UltraModern Armoury Graphics

Whipped up some slides for the UltraModern Armoury template. Not my most favorite, but they will do until more suitable images are available.

Handguns - SIG-Sauer P228

SMGs - IMI Uzi

Assault Rifles - SIG SG552 Commando

Rifles - H&K SL9SD

Shotguns - Benelli M4 Super 90

Machineguns - Browning M1919A4

Heavy Weapons - Milkor M32 MGL

Qumari Police Emblem

With a recent purchase of Force on Force, and some lovely miniatures and vehicles from Empress currently whisking their way to me as I type, I've decided to set my Middle East scenarios around the Sultanate of Qumar. Qumar, a key U.S. allied nation north of the Straight or Hormuz, has a somewhat problematic human rights record and a growing insurrection.

I've started binge-watching all the West Wing episodes featuring Qumar to glean as much of it as I can. I'm fairly certain that it is an Arabic speaking nation rather than Farsi, despite being carved from what in our world is Southern Iran (Al No'mari played Abdul Ibn Shareef, and spoke to President Bartlett in what can be assumed to be his native tongue, I have yet to check with someone more knowledgeable about whether that was Arabic or Farsi, but given No'mari's heritage, Arabic seems more likely). Assuming the Arabic language, and reflecting Qumar's status as a former British Protectorate, this is my first draft of the Royal Police insignia for the police car doors (RQP cars will look like a cross between Kuwaiti Traffic Police and Iraqi Police designs).

Making modifications to 'the only fantasy world map you'll ever need' because I needed more Africa and Asia. Still debating where to put my Skraelings... in a pocket in the moutains of what would be Asia, or off the map to the west.

Originals by EotBeholder:

Fantastic Heraldry

Quite busy with the move. All hobby supplies (save one little EM4 mini sitting by the computer) have been packed and mostly transported. Even the computer is gone... I type now on an old laptop. Going to be like this for a while, until summer when the house is complete, and we've unpacked.

Until then, I've been worldbuilding the old fashioned way... in spiral notebooks. Getting ideas together in anticipation of my kids playing D&D...

So, since I have a moment, here is what I've been working on:

Fantasy World Heraldry Guidelines (WIP)

Under the Imperial system there were seven castes; commoners, yeomanry, gentry, peerage, nobility, royalty, sovereignty (listed in ascending order).

Commoners were not granted, and not permitted, arms of their own.

Yeomanry were permitted a simple arms of 3 complexity points. Each color, charge, field division, and non-standard line was worth one point. Thus, upon entrance to a military order, a new knight was granted arms, typically in the Order's colors, featuring a single charge, division, or ordinary. For example: Argent, a cross sable (3 points = 2 colors + 1 cross).

Gentry. Should an exceptional knight be awarded a holding, he or she was authorized an additional point of complexity (4 points total). In this case our knight added an ordinary: chief sable. The most common modification was to add a line of division and countercharge.

Peerage. Attaining a position in the this caste was difficult, and those who attained it were awarded another TWO complexity point (6 points total). In the case of our knight, she has added three griffon heads, in a third color, to the chief; the number of heads is immaterial as the group is counted as a whole.

Nobility. Again as our knight advances in status, she is awarded the right to make her Arms more complex (7 points of complexity in all) as well as the right to use a bordure - in this case she has altered the line on the chief.

Royalty. Really getting up there now. Royals are permitted another point of complexity (total of 7 pts.) and the use of furs. Our knight has chosen to alter the field to ermine.

Sovereignty. The top level has no real limits on what they can or cannot do, however there are no known examples of an arms bearing more than eight points of complexity - represented here in with a bordure or.

Of course the addition of complexity was a privilege not a requirement, and there were humble knight-kings who bore simple arms of three complexity points.

Hong Kong Police Cars

First draft of police car decals, version: modern HK, for my "Fistful of Kung Fu" forces.

Layout is based on the 1/50 scale BMW 7 series models I have - and is a pretty traditional jam sandwich design. Hong Kong does have British-style Battenburg cruisers but they are limited to traffic division vehicles, standard patrol cars are still like this.

Optimized for clear decal film printed and applied to a white car. Rear bumper decal is over printed to allow it to be wrapped, and the rear plate text will be adhered over a yellow painted plate.

Police Cars and Taxi Cabs (Happy 100th Post)

I'm still waiting for my shipment of cars from China. However I have not been idle. there has been much GIMPage; I've managed to nail down the designs for the police cruisers and taxis.

First, the Fuzz.



The model is a BMW 7 series (E65), however I am toying with the idea of converting the split grill into a single one, and blending away the trunk-lid halves of the tail light assemblies - leaving the sedan more generic. We'll see when they get here. Aside from that, I'm planning to add Valor-type lightbars, front push bars, and grill-mounted emergency lights (not the headlight modifications seen in the sketch).


After much back and forth, I decided on a conventional black and white scheme, with simple text markings. There are subtle nods to Hill Street Blues and the Blade films, but the design is original.I'd toyed with golden-yellow fender markings, but the sketches look much better with white, perhaps because the design is so simple.


Secondly, a Hack Job.


The taxi design is based on the taxi livery used in Almost Human, albeit made more conventional. I decided to add a hint of checkering to the C-pillars, and the registration text block is taken from the type seen on NYC taxis. I haven't done front or rear elevations yet, aside from "CityCab" and the car number on the trunk lid... I don't think I'll be adding anything else aside from, possibly, an aerial marking on the top surface of the trunk lid.

So, that's what I've been up to this week. I guess I should also mention that this is the 100th post. Woot. What started out years ago as a page to support my Delta Green Realms of Cthulhu game, morphed into a Savage Worlds weapons supplement (subsequently spun off on its own), and now serves as my general hobby journal. Hope you all enjoy what I have put up. I'm hoping the year ahead will lead to more regular projects and posts after we get settled in the new house. Fingers crossed.

Police Car Markings

I've ordered a number of 1/50 scale cars from a supplier in China... more on them when they arrive.

This has got me thinking about how to paint them. I have decided on the following:

1. Traditional American black and white scheme, specifically one in which the pillars are NOT painted white, only the door panels and possibly the roof are.
2. Generic markings. I've gone back and forth on this. Basically, it comes down to the fact that I don't have the room to store cars in various livery; thus generic "metropolitan" police markings will be used.

Design A

I have yet to decide on the exact design of the door markings, if a shield/star or patch will be included or not... my initial pen and ink sketch yielded the first "METRO POLICE" design (above), and I rather like the balance of it, however, I do think it's probably more appropriate for "police" to be printed larger than "metro." thus the two other designs.

Design B

Design C

Thoughts?

Updated Appearance - Now Including Identity!

Finally made a proper banner and logo for the blog.

When I started game blogging I had a different blog for each game: Savage Delta Green was the first. But that quickly got out of hand and I've switched to a unified gaming blog, that you see here now.

10x28mm is a good name. 28mm minis are my favorite... real 28mm - at eye level. I have at least 10 active projects competing for my attention at any particular time. And the combination has a subtle reference to Aliens (the M56 Smartguns, UA571 Sentry Guns, and M42A Scope Rifle fired the M250 10x28mm HEDP, according to the Colonial Marine Technical Manual). That's cool because gaming Aliens with Cyberpunk 2020 was a big thing for me in high school.

So the logo is supposed to look like a shell casing headstamp (yes, I know the M250 round was caseless, sue me) and the title banner includes the names of various games I play, or have played in the past. It only took 4 revisions to get it to look right on the page. Yeah Star Trek and Star Frontiers and a couple other games aren't conventionally considered "near future," but I don't care. Near future is a relative term... they are all in a future nearer than 40K or Dune... or compared to geological time.

Police Car Graphics

I have a dozen diecast Crown Vics standing by to be painted up as police cruisers and taxis for Modern RPGs/tabletop gaming.... How to finish them has been on my mind.

Concept 1: Updated Hill Street Blues Metropolitan Police cruiser.

FYI: 2202 was Hill and Renko's unit.

Concept 2: Same general design but in white on black. Crappy gimpage of the photo but it gets the general impression across.

I also have several concept sketches for my fictional Santa Marta Police Department, created several years ago, here's one of them:

Class I Frigate - Miranda-class

And they shall have a starship...

USS Oberon NCC-1880, Miranda-class. Here is the technical order for the class - in the style of Fran Joseph's Star Fleet Technical Manual, based on Ghostrunner's Callisto miniature, kitbashed with parts from Vance's Toolkits.

Some of the work of the late Franz Joseph (Schaubelt)

Ghostrunner's Callisto-class research ship at Shapeways

Vance's Toolkits for original series and movie era ships