Epochen > Alternative Geschichte
Dystopean Wars
AndréM:
Iceberg Incoming
The largest ship in the White Navy’s order of battle, the Kostroma Class Battle Carrier still echoes the characteristic design of its other vessels. In a military revolutionised by the glut of information supplied by Markov’s Circle, this is perhaps surprising, but then again, the Kostroma is itself a relatively new concept for the Russians.
Russian Coalition - Kostroma Class Carrier with Tiny Flyers
Through the use of its Glacier Generator, the Carrier prevents a possible ram and protects itself from incoming fire
Dating from the early 1860s, the Kostroma is the White Navy’s first aircraft carrier. Previously, the Stavka had not considered the construction of mobile air-bases a military priority. Such is the Coalition’s vast size that its military top brass had long assumed that any operations carried out by Russian forces could be amply served by land-based airpower from fixed installations.
Russian Coalition Kostroma Class Carrier
However, Tsar Vladimir’s ambitions beyond the land borders of his realm, as well as the need for mobile air cover for the White Navy’s Battle Brigades forced the issue. The first Kostroma entered service as early as 1863. However, although the design has undergone a number of refinements, mostly involving Markovite technology, the basic principles behind it remain unchanged.
The Kostroma is essentially a huge floating airfield, housing Steel Interceptor squadrons detached from the White Air Armies to act as naval air support. However, unlike some of its equivalents in foreign navies, the Kostroma is also heavily armed with conventional weaponry, shipping massed broadside batteries of rifled medium cannons, making it a formidable floating fortress in its own right.
Russian Coalition Kostroma Class Carrier
The carrier mounts a few of the Circle’s revolutionary technologies. Although it is protected by the now-standard scheme of ablative armour, it lacks Sturginium Pressure Engines as swiftness is not essential in its role. Instead it is powered by massive smoke-belching coal-fired reciprocators. However, this in itself makes the carrier an intimidating sight when cruising at full speed.
Additionally, the Kostroma‘s hull conceals one of the strangest Generators ever devised. A product of Markov’s stolen treasures, the Glacier Generator is capable of creating huge icebergs literally in moments.
These sudden ice fields can confuse and confound opponents attempting to close with or target the carrier or other vessels around it. Built as standard on new Kostromas entering service since 1866, Glacier Generators have been retro-fitted on all earlier ships as a matter of priority.
The Kostroma has one last means of attack and defence available to it, should any enemy be foolhardy enough to fight through the rest of the carrier’s escort to close with it. It houses a vast complement of Russian Naval riflemen, sufficient to overwhelm the crews of smaller enemy ships, and make anyone attempting to take the carrier by boarding seriously regret their rashness!
Russian Coalition Kostroma Class Carrier
A Word from the Designer
The Kostroma Class Carrier was a challenging but thoroughly rewarding model to build. The first hurdle I faced was reconciling the large, wide and flat plane of the flight deck against the veering triangular nature of the Russian Hulls. Most of the general hull shapes of the other nations have shapes better suited to adding decks whereas here the Russian aesthetic is heavily based around the angular hull.
The hull had to be formed further to meet the deck and, in reflection, the sacrifice isn’t as dire as it seems: the tiered factory top of the Russian ships complements the shape nicely and it gave me enough room to play with to add all the fun elements I wanted to.
First and foremost (almost literally), the Glacier Generator set on the bow of the ship was an entirely new generator in both the game and one with no aesthetic precedence. Rather than a set node of technological wonder like many other generators, the Glacier Generator is split into a battery of directional nozzles that combine to create the effect of placing an iceberg in already calm waters. The heat displacement requires an upward venting of hot air from a massive turbine at the top of the ship which in the heat of battle helps create an updraft for combat launches.
Russian Coalition Kostroma Class Carrier
Other than the factory style tops that are interchangeable atop many Russian Coalition ships, several design elements were added to the ship’s core to help solidify its role as a carrier. The all important aircraft lifts, taken in style from freight elevators, add interesting crossing lines to the ship’s vertical profile and loaded cargo crates piled against the sides of the ship reinforce the busy nature of the vessel.
My favourite element by far is the simplest – the turntable neatly concealed by the top of the ship. It is there to help taxiing aircraft align to launch positions in rapid succession. Little touches like that are there to help give life to the ships, and while most of them can go unnoticed on the final models, it is a real joy to see them finished and painted with the same level of care that went into making them.
Russian Coalition Kostroma Class Carrier
To War!
Some Russian Coalition Commanders overlook the Kostroma Class Battle Carriers in favour of the raw firepower of the Moskva and the Borodino. However, the tactical flexibility they can provide should never be under-valued.
Although lacking the close range turrets which characterise other White Navy vessels of its size, the Kostroma’s broadsides pack a considerable punch. The Battle Carriers are fully capable of crippling any middle weight vessels which stray in range of their powerful cannons. However, the Kostroma is considerably more vulnerable to return fire than the White Navy’s Battleships. As such it is unwise to plunge them into the enemy formations like the Moskva and Borodino. Instead, they are best held in reserve, where they can pick off targets weakened by the frontline vessels.
Of course the true strength of the Battle Carriers lies with their compliment of aircraft. The tenacity of the ferocious Steel Interceptor wings is fast becoming legendary, and Coalition Commanders particularly value the versatility of the Air Army’s Dive Bombers. Capable of performing aerial dog-fights with the fighters and airships of other nations and devastating important targets with brutal bombing runs, the Interceptors are regarded as a very valuable asset. These wings are further supported by the Carrier’s Deck Crews, who work tirelessly to keep the craft operational.
The final weapon in the Kostroma’s arsenal is the unique Glacier Generator. Although not overtly offensive, these devices can generate obstacles to impede the enemy’s manoeuvres. The tactical potential of these Icebergs is immense: they can funnel targets into the arcs of powerful Russian turrets, protect vulnerable flanks or stop a foe from fleeing the range of the fleet’s guns.
Tower of Tsar Terror
Although the reputation of the Russian Coalition’s military is that of a hugely potent offensive force, especially in recent years, this is not its only focus. No matter how powerful an army or navy might be it always retains the need for commanding static assets to protect its home bases and supply lines.
In fact, this goes doubly so for the Russian military – their great offensives are only sustained thanks to the secure network of fortifications they have established as they advanced. Not only does this ensure that their lines of supply are protected, it also provides Russian forces with secure areas for consolidation and the amassing of reinforcements.
Russian Coalition fortifications provide overwatch as their comrades roll into battle!
With so many land borders to defend, the Russian Coalition also places great faith in strong static defences, which free up its mobile forces to operate elsewhere. Major cities such as Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev and Sevastopol are ringed with formidable defensive works. More fortifications are positioned to watch over its far flung borders, such as the Nikolai Line overlooking the remote Pacific Coast.
Like those of the other powers, Russian fortifications are designed to be assembled relatively rapidly from pre-fabricated components. However, once assembled, they are immensely resilient, capable of resisting even the strongest assaults. The Russian Coalition raises whole regiments of infantry to act as garrison troops for its fortified redoubts in key areas.
Russian Coalition Tower Set
Because they are immobile, fortifications can mount the largest and most destructive ordnance the major powers can devise – below each emplacement is a network of heavily defended magazines and stores to keep the fort’s weaponry and its crew battle-ready.
In the case of Russian-built structures, they mostly mount the same huge smoothbore guns common to the White Army’s Land Ships. However, some emplacements mount heavy rifled weaponry, too bulky even for dreadnoughts, to expand the areas which they can bring under bombardment.
Because of its huge land area, the Russian Coalition military places great reliance on static airfields, more so than almost any other nation. The majority of the White Air Armies are based out of conventional airfields, heavily defended by flak towers.
The extent of this network or aerodromes is vast, and they are easily constructed with conscripted labour from preassembled components. This capacity, together with its forces operating mostly from home territory, means that the Russian military has to date not needed to develop land-based mobile airfields like the other major powers.
Everywhere the Coalition military goes, it rapidly constructs a great deal of redoubts to support its operations. However, these forts also have another purpose – to establish and maintain the Tsar’s iron rule over the regions through which his armies march, and his fleets sail. They are the lasting physical embodiment of the Russian monarch’s power and his expansionist dreams.
The four corners of the Russian Coalition Tower Set watch over the Tsar\'s land
A Word from the Designer
The Russian Tower Set was a pleasure to design as the late 15th c. architectural style of the Moscow Kremlin, which was a primary source of reference in this model, exhibits so many elements of design in keeping with the way I envision the collective mentality of the Russian Coalition. It exudes might and stability, asserting the dominance of those within its walls for miles beyond, and yet contains numerous examples of the intricate and ornate. It is built for supremacy – physically and aesthetically. Interestingly, the existing walls and towers of the Moscow Kremlin, in all their archetypal Russian glory, were built by masterful Italians, though they too had existing Russian designs from which to refer. Having returned to Spartan Games headquarters following a magnificent Renaissance-focussed excursion, I began work on the Tower Set and its substantially larger sibling the Russian Coalition Bunker Complex. I was full of inspiration and excitement to design a set of Dystopian Wars models that invoked strong architectural elements of these two amazing cultures, with license to bring it into our world of Victorian Super Science.
Kremlin does not refer only to the one in Moscow. The massive front doors of the Russian Coalition tower and the shield generator top, for instance, were derived from elements that I found appealing in various other kremlins around Russia. Also note the “M”-shaped trim, which appears in numerous kremlins. When designing buildings for our games, I construct them in real world architectural units, only emphasising elements that would become invisible when scaled down to game size. The Russian Coalition Tower, therefore, is 260’ in height from the ground to the tip of the towers, and the quad barrels of the Gun Tower are 68’ in length.
McCloud:
Immer wieder faszinierend, was die sich alles einfallen lassen, ich bin kurz davor schwach zu werden und mir noch eine Flotte zu holen.
AndréM:
A Storm Is Brewing
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth SWZ3 Palnik Class Flame Tank
The Alliance Nations and the way they fit into the game of Dystopian Wars were an opportunity to come up with some interesting designs outside the standard set that the major powers produce; niche models with niche roles that add a little more flavour to the battlefield. One of the first Alliance models produced was the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth\'s Flame tank, a medium armoured model whose firepower is quite literally firepower.
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - SWZ3 Palnik Class Flame Tank
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth designs carry elements from the background of the PLC as a whole. Their history, aesthetic and military doctrine were formed on the basis of the infamous Polish Winged Hussars. Trying to apply a notion of speed to a static model, let alone a tank the size of a building, is tricky. The first thought is to favour front-heavy designs that lean forward, treading a little on what makes the Federated States of America land vehicles special.
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - SWZ3 Palnik Class Flame Tank
This led to a model with large wheels and taut tracks – a nod to racing cars and motorcycles. Putting as much of the physical model into the motive sections helped to lend speed to the eye. The other nod is to the Hussars, and this is where we added wings. In most instances they fit in among the smokestacks but, while more subtle than the original winged hussars, are still easily seen to anyone on the battlefield.
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - SWZ3 Palnik Class Flame Tank
Making something a flame tank is as much about implying heat as it is about fire. After all, the model has no gouts of flame spouting from it: that task is left to the skilled hobbyists and painters who will take this model under their wing. For us, it was about making a model that looks equal parts furnace and fireplace. Most of the surfaces present are not large metal panels that make up a great amount of the tanks that populate the Dystopian Wars universe, but grilles and heat sinks intertwined with sinuous pipes and boilers, making for something that is more of a smelting plant than a war machine.
Dominion of Canada Archer Class Flak Tank
The flak tank for the Dominion of Canada was another model with a niche role that adds a lot of flavour to the battlefield. Where the land game allows aerial support for the slow lumbering machines on the ground, the same support can often do as much damage as the rest of the forces in play. The Republique of France showed us that a medium class support vessel could do wonders to control the skies above the battle and it’s long due that we brought the same ethos onto the muddy fields as well as the ocean.
Dominion of Canada - Archer Class Flak Tank
Canada in Dystopian Wars is much like Canada was in the real world timeline, and aesthetically you can see a great deal of influence from British, American and French designs, but there is still a strong underlying lean of independence. The final product is unarguably Canadian, and part of what makes that true is in the unique function of the model.
Dominion of Canada - Archer Class Flak Tank
The only analogue to the Flak tank is the Republique of France Support Cruiser, but as an overall rule of thumb the same size classes for naval models are a slight degree smaller on land. The Support Cruiser had a long hull to fill with Ack Ack turrets while the squat Flak tank does not. In a way this was a boon as the final model covers nearly every top surface in Flak turrets, bristling with skyward barrels. This cluttered nature makes up a large chunk of the model’s unique style while fundamentally explaining its purpose to any onlooker. Multiple turrets over a single one was an aesthetic choice as it helps evoke the sense of massive flak barrages streaming into the sky in almost haphazard directions, raining destruction upwards in stark contrast to much of Dystopian Wars.
Britannian Raj Zamburak Class Bombard
Real world India has one of the most colourful histories in the world. Through their own rich cultural past and the long colonial period, the country itself is awash with marvels of architecture and history and proved a rich source for inspiration. When going over some of India’s most famous monuments the temptation to follow the obvious choices was avoided in favour of more thematically appropriate ones.
Britannian Raj - Zamburak Class Bombard
It was the many famous forts littered across the country that provided the basis for the Britannian Raj’s aesthetic. From Agra to the Red Fort and beyond they gave us not only a powerful militaristic vision but also one steeped in the country’s unique aesthetic which encapsulated what we wanted for the Britannian Raj.
Britannian Raj - Zamburak Class Bombard
The Bombard is an interesting example of the application of that aesthetic as well as the unique nature of the model. This Bombard is a shade larger than those owned by the other nations, not only in the vertical profile it takes up on the battlefield but also in the massive calibre of its cannon. The huge bulk is represented by the fact that the final model is more of an artillery emplacement than a mobile bombard; the wheels mounted to it are almost an afterthought, straining to move the massive bulk of the towering weapon.
Britannian Raj - Zamburak Class Bombard
The massive gun is not enough to distract from the unique feel of the rest of the model; the Indian crenulations and the massive minaret style gun take the ridiculously large cannon idea and turn it into the craft of an artisan more than a deadly construct of war, much like the historical background of real world India.
AndréM:
Allianz-Nationen
(From left to right) Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth LZ5 Rycerz Class Small Tank, SWZ3 Palnik Class Flame Tank, WZ6 Szpada Class Medium Tank, ZB2 Burza Class Bombard
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a great survivor; almost disappearing from the map several times in its history. But the Commonwealth\'s fighting spirit has never been extinguished. Its armies, built around the famous Legions of Winged Hussars, practice a form of fast-moving, hard-hitting mechanised warfare that will be a valuable addition to your fleet.
(From left to right) Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth and Dominion of Canada
(From left to right) Dominion of Canada Wolfe Class Medium Tank, Huntsman Class Tank Destroyer, Resolution Class Land Ship, Archer Class Flak Tank
But what about the Dominion of Canada? The largest of Britannia\'s overseas Dominions, Canada has aided the Kingdom in its many military engagements around the globe. From the crushing Resolution Class Land Ship to the deadly Archer Class Flak Tank, the Dominion of Canada offer an excellent way to expand your Britannian forces.
The Russians Are Ready For War!
The might of the White Army is well documented. Our latest release allows you to realise just how devastating this military force is as more land options are unleashed. With the massive Russian Coalition Bunker Complex protecting them, the White Army is capable of taking down whatever their opponents dare to throw at them.
(From left to right) Russian Coalition Tikhvin Class Small Tank, Volochok Class Bombard, Kamchatka Class Medium Tank, Bunker Complex
The White Army\'s Air Force utilises advanced scientific contraptions built from the knowledge passed on from Antarctica and combines it with the cruder technology of the Russian Coalition. This potent blend of mad ideas resulted in the creation of the menacing Tunguska Class Large Skyship and savage Suyetka Class Small Skyship - flying machines built to ensure that the Russian Coalition remain as much a threat in the air as they are at land and sea.
(From left to right) Russian Coalition Novgorod Class Frigate/Veliky Class Escort, Tunguska Class Large Skyship, Suyetka Class Small Skyship
AndréM:
Shock Assault
The Teutonic Order is a mysterious and powerful organisation within the Prussian Empire, which serves in a number of roles within the Imperial political and military hierarchies, as well as being the Prussian Emperor’s most trusted bodyguards. It is fair to say they also serve the Emperor as his primary secret service agents, serving as a strong defence against infiltration by enemy spies. A final role is to act as the ‘watchers’ of the regular military command and other institutions for any signs of internal dissention or subversive plots.
Despite having so many roles to cater for, the Order also has powerful military forces under its command, with units consisting of some of the most elite soldiers and revolutionary war machines in the Prussian Imperial arsenal. However, these units do not come under the authority of the regular Imperial military; something that occasionally causes disquiet amongst regular military officers, especially those who lead units from the non-Prussian regions of the Empire.
The Teutonic Order commands extensive research and development facilities, housed within fortresses and commanderies in its primary dominion of Prussian Scandinavia. This region of the Empire is also rich in the natural resources needed to realise such projects, including extensive Sturginium deposits.
Many of the most radical technological developments of the age first emerged from the laboratories and workshops of the Teutonic Order, including Tesla technology. Some rumours whisper that the Order was already aware of the existence and potential of Element 270 long before the founding of the Covenant of Antarctica. Whether or not this is true, the Order does not say, for it is protective in the extreme of its secrets. Even details of its most famous scientific innovator, Tesla, are shrouded in mystery to this day.
The Order has long been known as a developer of extraordinary new military technology. This reputation first sealed in 1860 with the advent of the mighty Metzger Class War Robots. However, the Order’s scientists were clearly not content to rest upon their laurels, for shortly after the outbreak of the World War, it unveiled an extraordinary new concept: the Aufseher Class Assault Airship.
Aufseher Class Assault Airship (Top)
The Aufseher is based on the design of the sturdy and reliable Gewitterwolke Class zeppelins of the Imperial Luftflotten. However, its function is radically different. Where the Gewitterwolke is a powerful flying battleship, the Aufseher takes the Teutonic Order’s favoured battle tactics of shock assaults to quite literally a whole new level.
Aufseher Class Assault Airship (Front)
The Aufseher is designed to allow the air landing of Prussian armoured units directly in the heart of enemy strong points, either to provide support for larger attacks or in surprise raids on key objectives. However, even the armoured unit it most often deploys is revolutionary: the Faust.
Fausts on their base beside an A6-V Class Medium Tank
Aufseher Class Assault Airship (Top)
Faust is a new type of manned combat robot resembling a very much scaled down Metzger, although still large enough to dwarf terrified enemy infantry and toss aside light tanks like cardboard boxes.
Aufseher Class Assault Airship (Side)
Now, whenever the huge shadow of a Prussian zeppelin falls over the battlefield and the dirge-like drone of its Tesla motors fills the air, enemy soldiers shudder, for they have yet another reason to fear the might of the Prussian Empire.
A Word from the Designer
The Prussian Empire zeppelin’s are at the heart of Dystopian Wars; the original Imperium Class Sky Fortress is a model that gets everyone talking and the Gewitterwolke Class Large Airship features proudly on the rulebook front cover. I was eager, as ever, to make more when the idea of an Assault Airship came up.
Aufseher Class Assault Airship (Underside)
The Prussians were always very utilitarian in their aesthetic. All the madness in their design was collected and expressed through the medium of electric weaponry, leaving the hull design rather pragmatic. The Assault Airship is longer than the Gewitterwolke, and the underside has been stripped of its weapons. The underside of the Assault Airship has huge sliding bay doors and a lowering cradle to deploy men and machines to the frontlines of the battlefield with lightning speed. Much of the crew complement is given over to the infamous Luftlancers, ready to rain down from the Assault Airship and bring the emperor’s might to his foes.
Aufseher Class Assault Airship (Rear)
The only issue with this approach is that the new detail is mainly concentrated on the underside of the model, which on the tabletop is not ideal, so the decision was made to move the gondola from the underside to the top. A heavy spine was added filled with hatches so high flying enemy sky craft cannot be immune to the deadly Luftlancer boarding strikes.
Navigation
[0] Themen-Index
[#] Nächste Seite
[*] Vorherige Sete
Zur normalen Ansicht wechseln