Happy holidays to all and sundry. We hope you all have had a good time. The inaugural season of the World AutoDueling Association has drawn to a close, and our own Mike Garrity has taken third place in the rankings.
    In this issue, we will feature write ups of our club dueling championship and a good deal of boat-related material. There will also be the usual other features.

In this issue, we go into the water with a number of boat-related items. Yes, we know that it is the middle of Winter.
    For a long time, we have taken the view that (no matter where you are) somebody, somewhere is using a boat (close enough for a depth charge or torpedo anyway). Accordingly, we bring you Air-boats, racing-boat hulls and modifications for boat trailers.

Used in marshlands and swamps because of their low draft, air-boats derive their name from the large propeller mounted at the rear of the craft. This propeller driver the air-boat forward in the same manner as a hovercraft. The pilot sits in front of the propeller and steers his craft by manipulating a large rudder located behind the propeller. Statistics for the various sizes of air-boats are listed as follows:
 

Size	Cost	Weight	Max. Load	Spaces	Armor $/lbs.	HC
Small	$2,200	120 lbs	800 lbs	6	5/3	3
Medium	$4,400	750 lbs	3,000 lbs	10	13/6	2
Large	$8,800	1,500 lbs	6,000 lbs	16	18/9	2

Air-boats use car or boat power plants, along with gas engines. Top speed and acceleration is figured using the formulas for ordinary boats. They use modified microplane propellers ($250, 10% of body weight, 0 spaces, 4 DP). These propellers may be armored at the cost of $5 and 2 lbs per point, with a maximum of 10 points.
    Air-boats may be sloped and streamlined. They have five armor locations (F, B, R, L, U) just like regular boats. Air-boats maneuver like regular boats. They can mount weapons like boats (with the same restrictions), except that dropped gases may not be used. The reason for this is that the propeller will disperse such gases too widely for them to have any effect. Proximity-fuzed mines and torpedoes will affect air-boats normally. Air-boats are subject to the 1/3 spaces-per-side rule for mounting weapons; they have the same firing arcs as cars due to their squared shape.
    Air-boats can mount turrets, but must carry a boat top in order to do so. Small air-boats can't carry any size turret, medium air-boats can mount 1-space turrets and large air-boats can mount a 2-space turret. EWPs are treated the same as turrets of the same size for purposes of mounting restrictions. Air-boats can't mount spoilers (due to the location of the propellers), but can use airdams. The counter size of an air-boat is ½" W x 1" L (the same as for cars).

Air-boat rudders and propellor cages

An air-boat rudder is a large, articulated wing-like surface mounted directly behind the propeller. It allows
    the air-boat to steer in any direction. Small and medium air-boats have one rudder, while large air-boats have two. Small air-boat rudders have 2 DP, medium rudders have 4 DP and large rudders have 6 DP. Rudders may be armored at the cost & weight of $5 and 2 lbs per point, with a maximum armor weight of 20 lbs. They can be targeted from the sides or the back at a penalty of -2. If the rudder is destroyed, an air-boat will move straight in the last direction it was pointed in. The only thing the pilot can do now is stop the propeller and hope he doesn't hit anything.
    A propeller cage is a protective enclosure which surrounds the front and sides of the propeller. It is designed to keep the crew of the air-boat from being injured by the propeller, as well as keeping debris from being sucked into it. The cage is of steel-mesh construction, and can be armored at the cost and weight of $10 and 4 lbs per point (maximum weight of 40 lbs).
    When firing at the back of an air-boat, roll 1d and consult the following; 1-3: back armor, 4: propeller cage, 5: rudder, 6: propeller.

Targeting modifiers

Small air-boats: -1/sides, -2 front/back, Medium/large air-boats: -1 front/back, no modifier for targeting the sides.
Cage: -3 from all sides.
Propeller: -6 from the rear only (unless the cage has been destroyed)
 
 

Over the years, boat racers have developed different styles of hulls in order to maximize performance on different bodies of water. Two different types of hulls are listed as follows:
 

Type	Cost	Weight	Max. Weight	Spaces	Armor cost/weight	HC
Deep V	$20,000	1,300 lbs	6,000 lbs	20	20/10	3
Sprint	$16,000	600 lbs	3,000 lbs	10	13/6	3

The Deep V is an off-shore racing boat designed to cut through seas of five to ten feet in height without hazard. A D1 hazard is caused for every additional five feet of wave height after that. Deep V's usually have a crew of three (pilot, gunner, navigator). They can use spoilers and jet drives, but not twin hulls or hydroplanes. Deep V's have six armor locations and can mount up to 2-space turrets.
    The Sprint is a smaller version of the Deep V. It is intended for use on lakes or in aqua-arenas. Sprint boats use boat engines/power plants and are automatically streamlined. They can use spoilers and boat tops, but no turrets or EWPs. Due to design restrictions, Sprints are not available in twin-hull or hydroplane versions.
 

Hydroplanes

Unlike any other type of boat, Hydroplanes are designed to skip over the surface of the water (instead of moving through it). The statistics are listed as follows:
 

Size	Cost	Weight	Maximum Load	Spaces	Armor Cost/Weight	HC
Light	$8,000	100 lbs	1,000 lbs	8	5/3	4
Medium	$15,000	200 lbs	2,000 lbs	14	13/6	4
Heavy	$25,000	500 lbs	5,000 lbs	20	20/10	4

Hydroplanes are of twin-hull design, and take twice the hazard for hitting waves of any size. They are automatically streamlined, and can use spoilers and jet drives. They can use actual jet engines, but not hydrofoils.

All hydroplanes have six armor locations. Light hydroplanes can't use turrets or EWPs, medium hydroplanes can use 1-space turrets/EWPs and heavy hydrofoils can use up to 2-space turrets/EWPs.
 

Counter Sizes: 1" L x ½" W (all types). Sprint boats will only take up the front half of the counter.

Targeting Modifiers

Deep V: -1 front/back, 0/sides
Sprint: -3 front/back, -2/sides

Hydroplanes
Light: -3 front/back, -2/sides
Medium & Large: -2 front/back, -1/sides
 

Jet Drives

A Jet Drive draws water into itself, then forces it out the back of the boat to produce thrust. There are two different sizes available. Medium drives can only be used on boats smaller than 10 spaces. Large drives can be used on any larger boat
 

Size	Cost	Weight	Spaces
Medium	$2,000	100 lbs	1
Large	$5,000	200 lbs	2

Years ago, Popular Mechanics Magazine offered kits which allowed hobbyists to build their own small hovercraft. These designs used motorcycle engines for power. Larger-scale hovercraft were introduced in the Aquaduel supplement (along with aquabikes), but the smaller versions were left out.
    Originally, these smaller craft were called "Hovercycles", simply because they are cycle-sized versions of larger hovercraft. All sizes use either gas engines or cycle power plants, with top speed and acceleration being figured as for regular hovercraft. The counter size for all three types is ½" x ½". The small size of a mini hovercraft makes it a difficult target, accordingly the targeting modifiers are -3 from the front/back and -2 from the sides. Mini hovercraft have six armor locations and may use sloping and/or streamlining at the usual costs.

There are three different sizes of mini hovercraft. Statistics for all three are listed below.
 

Size	Cost	Weight	Max. Load	Spaces	Armor	HC
Light	$1,000	300 lbs	1,200 lbs	5	10/4	3
Medium	$1,500	400 lbs	1,600 lbs	6	11/5	3
Heavy	$2,000	450 lbs	2,000 lbs	8	12/6	2

Like all other hovercraft, mini hovercraft are fitted with skirts of varying durability. These skirts contain the cushion of air generated by the hovercraft's lift fans.

Skirt Cost, Weight & DP

Mini-hovercraft size	Standard skirts	Heavy-duty skirts	X-hvy skirts
Light	$100/30 lbs/6 DP	$150/45 lbs/7 DP	$200/60 lbs/12 DP
Medium	$150/40 lbs/8 DP	$225/60 lbs/12 DP	$300/80 lbs/16 DP
Heavy	$200/50 lbs/10 DP	$300/75 lbs/15 DP	$400/100 lbs/20 DP

Mini hovercraft skirts may be armored at the cost of $10 and 2 lbs per point, with a maximum armor weight of 20 lbs.

Fans

Each type of mini hovercraft has two fans (one for lift and one for thrust). Light fans have 1 DP each, medium fans have 2 DP each and heavy fans have 3 DP each. The thrust fan may be targeted at a penalty of -3. However, the lift fan can only be damaged by weapons fire that goes internal (including flaming/exploding gases).
    Fans may be armored: the cost and weight is the same as skirt armor.
 

Weaponry

As a result of a mini hovercraft's small size, they are not subject to the 1/3 spaces per side rule when mounting weapons. Other weapons mount restrictions are as for normal sized hovercraft, with the exception that no turrets of any size can be used.

Mini-stabilizer: $400, 50 lbs.
    This item is mounted on the top of a mini hovercraft. At 60 mph +, maneuvers are -1 to the D-hazard.
 
 

Killer Bubble: Light mini hovercraft, small cycle power plant, std skirts, pilot, VMG (F), Armor: F6, B6, R6, L6, T5, U5. Acceleration: 2.5, HC: 3, Top Speed: 90 mph, 1,200 lbs, $4,650.

Anytime: Medium mini hovercraft, large cycle power plant, hvy skirts, pilot, RR (F), SWC, mini-stabilizer, Armor: F20, B15, R15, L15, T4, U10. Acceleration: 5, HC: 3, Top Speed: 120 mph, 1,600 lbs, $6,844.
 
 

The boats of Car Wars are much heavier in comparison to the unarmed/unarmored vessels of the 20th-Century. Accordingly, the previously-used arrangement of simple hand winches and light rollers is rather inadequate. For modern (Car Wars-era) vessels, the rollers are relative to the weight of the load they carry (which also includes the weight of the frame that the vessel rests in. These rollers take up half the extra space used by the vessel when carried as cargo (without requiring any extra space in and of themselves). For example, a rowboat carried as cargo takes up 6 extra spaces. The rollers for this rowboat would take up 3 spaces, and the rowboat itself would only take up and additional 3 spaces when carried on them.
 

Roller-frame size	Cost	Weight	Maximum Load
Rowboat	$100	50 lbs	1,000 lbs
Dinghy	$300	150 lbs	3,600 lbs
Speedboat	$600	300 lbs	8,500 lbs
Cruiser	$1,000	500 lbs	18,000 lbs
Yacht	$2,500	1,250 lbs	50,000 lbs

Power Winches
 

Size	Cost	Weight	Spaces	Maximum Load
Rowboat	$200	50 lbs	1/3	1,000 lbs
Dinghy	$500	100 lbs	1	4,000 lbs
Speedboat	$1,000	175 lbs	2	10,000 lbs
Cruiser	$2,000	300 lbs	4	20,000 lbs
Yacht	$4,500	650 lbs	8	50,000 lbs

The cables used on each of these winches is only ½" longer than the boat. The speed of the power winch is a function of what percentage of its maximum load is being pulled (1" per turn up to 25% of maximum load, ½" per turn from 26% to 50% of maximum load, and 1/4" per turn for 51% of maximum load or greater).

Hand Winches

Hand winches use muscle power to pull a boat onto its trailer. They have no power-assist system (unlike power winches), making the loading process a very slow one. In fact, loading speed is 1 turn per 500 lbs of boat weight (multiplied by the length of the winch cable); loading speed is doubled for half-weight and quadrupled for 1/4 weight. Note that hand winch cables are the same length as power winch cables. The cost of a hand winch is 40% of the cost of a power winch of the same size. The size (in spaces) is the same; due to the power-assist motors being replaced by heavy-duty gearing. The weight of a hand winch is 2/3 the weight of a similar-sized power winch (round up).
 

Recently, the New Omaha cable TV mascot was shot and wounded by an unknown assailant. The reasons for this attack are unknown. NOCTV has also reported assaults on several of its other employees. A spokesman for the network stated that those behind the attack will be found and brought to justice.
    In a recent session, the Iowa State Legislature has legalized dueling within the state. The only provision is that it must be in an arena. Highway dueling is still illegal. The owners of Playland Amusement Park & Speedway are pleased with the Legislature's action, as they have been fighting with the Iowa Motor Safety Association for years over the building of an arena. A statement from Playland corporate headquarters indicated that construction will begin immediately, and that the new arena is expected to open next Spring.
    The long-time NOVA duelist known as "Crazy" has returned after disappearing a few years ago. He has brought his own animal/circus show to New Omaha. Called "Crazy's Wild Animal Show", the program has Crazy stalking and catching various wild animals and educating the public about them. Thus far, Crazy has done programs on squirrels, raccoons, possums and various kinds of snakes (all with mixed results). He has even taken to identifying road-kill (his most popular feature yet).
    Crazy is said to be from Australia, but no one knows for sure. Rumor has it that he escaped from a mental ward (not surprising, considering the format of his show). In any case, his true name is unknown. Everybody just calls him "Crazy", because he is.
    Police Commissioner Death Knight announced that Detective Hammer has taken a much needed leave of absence. The commissioner looked very relieved for some reason.
    Mike Garrity won his fourth club dueling championship. It is the third such victory in a row for him. He barely won a much heated boat duel in the Carter Lake Aqua-Arena on September 25. Afterwards, Mike retired from active participation in the club dueling championships and joined the ranks of NOVA's Grand Duelists. However, Mike was not finished yet. Shortly thereafter, he went on to defeat Norman McMullen and Don Jacques in NOVA's club racing championship. This victory made him only the second NOVA member to have won both club championships in the same year.
 

Now Showing: The World is Not Enough (new James Bond film), End of Days (Arnie vs the Devil), Galaxy Quest, Bicentennial Man, Supernova, Toy Story 2.

Spring, 2000: Red Planet, Mission to Mars Winter, 2000: Lord of the Rings

Prequels: Star Wars Episode II (the Clone Wars) and Episode III (Vader Rising)

Sequels: Godzilla Millennium, Batman 5, Alien 5, True Lies 2, Star Trek 10 (DS9?, Voyager?)

On Cubes: Star Trek: Insurrection
 

Cy-Con 2000: April 2000 in Ames, IA. Site of the 2050 Central Regional Championships. Events to be hosted by NOVA and the Iowa Underground.

Origins 2000, July 13-16, 2000 in Columbus, OH. Confirmed site for the World Racing Championships.

Gen Con 2000, August 10-13, 2000 in Milwaukee, WI. Confirmed site for the World Dueling Championships. NOVA will be running other Car Wars events here also.

Nuke-Con 2000, October, 2000 in Omaha, NE. NOVA will be running several Car Wars events here.

September 10, 2049: Denver, Colorado was the site of another highway race conducted by BLUR. The race was shut down by a coalition of the State Patrol, local police and county sheriffs. Unfortunately, several racers escaped after having caused hundreds of accidents.

September 18, 2049: Dave Fletched, CEO of Blaster Motors unveiled his new BlastFighter series. Numbered from 34 to 44, they are intended to fill the Division-15, -20 and -25 places in the lineup. Hovercraft, boats and helicopters were introduced also, along with designs for use on the racing circuit. Dave Fletcher commented that "We're not done yet. Just wait for next year."

September 24, 2049: BLUR held another of its infamous highway races today. This time, the unlucky recipient was Atlanta, Georgia. Local law enforcement agencies tried to stop the race, but suffered many accidents in the process. DEATH came onto the scene and rendered assistance. They stopped the race, but several BLUR drivers escaped in the confusion.

September 25, 2049: Mike Garrity won his fourth NOVA club dueling championship, said event taking place at the Carter Lake Aqua Arena. He defeated Norman McMullen (a near thing) and Don Jacques in a Division-20 boat duel.

October 1, 2049: Herbert Kelson, CEO of Radius Motors in Lincoln, Nebraska, unveiled the Holiday Boat Motor Home. This vehicle is a 40' bus with a speedboat carried in back, allowing the bus to launch the boat directly into the water. Four models are planned, along with matching trailers.

October 8, 2049: BLUR tried shut down the highways around Chicago and hold another race. DEATH notified the State Patrol and they were able to stop the race before it even began. This is the first time BLUR has suffered a defeat of this kind.

October 22, 2049: St. Louis, Missouri was the unwilling host of yet another BLUR race. A coalition of State Police, local law enforcement and BLUR was unable to stop the race from happening, although they were able to prevent any fatalities. Even so, the recklessness of BLUR caused more than 100 accidents.

November 5, 2049: Columbus, Ohio saw the effects of another BLUR race today. A law enforcement/DEATH alliance was unable to stop the race, which went on for over an hour. Eight fatalities and over forty injuries were recorded as local citizens tried to avoid the BLUR maniacs.

November 13, 2049: Mike Garrity won the 2050 NOVA club racing championship at the Skyfire Aero-Arena in Akron, Ohio.

December 1, 2049: Playland Amusement Park & Speedway won its lawsuit against the Iowa Motor Safety Association (IMSA). Park officials announced that they will begin construction of an arena in Council Bluffs, Iowa. A recent change in Iowa state law legalized dueling in arenas, but not on the highway. Playland Arena will be opening in Spring, 2000.

December 25, 2049: Merry Christmas to all from the members of NOVA.

January 1, 2050: Happy New Year!!

"You miss 100% of the shots you never take"
--Wayne Gretsky

"If you can dream it, you can do it"
--Walt Disney

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds"
--Albert Einstein

"Never let the fear of striking out get in your way"
--Babe Ruth

"Real fishermen do not feel sorry for the bait"
--Joe Cartoon

"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Good Doggie' while looking for a bigger stick"
--Unknown
 

Payback
    Porter (Mel Gibson) has come back from the dead (figuratively) to collect his share of a deal gone bad (unfortunately for his enemies). He doesn't care who gets in his way; the Mob, the Police, drug dealers, etc, all find themselves recipients of his unwanted attention. This film is a rather quirky piece involving criminal vs criminal action. The action itself is good, but you never get to know any of the characters. Other notable co-stars include William DeVane, James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson and David Paymer. If you have a couple of hours to kill, rent it. Don't expect anything but two hours of entertainment. A word to the wise; this movie isn't big on morals. **

The City Hunter
    Jackie Chan is the City Hunter, a private eye working in Hong Kong. His latest assignment is to find the daughter of a wealthy newspaper owner, who has presumably been kidnapped. What follows is one of the funniest Kung Fu flicks ever seen. Based on a comic-book character, this movie doesn't take anything seriously (including seeing Jackie Chan in drag). At best, the plot is rather thin; even so, this movie is a hoot to watch. **

The Fantastic Four
    Undoubtedly one of the worst movies in recent years. On the bomb scale, this flick is a 1,000-lb cluster bomb. This early 1990's superflick is a Corman Blue-Plate special, along the lines of being a one-hour film in a three-hour body. The movie covers the origins of the Fantastic Four and their chief nemesis, Dr. Doom. A largely-unknown cast tries to bring off this film, but only succeeds in creating fodder for the MST3K crew. The only notable thing about this movie is that it is the last known film from the Golan-Globus outfit. Not surprisingly, it never made it to the big screen (lucky for us).

The World is not Enough
    Pierce Brosnan is back as James Bond in the 19^th installment of the longest-running series in movie history. Bond must protect Electra King (Sophie Marceau) from the attentions of an assassin (played by Robert Carlyle), who is trying to stop King's company from completing a much-needed pipeline. Along the way, Bond meets a number of old friends and quite a few new enemies. The obligatory love interest is Dr. Christmas Jones (a nuclear scientist), played by Denise Richards.
    Like all other Bond films, this one is full of spectacular car chases, hand-to-hand fighting and the usual assorted gadgetry. Ironically, Q's (Desmond Llewellyn) lines about retirement in the first part of the movie proved prophetic, as Llewellyn died in an automobile accident not long after the movie was released. As Bond filsm go, this is a decent effort. **

Ronin
    Robert DeNiro is an ex-CIA agent who is hired to help recover a package in Paris. But, his team of mercenaries soon runs into trouble, said trouble making the recovery much more complicated. There are several good gunfights and a couple of good car chases in this movie. Paris should get renamed the City of Flashing Lights because of all the police involvement in the car chases.
    Notable supporting characters include a French mercenary played Jean Reno (Godzilla, The Professional), and an Irish mercenary played by Sean Bean (Patriot Games, Goldeneye).Two of the actors who played Bond villains also make appearances. Ronin is an action film that does drag in places. The backgrounds are good, as this movie was shot on location in France (mostly in Paris and Nice). Rent it if you can, the car chases alone make it worthwhile. **

NASCAR Racers
    This is an animated series pilot which has a new NASCAR class (unlimited), which seems to be a cross between Can-Am and Trans-Am. The series has two rival companies (FasTech and RexCorp) and their racing teams competing for the checkered flag. FasTech is the leader in developing new cars, with their vehicles featuring such Car Wars staples as rocket boosters and jump jets (depending on the design chosen). FasTech drivers go by the names Charger, Stunt, Flyer and Spitfire, with their names relating to their backgrounds. Two of the Rexcorp drivers are named Collector and Junker for the same reasons.
    The track the two companies compete on has a racedome in it, which takes up about half the track. Inside the racedome, the track has a loop in it (making for some interesting races). The pilot (or movie; whichever you choose) has a very futuristic look , much like NASCAR 20-30 years from now. It's definitely worth a look. **

Robo Warriors
    It is 2036 and aliens have taken over the Earth (again). The only hope of Humanity is a old robo warrior and his equally-old mecha. Can they defeat the alien menace and win Earth's freedom?
    This film is basically a re-hash of Robot Jox, with some minor cosmetic changes. All in all, it is a decnt addition to the mecha-films lineup. **
 

In the interest of expanding our dueling horizons, this year's event was held in the Carter Lake Hydro-Arena. The vehicles used were Division-20 boats. The three duelists who participated were Mike Garrity (reigning club champion), Norman McMullen and Don Jacques.
    The duelists accelerated as they left their respective starting lines and headed for the central island. Mike and Don closed the range and opened fire. Mike obtained a hit with his turreted VMG while Don did the same with his side-mounted RL. Even though Don's shot was incendiary, it failed to set Mike's armor on fire. At close range, Don fired one of his right-side mounted torpedoes. Mike's underbody armor received major damage. A second torpedo was launched, but Mike blew it out of the water with his turreted VMG. Ion reply, Mike also did minor damage to Don with the VMG.
    Norman rounded the central island and headed towards Mike. Both opened fire. Noman's RL and HR did minor damage, while Mike's side-mounted MFRPs (which had blow-through concealment) did major harm to Norman's front armor. The boats were involved in a sideswipe as they passed each other. Norman felt the few points of damage done more than Mike. Still accelerating, Mike circled the central island.
    However, Mike had the bad luck to run over some floating mines which had been put down by Norman. The damage was enough to breach his already damaged bottom armor, beginning the slow process of flooding his boat. The power plant also received some minor damage from the mine blast. On the other side of the island, Mike ran into Don and fired his other set of concealed MFRPs. Don's armor was breached and the pilot was killed, thus giving Mike the first kill of the event. Don's boat continued to move straight ahead. It ended up on the beach next to the middle gate two turns later.
    Mike and Norman confronted each other again and traded shots. Each suffered light damage to their right-side armor. Norman dropped more mines, but Mike managed to avoid them. In doing so, Norman was able to engage Mike with his RL again. The hit did minor damage. Mike returned fire with his VMG. Norman's left-side armor was breached. In passing, Mike ran over another set of Norman's mines. However, Mike didn't set them off.
    The boats circled back around, exchanging fire as they approached each other. Norman dropped more mines in passing, but Mike successfully avoided them again. Mike's boat was settling lower in the water as more and more water gushed through his breached bottom armor. While he had the opportunity, Mike fired into Norman's left side, taking out the power plant.
    Norman turned to the right, keeping his breached armor away from Mike's weapon. He also kept going right to avoid taking on water. While doing this continuous turn, Mike and Norman traded fire again. Each of their right sides was damaged.
    In time, Mike's power plant shorted out due to the rising water level in is boat. In a last act of bravado, Mike closed on Norman and rammed his back armor from minor damage. Coasting to a stop, Mike's boat sank near the central island. Norman coasted to a stop just off-shore of the west edge of the lake.
    Things were not over yet. Mike swam over to Norman's boat and engaged him in a hand-to-hand battle which lasted several turns. Mike defeated Norman and won the event. The total elapsed time was 30 turns.

Finishing Positions
1^st place: Mike Garrity (1 full kill, 1 maneuverability kill, was sunk, won hand-to-hand battle)
2^nd place: Norman McMullen (1 full kill, lost hand-to-hand battle)
3^rd place: Don Jacques (killed by Mike)
 

Barely-Adequate Boat (Mike Garrity): Speedboat, medium boat power plant, 2 medium propellors, pilot, boat top, turreted VMG, 4 MFRPs (2 linked R, 2 linked L), SWC (to VMG), blow-through concealment for MFRPs, Armor: F35, B25, R20, L20, T10, U15. Acceleration: 5, HC: 3, Top Speed: 72.5 mph, 6,710 lbs, $20,000.

Never (Norman Mcmullen): Speedboat, medium boat power plant w/ upgrades, medium propellor, pilot, boat top, RL (R), HR (L), MD (B) w/ floating mines linked to front RL, bilge pump, Sloped Armor: F37, B37, R38, L38, T10, U40. Acceleration: 5, HC: 3, Top Speed: 67.5 mph, 6,895 lbs, $19,975.

Acoustic Assassin (Don Jacques): Speedboat, medium boat power plant, 2 medium propellors, pilot, boat top, RL w/ incendiary ammo L, 4 homing torpedoes (2 linked R, 2 linked L), 2 foxers B, Armor; F40, B40, R40, L40, T6, U30. Acceleration: 5, HC; 3, Top Speed: 62.5 mph, 6,995 lbs, $19,995.
 

DRAW's October Duel

The Death Racing Association of Washington held its October duel using Legos in a Division-10 event with eight drivers. Frank "the Vulture" Bonin won the event, followed by "Machine-Gun" Kelly Cariker in second and Dave "Chip" Campbell in third place.
    The duelists jumped off to a slow start, except Dave "Launchpad" Hill, who chased the Vulture to a jump and found himself facing Phil "Fritz" Bedard. The resulting head-on crash killed Launchpad and left Fritz with no front armor or vehicular weapons. Machine-Gun Kelly zipped by without a scratch and Richard "Big Dick" Keffler in pursuit. Kelly lost control and ended up getting a bit of air off the jump sideways. He nearly took out Fritz, but straightened out and kept on going. Big Dick kept going and scooted past them both, dropping a wall of spikes as he went. On the back side of the arena, there was a race going with Chip, Lara "Nutbuster" Hill and Paul "Spapmaster" Theis. Chip cut hard under the central tower and came into contact with the duelists on the other side. He scored a kill before time ran out. Nutbuster took a jump doing 90 mph and lost control upon landing. She spun out into a wall, with th resulting collision destroying her car. Incredibly, Lara managed to survive the wreck and got out on foot. She fired a round from her pistol at Fritz before the game ended. Spapmaster got the short end of the stick with a bad ram, while the Vulture cleaned house along with Kelly in the near corner.
    Logo cars were fun to use, with pieces being pulled off to simulate damage. Phil made great counters and bases for cars by scanning Legos and printing them in full color. This event was used as a test for the AADA Northwest Regionals, where we will run a Lego qualifier on Friday night. DRAW is getting back up to be ready for an even better tournament this year, with the 3-D Ozark Off-Road Arena and the return of Hanford (Midville). The final is once again a 1/24 scale-model destruction game and will have some interesting arena features. Check out our links section to find out more information about RadCon 3, where it will be held in Pasco, Washington in February.
    Until next time, drive aggressively and keep the shiny side up.

Bill Stevenson, DRAW President.
 

As we are at the end of the year, we look on our accomplishments of the past 12 months. We look to do more next year. I'm sure Mike Garrity will want to defend his World Dueling Championship title. We wish him the best of luck.

Godzilla article: Spring, 2000.
NOVA flag: Summer, 2000.
Modular Speedway system: Fall, 2000.
Website goals: Post one new NightMessenger and arena/racetrack every month.

We asked the members of NOVA the following questions to see what our future holds. 1) If money was no object, what would you like NOVA to have?, 2) What vehicles would you like NOVA to own?, 3) What personal items would you like to display at NOVA headquarters?
 

Mike Garrity's answers:
    If money were not a factor, I would like NOVA to have a headquarters building with a video game room, a room for watching videos and one or more rooms for gaming. There should be accommodations for those members or guests of members who would like to stay over night. As far as computers are concerned, it should be something with a 21" monitor, a big hard drive, a CD-RW drive for making our own CDs, a color laser printer and a top quality scanner.
    Vehicles: There should be one for use in going to conventions and one for display. If the vehicle was cool enough, one could be used for both purposes. My choice would be a fully tricked-out Hummer. In any case, the vehicle would have to have a built-in sound system for cassettes and a CD-changer. Automatic transmission and air conditioning are a must.
    Personal items on display: my shield, my armor, some of the medieval weapons in my collection, my personal flag, the NOVA flag and all of the trophies we have ever won
 

Adrian Shipley's answers:
    If money were not a factor, what would you like NOVA to have?
    -Pop machines and a popcorn popper

   What kind of vehicles would you like NOVA to have?
    -Grasshoppers (just kidding) and stealth beetles

    What personal items would you like displayed at the headquarters?
    -our crowning moments of victory and of course the roll of current champions

Norman McMullen's answers:
    If money were not a factor, I'd have at least a 5,000 sq. ft building with several crash rooms, a board/gaming room, an entertainment center with a 50" TV, VCR and DVD player, archive storage, offices for the President, Vice-President and Webmaster. Also, the largest PC we could get our hands on, a fully-stocked kitchen and a huge video library for Car Wars-related films. There would also be a go-kart track with ten go-karts for racing by members and guests.
    As for vehicles, we would have a 1970 and a 1986 NOVA in the garages for display and driving around in. Next, a 40' motor coach, a 1999 Cadillac DeVille, a Hummer Wagon and a stretch Limousine.
    Personal items on display: a crossbow and katana, movie posters from Car Wars-related films.
 

The Fall gaming convention for Omaha, NukeCon has been going on for nine years now; NOVA has run a Car Wars event at each one. This year was no exception. We scheduled a Division-15 boat duel and a Division-30 helicopter duel. I had high hopes for the events, but had to cancel them both because no players showed up.
    Next year, I'm planning to run a couple of the Godzilla events. Over the years, I've had a lot of requests to do some of them on a local level. Hopefully, there will be better attendance next year.
 

About fifty years ago, a famous TV celebrity proposed a unique RV concept, the Boat/motorhome. It was an RV that carried a speedboat in the back and launched it by backing up to the water. Radius Motors rediscovered the concept and has designed a bus and a boat after it.

Holiday: 40' bus, x-hvy chassis, regular power plant, 10 PR tires, driver, gunner, passenger, 4 MGs linked F, 2 MGs in universal turret TF, 2 linked SDs w/ explosive spikes (1 RB, 1 LB), 2 hi-res computers, smart link (turret-front MGs), weapon waterproofing (MGs & SDs), LD radio, galley, passenger accommodations (4), x-hvy hitch, boat rollers, Armor: F50, B15, RF46, RB46, LF46, LB46, TF47, TB15, UF15, UB15. Acceleration: 2.5/5, HC: 1, Top Speed: 122.5 mph, 18,195 lbs, $80,000. Cargo capacity: 20 spaces, 7,000 lbs, Pulling capacity: 14,800 lbs.

Low-budget version: Replace MGs w/ MMLs, replace HrSwcs w/ targeting computers, add 25 points armor, $71,875.

Long version: Move MGs from turret to front, replace turret w/ flush-mount solar panel, add 11 points armor. $71,340.

Defender version: Replace MGs w/ 3 RRs, remove SDs and add MD, add 5 points armor. $76,488.
 

Daytripper: Speedboat, boat top, medium boat power plant, propellor, pilot & 2 passengers, 2 MGs in universal turret (T), MD w/ floating mines B, 3 linked torpedoes (2 R, 1 L), hi-res computer, LD radio, 2 weapon links (MGs/torpedoes, MGs/MDs), waterproofing (all weapons), Armor: F20, B25, R25, L25, T25, U25. Acceleration: 5, HC; 2, Top Speed: 62.5 mph, 6,995 lbs, $28425.

Land version: Replace torpedoes w/ heavy rockets, replace floating mines in MD w/ regular mines, $26,275.

Low-budget version: Replace MGs w/ MMLs, downgrade computer from hi-res to targeting computer, add 15 points armor. $24,300.

Long version: Replace turret w/ flush-mount solar panel, replace torpedoes w/ 2 MGs; move MGs to the sides, $29,500.

Defender version: Replace MGs w/ 1 RR, replace torpedoes w/ 2 MFRPs, add 5 points armor, $29,988.

The Daytripper is the speedboat designed to be carried by the Holiday.

Extender: 25' van trailer, x-hvy chassis, quick-release hitch, 8 PR tires, 3 gunners, 2 universal turrets (1 TF, 1 TB) w/ 4 MGs in each, 3 linked SDs w/ explosive ammo (1 RB, 1 LB, 1 B), 2 hi-res computers, smart link (between turrets), weapon link (SDs/ rear turret), passenger accommodations (for 6), galley, waterproofing (all weapons), Armor: F30, B35, RF35, RB35, LF35, LB35, TF35, TB35, UF10, UB10, 12,540 lbs, $58,525. Cargo capacity: 19 spaces, 1,740 lbs.

Low-budget version: Replace MGs w/ MMLs, replace SDs w/ JDs. Replace hi-res computers w/ targeting computers, $42,873.

Long version: replace 1 turret and 4 MGs w/ flush-mount solar panel, remove 25 points armor and add regular truck power plant, cargo capacity: 9 spaces, 215 lbs. $50,500.

Defender I version: Replace 8 MGs w/ 4 RRs., add 2 RRs (B), replace SDs w/ MDs, add 45 points armor, cargo capacity: 12 spaces, 200 lbs, $61,375.

Defender II version: Replace 8 MGs w/ 2 BCs, add BC (B), replace SDs w/ MDs, add 45 points armor, cargo capacity: 12 spaces, 400 lbs, $68,125.

The Holiday/Daytripper/Extender combination can be mixed/matched in accordance with the wishes of the owner. It will most often have some form of escort, usually in the form of cars or other buses. The rear armor locations on the Holiday act like wheelguards for the Daytripper. They also help meld the bus and the speedboat into one vehicle. The Holiday can back into the water to either launch or retrieve the Daytripper; either process takes several turns to accomplish.

The end of the issue is finally here. Believe it or not, NOVA will be celebrating its 15^th anniversary this coming Spring. This is good news for us and frightfully bad news for all those who dare oppose us.
    Our next issue will feature the write-up of the club racing championship, the return of the NOVA Files and our other regular features. We are looking forward to hosting the Regional Championships in dueling & racing at Cy-Con, as well as our regular trip to Gen-Con in August. Whatever happens, the next several months will be rather interesting.

"DRIVE OFFENSIVELY"
 
 

Norman McMullen	Michael Garrity
NOVA President	NOVA Secretary

 

NOVA Works
    Racing hulls, air-boats & mini-hovercraft: Norman McMullen
    Boat rollers & winches: CW Jester

Quotes: Norman McMullen & Michael Garrity

In the Arena
    2050 NOVA Club Dueling Championship: Norman McMullen
    DRAW October Duel: Bill Stevenson

NOVA goals/NOVA dreams: Mike Garrity, Adrian Shipley & Norman McMullen

The Showroom
    Holiday, Daytripper & Extender: Norman McMullen

All other features: Norman McMullen

Typesetting & Page Layout: Michael Garrity

Editors: Michael Garrity & Norman McMullen
 

The Nightmessenger is published quarterly by the New Omaha Vehicular Association, 2524 Madison St., Bellevue, NE 68005. All material is copyright 2000 by the New Omaha Vehicular Association. All rights reserved. Car Wars, Dueltrack, Boat Wars, Car Warriors, Crash City, Truck Stop, Convoy, Uncle Albert's Catalog From Hell, Autoduel and AADA are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or are used under license. The above trademarks, and the characters and situations of the Car Wars background are the exclusive property of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated and are used in Nightmessenger under permission. Reproduction of any material published in the Nightmessenger without the express written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Any reproduction of Car Wars articles published in the Nightmessenger, or any unauthorized publication of fiction using the Car Wars background without the express written permission of Steve Jackson Games is strictly prohibited. Subscription rates (for 4 issues) are: Regularly attending club members: $4:00, U.S. subscribers: $6.00, International subscribers: $12.00.

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