Shipbucket

Thanks JSB.
Hmm.. I see your point, but I think it might feel too.. cluttered (at least just that area). However, I'll take a look at it.
I actually did not put in the .30cal MGs, as I wasn't really sure where to put them.

Given the timeframe I'd say .30 machineguns are too early.
The Maxim gun is right around the corner, ditto the 8mm Lebel, but they're not quite there yet. Something like a .45 Gardener or Gatling seems more appropriate. I drew the former a while ago.
The 57mm guns in the mast seems a bit dubious tbh.
Since the 1880ies and 1890ies were the height of the torpedo boat scare I'd also consider adding a couple of Hitchkiss 37mm revolving guns.
I question the classification as well. Or rather the USN system you're using. The system we all know and loathe wasn't introduced before 1920. USN practice in the late 1800s was to write out the type and number in full. For exampke USS Indiana was Battleship No. 1. The BB-1 hull number was applied retroactively after she was scrapped.
Anyway, given the apparent size of your navy at the time why bother with hull numbers at all?
Other than that it's a really nice piece of work.

Huh. You know i hadn't even thought about that. Noted, though, and I'll go with the .45 Gardner. Thanks for the link.
Concerning the 6pdrs, I used this photo for main reference, and there are 2x 6pdrs in the mast on the Amphitrite.
I'll add several 37mm as well. Since I'm somewhat limited on space, I'm thinking to put the 2x .45cal on the bridge wings, and then have 4x 37mm flanking the 6pdrs on the main structure.

With the classification, it's more for my OCD than anything else. However, yes, I agree, in that time she (along with the others) would just be called by her name only. After the new classification system takes hold, then she would be historically referred to as BM-1 or BB-1 (she's preserved as a museum in St. Catherine, although time hasn't been nice to her).

Thanks!

EDIT: Ok, I really didn't have much room and the bridge wing would not have worked too well, so I didn't put any 37mm, but I placed 4x .45 Gardner flanking the 6pdrs. I also added the railing extension that you see in the photo onto the drawing, and I followed JSB's comment with the stairs. Image on last page updated.

Some maps:

The first map is of the Denton main islands and the surrounding islands that make up part of Denton's territorial claim. These islands are mostly home to small tribes of Maori who, after migrating to Denton from New Zealand and the Cook Islands, migrated north from the mainland. The islands form a large crescent shape that naturally provide a warning line for the Dentonites. In the period from 1924 to 1942, with the extent of the Japanese Empire being a potential threat, Denton built multiple coastal fortifications, with each major island being equipped with 1-3 gun emplacements. I'm still working on the map with all the fortifications, air bases, naval bases, etc, and it will be posted in time. In the 1950s to the end of the Cold War, with a threat from the communist Indonesia (which will be a joint scenario between myself, Rowdy36 and Trojan), a lot of the same islands that had emplacements also were part of a large distant early warning system.


The second map is that of Denton's South Pacific Territory. After WWI, as a part of the LN Mandates, Denton received two ex-German colonies, a small part of an ex-colony in Africa, and this chain of islands.
They are located about 500-600 miles south-east of Rapa Iti, comprising of multiple atolls and volcanic islands. Still worknig on population and names for towns, but here's the terrain map.

And the relative location compared to Rapa Iti as seen on Google maps. (if you look closely, you can see where the major islands come from)

All islands that have been added have been cross checked with Google maps to make sure their accuracy is within several miles or so, had they continued rising from their seamounts.

EDIT: The light blue water color denotes underwater levels that are less than 500ft. Everything in the darker blue denotes underwater levels from 501ft+.

Looks very good, and nice backgound work! I've used a similar method to draw the islands from my AU too (althought I've tweaked a bit the larger ones after..)

Very nice, I would like to see Denton position in a world map to understand where the mainland is located.

Thanks guys!

No problem, odysseus.

Denton is just west of Australia, with it's southern contours hugging the edge of the Diamantina Fracture Zone.


I played with the placement of Denton on a bathymetric image of the Southern Indian Ocean (primarily focusing on the Diamntina Fracture Zone), but it got to be too much for me to try to work off of, so I went with a simple Google maps trace over.



Now, mind you, this is not Denton's EXACT location, but it's the right area (within 50 or so miles ). Hopefully, someday, I plan to go so far as to have a full underwater map of Denton and it's islands in relation to Australia & Indonesia (and Recherche for that matter) and a slightly modified Diamantina Fracture Zone.

The way I see it, with Denton being ~300 miles from Australia, it's close enough to be next door neighbors, but not so close that it's invaded by all the poisonous animals . (and don't think about trying to tell me that it's not enough distance. I don't want them!)

Position seem plausible. As for fauna/flora,Denton would definitely have connection with Australia. I am sure that Denton would have it own subspecies (or even species) of marsupials (kangaroo, wallabies, possums, opposums, wombats etc), if it was connected with Australia in the past. For figure out this, the movement of lithosphere in Indian Ocean would give the answer.

According to an animal encyclopedia I have, and a distance from Australia of ~300 miles (~550km) Denton would have (supposing that it was always an island, never connected with Australia):

-Tortoises (they can travel >800km, look Galapagos tortoises)
-Reptiles (snakes, lizards etc), these can travel >800km also
-Anything that flies (birds, bats etc). If there are no marsupials or other large land animals, Denton may had moa like New Zealand or a similar species.
-Insects, amphibians, land mollusc (>3200km).

As you see from above, Denton would definitely have snakes. Some will be poisonous, so Dentonites would learn to live with them!

Also, there are two categories of Islands : Continental Islands (which were part of a larger mass and broke out, still connected bathycentric) and volcanic/atolls (which were created by other forces).

Seeing the South of Australia, which is like an arc, I think that Denton should have a similar shape, as it was part of Australia which broke out somehow. Here is a link for lithospheric plates and their movements: http://www.coa.edu/stodd/oceanweb/ocean ... sld026.htm

Come on odysseus...

(and don't think about trying to tell me that it's not enough distance. I don't want them!)

But, I guess we're doing this now... There's a magic barrier between Denton and Australia that keeps those animals out. So, no poisonous animals. And what I really mean by that is Australia poisonous, not like normal poisonous. Normal poisonous is ok, I'm cool with that. It'd be like Texas where we have Rattlesnakes, Cottonmouths, Water Moccasins, and the Brown Recluse and Black Widow (and I haven't seen snakes in a couple of years and I've only seen one Brown Recluse this year. It's not bad where I'm at).
In all seriousness though, I'm sure I'll get some species of Australian animals, reptiles, etc. Just as long as they can't kill me and 50 elephants in one bite, I'm cool with it.

As for the formation of Denton's main islands, it has to do with the uplifting of the plate right north of the Diamantina Fracture Zone. If you look closely, you can see that shallower area, and that's what that is. It's in the middle of the plate and it's being pushed up. It's as simple as that.
This means that Denton was never attached to Australia by land. Judging from the extent of Australia's low water level in the ice age, it would never connect with Denton (unless aliens visit in a desperate mission to steal earth's water to replenish their planet's water supply, then maybe).

And I'm not changing anything regarding the original islands! I'm too committed to this AU to start messing things up again. If I do that, I'll probably go into shutdown mode and curl up into a ball, muttering incoherent phrases and communicating with grunts, and we don't want that, now do we?

Then, Denton was created from uprising of the Diamantina Fracture Zone and is more like New Zealand in fauna. I do not know about the circumstances behind all these poisonous animals of Australia, but we can suppose that Denton has much lesser numbers of them.

Since this zone continues to uprise, Denton probably gain land in the future.