Chinese & Australian Factions

[MadDrB]

The design pics for the Chinese have been posted:



Including "floating castles":



And an Australian fleet:

[Camthalion]

Hmm an Aussie fleet.  That may be the straw that breaks my resolve in regards to DW.  I had previously toyed with the idea of just getting getting a British fleet and naming them for Australian ships

[Ruckdog]

I really like the Australian designs! The do indeed look like they have some design linneage with the Brittanians, though their centerline armament does give them a more "advanced" look  . In the fluff so far, the Australians have been described as mercenaries, so I wonder if their rules will allow a detachment of their ships to be added to the fleet of another nation (kind of the way the Black Wolf works now). The set composition seems a bit odd, though; it looks like you get 2 battleships, two gunships (?), 4 cruisers, and 8 frigates. I'm guessing the tokens are going to be some sort of torpedo boat (the gunships look like they can launch and recover them). Also, it looks like they don't get TFTs?

As for the Chinese....meh. My first impresson of them is that they are steam powered Ralgard, though their armored "turtle" decks do remind me a lot of a model of a historical Korean ship that I saw in the Navy Museum in Washington, DC. I'm just not really digging the overall design asthetic, though the floating pagodas are pretty cool. They look to be a full-fledged faction, with the standard starter box complement. The expansion ships are a bit different, though. It looks like they have two smaller carriers, with a larger ship that might just be their Dreadnought (though it is a bit small....maybe its just an alternate BB design?).

[MajorMcNicol]

So, based on the newsletter and website information I gathered, here's some responses to questions/concerns y'all raised. 

The Australian box represents BOTH the Royal Australians and the Free Australians; the Free Australians have ties to the CoA and so get energy weapons and their own drop-ons, while the Royal Australians get British advanced gunnery and shield technology.  Both sides get the Crocodile Attack Ship tokens, which I presume are launched from the two support vessels (with some contraption on the backside).  The Australians also have pocket battleships (pictured). 

The Chinese Dreadnought is not pictured here - it's a giant, floating pagoda-thing, even larger than the two in the Naval Support box.  The Chinese have some energy-shield that is projected from floating fortress to floating fortress (including the Dreadnought), protecting anything within its bounds, I guess.  The Chinese have support cruisers that are light carriers (pictured); the two-turreted Chinese vessel in the Naval Support box is a battlecruiser; the smaller vessels in the Naval Support box are destroyers.

Also coming soon for all factions I guess are the re-packaged Naval force boxes and Naval Support boxes.  KoB and RoF are first.  RC get a tank destroyer on land, FSA get some ground robot tokens, as do the CoA (Colossus Iron Men).

Big news, huh?

[Stitch_Reloaded]

Interesting,  I'm not a big fan of the British ships and the Aussies here do resemble them in a way.  I don't think that its going to keep me from painting a few. 

The Chinese however stands out to me with the tile roofs and studded armor plates have me thinking Jade, Crimson and Gold all the way.  I really like the support cruisers that are light carriers and the floating castles.  So does this mean more air support, thus having more flyers on the table?

Stitch

[Landlubber]

The Australian ships look OK, but I think the dragons on the Chinese ships look COOL.  That's a pretty neat thing for Spartan to incorporate (much like the fleur-de-lis on the French ships).  Will definitely be picking up some of the Chinese, if only for display models.

Small walking robots for the FSA?  Sounds good to me!

But I think what REALLY got me excited were the tanks for Dystopian Legions (which I have still not played).  Those models look great.

[Stitch_Reloaded]

But I think what REALLY got me excited were the tanks for Dystopian Legions (which I have still not played).  Those models look great.

The DL miniatures do look great. However the cannon units being dropped on May 1st range from 20-25 USD each.  Anyone know how many of them will be needed to even play?
The Prussian Empire Teutonic Knights weigh in around 37 USD.  Starting to remind me of the prices GW demands.  If I pick any up it will most likely be for a display piece only.

Stitch

[Andrewchristlieb]

Those Chineese are pretty sweet, but the Aussies look a bit... bland :/. Its kind of disappointing after seeing what theyve come up with previously.

[Landlubber]

But I think what REALLY got me excited were the tanks for Dystopian Legions (which I have still not played).  Those models look great.

The DL miniatures do look great. However the cannon units being dropped on May 1st range from 20-25 USD each.  Anyone know how many of them will be needed to even play?
The Prussian Empire Teutonic Knights weigh in around 37 USD.  Starting to remind me of the prices GW demands.  If I pick any up it will most likely be for a display piece only.

Stitch

The War Store is showing prices for the tanks around $63.  That's hefty, but point me to any other well-made steampunk-themed tank models on the market...I don't think there are any.  Plus, if Spartan's craftsmanship is as good with these models as their other products, they'll be well worth it (in my humble opinion).

[Ruckdog]

Yeah, the price is a bit steep. However, near as I can tell these tanks will be about the size of Land Raiders, which are comparably priced despite being mass-produced in a cheaper method (injection molding). I will probably pick up one of the Prussian tanks eventually, to use as a display piece if nothing else .

[Stitch_Reloaded]

Really? 63 bucks.  At that price I wouldn't even get one for a display no matter the theme or the quality.  Never been one for the large ones anyway.

Stitch

[MadDrB]

Looks like a new campaign is coming out including the Chinese and Australians....  The free PDFs only provide setting, but now the Pacific theater seems so much more interesting, especially with the Italians acting as commerce raiders and the Australians engaged in civil war.

[MajorMcNicol]

Yeah, I think this new campaign guide (to be released free online, although I'd still probably buy a hard copy of it) is going to be pretty cool.  A massage FSA offense?  EotBS + Chinese Federation VS RC?  RC vs CoA-allied Australians?  Royal New Zealanders assisting the FSA?  And Italians all thrown into the mix?
@____@

yes please

[Andrewchristlieb]

Sounds pretty awesome, does that offensive massage come with a happy ending ?

[MajorMcNicol]

LOL oops

Let's just hope that was an "autocorrect error!"

I think I meant, "massive."  A massive FSA offense.  Massive!