BrendonW: Dystopian Wars 'Empire of the Blazing Sun' Raijin Class War Gyro (15 points)

From Brendon:

Continuing on with my Dystopian Blazing Sun Fleet expansion.

Raijin Class HQ War Gyro. Resin and metal, 1:1200, made by Spartan games.

This flying ship of doom also comes with a floating Node Projector thingy token (it appears in/near enemy fleets and the Gyro uses it to shut down Generators). This model comes in the Strike Flotilla box along with models from a previous submission so now the box is completely painted and I am satisfied.

As usual I paint flying craft in my fleet with the Top Side Green, underside light pale blue with pointy and side areas in colours from my Naval vessels.

The underside is an area I paint very plainly as I figure it is not really seen during games. It's interesting and cool that they sculpted the underside to look like a belly that is ready to drop robot subs into the ocean though. But it does mean a little more detail to paint. It doesn't appear to co-relate to any game functionality though.

Ooh, that is quite the beast! Great work Brendon. I really like the look of the wood decking alongside that wonderful shade of green you've used for the armour plating.  Its also nice to see those towers again.

This hefty fellow will give Brendon 15 points. Great job!

From BrendonW: Dystopian Wars Japanese Robots, Destroyers and Cruisers (25 points)

From Brendon:

I continue to be inspired by the Challenge to remain productive. After sighting some new models I haven't seen before I was inspired to get some more Dystopian toys. Turns out might be some renewed interest at my club as well. So might get a few games in after not playing for possibly over a year.

Spartan Games Resins for Dystopian Wars. There is something about these clean CAD designed models that makes them a delight to collect and paint. Odd ball designs that are at the same time familiar but twisted. No assembly required on these Empire of the Blazing Sun naval vessels nor do I need to do any basing. This does speed things a little but the detail they manage to get on them is amazing.

In this pack of vessels from a time that never was we have some chemical flame throwing brass colored Zarigani Class Small Robots. I gave them two coats of acrylic Gloss to give them a wet look.

Three small rocket delivering Yurgi Class Destroyers.

Three bigger Arashi Class Support Cruisers with forward shooting rotary Rocket systems. Will these incendiary rockets bring hot fiery death to this fleets enemy's? With my playing skill unlikely. Cheers all.

Excellent stuff Brendon. I really like the Dystopian Wars 'universe' and as you say, the quality of their products are superb. I'm a big fan of the look of the Japanese fleet - it has this great 1920s art deco esthetic about it, with many their ships seeming like sea-going locomotives. I've not seen these Arashi Support Cruisers before (are they relatively new?). Those rocket pods look quite formidable.

These fresh additions to the Empire of the Blazing Sun will give Brandon 25 points.

From Millsy: Dystopian Wars Kingdom of Britannia Dreadnought & Flyers (78 points)

Millsy performs the coup de grace on his Dystopian Wars project with this great entry.

From Millsy:

First up here's the Dreadnought for my Dystopian Wars Kingdom of Britannia armada. She's painted in the same blue / bronze / white scheme as my surface other vessels. Quite a hefty lump of resin and lengthy paint job but certainly worth it.

Secondly, it is with great pleasure I announce the maiden flight of HM Royal Fleet Air Arm. The little ones are Doncaster Class Bombers, the mid-sized ones are Scout Class War Rotors and the large beasty is a Eagle Class War Rotor. The Doncasters are all metal whilst the rest are resin hulls and metal engines / guns. Why the bombers are smaller and less well armed than the scouts I'll never know.

One of the Scout Class War Rotors had the last 5mm or so broken off his tail by an overly enthusiastic factory worker. Whatever, it was snapped right off and an eyesore. Luckily, I was able to rebuild it using green stuff and a mold made from Instant Mold (https://www.coolminiornot.com/shop/instant-mold.html) using the complete flier as a master. It worked so well I now can't pick the repaired craft after the paint has been applied.

To say these fliers were a nightmare to complete would be an understatement. I'm no stranger to the more colourful side of the English language for a variety of reasons but this lot required the kind of no-holds-barred doubled-barreled invective any salty old sailor would be proud to call his own.

Painting white pin stripe borders over black undercoat, across compound curves and at 1:1200 scale left me a gibbering wreck. Ten fecking hours of squinting, swearing and touching up later they look pretty good though and I'm happy to call them done. REALLY happy indeed. Never again.

By finishing these off I complete the entire force of approximately 1250 game points. From absolute last place to finishing well ahead of all the other lads in my gaming club in our fleet build efforts, all in under two weeks. Woot! Now it's back to the skellies once more.

Beautiful work Millsy. I love this colour scheme you came up with. I've been wavering whether to get one of those Eagle Class Rotors but your post has quickened my pulse a bit on the idea. Very nice.

This fine addition to Britannia's proud naval and air arm will give Millsy 78 points.

From Millsy: Dystopian Wars British Fleet (42 points)

Millsy changes gear for a bit:

The astute amongst you will have noticed that my second submission isn't wights, mummies, skeletons, zombies or any other form of undead. Nor is it Oldhammer for that matter.

The truth is I couldn't look another skeletal grin in the face without doing something different first, so when I got the Dystopian Wars rule book for Christmas the painting urge became near overpowering.

Whatever plans I had were immediately blown from the water by a broadside of Spartan Games resin goodness. Why some people think having large volumes of unpainted models about he place just in case you suddenly want to paint them constitutes a bad idea is beyond me. Anyway, enough rambling. 

With the exception of two small bomber aircraft this is the complete starter flotilla for the Kingdom of Britannia - one battleship, three cruisers, nine frigates and ten stands of aircraft. Despite my abiding affection for the dazzle pattern (it's all good right Curt???) I decided for something a bit different and went with a royal blue and bronze theme with white highlights. Cripes, I'm starting to sound like an interior designer.... 

I've still got another batch to be completed some time soon, mostly aircraft and a dreadnought. Before that though I should be able to face the lipless grinning hordes once more.

Dystopian Wars is such a great game and Millsy you've done a brilliant job with this British force. I think the 'razzle dazzle' thing has been done quite a bit so I really like the look of these. Now you just need to start pimping this core group with a carrier and a silly-big-ass flyer.

This steampunk fleet will give Millsy 42 points. Great work!

Dystopian Wars - Prussian Sky Fortress 'Ziethen'

Here's another update to my Dystopian Wars diversion, a Prussian 'Sky Fortress' which I've christened as the 'Ziethen'.

It only follows sensible reasoning that if Zeppelins are cool, and Steampunk is cool, then a Tesla-armed Zeppelin with an airfield on top must be the total cat's pyjamas. Actually, it was this model alone that sold me on the whole Dystopian Wars venture.

I really wanted to put a set of huge Maltese crosses on this bad boy so I poached a few decals from a 1/72 Albatross kit.

You'll have to excuse my arty 'cloud' composition but I was having a bit of fun with the pillow ticking...

Here we see the 'Ziethen' as she steams amongst the clouds, her lederhosen-wearing crew listening to 8-hour operas, reading Goethe and debating where they should land for Oktoberfest.

Coming Soon: We will return to our regular programming with some new Napoleonic Russians! (The first of what I'm sure will be many posts were I publicly shame Sylvain in his glacial progress with his own Napoleonic-Russo 'painting commitments'.)

The First Martian Lift Wars - A 'Dystopian Wars' Campaign

Over the past few weeks I've mentioned the idea of running a small campaign to make use of my new collection of Dystopian Wars models.  Since I've always liked the Jules Vern / H.G Wells vision of space travel (being that ships can float through the 'aether' between worlds) I came up with the following premise:

The year is 1877 and scientists from Berlin's Reichsakademie fur Astronomie have been closely observing the celestial bodies, testing the theory that deposits of the valuable new element 'Sturginium' may be present and obtainable on nearby worlds.  Working from observations of Mars made by Giovanni Schiaparelli several German scientists believe they have discovered gas vents located in the north-west hemisphere of the Red Planet.

Giovanni Schiaparelli's original 1877 map of Mars.

The Prussian Empire was delighted in hearing this information, believing that they could mount an expedition to the Martian surface to claim any mineral rights before any of the other Great Powers were wise to the discovery. Unfortunately for the Prussians, their scientists, committed to the spirit of academic freedom and the sharing of knowledge, unilaterally decided to publish their findings in several international journals. When released their findings caused a sensation in the corridors of power.  As a result a race has begun between the four Great Powers to see who will claim the most Martian territory and establish rights of colonization and industry.

Our map depicting the north-west section of Schiaparelli's Mars.

Knowing that time is of the essence, each of the Great Powers has raced to assemble resources to send on an expedition.  The lift capacity of the newly invented aether cargo ships is prodigious, allowing them to 'lift' naval vessels through the Aetherium to Mars. As the Powers are all actively spying on each other during their preparations for the 'Lift to Mars' each nation has roughly matched the others in the composition of their fleets (fancy that!). They also realize that due to the distance of the journey, and the resources required, reinforcement will be very sporadic - essentially what each commander starts with at the outset will be his force entire, with very little hope of immediate resupply until they have exhibited some level of success (either by conquest or exploitation of resources). 

A mixed Prussian force advancing under fire.

Each strategic game turn on the campaign map represents one week. The speed of ships in the tactical game equate to a single hex of movement on the campaign map. For example, a frigate squadron which normally has a movement of 10" in the tactical game will be able to move 10 hexes on the campaign map over a week's time.

Japanese Cruisers steaming at flank speed.

Each nation has 100 'factors' of Marines to act as garrison troops for their land claims. Each nation also has 1000 'resource points' in which to build any installations and military infrastructure in which to aid their campaign.

Confederate Cruisers taking a pounding on their approach.

In our game the British have established their main base on Thyle, the Confederates on Phaetontis, the Prussians on Thaumasia Felix and the Japanese on Nivea. We're in Turn 3 of the campaign and we've already had a major fleet action fought between the Confederates and the British (fairly well-matched but the British did loose a Carrier). The diplomatic wires are ablaze with communication as everyone is jockeying for an advantage.

The doomed HMS Gigantic on fire and crippled...

Its all great fun as the players have really gotten into the spirit of their various roles. Its proven to be a good diversion as we say goodbye to autumn and head into winter. 

Dystopian Wars - Confederate Fleet

In the Dystopian Wars 'universe' the American contingent is called the Federated States of America (FSA) but I thought that since we are dealing with alternate history it might be interesting to have a faction that was based around a sovereign Confederate nation, with the premise being that the Southern states had prevailed in 1863 and had won their independence. 

Three Perryville Class Frigates

So with this in mind I pondered on what are some quintessential 'Confederate' colours. Well, obviously grey would have to play an important part of the palette, but what else? When I was younger I did a lot of ACW re-enacting in the deep South (17th Mississippi) and really loved the uniforms of the Confederate officers, with their yellow facings and the gold braid ('chicken guts') against the grey wool. Finally, since the artillery arm often had red as their facing colour I thought that would be a good third accent for the turrets and gun positions.  So, here they are all in their 'Reb glory.

Sharpsburg Class Cruisers (with different generators in the central 'socket')

A Fredericksburg Class Battleship (with a rocket battery in the central socket)

2nd view of the Battleship with a Kinetic Drive installed.

A Chickamauga Class Aircraft Carrier.

2nd view of the Carrier with the fighters on deck.

A Gettysburg Class Dreadnought

A rather blury detail shot (sorry) of the Dreadnought.

Two Jim Beam Class Scout Airships

Two Mint Julip Class Heavy Bombers.

A squadron of White Lightning Fighters

Another pic of the Fleet.

This bunch was a lot of fun to paint up and, as you can probably tell, I had a good time dreaming up names for all the classes.  A few weeks ago I came up with a campaign game to involve the four fleets which we're playing now. Perhaps I'll put up a short post describing the campaign in a few days.

Dystopian Wars - Prussian Fleet

For the Prussian Fleet I decided to stray a bit off the nautical theme and go with early-war Luftwaffe colours which I've always liked and, I dunno why, but often think of as quintessentially 'German'.

In the rules, the Prussians utilize Tesla-based weaponry which is kinda neat and you can see Tesla coils on many of their models.

Three Frigates

As you can see the silhouette of the Prussian ships are very angular and swept back - reminiscent of a King Tiger's hull. I think they look the most contemporary of all the Dystopian fleets. I'm quite looking forward to doing up the their zeppelin aircraft carrier as the model looks very cool.

The Cruisers

You can see the Tesla coils at the aft of the Cruisers.

I'm now on the hunt for some Maltese cross decals that I can use for these. 

The Prussian Battleship.

Again, Tesla coils along the amidships.

A pair of Heavy Bombers

A couple groups of Fighters with slightly different markings to differentiate the squadrons..

The last and final group will be the American Fleet.  I already have an idea of what I want to do with them but we'll see how it turns out.

In this shot the Battleship has a couple of the 'plug-in' generators.