is, alas, over 1,000 miles away), I have always been intrigued by the Space 1889 setting and VSF in general, so I bit the bullet and tracked down copies of both original Space 1889 core rules and the Soldier's Companion.

The next step (which is ongoing) is probably my favorite as I am an avid wargamer and miniature painter; sourcing the miniature figures that I wanted to populate my games. I've already purchased quite a few (and I'll post them as I get them), but so far only two have arrived, a pair of American Civil War officers from Chinstrap Miniatures, sold by Left Hand Miniatures LLC.

The chap on the left (in the brimmed hat) will be Major Marshall Benton, commander of a surly bunch of Confederate ex-pats living on Mars, while the man on the right (in the kepi) will be Captain William Johnson, USMC, leader of the USS Cumberland's contingent of Marines. I have decided (arbitrarily) that US Navy and Marine figures in my universe will wear American Civil War uniforms, and that there will be a substantial number of ex-Confederates living in their own colony on Mars. I'm going to try to work the latter fact into a campaign adventure based on the Charlton Heston classic Major Dundee.

I've already started painting both of these figures, and more of them should be arriving shortly. I'll post as I get new figures and/or paint the ones I have.

Questions, comments and criticisms are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

Hello and Welcome!

Hi all!

My name is Chuck, and while I'm not new to either wargaming or blogging, this will be the first blog that will also incorporate RPG playing as well as regular wargaming. Here you'll see my Space 1889 adventures and Victorian Science Fiction miniatures, as well as a smattering of other 19th Century colonial ramblings in general. I'm still in the process of building the site, so bear with me during construction. Thanks for stopping by!

-Chuck