The Rock Kings Throne Room

The following series of photos show my skirmish terrain board - The Rock Kings Throne Room, that was completed earlier this year. Photos and comments have appeared on a number of sites, but so far not here!

The first photo shows the finished board, populated by some of my 40mm Flash Gordon miniatures, while the remaining photos show a simple chronological 'how I built it and how I painted it'. I have a great deal more photos of work-in-progress, but these give a pretty good impression of how it was built.

For anyone wanting better pictures - just double click the photo you want and the image should be 'super sized'.

For reference the board is 2 foot x 2 foot and about 18 inches tall.

It's been great fun to build and given me the opportunity to try-out new techniques, I would say that I am looking forward to my next project - but I've already started and finished it.

Tony

Comic inspiration

Over the last couple of years I have been searching-out old sci-fi comics and books, particularly 'retro sci-fi' and illustrated comic books.

Here are just a couple of appetisers;

Adam Strange - an earth man who regularly travels the 25 trillion miles between Earth and the planet Rann, via the Zeta-Beam.

Captain Comet and the Synthetic Men, man-made, indestructible creations that threaten the survival of humanity.

Tommy Tomorrow - a time travelling hero from 2060 who visits 1960 America and is arrested by the police.

In Trackless Space, a real 'boys own story of adventure', very un-PC, but great inspiration for either a Victorian Science Fiction (VSF) adventure or a Retro sci-fi romp.

I hope these can inspire some new adventure scenarios.

Tony

Flintloque - Artillery

This most recent batch of photos show some of my Flintloque artillery pieces and how they have been built or modified, plus how I have based them.

A Ferach field gun (slightly modified Flintloque miniature) with scratch built faggots, broom bristles tied with wire.

A resin casting from Grendel, highly modified, engraved and cleaned-up, with a modified Flintloque crew.

Scratch built gun carriage with Flintloque barrel - the cannon balls are the heads of round headed pins.

A completely scratch built mortar, using plastic pieces from my 'bits box. The terrain pieces came from AA and the cannon balls were mapping pins.

Finally a large resin mortar with scratch built field works and pieces from AA. The sand bags are DAS modelling clay.

Tony

Flash Gordon - The Crashed Rocketship

No work-in-progress pictures this time just a written up-date on the progress so far of the 40mm Crashed Rocketship gaming board. This weekend I completed the painting of the groundwork and started to add some foliage. I would expect to finish the whole board within the next couple of weeks.

For anyone not familiar with this very long-running project. I have been planning a crashed rocketship skirmish board for some time - maybe years. I finished the Flash Gordon rocketship ages ago - see earlier Flash Gordon entries, but the board which was initially planned as a 3 foot x 3 foot board has now been built (2 foot x 2 foot), sculpted and painted.

I have promised a complete article, 'how I built it' and 'how I painted it' to Richard at Rattrap Productions LLC (see; http://www.rattrapproductions.com/). Part one is already complete. Once I have a finished board I promise to post a link and some actual in-game shots.

For now, not even a 'teaser', oh OK, just one - a rough pencil sketch, showing the first designs, inspired by the Alex Raymond comic strip rocketships, but believe me the full article/articles will be worth the wait!

Tony

Flintloque - Windmill

Over the last month I have been modelling this Flintloque (Spanish) Windmill and writing a construction and painting article for the next issue of 60 Bloody Rounds, a Flintloque Fanzine. See;

http://www.alternative-armies.com/60_Bloody_Rounds_Fanzine.htm

The full article is due to be included in the next issue (November/December), but I just couldn't resist including this one posed photo as a teaser. The figure is a Grenadier Guard, the subject of my latest Flintloque regiment and the photo is taken on my flock-covered gaming board.

"If you want to read more or see how I made it - sorry, you will just have to wait until issue #3 of 60 Bloody Rounds, due out in November."

Tony
My 165th post - a very special occasion and milestone for me and this Blog.

Steam Airplanes

I have recently joined the Lead Adventure Forum and one of the VSF threads was talking about steam powered flying machines - and the possibility of a modelling challenge to produce a suitable model.

I had already produced a VSF, steam powered flying machine model - a William Hensons Aerial Steam Carriage. See below;

The construction was based on the Fiddlers Green Aerial Carriage and re-scaled to 1/300th (or 1mm = 1foot). Construction started with the main body, which was first carved and then sanded to shape. The wing and tail are 1mm plastic card and the struts are sanded cocktail sticks. Other detail comes from the spares box or plastic card/plastic rod.

The model is 80mm long, has a wingspan of 130mm and the main carriage is 12mm tall.

Painting was carried out with acrylics and the markings were hand painted - a Texan blockage runner. The flags are just plain paper and the propeller discs are from clear plastic packaging blisters.

Here is a new photo, taken in natural light, which I think shows off the model better than the previous four photos.


Tony

Flash Gordon - Buster Crabbe

As if in answer to a prayer, a Buster Crabbe 1/6th collectable figure. I am embarrassed to say that I missed it the first time around! See;

http://www.gohero.com/flash_gordon/earthman.htm

I look forward to seeing the finished figure and hopefully range of figures. I wonder what scale that Dr Zarkov's die-cast Rocketship is?

Tony

PS. there's also a link to Buck Rogers.