"N" is for...

Nega Zone

One of my favorite genres is Pulp Science Fiction. As amazing as fantasy is to game in, so is this type of science  fiction fun. Really they are almost the same thing with their exotic locations, strange powers, colorful races and fantastic adventures lurking around every corner.

For my own gaming in this setting I created a setting called the Nega Zone. I'm sure it's not an original name but it certainly sets the tone nicely. The Nega Zone is a place where the usual laws that govern the universe are not in play. This is a place where rocket packs are real and amazonian beauties can survive in harsh environments in just a foil bikini and a bubble helmet. Rockets replace starships and gravitic impeller drives replace wings and propellers. Laser swords and energy whips are practical here and your best friend might just be a huge bipedal sheep dog.

Though the setting is not fully developed, I would love to run both miniatures games and role-playing games in it. It's an excuse to use all sorts of wild ideas and to buy small numbers of miniatures of all kinds. It also allows me to do quite a bit of conversion and modelling work if I get that far. I have a few miniatures that would make suitable denizens such as some of Reaper Miniatures' reptilian faction for their Warlord game. I also have some Warhammer Fantasy plastic orcs that i converted to some sort of strange beastmen (below).



Future additions will include all sorts of aliens and heroes. I'd also like to accumulate some suitable freaky monsters and some robots to fill out the crew. Unless i do some sort of insanely big tabletop game i don't foresee the need for many of any given faction.

"M" is for...

MIYAZAKI

For a long time, I have been influenced and inspired by the work of this great man. A storyteller, artist, and I dare say, Visionary, Mr. Miyazaki has created worlds and characters both enchanting, haunting, and amazing. No matter what your taste or style you will likely find at least one movie of his that you can really like. 

I've always wanted to try to work up a gaming campaign based not so much on his work, but his style. His stories often combine whimsical fantasy with very serious overtones. Themes such as war and it's consequences, environmental devastation, growth, self-awareness and discovery color his films in ways that very much appeal to me. These would all make for a good campaign, but it is also his visual style that makes Miyazaki's work so outstanding. This is also the hardest thing to convey in an RPG setting as it requires describing everything in detail to make sure that his style is coming through and this isn't just another fantasy RPG or steampunk RPG.

I also think that his visual style would translate well to a miniatures driven game. Whether that is a full-on war game or one of the hybrid miniatures adventures games, this might actually be a better fit for gaming Miyazaki style. In miniatures the visual style would be more immediately apparent. The stories would be less involved and would constitute more objective based play than an RPG might, but it would still have enough there to allow for some entertaining gaming that went beyond "kill 'em all".

"L" is for...

Laputa

Castle in the sky. Just those words conjure up a magic, mystery and majesty that invites one to pull it into their gaming. Originating in the story of "Gulliver's Travels", the mythical flying island was used a part of Swift's political satyr.

Like many people, my first exposure to this strange, fantastic realm was not through literature, but through the animated feature of Hayou Miyazaki's "Laputa - Castle In The Sky" which portrayed the airborne island as some sort of ancient treasure to be had in a Victorian Science fiction setting. Miyazaki's film was vivid (it always is) and full of airships, air pirates, armored trains, freaky robots and strange legends and mysteries.

A few years back I had an idea to run Laputa as a force for a VSF setting. Unfortunately I couldn't settle on a theme for it and it went by the way side. My imagination was torn between an advanced realm similar to Miyazaki's vision or something on the other end as some sort of hovering lost world populated by savage people degenerated from the kingdom's greater past.

Lately I have considered trying to make some steps toward completing a small VSF force for this fantastic nation. I think I'd like to see Laputa dressed in over the top Napoleonic style uniforms. I like the Austrian helmet with the crests as those really seem ostentatious and over the top. I'll still have to come up with some crazy things to set them apart from more terrestrial forces.

Maybe some sort of armored troops might make them seem less Earthly and more advanced and alien. Something like the pictures below perhaps?

Dawghoused on The Miniatures Page

Anybody who follows TMP for their miniatures hobby news will know what this is. For those who don't it appears that I have been shut down for standing up for myself and another poster against a long-time troublemaker and constant troll on the blog - Porfirio Rubirosa.

Anybody who follows TMP and has read on any of the forums I participate on there will know that I try to conduct myself in an honest, positive and constructive manner. Even if I have issue with something, I try to either find a constructive way in which to address the issue or simply avoid it. Well it would seem that there is little to be said of fairness as this dawghousing seems to stem from my calling a duck a duck when addressing this most recent attack by Porfirio.

I have inquired about my dawghousing and it seems I violated some rule about even using the word "troll". So, regardless of the fact that this individual is a constant thorn in the side of posters of TMP and one that seems to have a particular taste for me, I am now banned from posting and participating on TMP. This is not only frustrating, but also downright disgusting. I have been punished for bothering to stand up against this obnoxious TMP member. I have participated for years on TMP and never had a black mark on my membership there.

Anyhow, if I seem rather quiet on the forum, you will all know why.

-Eli

"K" is for...

Kaiju

Ever since I was a kid, I have loved giant movie monsters. I think I saw my first Godillza movie in a theater when I was like 4 or five. I remember thinking how cool those big monsters were. Roaring and taunting one another, bashing huge rocks and cardboard cities. Fire breath and laser eyes, claws, teeth, swishing tail all seemed so awesome and cool I couldn't help but go home with my friends and play monster myself. It's been a lifelong love that i have shared with my nephew, my kids and my friends. My nephew called them, "lizard movies" when he was three and we would sit on the couch and watch Godzilla beat up the kaiju du jour.  

I am sad to say that I have only had one occasion to game any sort of kaiju fun and that's been a ways back. There are some good options out there depending on your tastes. From the popular and mainstream Monsterpocalypse to Destroy All Monsters (and its supplements). These games tend to use miniatures, which is fitting considering the appeal of kaiju is mostly a visual one. Whatever the rules set, the objectiveo f the game is pretty much the same - bash the other guys, crush, crumble, and chomp the city and it's defenders.

"J" is for...

Jar Jar Binks

Yeah, I said it!

Jar Jar Binks may be a goofy, floppy-eared bafoon with all the common sense of a womp rat, but I also find a lot to like in this character.

Yeah, I said that too.

To me Jar Jar represents something we really don't see in too many sci fi films and he may have a lot more in common with a lot of characters than you think. At his core, he is a lovable slapstick sidekick who has his moments of abject failure but also manages to help the other heroes despite himself. He flops and jabbers his way across the screen in a way that is one part Chevy Chase and another Soupy Sales. Prat falling, bungling,  and fumbling like John Ritter's Jack Tripper with googly eyes. But why do I like him?

Why I like Jar Jar List - 

1) He's an alien who's not a perfect archetype of his species. Jar Jar is flawed when compared to the other Gungans. Boss Nass and Captain Tarpals seem quite competent, as do the others of his species who fought a stand-up fight against the droid army.

2) He doesn't speak perfectly. As an alien character, he is portrayed speaking a pidgin Galactic Standard rather than perfect GS or his own language with subtitles. This, for me, made him much more believable and interesting than the usual aliens with perfect diction.

3) He provides comic relief. In a series of movies that could have been otherwise quite heavy given the overtones of impending doom, corruption, slavery, civil war and the rapid decline of society and government, Jar Jar gives a few moments of rest. Hell, somebody has to be happy in a movie where they leave no question about the wholesale murder of children and the wanton betrayal of the brightest point of light in the entire galaxy (Jedi).

4) Jar Jar Ruins it All. Ultimately, it is the most lovable character that does the greatest amount of damage to the galaxy by his unilateral decision to offer up the prospect of extending unrestricted governmental authority to the most evil man in the galaxy.

5) Jar Jar Is a Hero. Despite his later utter blunder in politics, Jar Jar is the one who saves the day in The Phantom Menace. While the rest of the heroes are busy scratching their heads about what to do, Jar Jar risks his butt going back to the people who exiled him to call to arms the only army at hand big enough to challenge the Trade Federations' droid army. Like many of the native sidekicks of old, he fights a potentially losing fight against an overwhelming foe.

The above examples are all drawn from the well known and almost universally viewed prequel movies, but there are more reasons to like Jar Jar presented in the Clone Wars animated series. In fact, it seems that there is a real effort to show Jar Jar (and the Gungans) in a positive light. Perhaps the writers of the show felt a need to redeem the race or were eager for the challenge to do something with the much maligned character (species).

In the animated series, Jar Jar is shown as a cagey character, able to adapt to situations that put him in well above his pay grade. While he never surrenders his fool's way, he still manages to, and often with little help, succeed in his tasks. Whether it is taking on space pirates or confronting droids occupying a friendly city, Jar Jar comes through. In one episode it is Jar Jar who discovers, through a female Gungan, a cure for the Blue Shadow Virus that is killing Naboo's imhabitants. In "Gungan Attack", it is Jar Jar who convinces the Gungan council to send the Gungan Grand Army to support Captain Akbar's fight to keep Mon Cal free of Separatist rule. In another episode, Shadow Warrior, Jar Jar masquerades as the the new Gungan leader Boss Lyonie and stops the manipulated Gungan army from going to war with Theed.

Throughout the series Jar Jar proves himself time and again to be a useful character. All of this is really quite a bummer when you stop and consider that he goofs bad and puts the galaxy in Palpatine's hands. Despite this career-ending misstep, Jar Jar plays out to be a faithful sidekick, accidental statesman and blundering hero of the highest caliber.

"I" is for...

Imagi-Nations

King's Colors, 18th C. Alcovia

The hobby of imaginary nations or imagi-nations is a most amusing one for me. For me, these differ from truly fantastic realms such as Laputa and Atlantis is that, although they are fictional, they do conform to the rules and general feel of our world and the particular time they are created for. This should not, however, be read as a condemnation of more whimsical or creative imagi-nations or a warning against going too far. The line is a subtle one.

For me, it's much like that so-called fantasy football that all the sports fans are playing. It's not so much about making up new and amazing war machines and such, but more about picking and choosing, mixing and matching elements from your favorite historical armies into something that makes sense. You might want French tanks, but prefer Italian uniforms on your soldiers. Or perhaps you have always wanted to have an army in the 18th century that wore colors that no real army dreamed of. Maybe your medieval army made much grater use of mounted bowmen than any of its real world equivalents.

Many times it is much more subtle or simple than this. For some players, it's just about not being constrained by the limits, narrow as they may be, of history and historical events. Perhaps you want an army that is for all intents and purposes the exact same army as the early 18th century British but you want to have them slogging it out with Germans in a knock down drag out fight. Sure you could just pit the two historical armies against one another, but you could also create two new nations of your own with your own names, uniforms and made-up conflict.

Sketch for a planned Alcovian war elephant.

Then there are imagi-nations that go a bit further, like my Alcovia. Alcovia has existed in many centuries but the most outrageous version, so far, has to be the 18th century version of it. For this time period I took advantage of something I'd been wanting to play with for a while - Eastern Renaissance. I used a combination of 17th century troops from Eastern Europe to stand in for the backwater budding kingdom to fight a war of unification.  But I didn't stop there. I added some troops that didn't normally belong in such armies, namely elephants and camels, concluding that these were brought in by local nomads (camels) and purchased by the king as a flight of fancy (elephants). This made the army a much more interesting and unique army with greater personality than simple re-skinned historicals.

Really, when it comes down to it, imagi-nations are a way for you to stretch your imagination in a way that still has some limits and a challenge of trying to make something imaginative yet, believable at the same time. This is really where they differ from true fantasy realms.

Imagi-nations I have created are -

Kingdom of Hawaii 

Alcovia, 18th Century 

Alcovia, Modern

Alcovia, Inrerwar Period (one of many imagi-nations on this blog)

Elistonia (as part of the Alcovian background)

Iquenistan (as part of the Alcovian background)

-Eli

"H" is for...

HAWAII, KINGDOM OF

Back in 2009 I had this crazy idea of trying to create a VSF imagi-nation based on the idea that Hawaii had maintained its independence in the 19th century and had become a colonial power of its own. Admittedly this was a bit of a stretch, but it was a fun project that unfortunately never went past a single painted unit and a lot of background work.

In this timeline, an early exposure to European diseases devastates Hawaii well before its official discovery and opening to the west. This allows the island nation to recover with an increased resistance and immunity to many of viruses that helped Europeans to move in and take hold. Add to this an increased nationalism and an organized opposition to the adoption or western religion and the selling of Hawaiian lands to foreigners and you have a Hawaii that is better able to stand on it's own two feet. Granted it is the final element, an agreement with Great Britain that makes the kingdom of Hawaii a protectorate of the crown, that allows Hawaii to last long enough to resist being preyed upon by the industrialized world until it has established its own modern government and military.

The final form of the kingdom is one with it's own army and navy, built off of a mix of standing troops and militia. While the standing army would be provided and provisioned by the central government of the king, the militias would be recruited and supported by local noble lords from their workers and tenants. This would allow me to have an army that was made up of many different sorts of uniforms around a central theme. There was also an allowance in my plans for foreign mercenaries in service with the Hawaiian crown.

An example of a militia unit. Figures are Paraguayan War minis from QRF.

Recently, I have been thinking about working on this project a little bit more. It'll all depend on what minis I can get for it on the cheap. 

If you'd like to see what I wrote on this project, check out the following links -

I SEE LEAD PEOPLE: Atler-Nations - Kingdom of Hawaii Part 1

I SEE LEAD PEOPLE: Alter-Nations - Kingdom of Hawaii Part 2

I SEE LEAD PEOPLE: Alter-Nations - Kingdom of Hawaii Part 3

I SEE LEAD PEOPLE: Alter-Nations - Kingdom of Hawaii Part 4

I SEE LEAD PEOPLE: Alter-Nations - Kingdom of Hawaii Part 5

I SEE LEAD PEOPLE: Alter-Nations - Kingdom of Hawaii Part 6

I SEE LEAD PEOPLE: Alter-Nations - Kingdom of Hawaii Part 8

Thanks for reading!

-Eli

"G" is for...

GITHYANKI

Perhaps it's because they were on the cover of the very first hardback D&D book I ever purchased or maybe it's because they are such awesomely complex monsters with so much going on. Whatever the reason, I have always loved the githyanki and can count them among, if not at the top of my list of AD&D monsters.

In my younger days, I lost my favorite barbarians character, Balor, defending a thieve's guild hall against a githyanki onslaught. He fought valiantly for nothing more than his honor and his word, but could not stand up to the combined might of githyanki warriors, their magic, and the red dragons they rode in on. When the dust cleared, Balor was dead, but I had an epic battle to sing about in that braggadocios way that only a young, elementary school aged gamer can. The thieve's guild fell but the thieves, my friends' characters, were able to escape with the silver sword that the githyanki came for. Later, Balor's son would wander into the world of the civilized and take up a quest for vengeance.

In my later gaming career, I toyed with the githyanki a lot. They were secret agents, dark assassins, minions and at one point the vanguard for the coming apocalypse of my gaming world. In this form, they were not the githyanki, but simply gith, still in the thrall of the ilithids. They were stormtroopers and hunters and I even came up with some strange, twisted ilithid technology for them to use, including a subtle nod to my love of mecha in the form of magical, symbiotic, insectoid armor (idea borrowed from Aura Battler Dunbine and Spelljammer).   The gith minions were not as individually potent as githyanki, but then again they were still minions. However, with the tools provided by their masters they were dangerous in new and different ways.

"F" is for...

FIRBOLG

Ever since I read their stats in the Monster Manual 2, I have loved these giant, good-aligned, Celtic-styled giants. In a game full of evil, malign, savage and otherwise out to get you monsters, especially among the giants, these beardy goliaths are a nice break from the norm.

Pic from CoolMiniOrNot.com

Although they can still pose a threat to adventuring parties, they often have more detailed motives for being so. Instead of hurling boulders at you simply for the sheer sport of it or because they want to grind their bones to make their bread. A Firbolg is more likely to attack a party because they are invading his lands, have taken some of his stock or wronged his reputation or kinfolk somehow.

As much as they can be foe, Firbolg also offer a good chance for something special in a fantasy game - a giant on your side. Being good-aligned, they can just as easily be allies to a party as they can be enemies. In my own games, I have had a Firbolg seek aid from the party, serve as a guide and in one game there was even a Firbolg PC (I was pandering to a player, I'll admit it).

More 1/72 Armor For Sale

The above vehicle models are available for sale at $10 per and $5 shipping. I am willing to combine shipping for multiple items.

Thanks,

-Eli

"E" is for...

E. Gary Gygax

Image from http://www.stargazersworld.com/tag/gary-gygax/

How could I not put him in here someplace?

Just as Michelangelo was to David, so was he to his D&D. His creation was the spark that ignited the fire. As much as gaming is and has been an influence in my life, there is a debt owed to this man and his spirit. Sure he didn't create role-playing or games, but he brought them together in a way that changed things forever.

"D" is for...

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

Likely to be on a lot of peoples' A to Z, but I'd be telling a lie if i put anything else here. Sure things like dinosaurs and dark future might just as easily go here, but in the general A to Z of my diverse hobby, this simple box is likely the most important "D" there is and it has two of them to boot.

For me D&D is the big black monolith to my hobby. I had an imagination and an enjoyment for fantasy and adventure before that, but finding that box and reading those rules was what led to me throwing the dice into the air in slow motion and beating my geeky chest as it opened up the broad horizon of a lifetime of fun and enjoyment. 

In a true Kubrickian moment, fantasy and adventure wasn't just something I did during play time with my friends, it was now a hobby, with focus, purpose, growth and expansion. It helped me express myself. It helped me learn (yes, it really did). Even my mother recognized how it changed me. I had always liked learning before D&D but after D&D I came home from the library with arms loaded with books on any number of subjects.

"C" is for...

CAVEMEN

Whether as a lovable cartoon character as shown above or a grim denizen of the prehistoric past, the simple caveman can be used in so many ways in gaming. I know that I have found a place for him in fantasy RPGs and in Pulp Adventure games.

They make good minions for higher powers and they also make great encounters in lost worlds. I've used them in my Age of Stone and Bone fantasy RPG setting as a sort of replacement for orcs and goblins along side more evolved humans. We have seen them in the works of Frazetta and the pages of various Conan comics. They have harassed intrepid Victorian adventurers through the pages of fiction and on tabletops everywhere.

There are many excellent miniatures made to represent these fine fellows...

Copplestone Castings does some wonderful Pulpy 28mm cave folk

Primaeval Designs does 28 and 15mm cavemen

Eureka Miniatures has 28mm Neanderthals

There are likely more out there, but these are the ones I know of. In addition, I find that you can get even more pose variety by using some Ancient Germans from any of the Age of Romes historical miniatures lines out there. Many of these are barely dressed or even naked, making them perfect for simple conversions or not. They also have wild hair and large beards that make for very simple, primitive looks. Weapons are easily modified if they are anything more than a spear or club.

So beat your chest, grab some fire as you salute the original scruffy-looking nerf herder!

What's Going on in Alcovia

Because there is still interest in my imagi-nation of Alcovia, I have added a special blog roll in the side bar titled "What's Going on in Alcovia". This will link you directly to the most recent posts from the various special project blogs that cover the various time periods of Alcovia's history.

So, if you love Alcovia, or you're just now hearing about it, you'll be able to find your way there easily enough.

I really wish there was a way to integrate the blog feeds from those side blogs into ISLP's main posts feed, but I have not been able to find a way, if it does exist.

-Eli

"B" is for...

BONGOLESIA

The brainchild of Mike Murphy, Bongolesia has to be the quintessential modern imagi-nation. Born from the AK-47 gaming of its creator, the fictitious African nation has taken on a life of its own over the years. It has its own Facebook presence and Rebel Minis has even made a stand-alone game inspired by and named after it. All of this is pretty damned cool for what originally began as a lark.

So, why is Bongolesia important to me? Well without Bongolesia, there would be no Crisis in Alcovia. The success of Bongolesia and its blend of tongue in cheek humor along with very serious, and real modern commentary was the template for the modern woes in my own imaginary Balkan nation. I don't think I am alone in this either and Bongolesia could be seen as the grandfather of modern imagi-nations when imagi-nations had normally been the stuff of more fantastic settings, scifi, or earlier eras in human history.

So, hat's off and a hearty "Huzzah!" to Murph for his inventiveness and imagination and for sparking imitators and inspiring new creations. not many guys can say that they have had their goofy blog turned into it's own game.

"A" is for...

ALCOVIA

Alcovia is my go-to imagi-nation for most games these days. Orignally created as an analog for small Balkan nation to be used for colonial era wargaming and VSF, it later evolved into other eras as needs dictated. As Alcovia grew from the 19th century into the early 20th century it gained legs as an inter-war locale for Back of Beyond style gaming and as it did, it gained other imagi-nation neighbors such as Elistonia, Iqenistan, and Theogonia.

Then I started the Crisis in Alcovia project which was the first dedicated blog for Alcovia, chronicling the outbreak of a modern 21st century civil war. This blog is mostly made up of fictional news stories, interviews and media commentary about the goings on during the civil war. I used a lot of pictures of real world conflicts to make the events seem more "realistic".

Most recently Alcovia has been used as the setting for 18th century wargaming during the War of Alcovian Unification? This is a period in which a single Alcovian warlord set his sights on bringing the rough and wild Alcovian Steppes under a single crown as a "modern" nation. You can read about the build-up of this side project on The Dream of the Sleeping Wolf blog.

I'm sure Alcovia will see other incarnations, but I plan to slow down on new iterations of the fictional nation until I've fleshed out the few I already have. 

Awww Thanks Jay...

So, my post announcing my decision to include myself in the whole A to Z thing received it's first comment from Jay where he was kind enough to spell out what is important to him about blogging. He was also kind enough to thank me for my participation in the blogging hobby.

His comment inspired me to comment back and that comment turned into this post. So, Jay, thank you for your comment and for inspiring me to write the following...

I feel blogging is as much for everyone else as it is for me. Sure, it might be viewed as a bit of a narcissistic bent, and that would be true to an extent. After all, we gamers have always had a bit of the "hey look at me or what I did' sort of thing going on. But really it is about community and the extension of that community in a way that we were not allowed in ages prior to the quick and easy flow of information across an electronic medium.

There is so much that I get from the blogging thing. There is inspiration, motivation, education and a dozen other "-ations", including occasional humiliation, that I can tap into through this keyboard and this screen. These might have been had at the local gaming store back in the days of my youth, but how many of those are there these days. Without stores, clubs and the free time of my earlier gaming career, blogging is really the only other outlet I have for getting the ol' geek on besides my regular weekly game night. But I think it goes even farther than that.

Besides the latest conversion, D30 table, or monster of the week, blogging has led to many things I would not likely have had if not for blogging. I have friends across the globe now. I'm not just talking gaming buddies who I swap dice talk with. These are people who I share my life and its happenings with. This sort of social networking has not replaced more localized socializing but it has allowed me to venture forth beyond the confines of my geography and experience people from other regions and lands that I am sure I'll never be able to visit. Back in my childhood this used to be encouraged and we called in having a "pen pal". Now, I've got there folks who are my sort of "pixel pals" that I communicate with through the virtual ink of my blog and the emails that have been born of those blog communications.

My sculpting is something that I can attribute to blogging as well. Though the first steps toward my sculpting were taken long ago when I converted my own figures for use in other games, it really was spring boarded by this blog. The ability to share my progress and elicit commentary and tips from those in the know. It has allowed me to network and get my work out there through companies like 15mm.co.uk. Even my budding business of Loud Ninja Games is likely a byproduct of my increased knowledge, awareness, and initiation into the greater community at large through blogging.

Soooo...

Yeah, blogging good, fire bad.

Thanks for reading,

-Eli

This A to Z Thing

So, I have been seeing folks doing this and it looks kind of fun. In my old hardcore gaming days, I would have told you it'd be a breeze for me to come up with something for every letter and would have likely spat out 26 topics in no time. Now days, with life, wife, kids and commitments, the gaming stuff is harder to zone in on, despite what it may look like to anyone else.

I soon hope to start filling the pages of ISLP with an alphabetical roll call of the things that I find fun and interesting in RPGs, miniatures, board games and general geek-fu. This should be fun, pathetic or a bit of both depending on what I conjure.

Keep an eye out folks,

-Eli

Alien Servitor Sculpt WIP

One of the really fun pieces in this new batch of sculpts is a huge alien humanoid of considerable mass and might that I am designing as a sort of big dumb servitor type. Though he's nowhere near finished a lot of the character of the figure is already taking shape. 

His legs and lower body are rather thick and his skin is wrinkled and loose on his legs, his paunchy gut contained only by the cloth wrappings that preserve his decency. His broad back spreads to the shoulder of his massive, primary arms that can also double as walking limbs if he should wish more stability or load-bearing capacity. Not shown yet are the two smaller secondary arms that will be dangling from under her forward bent torso.

His face is vaguely reptilian, and i have chosen to sculpt a scar across his face and broad mouth to show the hard life he has lead (one too many strikes with a master's gaff). That mouth will get some broad, flat herbivore teeth and the eyes will be sculpted small and beady. I haven't decided as to whether or not I want to adorn his head with any sort of horns, ears or not. I am tempted to give him dangling ears, but those might clutter the secondary arms.

-Eli

What's on the Table Now?

With my second batch of minis having been release through 15mm.co.uk's SHM line, I'm hard at work completing several new sculpts and starting a few others for future submission to SHM. Displayed above is a collection of science fiction sculpts I have on my table at this time.

You will notice there are more armed figures in this batch than in past batches as well as some familiar faces among the new ones. There are two new Prang in there as well as a Vergan warrior. You will also notice a few figures that are non-humanoids in there. Two are large alien beasts that will originally be cast without any sort of gear or tack on them. I hope to make equipped versions of them to act as sci-fi pack animals or mounts. One of these figures is based on a drawing by my 8-yr old daughter.

You will also see a couple figures in there  from the group of figs I am doing of civilian heavy space suits, industrial exoskeletons and such.

Hopefully all of these will be able to be molded and cast for you enjoyment in the coming months.

-Eli

Victoria's Boys In Red Turns 50, Followers That Is!

Just a shout out to mention that my buddy J's blog (I'm supposed to post there too) "Victoria's Boys in Red" just got it's 50th follower. Now 50 followers may not seem like a lot, but it is not to shabby for a blog dedicated to a very small audience hobby like Victorian Science Fiction.

If you've never checked it out and you want to see one man's vision of a future that never was and some top notch salute to the more civilized sort of science fiction that is VSF, then give VBIR a look-see and enjoy. J puts a lot of love into the projects he posts there and has some great ideas for VSF players new and old.

Thanks for reading!

-Eli

Building a Setting - The Galactic Trade Authority

For a while now, I have been trying to come up with a good setting in which I can use all the different 15mm scifi miniatures I've accumulated. I've got a million different humans and aliens in various numbers and state of combat readiness. I'd like to come up with a use for them all but some of them are either too few or duplicates on a theme that I really cannot find a unique place for.

To make use of some of these figures, I have created an organization that can make use of these odds and ends and still have them have an overall effect on the setting. Enter, the Galactic Trade Authority (GTA).

The GTA is an organization created originally by the Nalween Mercantile Houses as a way to protect their own warehouses and later those of other species (for a price). Functioning primarily as a for hire organization but with a mind on maintaining and promoting free trade throughout the galaxy, the Nalween offered armed protection, escort, interdiction and recovery services as well as general security. As time passed and more and more species came to trust the implacable Nalween, the Galactic Council took notice.

After several sessions, investigatory committees and more than a few long nights of deliberation, the council came to the conclusion that the Nalween's private ventures be made official and their methods and tactics expanded on a galactic level. This organization would become the Galactic Trade Authority with the Nalween placed at it's head and given and official office. However, there were to be a few provisions made to this new arrangement.

In an effort to assuage any fears of monopoly or some sort of fascist invasion, the council decided that each species would be allowed the option to provide its own GTA agents on their own worlds. Also, worlds officially shared by multiple species would be allowed the same concession. Worlds with no official ownership or who were held by a species incapable of maintaining their own GTA office could have one designated by the GTA or have another species' GTA provide for them. GTA operations would be maintained by their parent species, armed and equipped from their own resources, all confirmed, scrutinized and certified by the Nalween and their agents.

Under this new measure, GTA operatives would very greatly in equipment but would generally be supporting their own people. All would wear the orange and white of the original Nalween GTA so as to be instantly recognizable. All GTA would operate only on their respective worlds or vessels registered to worlds they policed and technically only within designated trade zones surrounding civilian space port facilities. Normal planetary defense and police duties would continue as they always had as would off-planet operations.

What Miniatures to Use?
For my first few GTA teams, I have picked two groups from my miniatures collection. For my human GTA, I decided to use my Control Battalion minis from Khurasan Miniatures and for an alien unit of GTA, I decided to go with the Ygs from Critical Mass Games. Both have a look, that to me fits nicely with my idea for the GTA and both have armor that will allow me to come up with a nice orange and white color combo.

-Eli