Showing posts with label Space. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Space. Show all posts

Monday, 8 June 2026

Cold War Space Race: CCCP goes Lunar with Soyuz and US NASA Saturn 1B - CoW Game Prep 2026 (WD)

This is a blast from the past and down Airfix memory lane I go. The lunar lander (The Eagle) which was part of the Saturn 1B (IIRC) was hidden in an unassembled, primed and "brown washed" state for such a long time. All it took was for possible inclusion in my Conference of Wargamers (CoW) game 2026, "The Earth Prepared" to jolt it towards the painting tray (see below, not sure about the hole in the roof, but I think that is where it attached to the orbiter Columbia - I quite like how it has come out): 


The big boys rockets - the diminutive Soyuz in comparison to one of the 'smaller' American rockets, the Saturn 1B (see below, a stretch goal for the game is to get the Saturn V, currently hiding in the loft, assembled and painted too): 


Note the little Yuri on the launch pad, a tiny dot towards the front of the CCCP (LHS) launch pad.

Tuesday, 25 March 2025

Traveller Star Ship Resources


All this talk about Traveller Star Ships has been making me wonder where I could find some ship statistics (see below, look no further and "Thank You" to "Yet Another Traveller Blog"!):


Star ship plans can be found on this page, check out the "popular posts" or click "deck plan" on teh label listing. 

Sunday, 21 January 2024

Random Sci-Fi Stuff: From the Photo Archive Bucket .. Dust Bucket World

The usefulness of some of the Revell Star Wars spin-off range 15mm(ish) miniatures is shown with this beautiful "Combat Shuttle". A pretty much snip and click piece. It is the focal point of a 'planet drop' scenario and an ideal centre piece for a skirmish around a local spaceport or emergency wilderness dust-off . Ramp down, the "Away Team" is covered by heavy cannons as they disembark (see below, sitting on a nice little diorama made from the local wargames club terrain and friends bric-a-brac science fiction extras): 


This reminds me of the 2000AD Cursed Earth style shanty town with "Muties" hiding in the shadows(see below, careful searching is required, kicking doors in and covering your arcs - notice, there is a platoon of Ground Zero Games [GZG] Star Grunt forces approaching in the background): 


Good stuff, I liked the feel of Star Grunt and the "Western in Space" feel to barren desert planets! 


Friday, 29 September 2023

Note to self: MIT AI Reference: David A Mindell

A person whom I had not encountered before in AI (see below, on the relationships between humans and machines): 


Looks likes science fiction is becoming reality!

Wednesday, 27 September 2023

Plastic Soldier Company (PSC) Red Alert - Spaceship Bundle Pack

Plastic Soldier Company (PSC) made me another offer I could not refuse. 168 hard plastic space ships (admittedly of two types - "cruisers" [72] or "freighters" [96]) for a tenner (and six fifty for P&P because it is so heavy) .. so I bought two packs (same P&P), thinking this is the Red Alert (as this is the game the components originate from) "space ship offer" to end all "space ship offers"! What is not to like. Wow, I think it was the heaviest "toy" arrival to my door though, seeing the poor DPS delivery man struggle up my path to my door with a solid pack of plastic (see below, toys and toys galore - now to find a use for them!):  


But to what use these beauties for? The Trillion Credit Squadron (Traveller and Classic Traveller scenario) comes to mind (quantity wise  - you really need a lot of ships) but Billion Suns also looms large for a quick, quick win. The appealing aspect of this kit is that there is great potential for customisation with 'odds and ends' items from the "spares box" plus ubiquitous bits of generic plastic card!

Watch skies and watch this space for more updates ...

Monday, 28 August 2023

Charity Shop (II) Sci-Fi - 15mm Shuttle

Along side the 50p 10mm house there was a second bargain to be had (£8 .. well I am calling it a win). For fans of 15mm Sci-Fi Traveller, Star Grunt, Dirt Side I and II players .. your ever useful Universal Carrier of the stars - shuttle or scuttle bug (see below, this one looks very workmanlike and suitable more for your engineer and low class Traveller types - VIPs would complain of the cramp conditions and lack of facilities): 


This should go well with my ad-hoc collection of 15mm Traveller figures from Ground Zero Games!

Tuesday, 8 February 2022

Deep Space Games: Preparation for Billion Suns

A purchase, but not recent purchases. In the dark recesses of a warehouse in the UK there lurked packets of sinister grey science fiction "space ships"  wanting an interstellar owner [PSC bargain transporter packs of thirty two for "eight quid" plus P&P] note, nominally transports, they look military to me]. One quick internet press later and two packets were acquired by a Ferengi style "agent" in the north (see below, a dubious looking sinister image picked up on local reconnaissance radar systems): 


I am thinking that they are classic battleship looking things to me for "some form of" science fiction space fleets battles rules - including use in Billion Suns which I have previously acquired (see below, although this is more of a corporate warring escalation game. rather than a "Jutland in space"):


This is a slow burn thing for 2022 and beyond and a can of spray paint will appear at some point.

Friday, 31 December 2021

"Don't Look Up" - Netflix Film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbIxYm3mKzI


This seems to have caused rather a Marmite type of separation in opinion .. some love it but then people some hate it.

I love it ;) 

Saturday, 17 July 2021

Space Website: Physics or Orbital Space Engagements

Not quite Star Wars for sure!


https://aerospace.org/paper/physics-space-war-how-orbital-dynamics-constrain-space-space-engagements

Sunday, 3 January 2021

Vintage Airfix and Christmas

I found that I could not really say no (see below, some of the ones I missed when I was a kid): 


The doubling up on the Fiesler Storch was a case of one for Rommel and one for the European theater of operations (including rescuing Mussolini). 

Tuesday, 29 September 2020

The Blackstone Fortress Unboxing

It came (see below, a birthday present to myself which I will play with the kids, but make no mistake I will be the biggest kid): 


Behold the land of sprue all of which looks totally compatible with standard 40K stuff, so Warhammer Quest is my excuse for me to make use of GW 40K miniatures I buy "for no apparent reason other that I have to have them" - so I may indeed by their target audience (see below, the adventurer sprue was most beguiling, though some of the baddies were "yuppy" too - spindle drones coming immediately to mind and a nice Chaos Lord):  


Lots of deck cards and fancy dice too (see below, nice, I am resisting the temptation 


Ah, reading material (see below, be sure to read this soon, before unsealing the cards and popping teh playing boards but after the miniature assembly): 


Ah, multiple books .. my eye fixates on the "assembly instructions" (see below, I shall try not to be drawn into the depths of the background - I just noted that there seemed to be many "Black Fortresses" floating around, a bit like Space Hulks from Space Crusade perhaps): 


First impression on unboxing .. looks very good! Winter is coming and this may just keep me entertained during the dark nights ,, the Imperial Robot has already "caught my eye" as a painting project!  

Saturday, 28 September 2019

Aeronautica Imperialis - Orcs in Space?

OK so know it is not really anywhere near historical, I mean Orcs in Space, really .. but the game pays homage to the best WWI Aerial Combat Systems, GDW Blue Max and Canvas Eagles, I've played, so it hit me in a soft spot right between the eyes (and it was classed as a birthday present from my brother so I had an excuse). The models are also very, very cool in a Steam-Punk sort of way(see below - an un-boxing to follow methinks):


The models remind me of Warlord Games latest Mig Alley Korean War selection (see Renko's superb rendition of Soviet silver camouflage) and immediately after writing that I can see myself falling towards Blood Red Skies (BRS) and the Jet-Age expansion (see below - Note: I could do that because I am not committed to any "jet age scale", whereas BRS WWII has the 1/144 to 1/300 scale "Why am I doing this again in a different scale?" question bobbing around in my head!):


It is also a "game in a box so you don't have to expand out and besides it's "Fantasy-Science-Fiction" so anything goes you can bring your own stuff in. If you get a game from it then what's the problem, otherwise I will be forever the collector and never the player. Maybe I should do some 1/300 aircraft as after all I have always played with the kit Renko has "coerced" (like I needed much pushing) into getting!

Afterthought:
Besides it is another one of games that the father can be shot down by his son (or daughter, or wife) with no loss of prestige (that noted I still don't forgive that dodgy rule call in X-Wing called by my [so-called] friends that lined up my TIE Fighter in front of that Rookie Rebel, being the exception to the rule - Unforgiven)!

Sunday, 15 September 2019

Terraforming Mars - a board game of a different kind!

Now this looks a (different) and interesting game:
https://boardgamegeek.com/image/3543630/terraforming-mars

I am tempted .. has anybody played it?
BoardGameGeek 8.4 seems a very good rating.

PS: I would have thought Elon Musk might have a copy!

Friday, 2 August 2019

Bits of Space, Science and Technology Related News

Lots of interesting posts I emailed myself: 

BBC News:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-49026227
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-48966645
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/nkzysaP3pB/to-the-moon-and-beyond
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-48696023
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47879538 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47786248
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47732139
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47607696
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-47553876
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47555588
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-46778879
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48289550
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47983756
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44654098
https://www.bbc.com/ideas/videos/whats-the-point-of-humiliation/p06c6xxb
https://www.bbc.com/ideas/videos/five-compelling-reasons-why-we-all-need-to-sleep-m/p06fshzv
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/get-inspired/43501261
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49240745
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-49182184
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-49265125
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49270325
https://www.bbc.com/ideas/videos/can-you-really-multitask-finally-an-answer/p07jstyl
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49253951

Psychology: Stamford Prison Experiment (VSAUCE) 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6nSFpj9HTCZ5t-N3Rm3-HA

Sky News: 
https://news.sky.com/story/eu-satellite-navigation-system-galileo-suffers-major-outage-11763506

Air and Space Website:
https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/what-can-you-really-see-space

Nuclear Weapons Accident - Spain:
https://fsu.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/fsu:180784/datastream/PDF/view

Real Size of Countries
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mercator-map-true-size-of-countries/

YouTube Ground Tracking:


Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_warfare

Curious Droid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVvaVvRViYQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=428&v=vluzeaVvpU0

Python Tutorial:
https://docs.python.org/3.6/tutorial/index.html

Space Web-Site:
https://www.heavens-above.com/SolarEscape.aspx?lat=0&lng=0&loc=Unspecified&alt=0&tz=UCT

Real-Time Satellite Tracker:
http://www.gano.name/shawn/JSatTrak/
http://apps.agi.com/SatelliteViewer/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydbbd-4oEds&feature=youtu.be
https://www.wmo-sat.info/oscar/satellites
https://celestrak.com/satcat/search.php
https://celestrak.com/software/satellite/sat-trak.php

Just tell me this is not true please:
https://mb.ntd.tv/inspiring/life/ancient-texas-hammer-found-embedded-in-rock-said-to-be-500-million-years-old.html


Monday, 27 May 2019

Somethings are just for Fun: Gretchins

I was wandering round my local Boyes store and came across the "model" aisle and saw they had started stocking GW products, with a discount. GW is a fringe interest of mine, more on the Sci-Fi figures of "interest front" as opposed to playing 40K. Space Crusade is the closest I really come. The big stuff has frightening price tags but oddities like "Gretchins" almost accommodate sensible pricing - 11 miniatures for under £9 was 'almost' value. However the animation of the characters finally sold it to me (see below, the big dude in the middle is their Orc master): 


However, for the record, I am not a fan of "Orcs in Space". It's all a bit of Space Crusade fun really!

Monday, 22 April 2019

Did You Know: All Maps Are Wrong?

Informative and quite scary:

https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/world/2016/12/2/13817712/map-projection-mercator-globe

Mercator (the old school book friend):


Gall-Peters (the truth is out there"):


So you see Africa is very big and Greenland looks bigger than it should really be!
Check this out ... "the true size of countries":

https://thetruesize.com/#?borders=1~!MTc0MjYxMzA.MjY2NzY3MA*MzYwMDAwMDA(MA~!CONTIGUOUS_US*MTAwMjQwNzU.MjUwMjM1MTc(MTc1)MA~!IN*NTI2NDA1MQ.Nzg2MzQyMQ)MQ~!CN*OTkyMTY5Nw.NzMxNDcwNQ(MjI1)Mg~!GL*NzgwNjU.MzM2NDQxNDA)Mw~!AU*MTEwOTg0.MTA4NDM2MDA)NA~!RU*MA.MTgwMDAwMDA)NQ

Little did I know that my Geography Teacher was a Colonial Propagandist!