Secret weapons of The Crown - Part 1

The Martian invasion of 1880 caused the temporary abandonment of work on the London sewerage system as labour and capital were diverted to repair the extensive damage above ground. At the Queen’s request the sewerage systems designer and motivating force Joseph Bazalgette* was seconded instead to oversight of the enormous Vengeance Cannon project on Dartmoor. 

The shaft of the cannon, angled to fire at Mars and bored nearly a mile deep into the Devon granite was an enormous undertaking funded by public subscription but Bazalgette, now in his early sixties, soon grew disinterested in it and devoted an increasing amount of his time to mechanical rather than civil engineering.

Granted access to the intact Dollis Hill tripod he was the first to identify an electrical gyro stabilisation system which the Martians were using to provide balance during locomotion. His experimental reproduction of this system with inferior earth technology produced similar results on a three legged vehicle he named the Bazalgette Rambler.

The properties of gyroscopes had of course been known and observed since ancient times, but their apparent gravity defying effect always wore off when the gyro wound down. By supplying their gyroscope with a constant source of electrical power the Martians maintained its effect for as long as was needed. Trialled in a closed off section of Hyde Park the Rambler greatly excited Queen Victoria who immediately decided she wanted tripods of her own. Of course what Vicki wanted Vicki got, and after three years of secret development the first Bazalgette Armoured Steam Walker clanked out of its shed.

Powered by 1 x twin stack Cockcroft / Serpollet flash boiler producing 350 horsepower the “wobblers” as they became derisively known could manage a healthy 4 mph over a 5 mile radius but couldn’t really turn for toffee. High ground pressure on modestly sized feet meant operation on anything other than concrete was problematic and climbing even gentle slopes was always approached with enormous trepidation. On the plus side its high ground clearance meant most regular obstacles could be stepped over and its towering 40ft height gave a commanding view of the battlefield.

The crew of three included a stoker / engineer, a gunner / loader and a vehicle commander / driver - who due to the very restrictive interior of the hull was forced to permanently sit half in and half out of the top hatch. 

Armament consisted of 1 x 2.5 inch BL 7 pounder screw gun plus 1 x Gatling firing from a left and right sided sponson. Since only one of these weapons could be fired at any one time and ammunition storage was very limited, field conversions often deleted either the Gatlings or the screw gun.

Considering the Bazalgette to be a “dud” the Navy did not lobby hard for control of these Pocket Land Battleships and the Army, finding themselves a bit unsure about what to do with them as well, eventually created 2 new battery’s within a freshly raised brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery.

TTFN

*Special thanks are due to Colonel O’ Truth for highlighting Mr Bazalgette’s historic potential. His marvellous VSF blog is somewhere or other on the list to the right.

Secret weapons of the Kaiser - Part 1

Bismarck's overthrow of France in the 70’s had been a phenomenal success, the semi permanent state of revolution that followed, allowing the newly created German Empire to become the dominant force in Europe. This state of affairs would have been enough for Kaiser Wilhelm 1st but not it transpired for his eminence grise. Bismarck knew that in order to ensure continued German overseas expansion, a wounded Britain and its fractious empire would need to be brought to heel. Planning for an invasion began in earnest in 1883, spurred on by reports that HM Government had begun to experiment with technology recovered from their defeated Martian foe.

With a two year search for a way to circumvent the Royal Navy, (of which more later) coming to a dramatic conclusion in a Silesian coal mine, the Iron Chancellor presented an open mouthed Kaiser with a second device that he would use to overawe the British defences should Eagle Day be finally sanctioned.

And here she is…

Der Kleine Dampfpanzerwagen I

Weighing in at 30 tons she has a crew of 6 and is armed with a single 5.7cm Maxim - Nordenfelt cannon. Her naphtha fired 400 horsepower steam engine propels the vehicle at a blinding 6kmh across country though her heavy consumption of powdered coal limits the operational range to a mere 5 kilometres.

I’ll be using The Men Who Would be Kings for the upcoming games and since that rule set does not include armoured vehicles I’ve been having fun making my own dice to determine where any hits on such a vehicle might occur.

The faces shown here include optics, propulsion and the vehicles armour.

For those of a more historically serious disposition I shall eschew any further cod Victorian flights of fancy for a wee while and return to my ECW campaign - well when I’ve finished building my new 4Ground windmill that is. 

TTFN

The great summer sale - now on!

My new best friend Mr Crook has recently delighted and appalled me by ruthlessly culling his toy collection in order to create some space and in the process free up some loot for new projects.

Now I’m normally mister “never let it go” but room is getting a bit tight here at Broom Towers and I’ve begun to realise I’m holding on to a stash of all sorts of stuff that l’m not likely to ever use again.

Naturally I could just bung it on eBay or maybe into landfill but I thought I’d see if anyone who visits here wants to make me an offer on some of it first.

First up we have rule books:

Then we move onto my Baccus 6mm ECW lads. (I can no longer stand their reproachful stares when I open the cupboard). For Christ’s sake boys I’m all about 18mm these days - get over it!

As usual the photos on blogger refuse to appear in the order I wanted but basically they are all based on magnetised 2mm mdf in either 3x3cm or 6x3cm size. There are 10 regiments of foot, 1 pike heavy regiment of foot, 1x dismounted dragoons, 1x horse and holders for same, 2x forlorn hope, 2 x wagons / baggage train, 2x light cannon, 3 x saker, 2 x siege cannon, 8x four base, regiment of horse, 15x mounted officer bases, 20 plus wounded stands in 1x1 and 3x3cm.

Of course, the potential disposal of my entire 6mm force means I’ve little use for the following terrain items:

Can’t remember where the buildings are from but the hexes are Kalistra hexon slope tiles, unflocked but easily flockable... if you know what I mean. They are moderate slopes that are fine for 6mm but look a little too subtle for 15mm and above.

All reasonable offers (including postage) will be entertained. 

If you’re personally not interested but know someone that might be, get them to drop me a line.

Cheers

JBM