The return of a fine little magazine Principles of War after being gone for a year and a half, welcome back. I wish I could say the same for Colonial Conquest or Age of Empires or even Battlefields where are they??

I ran across this book at the local (50 miles away) comic/game store published by Gurps (Steve Jackson Games, $23.00) it is an RPG book entitled Steam Technology. ST covers Personal Weapons, Clothing and Armor, Equipment (tools and various devises), Apparatus (power sources, communication, medical, and analytical machines), Vehicles, Heavy Weapons, Drugs, and Living Creatures. Each item is set in chronological order so you can set a time period and not transgress, well too much.

Over Christmas I found in the Dollar General an almost S scale (28/30mm) train, American western locomotive with European style cars, so for $5 each I bought all they had--three sets. Which gives me sufficient track to run most any design.

Steam Walker

Ben was leafing through Steam Technology and challenged me to make a steam walker as illustrated on page 97.

The first thing I did was to disassemble one engine. Then I cut the center section out of the engine and two inches out of the center of the coal car. I glued all these pieces together making one longish piece. I then took the legs from a Star Wars Scout Walker snap together model kit, put them together and attached them to the train in an old screw hole and glued them to the train body. It would not stand by itself very well so I glued the Walkers legs to a 4 x 4 inch sheet of thin plastic. Unfortunately the legs are slightly different heights so the train looks like it is lumbering across the countryside, which is just great. Then I took a part from one of Disney's Atlantis toys (I think the earth borer, sorry I can't remember since I took a bunch of the Atlantis toys apart and put them in the bits box) the part looks like the bubble from a WWII bomber and conveniently had a hole in it for a Maxim gun (from Houston's Lyzard's Grin) then added a crewman and white glued both into place.

I painted the train after undercoating it. I then glued the bubble and gun to the undercarriage of the train. I glued the plastic base onto a piece of heavy card stock for extra support and will add terrain to the base. I purposely left off any national colors so any of my armies can use it. I think it is will be a great addition to my VicSciFi scenarios. I have included a photo, below, let me know what you think!

While he was home Ben and I got to play Fire and Fury and a Games Workshop Warmaster game (Yes, Yes I know the dark side). Ben told me I didn't paint enough after I told him he had too much unpainted lead (I didn't realize that unpainted lead poisoning was contagious within a family).

Anyway he shamed me into more painting, so, after two months I have finished painting nearly 400 figures as well as the train and four other wooden vehicles, cars and trucks I got at Walmart that are late Colonial period. Each night I can generally start and finish eight to twelve figures. Geez, I might run out of unpainted colonial lead, then what! UGH, then I might have to finally paint those Napoleonics I started seven years ago, NO Please! I'll just have to buy more figures (I hope my wife doesn't read this).

DON'T FORGET, PLEASE, IF THE NUMBER ON YOUR MAILING LABEL IS 129 IT IS TIME TO REENLIST IN THE HELIOGRAPH FOR ANOTHER YEAR.