Dystopian Wars - Russian Coalition: Commission

I've done a couple of the Russian Coalition models before but this time around it was great to get a whole desk full of them, which you can see in the photo to the right.

Here they are in their first prep phase - drying under the lamps after being cleaned with a bit of warm water with a small touch of washing up liquid. This gets rid of any greasy residue from the residue - mind Spartan Games models are pretty clean anyway, but it's not worth the risk to avoid this step.

Getting them dry is a little bit more effort, but I just use a combination of blowing off the water droplets, carefully patting the models with some absorbent kitchen paper and air drying them under daylight lamps.


I've spoken before about the quality of Dystopian Wars and these are no exception: great casts, a whole lot of detail and a lot of model for your money - and I envy anyone getting a huge force like this to the gaming table.




I've recently switched from the over-priced and unreliable GW Citadel Chaos Black to Army Painter Matt Black for undercoating and so far the results have been far superior - a smooth effortless coat with no second pass or touch up required. After this experience I have no intention to using GW sprays ever again. If you're thinking of switching check out this blog post comparing the two: GW Chaos Black vs AP Matt Black.





For this commission, my client wanted me to use the painting palette I had used previously and here's a quick rundown of what I used:

Foundry Paints:
Arctic Grey Palette  __________  __________  __________
Forest Green Palette  __________  __________  __________
Sky Blue Palette  __________  __________  __________

P3 Metallics:
Pig Iron  __________
Cold Steel  __________
Molten Bronze  __________
Gun Corp Brown  __________

Army Painter:
Strong Tone ink (ink wash)    __________


Forgot to mention, all the guns are magnetised too - I really do love magnetising stuff!

Now onto the photos - Enjoy :)

Dystopian Wars - Completed Naval Battle Group, Empire of the Blazing Sun

Next up the Japanese. I finally decided on the sun beam markings I wanted to use. It uses a more subdued red colour than perhaps usual (Madder Red from Wargames Foundry) but this complimented the hull and gives a sufficient flash of colour. The three beam motif was carried over to the air units as was the white of the ship prows to give the air force a scheme of their own while still unifying the whole force.

Unleash the pictures!

Dystopian Wars - Completed Naval Battle Group, Prussian

Here we have the first of two Dystopian fleets I have been working on. Hopefully these can find a good home.

Since my last update the Prussian fleet only needed it's tiny flyer completed, I have been painted the 10 tiny flyers with two different wing patterns to help distinguish them on the table. I was tempted to paint a single Red Baron fighter as befitting the Prussian's but have resisted, for the moment.

When black washing the sides of the bases I dabbed the wash randomly on the blue surface previously painted. The intentional water marking this has left behind simulates a birds eye view of a seascape. Simulate is perhaps a stretch but it certainly gives a subtle and appropriate texturing that may not have been paint-able. The wing markings are a red or black line painted down the center of a wider white line. The wider white line is not too difficult to paint with the drag of a #2 paint brush and carefully painting down the center of this with a finer brush gives you the three stripes.

Prussian Black Wing Squadron

Prussian Red Wing Squadron

Here are all the updated pictures of the rest of the Prussians that have been featured previously on the blog. The work done on them includes; decking, windows, brass pipes, subtle blue glow for the Tesla batteries, scorching on the weapons and barrels, freehand markings, and sculpted bow wakes. The free hand stripes may be hard work but are definitely worth it I think. I can only hope I am commissioned to paint other vessels from the Prussian Empire so as to see this colour scheme put to more work.

Dystopian Wars Prussian Fleet

As I have been systematically completing and painting all models buried in my collection I have inevitably uncovered my Dystopian Wars fleets. Both a Prussian and an Empire of the Blazing Sun boxed set were purchased at the release of the game, however the game never caught the deserved attention. This was due mostly to the poorly formatted and ambiguous rule book I think. While the rules still continue to be ironed out and clarified (iteration 1.1 of the rule book still has numerous errata and omissions) the fantastic model range and additional nations has ceaselessly grown. Spartan games have fleshed out a fantastic alternative steampunk universe with hugely characterful and aesthetically varied factions. The rules hurdle for this relatively complex strategic game can perhaps be alleviated for anyone with the strong and dedicated forum community on the Spartan Games site. So as I am drawn back to this game system I set about finishing the models I currently own.

Starting with my favourite, the Prussian Empire.

I chose a colour scheme that echoed the pseudo WWII atmosphere of the game, in this case, dark gray/green. I kept most of the model very business like metal and brass and added the accent colours of the Prussian flag in a flash down the hull (this is angled in line with the funnels). I am more than happy with how the scheme worked out and hope to add other Prussian ships from the range given the change. As well as a possible commission painting service at this standard.

The bases are plasticard and have been coated with tinted water effect after painting (the white wave crests or my sculpted bow wakes were painted last).

The fleet as a whole, the spare frigate is on point.

The magnetized turrets of the Battleship are converted with Plasticard tubing.

Though a little OTT the larger barrels are suitably imposing.

Reiver Class Cruisers

The air support from the box set are also near completion with a small conversion to the bombers that I should be posting soon.