dystopian wars Archives - Page 7 of 8

Prussian Empire Arminius Class Frigates

The Dystopian Wars is a miniatures games from Spartan Games. The Prussian Frigate is a simple ship with a single turret and aft Tesla weapons. Squadrons of Frigates are often used to screen larger ships, combine their fire against enemy ships, and sometimes chase down vessels that have submerged below the ocean waves.

There are six models and they come in a single blister pack. The first stage will be washing the resin models and giving them a white undercoat.

These are very small models, but are very well detailed.

Check out the Dystopian Wars Workbench.

The Dystopian Chronicle

Had my second game of Dystopian Wars at the weekend and did enjoy it, even though we still struggled with the rules. I have been playing games now for over thirty years and even I am surprised by how many mistakes I made in reading and importantly interpreting the rules. It did make me realise the value in well written rules with clear examples. I take on a fair bit of responsibility in not taking enough time to read the rules between games.

We had problems with critical hits system, in the main forgetting about the extra 2 HP each time. I realised afterwards, as well as making mistakes with critical hits, we also didn’t play the Ack Ack and Concussion Charges rules properly. The end result was that the game too a lot longer than it should… however it was still very enjoyable.

What I did like was the tactical challenge of working out where best to place your ships to maximise the firepower, whilst minimising the risk from the opponent’s ships. It was also a challenge to decide on which order to activate different squadrons, hoping that your prospective target gets closer, but not too close to cause damage. I also really like the cards system, which adds to the game, without going overboard.

What I was pleased with was that I managed in a month to paint my Britannia Naval Group, so fast that though I took photographs, I’ve not managed to update the workbench feature on them. So I got nine frigates, three cruisers and a battleship all painted. I also managed to finish off painting the Airfield Scenery Set. Really like the idea of making scenery, well everytime I see this kind of scenery I do.

I was very impressed with Simon’s FSA ships which he also managed to get painted in the same month. Alas time constraints (blame the rules) meant that I didn’t get to photograph them (or the game).

For the next game I intend to read the rules a lot more fully, I might even buy version 1.1 so to have the same version of the rules as Simon, so difficult when wanting to read the same section and not knowing the right page number.

I have finished painting all my surface ships, well except the Olympic Liner, so thinking should I paint the airborne models I have, or get some more Prussians?

Olympic Class Troop Transport

The Olympic Liner is one of the largest passenger ships ever created. Built at the Proctor & Mercer Shipyards in Middlesbrough, these impressive vessels have carried people over the seas in style since 1861. A main selling point is the advanced technological design, and claimed robustness of the ship’s hull. However, the outbreak of world war saw many of the Olympic Liners refitted to fulfil the role of a troop carrier. With its pioneering keel design, the Olympic Class Troop Transport cuts through the water at high speed, allowing it to efficiently deliver thousands of troops to war zones around the globe.

It comes in a blister and is a one piece resin model with metal masts. I gave the model a wash to remove any mould lubricant.

One of the things I did need to decide on was, did I paint it in “peacetime” colours, in a similar style to the promotional picture, or did I paint it in wartime colours (as on the datacard). In the end I decided to go with the civilian colours, black hull and white superstructure.

Dystopian Times

At the weekend I managed to get my first game of the Dystopian Wars played. I have had the rules for a while and have had a fair few ships on the workbench too. In the last few weeks I managed to finish a few ships painted and finished.

Playing the game for the first time, made me realise how important it is that rules are written clearly and illustrated with examples. Myself and Simon spent a fair bit of time trying to work out how the game played. I don’t think it helped too much that I had version 1.0 of the rules and he had the updated version 1.1.

It took us a while to work out that if you had a single ship you could link the multiple weapons (turrets for example) and fire at a single target.

Once we had worked out where we were going wrong, we soon managed to crack the basics. Longer term, it could get a whole lot more complicated to play, once you introduce aerial vehicles and more weapons.

I did like the basics of the game, and certainly I had to think hard about strategy to ensure that my ships ended up in the right place to bring all their weapons to bear upon their target.

We made use of the cards, and I have always liked card systems. This one seemed to be just right, adding advantages to each player, without it seeming to be overboard.

I do like the models and it was nice to use something different to 40K and FoW which have dominated my gaming over the last few years. I found my Prussian ships quite simple and easy to paint, though I could if I wanted to, go overboard again and do some excessive weathering and details.

I certainly did enjoy the game, and started thinking about finishing painting the other models I have and even making some more scenery. For some reason I do quite like the idea of making some icebergs.

Putting the basecoat on the Dreadnought

The Dystopian Wars is a miniatures games from Spartan Games, one of the models I have is the PPrussian Blucher Class Dreadnought.

Having washed the resin model and glued on the metal pieces, I gave the model a white undercoat, the next stage was a grey basecoat.

I use a Tamiya acrylic and had my usual problem, exaggerated by bad light, in the paint not covering the whole model. I find the paint rather thick and it doesn’t thin well compared to GW paints. So it will probably need some touching up, before I start adding detailing to the model through a drybrush and then adding the decking. I will then give the model a thin wash.

Undercoating the Dreadnought

The Dystopian Wars is a miniatures games from Spartan Games, I now have a few models in the range.

Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher was a famous Prussian Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshall) who was known for his rather direct military tactics. ‘On it like Blucher‘ is a term synonymous in the Prussian military for taking the fight to the enemy. The designers behind this Dreadnought certainly took this to heart. FOUR powerful Primary turrets rain death on enemy targets and row after row of Tesla Coils rip into enemy vessels.

Having washed the resin model and glued on the metal pieces, I gave the model a white undercoat.

At some point the rear guns got bent, so I had to bend them back.

The next stage will be a grey basecoat.

Olympic Class Troop Transport

Back in April Spartan Games showed off the Olympic Class Troop Transport for Dystopian Wars.

I remember thinking that would make a great model for various Dystopian War scenarios. I didn’t get one at the time, and thought no more of it.

Finding one recently though, I did buy it on impulse. It comes in a blister and is a one piece resin model with metal masts.

Kingdom of Britannia Eagle Class War Rotor

Dystopian Wars is a miniatures games from Spartan Games.

The Eagle Class War Rotor is a marvel of Her Majesty’s Flying Corps and the pride of any pilot that is granted the honour of captaining one. Years of engineering have gone into the development of this flying behemoth, and the utilisation of hybrid rotor driven propulsion and Sturginium-enhanced Anti-Gravitation generators allows thousands of tonnes of British steel to glide into the sky above the battlefield, much to the horror of its foes.

This is how it looks from the marketing material.

The model itself comes in a blister.

It is a combined resin model with metal parts miniature.

Kingdom of Britannia Illustrious Class Sky Fortress

High above the waves the Illustrious Class Sky Fortress gracefully glides into battle, held aloft by six gigantic manoeuvring rotors and the Royal Engineering Corps’ most advanced Sturginium Gravitation Generators. But do not let the majestic soaring fool you, this is a beast born for war, with a host of deadly and devastating weapons that it brings to the fight. It can pummel you with turret fire while deadly squadrons of fighters and fighter bombers launch, ready to bring even more death and destruction to the fray. Illustrious is the name of this model, but its enemies may perhaps rename it to Infamous once they’ve felt its wrath in battle.

This is how it looks from the marketing material.

The model itself comes in a blister.

The first stage will be washing the resin model and giving it a white undercoat.

Prussian Empire Pflicht Class Scoutships

Prussian Empire engineers love the classic zeppelin shape and have made extensive use of the gas powered blimp shape throughout the military. So what does this machine of war bring to the gaming table? Well a powerful aft bomb, fore Tesla coils and broadside weapons that hit out to Range Band 2.

This is how it looks from the marketing material.

The two models come in a blister pack.

The first stage will be washing the resin models and giving them a white undercoat.