Misc. Projects and Whatnot

Been working a lot (day job, not the hobby) since the last post, and between lack of time, energy, and plain old sore and stiff hands, I haven't made any progress on my APC, but have been doing what I can otherwise. 


Ponape; 28mm Colonial/Victorian Adventure Games

After re-discovering so much stuff for my colonial adventures that never got used, I've begun to start the process of rounding out the history and fluff for the many scenarios that never got ran.  This has mostly been a lunch time reading and research project thus far, but will eventually lead to miniatures and modeling.

I did have to throw out most of the uncompleted buildings, as they were basswood construction and got water damaged in the flood, but otherwise everything else seems to be intact.  The docking station for the airship, and winged version of the airship, bits for a narrow gauge railway and gold mine, all good.  Also found bits of the incomplete ships, and the hulk of my French ship, which was in the trunk of my car, when it got rear-ended and totaled (both ship and car).

Above, the start of a hull for Bully Hayes ship, the Leonora, my destroyed

French destroyer and a German gunboat.

In time, I intend to resurrect Ponape  as a convention game.   I have faded away from the convention scene in recent years, but have to admit, that after going to Origins this year, I feel a little of the old spark again.


The Space Bubble/Job Pod/Almost Spaceship

This was moving along nicely last year, until interrupted by my flood.  I haven't actually done anything with it recently, but it sets on a stool next to my paint table, ready to be worked on as soon as I clear enough space to work on it.

In addition to the bubble above, there are a couple of trays of bits in various stages of paint, waiting to be placed in the modules.  It will be a centerpiece for near future and maybe even post-apoc games at some point.


28mm Post-Apoc and Near Future Figs.

As I was sorting through stuff, I came to realize that I had a serious load of both painted and unpainted figs for near future and post apocalypse game.  This kind of got my juices going again, after more than a two year lapse.

As I discovered more an more figs, I started sorting them out into the various factions.

There are over 400 painted figs, about 400 unpainted, plus another 150 or so painted orks that I plan to use as mutants in the PA.  Portions of roughly 22 factions are represented above, some are pictured below:

Kryomek robots with scratch-built weapons, security for the industrial complex.

 

A colorful heard of mutants, hungering on their tray.

 

A few bikers, Foundry figs, I think.

 

Miscellaneous mercenaries, some work together, others have additional help.

 

Some Copplestone (mostly, anyway)  scavengers.

 

Could be corporate or Federal troops, wouldn't trust them either way.

 

Billy-Jo, Bubba and Mack, god old boys (and girl) to the end and after.

 

Two old Imperial Guard figs that make up part of the territorial defenses. 

 I've actually got an entire company of these figs, around 140 in all.

 

Alpha Forge Asteroid Miners, pilots of the space bubble,

and a threat to the near future, and beyond.

I'm currently working out what I need to complete each faction, and purposing some of the many figs that don't currently have a home yet. 


Texas Israeli War

A second post-apoc project that I've been tinkering with will bring a little of the Texas Israeli War to the table top.  I've got six factions and armies in mind at the moment, but only a handful  of unpainted figs for now.


So that is what I've been tinkering with in recent weeks in place of doing any real gaming.

Ponape: A Pacific Island for Colonial Gaming

Like the Gunboats in my previous post, my island setting of Ponape is a caricature of features ranging from Australia to China through Melanesia to Micronesia.  Some of it is pure fiction, some things out of place, but all things in the spirit of the game.

The island started as a list; a port, a coast, a fortress, a town, some rough terrain, a native village.  Quickly it evolved into a map designed to fit on a large game table.  At a minimum, the table would need to be 10'x5', preferably 12'x6'.  The features of the terrain dictated a modular design, though less flexible than my typical game terrain.  In its initial form, Ponape featured a Spanish fortress at the "west" end of the island, overlooking a bay with a dock and small town.  As you moved "east" from the town, you would encounter the jungle.   The island was cut in half by rocky jungle covered hills and a river.  Beyond the river were the natives, sometimes friendly, sometimes head-hunters, sometimes in need of a sacrifice for a festival.  To the north was the coastline, and to south, room for new adventure.

Here is the early version of Ponape:

The Spanish governor usually tried to impose his will (whether it be the Spanish will or not) from the fortress in the distance.  The native village can be seen in the foreground.

A view of the town and bay, better showing the fortress.  The town featured Madam Ophelia's, a trading company, and a black-birder auction.  Local business was overseen by "The Boss" with help from his henchmen and working girls.  Foreign navies would sometimes visit.  Sometimes they could be burdensome, as above, where he bay is blocked by the French ship, the Dunois.

The natives above are preparing for one of their many celebrations.  A festive people, in this case it appears that the antiquarian explorer may have lost his daughter, as she is being assisted in preparation for the native celebration.  Converting the Foundry Africans into Micronesians was only partially successful, as the natives all looked like they had a steady diet of steroids.

Strange alliances often formed.  Here German troops are assisted in leaving the jungle by the natives with Austrians in hot pursuit.

Above, natives invite an English explorer to dinner.  The natives were very friendly that way.

 After the first couple of games, the island suffered some geological activity, which made transit on the island  a little tougher. 

Phase two of Ponape featured more dramatic rocky cliffs cutting the island in half, and the addition of a swamp (not depicted above)  in the jungle.  The natives got a more secluded, less accessible village, and proper place for the their rituals.

A view looking from the fortress toward the new cliffs separating the island natives from the Spanish side of the island.

A view of the dock.

A couple of views showing the northern coast and the river.

Spanish troops looking for ...trouble.  The dramatic height of the new cliffs is demonstrated

Views of the "native" side of the island

 

Eventually the fortress got a minor face lift.  A lot of additional plans were made for the island including detailing existing structure, adding a docking station for the airship, and a small railroad between the mine (yes, there would be a mine) and the dock area.  Only the face lift and some of the minor detail items got completed before Ponape's last game.

The fortress received some battle damage, weathering, and various other details, most of which are not visible in any of the photos that I have. This is how the game looked at its last convention presentation.

 

Ponape proved to be a success, with players contacting me prior to conventions and arranging to bring their own colonial factions that would be worked into the storyline.  The games flowed more like a "B" movie than the typical wargame with homebrew rules that catered to the light-hearted flow of the games.

Ponape also proved to be a bear to transport, requiring about 90 cubic feet of cargo room with very careful planning and packing.   The cargo room problem was the primary reason for developing the next stage of Ponape, Mission to Pingalap, which used many of the components of  the original island, but reduced cargo volume.

Mission to pingalap is up next.