Tag: Dystopian Wars

The new fad that is Dystopian Wars, has led to a modest spend on my own fleet.  Ebay has again come through with a collection of new and used ships that should allow me to field an effective force. This is a force from the Covenant of Antarctica army list.

This small collection included a new dreadnought and group of destroyers for about a quarter of their retail price. I also picked up a used starter fleet with rules for about half normal retail price…

Not bad as all they needed was a quick scrub to get some of the original paint off and a respray with a slightly darker base coat colour.  The full paint job will be lighter with a couple of dry brush coats and then picking out the details.  I am not expecting to do a detailed paintjob as at this scale the overall look is what I am aiming for not a master class in fine details.

While these were drying we actually got a game in to see how the Americans (and the basic rules) played out on a table.  Coronasan, who has a large British fleet, was up for a game and we cobbled together the mix of rules and thrashed them out using version 1 with some more up to date and advanced tiny flyer rules.  Coronasan’s Dreadfleet mat proved a good size and added a simple and very effective backdrop.  We decided to leave all scenery and islands off the table, and keep things simple, for this first run through.

Overall it went well. I learned the importance of escorts and the fragility of smaller ships.  My fleet carrier is a massive ship but appears fairly limited in its worth on the table. This may be because I do not manage my tiny flyers as well as I might at the moment, but time will tell as to whether this will show its worth.

Flyers play an important part in what is essentially a combined arms set of rules. These air ships were a useful asset as their mobility and speed added something to the force the ships seem to lack.

In the end the British Dreadnought was king of the waves and the Americans were sent packing with their tails firmly between their legs…

My tiny flyers proved useful and I suspect that they will be useful in future games.  I do think they are the under used and under estimated aspect that I will need to get to grips with before my next game.

Next up the aftermath of Salute…

A small change in direction was had recently (probably no surprise to regular readers).  This came about as a result of my long fascination with finding a boat game to play that ticked all the right boxes but remained light and easy to play.

As I have never found that game, any cheap alternative will do I guess.  It just so happens that about everyone I game with has at some point bought (but not always then used or painted) a Dystopian Wars fleet.  In fact I am the only one without one…

Until now…

Well actually I still don’t have one, as this little American fleet is on long term load from a friend. He bought it half painted and as a second fleet, even though he does not paint or play Dystopian wars.  I bet we all know some one like that…  (Or maybe Veganman, you are more special than I thought)

When I say half painted I mean half the ships were fully painted and half were only half painted.  So REALLY half painted.  The problem with this is getting the remaining items, and any new ships, painted up to match.  God alone knows what colours the original owner used but I think I did a fairly good job of finishing them off.

One new addition to the force was the carrier and tiny flyers.  The flyers were easy enough as all were unpainted so I could do what I wanted.  The green metallic colour was more of a challenge on the frigates and carrier to match the original.  The decking came out ok too.

After painting over 50 tiny aircraft my desire to continue was struggling but it was worth it in the end.

Now to see how they play out on the waves.  Only problem is we all seam to have slightly differing rule sets for this one (Versions 1 / 1.1 / 2).  I am sure it will all turn out great in the end…

Next up their first outing…