Under Sea VSF

 Now I've got them painted, I'm trying out some underwater VSF games. The first couple of games were just solo ones, trying out different rule systems. So far I've tried In Her Majesty's Name and Mutants and Death Ray Guns, so far I'm inclining to IHMN.

I need to get some of the guys over to try these out now, to get some outside input.

Here are some piccis from the test games. The minis are mostly 3d prints designed by Mr Big Tong, plus a few older metal divers from Tiger Miniatures.

All the kerfuffle has attracted the (unwanted) attention of some other inhabitants of the deep ocean!

VSF Ottomans on land and sea!

 I picked up a couple more of the PMC VSF resin kits on Ebay, another tracked steam tractor and a steam landing craft. Sadly all the VSF kits in the range are still OOP, but I keep my fingers crossed that Minifigs might get around to restoring them to production at some point.

Of course, I needed some crew (and I still had an Ironclad electric cannon that required manning), so when my sister-in-law asked what I wanted for Christmas, I gave her a small list from the Tiger Miniatures Balkans Ware ranges!

Taking a break from fantasy I decided to to get my new Ottoman kit table-ready!

First up the PMC steam landing craft. I couldn't see me having a lot of use for a landing craft, so decided to make it an armed barge instead. I'd got a deck gun in my Christmas gift package, but unfortunately the gun's barrel came just below the top of the barge's side. I made a gun platform from a couple of circular mdf bases I had to hand and now the gun can be fired without fear a blowing a hole in the barge's side!!!

I can always take the gun and platform out if I need a troop transporter at any time for a game.

Now the crew for the two steam tractors and the electric cannon.

A useful bunch of additions to my VSF forces for the Balkans. I'm looking forward to getting them on the table now!

KILL TROY TEMPEST! and lots of other uses.

 Tempted by some posts I'd seen on the Lead Adventure Forum, I picked up a couple of packs of 3D prints designed by BigMrTong. This designer has a wealth of "interesting" sets available, but two in particular caught my eye, Aquaphibians and Space Miners. I got these from 3D Kingdoms in the UK, but I know they are also available on Ebay, at less that £1.50 per model they seemed a good deal to me.

If you are of a certain age, like me, you will instantly recognise the Aquaphibians as the bad guys from Stingray (a popular kids sci-fi show by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson in the 1960s). Immediatly came up with so many possibilities for these, underwater aliens, outer space aliens, pulp, VSF and more!

The Space Miners also suggest multiple uses with their hemets and suits based on those of early deep sea divers.

The minis are nice resin prints (in a slightly bizarre translucent green!), very crisp with minimal need for cleaning up. Some of the poses are a little static, in fact resembling the puppets they are based on! But as I am not a fan of the ridiculious acrobatic poses some manufacturers seem to prefer, it doesn't bother me.

Both sets, not bad for around thirty quid including postage.

The Space Miners.

The Aquaphibians.

Size comparison with a Foundry/Copplestone mini. The Space Miners are a good match for 28mm minis, the Aquaphibians are slightly taller, but then they are aliens! 

Test paint jobs.

I can see the Space Miners getting as much use for VSF as sci-fi and the Aquaphibians will get no end of use!

Pirates?!

 Mark and I popped across to Kirstie to play a 3-way IHMN Gothic game in her spanking new harbour set-up. She must have had the 3-D printer running overtime for this lot, but it looks great.

The locals were getting fed up with the Navy press ganging their men and generally getting in the way of business (smuggling). They were all set for a showdown on the quayside when a ship-load of undead pirates showed up!

A lot of fun and a narrow win for Mark with the Royal Navy.

Gothic Horror Bloodbath in Venice

 I recently ran a 4-player Gothic Horror game set in Venice, it was nice to get my canals out again. It took my newest faction, the Hungarian Fellowship (werewolf hunters), also playing was the Vatican Cognoscenti, a group of Puritan Witchfinders and a pack of werewolves. A talisman of great power was on a mysticly propelled gondola, travelling down the canals of Venive. The objective was to have conrol of the talisman, by having one of your characters on the gondola when it left from the far end of the table.

The game was great fun if a little confused at times (3-way melees!). Here's a few shots of some of the action.

The intitial set-up.

Some of my Hungarians cross a bridge, keeping pace with the moving gondola.

Whilst others form a rearguard to prevent the werewolves from crossing to their side.

One werewolf makes and early bid for the talisman, jumping onto the gondola in the first round, but my crossbowman takes him down with a silvered crossbow bolt!

A brave Vatican axeman attempts to prevent the Loup Garrou from crossing a bridge, it did not end well!

Werewolves, aided by a demonic wolf, charge into the Papal Cognoscenti.

Further down the canal, one of the Witchfinder's musketeers and a Vatican crossbowmen wait for the gondola.

The Papal Legate defies the demonic wolf with his blessed sword...oh, it breathes fire!!!

A second werewolf jumps onto the gondola, but my deadeye crossbowman strikes again! Two werewolves with 2 shots, he is on form today!

A confused melee breaks out as the gondola serinly drifts by!

Another view of the fight on the bridge.

My Hungarian Fellowship clear away the Papal troops from the bridge and one of my men leaps onto the gondola. Almost home and dry!

Unfortunatly, as he passed under the last bridge he was shot by one one of the Witchfinder's musketeers and the Witchfinder leapt onto the gondola in the final turn before it drifted off the end of the table.

Big Trouble in Little Happnin - More Gothic Horror

 Colin came over for a day's gaming recently, which gave time for a couple of games of 17th century IHMN. Thje first game pitted my Vatican Vampire Hunters against my Noble Vampire clan. My Vampire Count getting hit in the head by a slivered crossbow bolt in the first move, then failling both his Pluck and Hero tests set the tone for this game. Combined with Colin's inability to fail his pluck tests when I did hit him, it was a rapid walk over for the Vatican's finest!

After lunch Colin set up his Witchfinders for a go. As he still had not finalised his list for his Witches Coven, I took mt Vampires once again. The Witchfinders had taken on my Werewolf Pack a few weeks ago and been slaughtered, mainly due to the fact his followers only had mundane weapons. I suggested he lost a musketman from the list, which gave him the pints to equip his sergeant and remaining 4 musketmen with either silver shot or a silvered sidearm each. Me AND MY BIG MOUTH!

Scenario:

The previous party of Witchfinders had been carrying a relic to the church where they had been attacked by the Werewolves. The Werewolves were unaware of the relic so had left it behind. The second group of Witchfinders had been despatched to retrieve the relic and complete it's return to the church. The Vampires wanted to get the relic for themselves, so that they could carry out some diabolical ritual of their own in the church.

There were five points along the central road that needed to be searched, one contained the relic. Once found it needed to be taken into the church to win the game.

The peaceful village of Little Happnin, blissfully unaware of what was to follow!

The Vampire count moves forward on one side of the table.

A Vampire Bride moves towards the central crossroads...

...then changes to her incorporeal form, making her harder to hit with most weapons (but vulnerable to Holy Water and Blessed weapons).

The two ghoastly wolves rush forward reaching two of the objectives in their first move (they are fast!).

Unfortunately neither of them held the relic, but kept quiet about that, not wanting to tip Colin off.

The other Vampire Bride and her enthralled bodyguard take shelter behind the church to avoid the musketeers.

Things are looking good for the vampires. The count (in his incorporeal form) has just killed the Witchfinder's apprentice and in the backgrouns one of the brides has just finished off a musketeer.

In the confusion an entralled cossack sneaks up and manages to find the relic! He makes a run for the church while everyone is busy fighting.

A frantic melee erupts around the door to the church's door.

At this point things go really frantic and I didn't take any more pictures!

The minions around the Count decided to mod him, led by a musketeer. He rolled a 10, which with the plues for mobbing meant that he hit the Count with his silvered sword. I rolled a 1 to save, then a 2 for his hero reroll.....I needed a 3! That's twice in one day Colin killed the Count with a minion.

Then I lost both brides in quick succession, although I killed all the rest of Colin's soldiers and war dogs. But this left my lone cossack with the relic and the church blocked my Colin's last two survivors. Unfortunatly for me it was the Witchfinder himself and his Captain. He wasn't going to do much against two heros, so we called it there.