Earth Defence forces - Sci-fi fun

Well here I go off on another crazy idea but one that is perhaps not as crazy as others. Basically it's a consequence of Dr Who and we can all blame him for the idea. Basically I wish to create some Oronegrean based Global defence force. Second (or third) only in skill to the Black Angels in the Oronegrean Armed Forces - Fuerzas Armardas de la republica de Oronegro (FARO). Admitidly this is not such a big deal as the Black Angels (Los Angeles Negros) are one of the best military units of the human race, their exact position in the top 10 is unknown (like most of the other contenders).

These figures from Elhiem fit the bill. although they look a bit like Storm troopers.

Naturally I'll need some guys well creatures, mutants, robots and cyborgs to invade but as those plans are already in my head I need not go over them again.

BUT WHY ALL THIS SILLYNESS

War is hell and if Oronegro is the child of my imagination then I am putting my child through hell... I am a terrible parent

Well the real Oronegro story is quite depresssing. a story on a powerful nation ripped appart in which civilians took up arms against a democratic but quite uncaring government (and in many areas corrupt) the conflict which engulfed Oronegro was explotied and worsened by the global superpowers which were also at war! the story allows for many possibilities and I can make up lots of stuff but if I only go down the route of civil war and serious conflict (for my moderns) I don't think that I can have some really fun scenarios. sure I can have fun but none of the scenario's can be completely ridicculous and light hearted. I have been criticised for having a civil war, which is why the Soviets and the US (and any other self respecting power) is involved in an attempt to move away from the nastyness that comes with all civil wars.

if this is you call FARO... or just accept your fate. which ever is easier.

but these science fiction plans allow me to add a bit of sillyness and fun to the doom and gloom. zombies getting blown up left right and centre by a cyborg sheriff (another idea from the Dr Who episode -"a town called Mercy") Now this does not mean I intend to make Oronegro into a totally unrealistic place. the zombies, have their explanations, chemical weapons. the Advanced forces as well they pop up during the war and are repressed.

and as there are no pictures of Faro and a dalek here is the nect best thing... at least the dalek can feel safe while is raises money to help daleks avoid the doctor.

FARO is one of those groups that helps to repress these outbreaks, invations, uprisings etc. Anyway thats that. now its over to you guys for your comments and ideas

expanding Oronegro and an unexpected colony

Well as soon as I put it to a map Oronegro had to be bigger. after that first initial map I made a larger one, which required me to cut and paste mountain ranges to hide an unwanted area of coast line. but Now perhaps I shall do it all again! Oronegro is set to expand if there is the story to go with it!

what is currently is like!

As you can see from the picture above I left ample room to expand down the coasts to the south, along the coast to the north and perhaps west (the Pan Andean Peoples Republic could be encircled by Oronegro.... a tribal group or groups that split and joined the republic when it formed.

To the south the land will get dryer becoming a desert away from the coast and rivers. a harsh landscape but also full of the valuable Oronegro the oil that keeps the nation strong! To the west it would get more mountainous and harder to access and to the east similar to the west but with sea on one side exposing the coastal area to violent storms (no doubt brought about by the energy created by the portals near by presence).

needless to say, this, my first map was too small for a land that just kept getting bigger in my mind

Ideas would be nice for these areas, but still tropical and warm (though the desert will just be plain hot and dry) is the main climate. perhaps snow and high winds on the mountains separating Oronegro from her northern neighbours. this would require them to be massive given the assumed location on the globe to allow cold enough temperatures but the climatic difference at at altitude is also a by product of the portal.

let us not forget this island! this is off the coast of Oronegro at some point.

All this extra land will be excellent for the 18th century arm and the 12st century arm of the Oronegrean story with the conquest of these lands and with the tale of the civil war respectively.

Now we come to the Colony! Why does Oronegro have a colony you ask.... let me explain. when I started making Oronegro in the 18th century I started to realise as I went on how powerful a nation that large in those times would be once it reached the 21st century! The United States of America was like Oronegro born out of a colony (well 13) which in the early 18th century had a population of roughly 1 million people! Now Oronegro might not have received so many immigrants since that time, why it is not even close to being as powerful. BUT! it would still have attained some power. enough to cause the Spanish to invade in the 1860's to assert their control on what was sort of (read the story) a colony.

Now where would a colony colonise? well the USA spread across a continent and then into the Pacific... Oronegro can't really go west (there are really high mountains and jungle that way) so it must go east! across the Neo-Atlantic Ocean...
... in other words the Oronegreans sailed around the portal (no mean feat as it is huge) and went to see what lay beyond! I will make a story... I like the idea the land was found by accident an Oronegrean merchant (not the brightest) who tried to go straight from some port in the desert region to Europe (instead of going north along the coast then east) and came across what to many would have seemed impossible eastern Europe...

what a strange place this is Carlos? aye captain they don't appear to speak Spanish at all. Do you think I may have gone to far south? aye captain I think you may have.

... Now this might sound mad and it is, But its useful as it answers some questions! a) how the Soviets got involved in South America to the extent they had whole armies there and b) what would happen if you missed the portal going the other way (going to and missing results in you visiting South America). Now the Next big question is why gowan did you do that? the answer is blame computer games!!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks to Arma 2 I have been playing around in both desert and former soviet block style lands! Fun but not so great for building inspiration for a Latin nation.

its the games fault not mine!

Anyway I have decided to have a colony here also! But Now I can have some real fun! basically I have 3 main types of environment.

1. Hot desert, great climate for camels not so great for people who are lost. nasty giant gold mining ants! Which are actually described in the worlds first history/nonsense book... which I have read. thank you Herodotus!
2. the Jungle and Tropical area, nice for relaxing by the beach  but seeming that some of my plans involve monsters in the jungle I don't think anyone should try and impersonate bear grills here at night.
3. cold eastern European. snowy in winter (could even see some fun icescating... or what about Oronegrean ski tours... have fun on both dune and slope.) and pretty average in the summer. beware the bears and wolfs and you should be fine. just so long as its not the Russian bear in the woods some common sense and avoiding bear tracks should do you fine.

this is a cool vehicle! no other desciption needed... off topic but its the games fault for all this expansion eastards

Naturally the concept needs development! Naturally a map is needed. but apart from that this could be quite fun. it also begs the question who is connected to whom in this world but that's not important but the most fun part is surely that if I ever meet up with any of you we can play a game. Oronegrean support for US soldiers fighting the Soviet Union as it advances westward after the Re-union possible especially if the colony was at risk.

a very different landscape would exist in the colony... yes I have used lots of pictures form the game.

have fun guys! give me your ideas also.... think it would be cool to have a James Bond style bad guy layer in the Colony just say so. A link to Area 51 in the desert area (why area 51 might be such a secret) just say. ideas for a language for the colony why not. Just mention it because that's where I need help the most now.

greetings to my new followers! hello to fogsoldiers from fogsoldiers nice to have you on board. Welcome to Mike from mikes wargame blog thanks for joining.

making stuff with the old man? a plan...

well I have a cunning plan... not that cunning because it is only in 1/72 scale and not 1/1, which would be cunning. But I am going to make some bunkers! yes that's right, bunkers. I have been communicating quite a bit with my friend Michael with whom I have set up quite a good miniature people smuggling ring. but one of the things I offered to do was make buildings... my cunning plan; get some practice in making buildings, and make something we can both use.

But I also want to do something with my dad. its been a while since we last made something together so I thought it would be nice to get him involved in making something. a father, son project, seeming that next year I'm off to university with any luck I must make the most of the time left in which we can both work on something together.

I have found a site full of pictures and information from which to gather ideas.

but naturally I need to practice building, model buildings, and one thing I can practice on is bunkers. Why bunkers? because then I can improve my terrain building skills, get used to making more complex structures other than simple rectangular boxes that either have roofs and floors that slot together or are merely placed on top. The bunkers roof would be built in a similar manner to me previous building the little supply house but made from a different material.

built partially into the hillside this German 669 Open gunbunker would be a nice candidate

this is the business end

Now you may be wondering why is this cunning... I wish to make more than one! 3 in fact two smaller bunkers and one larger one. the Larger one I may sell, that's right sell depending on how nice it is, one of the smaller ones I shall send to Michael and one I shall keep myself. Now as usual I am not simply go on and do it all before I allow the followers of this blog to have an input!

Here is the site I am using for ideas; http://www.bunkerfotos.nl/english take a look around and perhaps you'll see something that would be cool. Besides if I do one to sell it would be good to do something that would be of interest to buyers.

well get involved, with the potential to sell something I make I am looking to get lots of feed back. will what I make be any good? I can't make any promises... when will I start? not sure depends on how much work my father and I have to do.

Pics from Zvezda - hot war figs

My first Reaction = YAY pics, let me see, let me see!
My Second Reaction = WOW awesome! these are great. gimmie, gimmie gimmie.
My Third Reaction = Why won't they do a large set :-(

anyway here are the pics... I'll let you decide what you think

the Soviets, by far the best in plastic! but a pitiful amount... but still excellent

Well first up its the Russians! and Wow. great stuff, the only Russians available for the era (1980's) in plastic is limited to Spetnaz (esci/italeri) and Airfix (small figures, and not that detailed). These guys are a great addition to that small list. My only complaint is that there is not a full set! but beggars can't be choosers, but still is this small set going to compete with so much metal?

again excellent but we already have a good set from Esci!

Next up its the USA, again great figs! However these figs have competition... Esci has a set of troops and these have recently been reissued by Italeri. once again Why not a full set?

a BTR-80 (please tell me I got that right)

Now for a kit! yet if its like the other at of tactic vehicles this will be 1/100 scale and not 1/72 and so no use to me.

Well there we go! some pics of some great figs, but the quantity is the issue even if the quality is amazing. still its on the list but knowing how prices work these figs won't be building up my armies any time soon. Also my other complaint is; Where is the NATO troops from other nations? and the same for the WARSAW pact nations. are we only going to get a few sets??? I guess keep your eyes on the news and on PSR. but from me that is all.

Discussion: Oronegro sci-fi

Well this post is here so that people reading this blog can comment on what they thing about sci-fi elements in Oronegro. So far there have been stories, plans and concepts but nothing conclusive has yet been written down.  I have split the main ideas I have into different categories so that you can look at each one.

I want to see what you think, because I want to one day open up the Oronegrean world for others to play around with. so right now I am setting the basic outline and a few basic fixed facts and one day, sooner or later you can all add your own things and play around in the Oronegrean world. I have allowed anyone to comment now so we can all add our ideas.

The Bunker and other advances forces

The bunker has been discussed already, but let me go over some key points. The Bunker was set up long ago and is home to NAZI scientists who after WW2 fled to Oronegro. Their experiments on kidnapped people range from finding ways to prolong life (the scientists alive in the bunker are the same ones that fled in the 1940's) all the way to creating the zombie virus (discussed later) and to making advanced forms of weaponry.

some technologically advanced force. still the can be killed by a well trained force though.

Well the Bunker is not the only place that creates these super soldiers and their even more super equipment. there is also room for another force other plains in Oronegro. this force could be bunker troops that have been smuggled in some way to this place. more will be discussed about these plains in the next segments.

Zombies and mutants

this is something I have given quite a bit of thought to, we all like zombies, and they are one of the more plausible horror concepts. also because they can be either a small battle field nuisance all the way up to a huge terrifying force, they are very simple to put into the Oronegrean story.

this guy hopes he has enough ammo

Zombies will come from either the bunker or elsewhere. they'll make everything very interesting. and yes they also might turn up in the plains. as for mutants  its a pretty similar story.

Aliens and creatures

Well these are the most outlandish of the sci-fi concepts. Aliens are not going to be to much of an issue, they'll be a few scouts, looking to see how the world emerges from WW3, who have come to Oronegro because its easier to hide in a place that humans themselves hide (they did their research). They will have advanced technology but will also be killing machines in their own right, easily able to kill a group of unarmed humans lost at night.

monster or alien? either one, but still its scary.

the creatures are beasts from the forests and jungles, they are very intelligent and have come out to put a stop to this madness which is turning their already harmed homeland into a burnt and polluted mess. The creatures will not be armed in anyway except for their own bodies, venoms or toxic sprays. Once again these will appear on the plains, and in the jungle.

Both the Aliens and the creatures will be good killers, but when the military turns up or they face a person who is very skilled with knives or other more primitive weapons, they shall find themselves in a spot of bother. the aliens may have only limited support from their advanced vehicles and flying machines.

The plains

The plains will be the scene for most of this scary, sci-fi activity! the plains are Oronegro's second farming area, they are full of small towns and have one big city. the city of El Puerto Segundo. this is comparable to La Ley in size and was full of very modern buildings, since this area is where quite a bit of the oil came from.

Puerto Segundo is the only city on the plains.

If the sci-fi concepts are of interest then the story for the plains in the civil war is simple. Mostly loyal to the National forces, except for a small group of rebels, the plains (apart from the city itself) were hit by nuclear weapons, and other more dangerous ones designed to create zombies and mutants. these came either from forces from the bunker itself or were supplied to rebel or Soviet forces in the area.

the area soon becomes a toxic wasteland, which brings out the armies or creatures from the forest, out for revenge on human kind for destroying their sacred land. The aliens can just notice this attack and because they are already in Oronegro, come here to analyse the effects of these human weapons but end up getting into conflict with the soldiers. The advanced army which has also now appeared in the plains now advances on the city, encountering national forces, creatures and aliens alike.

in the end your left with a really messed up place with the main city a battle ground between soldiers and advanced forces (aliens or the bunker troops) and the surrounding countryside a death trap for people lost at night!

Well there you go... tell me what you thing

All this is conceptual nothing is certain... I still have to walk the dog and its dark outside, why did I go looking up monsters that picture is creeping me out... and I have a horrible imagination that means as soon as I start day dreaming I'll imagine that one of these will be following me around. yes imagination can be a curse also.

have a nice day guys, and I hope none of these follow you around.

Building up the armies, and some works in progress

Well in the Northern Hemisphere its spring cleaning time, which means for me... buying time. I am currently going through what I need and what I would like. For the main part I am focussing on the Soviets! Oronegro is going to have loads! lots and lots of them. Why? Because I can and they look cool, US soldiers look professional and deadly as do most European ones but Russians look cool!

this is one of my favourite tanks, after the Leopard 2, the challenger 2

Well then what am I planning to get? 3 things currently

1. I am purchasing some second hand goods from an old friend Emmett, better known as Winttrix, he's downsizing his war-gaming collection after his big move so I am paying for the postage of a nice collection of models. :-D This I shall pay for shortly
2. I am saving up for this deal! A Dutch member of the Wargaming Guild is selling off lots of kits, I hope to buy some T-80BV's, because they look cool! and also some BM-21 Grands because my first kit was the BM-24 so it seems appropriate for some reason. I'll save up and get those.
3. another Friend also from the Netherlands, has offered to by me the Orion Chechens and their modern Russians. I got him some figures to its basically present giving! He has already given me some things but he said that he was more than willing to get the figures as well, despite my insistence that he didn't have to. ah well, I should not turn down such a kind offer, I am getting him some more figs for his Birthday anyway, also something to save up for.

 Also I will be nice and show you the Two kits my Dutch Friend sent me already, ones on the work bench (which is now actually my workbench and not the dinning room table) that is the LKW 7t. mil gl (6x6 Truck)

I needed some transport and now with this I have some :-D

The truck is proving to be a complex kit! But I shall soldier on just as the Truck itself would in the boggy muddy ground on jungle roads of Oronegro! I am also adding something not included in the kit... Crew, conversions of the Esci NATO ground crew they shall be designed to show either a sense of ease or at watch. so far only the driver is in place. I might even put a gunner in. Using the DShK included in the T-90A disaster kit as a mounted weapon, that is if the gun is not bent to buggery like the rest of the kit... we'll see. This tanks crew is looking pretty generic, which is good as the truck itself shall be also.

There is also another kit... a Tank... My Favourite tank :-D... its already named in this post... The Leopard 2 A6, what a beautiful tanks. sinister looks and a deadly armament this tank means business.

its mine... my own... my precious.

well I think this tank shall be used by the Germans but like some of the others I may paint it up without to many or any decals so it can be used by anyone. Why can't Oronegro use my favourite tank? it uses my second favourite. This shall be made once I get the truck done, but I think they shall be presented together.

well Oronegro is set to grow, with more baddies in the mix with all those lovely soviets, who of course will do good things, this is Oronegro both sides shall do good and bad, no innocence in war. And with the Good force almost complete except for some AFV's and APC's its going to get ugly once the soviets are ready for battle. Once again feel free to contact me at GJDitchburn@Gmail.com if you have any offers of second hand moderns, although I am going to make these purchases, they are basically going to be all the spending I shall make this year.

now onto the new follower... I have not had a new follower on one of my blogs for a while... greetings to Alfons Cànovas from miniaturas militares por alfons canovas welcome to this blog.

and once more have a great time guys.

Rule making progress report.

Well I have typed up my rules and they are ready to print and test. anyway I have here an option for you. I can upload the files! yes even though I have yet to test them. the fact is I don't have much time to test my rules out what with school and all. SO Here is my proposal if you wish I can upload my Ground combat or my naval combat rule sets or both for you to try if you so wish... If I do so I'll make a big thing about it here and they'll get their own post, once you've tried the rules come back here and tell me how you found them... any constructive criticism you may have or ideas, then once I alter the rules I'll delete the old copy from on-line (to save space in my google docs) and hen post the new version both here and on my blog, if people like them well we'll see what I can do next with them.

This will be my first game... a raid upon a small stock house. A second time for the unhappy Alfred Hale who has retreated here after losing a battle to the bandits the previous day now with the remainder of his soldiers he not only has to fight for his own life but for members of the Castillo family as well who were transporting goods between San Fran and La Fortuna.

I have started using my camera again, batteries might not last long but I hope the image quality is better

the bandits, their actually my pirates and sailors but fit the role well

not many men left can Alfred hold out?

well there you go lets see what I can do for you. if you even have the slightest desire to try the rules don't be shy I need to see if they are half decent also.

greetings to Michael Peterson feel free to comment at any time on the blog I hope you enjoy watching my mad ideas progress or as is usually the case not progress.

the begginings of a story

the year is 1735
on a balcony of the Mayoral Palace in La Ley stands a man richly dressed, though for all his noble attributes his wig is still in on its stand and his clothes are not properly put on. the must be in his early 20's but stands up on the balcony like an elder whose wisdom encompasses the knowledge of several generations. He is shaken his skin is pale although his complexion is usually a few shades darker than most of his fellow aristocrats. Eduardo Martínez is his name and he is Mayor of La Ley and the constitutional monarch of Oronegro. in his hands he holds a piece of parchment, scribbled with many signatures, a paragraph at the top being the only substantial bit of writing on it. But why would it need to be longer? Why should it contain more paragraphs? more words? For this is a declaration of War!...

there a sneak peak into a world of conflict. Be careful my friends for now Oronegro is at war the battles will soon come. 1735 is when this war starts though 1740 is when my story will really take place 5 years in and the war will have just gone through a small lull in the fighting.
I am showing you this so that you can begin to picture what Oronegro will be, a nation already worn down by a war many thought would never happen again, a nation which knows its oldest foe is about to re enter the fray, a nation which must now rely on its own leaders to take the field.

Eduardo Martínez remember this name! Born on the 17 March 1712 he has travelled great distances and seen many great things. His character shall be explained more once I have a fig for him ;-) but the basics must be covered... At age 16 he was elected, as is customary by the family of Juan Carlos the founder of Oronegro, to become La Ley's 9th Mayor. Incredibly young but also a genius whose social skills, good humour and military intellect are rivalled by very few and none are a match when it comes to their excellence in all points! He shall lead the armies of Oronegro in this war a war that had seen and would see Oronegro's highest and lowest points.

if I sound very proud of my little Eddie here I am, the character is named after my current Spanish teacher who is a very funny man, though I could never see him leading an army, or a country he is still a friend and I thought why not include him in my story... after all he is Spanish. (actually his father in Argentine and his mother in Anglo-Irish, it gets even more confusing but lets leave it at that... I my self am English, 1/4 sctoish, 1/8 Australian and distantly French, and I am descended from a Norman knight)

the story above will later become part of another chapter in my Oronegro blog but for now let it rest here... I have many things to get done, several armies of figs to paint (perhaps I can organise something at school, a war gaming club get some year nines to help paint the armies, its a possibility) I also have 3 boats to make; the Willow, the Laurence and the San Miguel... and let us nor forget its term time and that means homework.

SO my projects slowly venture on and my story becomes more complex. I hope your enjoying this slow but interesting story (I hope you find it interesting) and that Oronegro can one day bear witness to a miniature campaign that attracts the attention of many war gaming enthusiasts from around the world... well that is the dream I guess, whether it can be achieved is another thing entirely.

Characters; you choose who goes into the story

Now I am sitting here with my new laptop thinking about my new year of school, recovering my voice from Fridays shouting, waiting for steam to hurry up and finish downloading Napoleon Total War onto this computer (the disk installation appears to have issues with the new PC) and guess what I am once more thinking who can be added into the Oronegrean story???

As you can imagine this is not the best time to be thinking of characters but still I am mad, spontaneous and watching a download claim its got hours remaining is not so fun (using the internet is not helping but I am beyond caring, especially when the download accelerator can't speed up steam). Now onto more important matters than using up broadband, characters for Oronegro!

As you are all aware, hopefully, I have recently made some characters, Sir Alfred Hale and Rosa and her father. Now these are some nice characters that I hope will liven up Oronegro is the months to come, but a nation cannot be made up of these people alone, even once the rest of the Castillo family are ready there will still need to be more. Why is this? well one of the things I love is to have multiple characters, even in my moderns I had such figures as James.ep3, Bean Castrae Ted, Karri .C. Tuf, and Fixed. and although I painted more right before I swapped era's I still had plenty in the pipeline to be introduced.

The thing is with the 18th century I want to do more, I want to have not only characters that add to the story and the battles, Like Alfred, but also those who can tell stories in their own way, like young Rosa. Yet most of all I want to involve you my followers, I want to repay your kindness in following my somewhat erratic blogging, in honours! For those who gave models I built ships (almost wrote shops, though I did in the moderns) and although I still have many to build (finding the energy and time is hard during term time) but for people who just like to see what I do I though what about a character... They don't have to be named after you, they don't even have to have a personality like yours, you don't even need to tell me what they should be like, I will allow all of that but if you don't want to go that far I have no problems with that either.

SO what should these characters be like... Well there are a few things I would like to do; create some elite guards for Eduardo Martínez, each would be armoured in plate like the conquistadors or knights of old, each one would be a hero in his own right being the best of the best; create some aristocrats, men and women who light up the land with either their stories of noble deeds or shame it with tales of intrigue, perhaps more women to make up for all the men you have with this hobby; foreigners, merchants, explorers and travellers, people who are all moving around the nation each with their own stories and perhaps ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time; a bandit leader, a pirate leader or a master criminal, perhaps someone who for half their time decided to live it big with the high and mighty and yet when the sun goes down or the palatial doors of his mansion close to guests he becomes a man of little morality; Eduardo Martínez himself perhaps more than one fig to represent the mayor in his palace and with his people and the mayor with his soldiers at the front.

So there you have it lots of possibles but very few certainties and don't think that your restricted to these options you can always add your own characters with their own stories. YOU CAN EVEN ADD SOME ENEMY LEADERS!!!!!! I have not come up with the identity of the Kaxad emperor, the governor of Nouveau Paris, the lord of New Dunedin, the leader of the Oroblanco liberation front and even others.

So yes plenty for you to choose from, plenty you can come up with. Perhaps by reading the Colonisation and Expansion stories on the Oronegro blog you can find even more groups that could be represented by some characters. Now I cannot promise that every character you put forwards will be created, nor can I promise that those stated above will fit in with the story, I am not looking for 1000 characters even though it seems I have that many in my head... really all I can say is put forwards an idea and I'll see what I can do ;-D

Making Rules for 1/72 scale ship combat

Well I was going to do this myself but I am struggling. Making rules is something I can do... when I have an outline to expand on but from scratch is hard. I have started making some rules for what I can small scale land combat, for which I am utilizing a heavily altered version of the modern combat rules I have. I have also requested a copy of Ion's (Archduke Piccolo) rules, he says he has a machine copy :-). But for naval combat I am not even going to bother looking for rules in 1/72 scale but create my own, with help. Wind, currents and weather all play a HUGE part in naval combat and so far I have avoided them. I have come up with a formulae for the turning circle though...

A Ship's tightest possible turning circle has a radius (in normal circumstances) of half its length. however of coarse that's not the main problem the problem is the formulae which of coarse is 0.5(2π x o.25L). L= length there are of coarse several modifiers that affect the distance.

• damaged rudder x1.8
• damaged hull x1.6
• damaged rigging/sails x1.7 (unless ore/steam powered)
• streamline hull x0.7
• bulky x1.2
• over loaded x1.2
• travelling at high speed x1.5
• travelling at reasonable speed x1.2
• travelling at a slow speed x0.9
• deep draft x1.5
• shallow draft x0.8
• contrary currents x1.9
• contrary wind direction x1.8
• Wind aids turn x0.7
• current aids turn x0.8
• Ship is using ores x0.5

Note that when more than one factor is effecting the ship that the decimals are added with the factors below 1.0 having the difference between the number and 1 used (i.e 0.9 becomes -o.1). So when a ship with a normal turning circle of 50cm is affected by contrary winds but is travelling at slow speeds turns as tightly as possible the turning circle is multiplied by 1.7 so the equation to find the distance it will cover becomes o.5(2π x(50 x 1.7)) the end result is that it will cover a distance of 267 cm! this of coarse is taken off the distance the ship can cover in that turn.
But the distance covered by a ship during a turn also depends of the weather, the amount of sails and their size the ship has, and also the speed of the ship the previous turn.
Now you may be wondering what I mean by reasonable speed, high speed and slow speed... High speed is the speed a ship travels when its at full sail and the winds are favouring it. Reasonable speed is when its using more than 1/2 its possible sail power and the winds are in its favour or the ship is using full sail but the winds are not giving it full power. Normal speed is when its either using around 1/2 its sail power and the winds are favourable or when its using a greater amount of sail but the winds are not favouring it. slow speed is when the ship is either using below 1/2 its sail power or the winds are contrary. The actual speeds them selves are determined by eye, how many sails and how big they are and the shape of the ship... if its wide then its slower and if its got lots of sails and their huge its very fast :-) nice and simple.
As for ore power, well I think that the number of ores must determine its speed. what that speed is I have no idea.

But there is still so much to figure out! and of coarse there is the factor of gun on the ship. BUT all crew and guns will be affected by complementary land rules... the other ones I am making.

whats on my workbench

so what is on the dinning room table workbench then? well its a scruffy disorganised chaos that somehow I manage to work in and regularly tidy away to allow for dinner, though because its summer I can leave the stuff out longer, :-). the following pictures may disturb some viewers who hate chaos and others who find the use of a dinning table for anything other than dinner a crime.

this is just part of the mess, projects I am working on

One Oronegrean supply house, you find these along the nations roads, this is a small one that is also designed to act as fortification if needed, hence the many windows on the ground floor providing 360 degree views, and the roof. which is removable.

this here is an collection of figures some Oronegrean soldiers the others are civilians

this here is the Willow a nice little cutter that will be either a transport or cargo ship

once again a look at the figs, this camera angle and lighting does not do them any favours, nor does their current stage in basing and painting, more on that later on.

and this scribbled and disorganised mess of words is an attempt to get on paper exactly how many people guns, wagons and horses are in an Oronegrean legion. the answer is 5000 humans, 50 guns, 500 wagons and 5000 horses. I will explain more once I sort out the mess into a nice chart. give me a few years, hours, months, days or weeks.

 And Now onto a little fun explanation on basing my figs... my new figs unlike my moderns will all have nice rectangular bases so that they can all be squashed together to form those rigid battle lines of the time... why I am also doing this for the civilians is beyond me. BUT whats so special is the materials I am using!!!!

I AM USING BLACK SAND AND PVA TO BASE MY FIGS!!!!

along this coast of New Zealand the beaches are made of black sand which makes them a feet frying strip of magnetic pain. (trust me it does burn your feet badly during the summer). this sand is very fine and like I said magnetic... SO the other day I went to the beach and got a bag full, then I had to dump half the sand and then put the bag inside 2 others because the load of sand was incredibly heavy. so I based my figs with the mixture of sand and PVA only to find the sand was so magnetic that even when done and flock applied a good magnet can still pull those figs around! I am now think how funny if would be to move my army from underneath the table by using a large magnet... I wonder if I could move them without my opponent noticing???

a bit of black sand on a pen which has a magnetic strip so it can live on the fridge.

OK cheating in a game aside and losing all my figs every time we go past a scrap yard I hope you are all having a great time... and one last important thing I forgot to attend to last post. My new Follower...

Hello to Abdul666 from emperor vs elector and MCristo by LaceW. welcome to the blog I know you have been unofficially here for quite some time and its really nice to officially welcome you here.

As Promised

Well, well here I go again... I have my first company of infantry on the painting desk along with a small group of civilians but I now really feel obliged to complete the two ships I planned to do in gratitude to those who gifted me figs before... namely Blue Willow (Matt) and Laurence Strong (Larry) to these men I owe these ships. The Willow and the Laurence, these two will either be naval ships or civilian. The Laurence has to be big as the Haul I received from Canada more than tripled my whole 18th century force!!!!! though I do not wish to make each ship comparative to the size of the gift Such generosity must be compensated with something BIG although not as big as the Abigail as I cannot fit another HUGE ship in my room.

SO WHAT TO BUILD????

One ship type I liked but was too large was the Batavia.

nice lines but way too big

Of coarse if I want to make a small version of this ship I will need to make some rather large alterations because naturally a smaller version would not have the same number of masts or same sail pattern... on the other hand perhaps there is a similar type of boat that can fit the role and look similar. My only problem now is what about the Willow, she will be smaller though smaller does not mean inferior or that she will be in anyway weaker than the larger Laurence.

the name Willow strikes me as a more passive one so I think the Willow should be a civilian/commercial vessel. This might be a good thing as then I can have some poor souls as a target for the Pirate sloop Abigail or perhaps even something to be defended by the naval ships.

WHAT SHIPS DO YOU LIKE??? is there a special type of boat you like or do you think that you would like another small ship... of coarse I can't build to many ships but a few more would be good some traders, passenger vessels, fishing boats and more pirates are all needed to represent a good maritime environment and I am always willing to take down ideas :-D