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