Building rigs is addictive. My first was the Steam Wagon (seen on the Rail Wars Forces page), which was made from balsa, a few parts lying around in my bits box (more GW leftovers for the most part), an old paint bottle (for the boiler) and some brass tubing. This was a lot of fun, even if the Wagon always roared on and got promptly blasted into scrap. But after you've had a posse of Nosferatu dive off a Steam Wagon (going at full steam) into their terrified victims, well just one rig ain't enough!
My next homemade rig was the Steam Tank, which I talk about (at length ...) on another page. Then came a Steam Launch, the "Duchess", based on the Major General's methods. Two more are being finished right now and I also did up rules for these boats in Rail Wars so I could use them.
Next up was the Submersible Boat. The "Shark" was originally going to be a Steam Launch, and she was built with the same hull template I used on the second two launches. The only problem was that I put the sides (or gunwales or whatever you call 'em) on upside down - the result was a small boat with the ram-like prow of a Dreadnought. Eventually it occurred to me that half of a plastic Easter Egg would make a nice conning tower. Since the vessel wasn't very large I put the deck gun inside the tower and built it with a gunport that could be sealed when underwater. The conning tower is assumed to function as a rotating turret as well, though this could have been better modeled. Overall I'm rather pleased with the result.
My next project is a Steam Tank for my Union Blue forces. Once again I find a sinister use for the innocent Easter Egg. The hull is going to be made from a large 'gift egg' that splits down the long axis. It's 13 centimeters long and each half is 4.5 centimeters tall. So far all I have is a rough sketch. When I finish it the main gun will only have a 180 degree field of fire through the gunports, rather than the 270 degree arc the normal turret would provide. I just think it'll look better this way.
It's been my intention for several months to build an Ironclad based on the CSS Neuse. This won't be in scale and I don't really know that it'll get used as anything but scenery; the idea just appeals to me. Of course, where there is a Confederate Ironclad there must be a Union Monitor to face it ... somewhere in here I need to make a Maze Runner or two and possibly a Knife Boat (from the RPG's Great Maze boxed setting). Sometime in the near future I'd like to do an assault on a Maze Boomtown, which will give me the perfect excuse to use the fleet!
Of course, we can't forget the air corps ...