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Loosely inspired by some gorgeous SW Sail Barge MOCs on Brickshelf, NELUG’s
latest [1] Brikwars game featured a steampunk skiff battle set above the
desolate Kar’Zuba desert. Every skiff represented a Trading Guild, and upon
arrival at the outskirts of a potential market town each captain decided to try
and “thin the competition” a bit.
My contribution to the fight was the Egregious, a Dragonfly-Class Torpedo
Gunboat. Its steam powerplant (located in a protective cast-iron bathtub within
the hull) powers three heavy-lift main rotors, as well as a pair of outboard
steam-turbine-driven manuevering props.
(Apologies for any photographic color issues. I’m still experimenting with some
lighting techniques, and I’m not pleased several of these images.)
The design of the Egregious was heavily influenced by American PT boats of
WWII. I tried to emulate the deck shape closely, and then modified the hull to
accommodate the large rotor fans. I used a studs-out technique I’ve been
developing for a couple of other projects. The deck and hull are built in two
halves, with the studs facing out to either side. The two halves are then
connected to each other using technic beams (buried under the deck). There are
a number of advantages to this methods: for one thing, the deck comes out smooth
without a single tile being employed, and bricks on their side make for great
planking. Secondly, it is easy to build this style with a hollo interior -
though I didn’t worry about this so much in this case (except for the
cargo/steamplant bay under the pilothouse). Lastly, this method provides
1-plate fidelity for detouring the complicated contours of a hull. The result
is also incredibly sturdy and robust; I’ve swooshed this skiff around the house
for weeks, and it’s easily survived short falls (being knocked off its clear
legstands multiple times, for example). The communications mast used to fall
off incessantly, but that problem disappeared once I attached the guy wires.
The black flag-panels on the railings were intended to simply act as armor
plates to provide the crew with cover; in retrospect, I like how they lend a
Victorian wrought-iron feel to the railings.
Also like the PT boats, I tried to pack this ship full of weapons. The standard
armament includes: - 2 heavy cannons (40-pounders)
- 4 swivel guns (8 pounders)
- 2 grappling guns
- 2 MkIII steam torpedos
- Assorted small arms and boarding weapons, including musket, flintlock pistols,
sabers, boarding axes, etc.
The skiff is also shown carrying a pair of “Bouncing Beatrix” Frog Mines, and a
pair of standard constant-altitude aerial mines. These would typically only be
carried on border patrol missions.
The standard crew complement is 16: The captain, first mate, a pair of
mechanics/technicians to effect the inevitable in-flight repairs, 4 gunners
specifically trained with the heavy guns, and 8 troopers to man the swivel guns
and engage in boarding attempts.
The game, by the way, was great. We played for about 10 hours (!) and had a
pretty clear victor (Wayne) by the end. 6 skiffs entered the fray, and there
was every form of battle imaginable: gunfire, ramming, boarding actions,
hand-to-hand. Even the dreaded Sandworms of Kar’Zuba got into the action,
gorging on troopers abaonding their skiffs as they went down. Photos of the
game itself can be seen here.
-Shaun
[1] For the record books, this was NELUG’s
34th Brikwars game - and that
doesn’t include some games we’ve put on for public events such as Ourcon 17
(Amherst, MA) and Brick Blast (Middlebury, VT).
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Message has 7 Replies:
 | | Re: The steampunk skiff 'Egregious'
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| (...) --snip-- (...) That's rather incredibly cool. I particularly like how it's quite 'realistic' within its own logic: the grilles over the fans, the cannnon balls, the equipment. Most excellent steampunk. The split hull construction is (...) (17 years ago, 25-Jun-07, to lugnet.gaming.brikwars, FTX)
| | | Re: The steampunk skiff 'Egregious'
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| (...) Wow! Very inpressive. Excellent details, weaponry and such. This is also a great example in my book of how to use the two different browns together. The two different tones add so much to this. Simply fabulous. Best, Jonathan (17 years ago, 25-Jun-07, to lugnet.gaming.brikwars, FTX)
| | | Re: The steampunk skiff 'Egregious'
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| That is great. As soon as I saw the pic I thought the bow looked familiar. You have really captured the PT boat look with that bow construction. Some cool details as well such as the Little Armoury (I think) halberds as boarding pikes. I also liked (...) (17 years ago, 25-Jun-07, to lugnet.gaming.brikwars, FTX)
| | | Re: The steampunk skiff 'Egregious'
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| I really, really like this! It is so complete looking and has a beautiful presence and balance all of its own. Absolutely amazing work! A beautiful MOC! Thanks for sharing and God Bless, Nathan (URL) (17 years ago, 30-Jun-07, to lugnet.gaming.brikwars, FTX)
| | | Re: The steampunk skiff 'Egregious'
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| (...) Is there a article available describing the battle in detail? I am also interested in this type of gaming, being a fan of Space:1889. I even did some British troops and a mini-Aphid: (URL) I want to expan my Aphid, any suggestions? -- Don (...) (17 years ago, 1-Jul-07, to lugnet.gaming.brikwars, FTX)
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