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Happy Saint George’s Day!

Traditionally, this may be a holiday celebrated for us English-folk to spread a great three-cheers to the patron Saint, St George. But, as we have seen so many of you looking forward to the release of the Crown faction for Dystopian Wars, we thought it would be a great idea to celebrate the Crown in all their glory, and share what we have been working on so far.

https://bit.ly/3sRCdny

May releases have now been announced, head on over to Wayland Games or pop into your FLGS to get your pre-orders in.

We have three fantastic releases upcoming, so keep on scrolling to feast your eyes on these new and exciting releases coming to both Dystopian Wars and Wild West Exodus.

Read more on our blog https://bit.ly/3vBa5qd or keep on scrolling!



DYSTOPIAN WARS
The first release coming this May, is for Dystopian Wars. Bringing reinforcements and a new battlefleet for the Russian Commonwealth, the Mozhayski Battlefleet Set is gearing up to head the rough seas.



The initial releases for the Commonwealth have seen the Borodino Class Battleship, Kutsov Class Cruisers with alternative builds, and Rurik Class Frigates which were all included in the Hunt for the Prometheus - Two Player Starter Set, along with the Commonwealth Frontline Squadrons - perfect to boster up your Commonwealth fleets.



Long live Mother Russia, long live the Commonwealth, long live her People, long live the Tsar!

Empire fans will be delighted to know that there are new Frontline Squadron’s heading your way after the newly released Ning Jing Battlefleet Set has had it’s time at sea, perfect to bolster your Empire Army with new Chinese reinforcements.



If you are eyeing up the newest frontline squadron, now is the perfect time to get stuck in.



With both the Ning Jing Battlefleet and Empire Frontline Squadrons, your Empire army will soon become a wrath to not be contended with.

WILD WEST EXODUS/LOST WORLD EXODUS
The final release coming out in May will bring joy to those who found love in the Pride of Nekomata Detachment. Legendary Ichiko Kuga is joining the fray, mounted on her beasty companion Akarui.



You can pick up the Pride of Nekomata along with several other Lost World Exodus releases to play on the American Frontier. Each Lost World Exodus miniature released has been optimised to play in Wild West Exodus. Meaning the Legendary Ichiko Kuga would make a roaring addition to your Warrior Nation Faction.



If you like the look of next month's releases, be sure to pre-order from your FLGS or online at Wayland Games today. Due to be released at the end of May 2021.

June is a big month at Warcradle Studios, with not just an abundance of new Dystopian Wars products, but an expansion to the popular Gloomburg terrain range from Warcradle Scenics.

With five new releases in total, June releases are certainly ones to not be missed. So be sure to head over to Wayland Games and your FLGS stores to get your pre-orders in.



DYSTOPIAN WARS



Tempelhof Battlefleet Set
The Prussian Imperium are getting reinforcements, as the Tempelhof Battlefleet Set is making its way into Dystopian Wars. With not just support by sea, but by air too.



Air support is essential for the operation of an efficient fleet and as efficiency is the watchword of the Imperium Navy, Air Support is found in all sections of the Prussian Forces.

At the heart of this is the Tempelhof Fleet Carrier. Its main role is to get its contingent of aircraft to within striking range of the enemy and provide anti-air support to them. They can often be equipped with the deadly Blitzen Bombers; heavy aircraft armed with devastating bombs to rain down on the enemy decks, coastal defences or even targets further inland. Enemy Admirals who have encountered these large bombers will never forget the deep throaty roar of their engines if they ever survive the encounter that is.

In support of the Tempelhof Fleet Carriers are assigned a number of specialised cruiser variants. Based on the ubiquitous Blucher Class Hull, but with a specialised bridge section, these ships can be refitted as fast as their frontline counterparts.

The Konrad Class Support Carrier bears a short flight deck with supply for a small number of fighters allowing it to add to the squadrons of aircraft the fleet can put in the air. The Reiter Class Veirling Cruiser is equipped with an impressive array of flak cannons, ensuring the Blitzen Bombers can reach their targets without interception. Finally the Volsung Class Cruisers bear large Arc Cannons on their decks that can turn enemy armour into so much molten slag.

Borodino Battlefleet Set
Players who picked up the Hunt for the Prometheus Two Player Starter Set will be familiar with this upcoming fleet, the Borodino Battlefleet Set is now available to be pre-ordered individually without buying into the whole set.



The Battleships are typically accompanied by the frontline cruisers, who’s equally durable armour and heavy gun turrets make them solid opponents for any enemy fleet. The Norilsk Heavy Cruiser has a distinctive long & sleek silhouette and it’s extra turret gives it that little extra firepower needed to hit at larger targets. The mainstay of the frontline cruisers are the Kutsov Class; solid and dependable they can be utilised in any number of operations. The Oleg Class Monitors and Sineus Class Fast Cruisers act as rapid response when speed is more sedated than firepower. In and amongst these larger ships are scattered squadrons of Rurik Frigates, their captains are adroit hunters and enjoy finishing off damaged larger targets.

Commonwealth Support Squadrons
The Russians have more than one release this month, providing reinforcements with The Commonwealth Support Squadrons going on to pre-order this month too.



Typically accompanying the Flagships of the Commonwealth are support squadrons of cruisers and Stoletov Ekranoplans. The Pravda Support Carriers are equipped with short flight decks and limited aircraft capacity compared to the Mozhayski, but can launch a supporting screen of fighters or bombers to assist in attack runs. The Morosko Heavy Cryo Cruiser builds on the Norilsk hull design with the integration of an advanced cryo generator capable of forming deadly icebergs in their enemy’s path. The Khatanga Cryo Assault Cruiser is favoured by northern commanders as it takes this art of war one stage further with the addition of the ferocious Semyenov pattern assault bore in the prow.

WARCRADLE SCENICS
Gloomburg - Castle Set
The ever-popular Gloomburg terrain pieces are back under the spotlight, with stunning new pre-coloured scenery available to pre-order now: Castle Set and Siege Engines & Scatter.



The Gloomburg Castle perfectly fits both fantasy and historical tabletop settings, with functional doors and a portcullis that raises and lowers. Complete with arrowslits and battlements, your units will find safe-haven behind these walls for all types of tabletop gamer.



Gloomburg - Siege Engines & Scatter
To complement the detailed modular scenery set: the Siege Engines & Scatter Set.

Offering the perfect add-ons to the Gloomburg Castle, with lookout posts, a catapult, drawbridge, battering ram and ladders.



The mists curl and eddy around the dark village as a gentle breeze disturbs the deserted streets. The only sounds are the crows who gather on several roofs. Shadowed figures move in the darkness, hollow-eyed inhabitants of a once-thriving market town. What evil could have wrought this change? What will you find lurking in the gatehouse at the edge of town?

If you like the look of next month's releases, be sure to pre-order from your FLGS or online at Wayland Games today. Due to be released at the end of June 2021.

Whether you are looking for new terrain for your tabletop sci-fi adventures or expanding your Dystopian Wars fleets, July sees brand new releases for both Warcradle Scenics and Dystopian Wars.



With a huge number of releases this month, be sure to head over to Wayland Games and your FLGS stores to get your pre-orders in throughout July.

Dystopian Wars


There are three new releases this month for Dystopian Wars, spanning across all three factions. Covenant of the Enlightened, The Imperium and The Union.

With two new Battlefleets for the Union and the Enlightened, with the Descartes Battlefleet Set and the Constitution Battlefleet Set, the Imperium prepares for more reinforcements with the Imperium Support Squadrons.



DESCARTES BATTLEFLEET SET

After the previous releases for the Covenant of the Enlightened, with their involvement in the Two Player Starter Set and the Enlightened Frontline Squadrons. The Descartes Battlefleet Set heads to the sea with the first battlefleet release for the faction since Dystopian Wars Third Edition launched earlier this year.



Discoveries in bionics have enabled peers in that field to influence the behaviour of a number of intelligent animals such as apes, birds, whales and dolphins. The creation of Physeter constructs from sperm whales is by far the largest of these undertakings. Usually they are employed as scouts or observers, bringing advanced warning of approaching enemies. Alternatively, once suitably equipped with a variety of weaponry they can be encouraged to make coordinated ambushes against agreed targets. During a battle, the Physeter Constructs are maintained and deployed from Control Ships such as the Descartes Class. These large, battleship-sized vessels boast advanced weaponry and are crewed by dedicated nautical engineers to further the cause of science.



Even with the Physeter Constructs and batteries of Particle Beamers, the Descartes still need the support of smaller, faster ships. The Enlightened most commonly deploy Lovelace Class cruisers, but also outfit a number of different specifications. The Antarctica Class Superiority Cruiser, not only has a pair of Particle Beamers but also a devastating Heavy Particle Cannon. The Chatelet Class and the Ulysses Class are equipped with a small number of Scythe class fighters for reconnaissance and support, while the Stiletto Class relies on speed to get them in and out of engagements fast.

The armed forces of the Covenant of the Enlightened are entirely composed of paid volunteers and are therefore few in number. The technological superiority of the Enlightened makes up for this with automation. Many of the smaller vessels in the Enlightened fleet are virtually crewless automatons loaded with sophisticated routines and reactions. This significantly cuts down on the crew needed for the navy as a whole. The Germain Class Zebek and Merian Class Frigate are two such vessels that are seen in squadrons alongside the larger vessels.

CONSTITUTION BATTLEFLEET SET

The Union are joining Dystopian Wars with their release, first making their way onto the water. The Constitution Battlefleet Set brings their American Spirit in tow, ready to stand up in their military might on both air and sea.



During the Ore War the Union was forced to evolve into a nation that heavily industrialised the manufacture of weapons and engines of war to produce them at an unmatched rate. As conflict was largely on land, the Union fleets remained significantly underpowered compared to their rivals. With a belief in manifest destiny, the Union began to look beyond their own borders. It was easy to imagine the greedy faces of the other power blocs and the Union’s age old nemesis, The Crown, regarding this upstart American colony with avaricious eyes. To establish their rightful place, the Union focused on developing and constructing a fleet of ships to defend their shores and support their troops as they consolidated their positions around the globe.



The Constitution Class Battleship is now the mainstay of the Union Fleet, the first twelve of these impressive vessels built in the closing years of the Ore War. Their main purpose was traversing the many wide rivers of the nation and rain fire on Confederate defences, or to assist in troop movement, their powerful paddlewheels are equally suited to the open seas. Now they, and many more like them, ensure that the Federated States can achieve their manifest destiny.

Supporting the Constitution Class Battleships are squadrons of frontline cruisers built to withstand direct engagement with enemy fleets. The Yorktown, Intrepid, Reliant and Lexington Class Cruisers all boast powerful paddle wheels allowing them to remain agile under fire all the while raining shells upon their enemies. These ships are in turn supported by the ever-vigilant Akron Observers. These rotors watch both the skies and the waves for sign of threats to their squadrons as well as acting as long-range observers for the gun crews on board the ships.

Farragut Frigates are also a common addition to any Union fleet. These small but manoeuvrable vessels are able to make fast raids against enemy squadrons or in even greater numbers, larger vessels such as Battleships.

IMPERIUM SUPPORT SQUADRONS
Gain some extra support for the Imperium this month, as the Tempelhof Battlefleet has now set sail, the Imperium Support Squadrons are ready to take the heat off of the flagship in some full-fledged back-up.



Commonly found in support of larger vessels of the Imperium’s Navy are a number of specialised cruiser variants. Built on the ubiquitous Blucher Class hull, these ships can be refitted as fast as any other frontline ship. The Konrad Class Support Carrier bears a flight deck with supply for a small number of Messer class fighters, providing air power where needed. Reiter Class Flak Cruisers are equipped with an impressive array of Vierling cannons, deadly multiple barreled weapons that launch scores of flak rockets into the air. These two vessels ensure that Blitzen Bomber squadrons can safely reach their targets without an interception. Finally, the Volsung Class deploys the formidable Sturmbringer Cannons on their decks that can char flesh and rupture enemy armour with terrible voltaic energy.

[img]https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5791f4d720099efc0f76dd06/1625059817855-PTA6HITCKJFL9KOY0831/Imperium_Support+Squadrons_Painted_GROUP.jpg?format=750w
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The Imperium operates a large number of destroyer squadrons. Superior to the smaller frigates and escorts, Sigimer Class are longer, more heavily armoured and boast additional firepower. Toten Class, are heavier still and are equipped with two Sturmklaue cannons to cast bolts of lightning into the enemy.

All of the new releases for Dystopian Wars are available to be pre-ordered at Wayland Games, online and lots of FLGS stores worldwide.

OMEGA DEFENCE LINE - INDIVIDUAL SETS



The popular terrain range from Warcradle Scenics is back, and this time you can get your hands on each individual piece within the set, without buying in to the whole range. Ideal for all your Sci-fi, Gothic and Industrial tabletop games.







Upgrade your sci-fi terrain with the pre-painted, high-quality Omega Defence Line. With nine new products from the range joining the Warcradle Scenics library of terrain, there will be no need to break the bank before heading out into your sci-fi escapades.

Starting at £8.00, your miniatures will have hard-cover, that will come straight out of the packaging, assembled and straight onto the tabletop.

If you like the look of next month's releases, be sure to pre-order from your FLGS stores or online at Wayland Games this Friday. Due to be released at the end of July 2021.

Have your Tempelhof Battlefleet from Dystopian Wars pre-ordered, and are looking forward for your fleet embarking in battle on the rough seas?

Daz has spent some time this week painting up the Imperial SRS Tokens included in the set.

Follow the steps on our blog to achieve this effect on your Imperium SRS Token!






Read more on the blog: https://blog.warcradle.com/blog/step-by-step-imperium-srs-tokens


Automatically Appended Next Post:
The Tempelhof Battlefleet from Dystopian Wars has now leapt into action, and can now be ordered at Wayland Games and a vast majority of FLGS Stores.

Daz has spent some time taking us through how he achieves glow effects and details on the newest ship belonging to The Imperium.

Follow the steps on the blog to achieve this effect on your newest fleet:









Read more on the blog now: https://blog.warcradle.com/blog/step-by-step-glow-tempelhof-glow-effects-dystopian-wars

Warcradle Studios Launches Ice Maiden Battlefleet Set for the Third Edition of Dystopian Wars



This August release will debut the biggest set since the Hunt for the Prometheus Two-Player Starter Set, entitled the Ice Maiden Battlefleet Set. Included in the box is 1 x Ice Maiden that can also be made as an SMS Eiskalte Schoenheit or SMS Prinzessin Wilhelmina, 6 sprues - 3 x Imperium Frontline squadrons and 3 x Imperium Support Squadrons. Accumulating to a total of 6 Cruisers, 6 Frigates & 6 Destroyers.

The Ice Maiden Battlefleet Set provides aspiring players with a new opportunity to get started in Dystopian Wars, containing an entire Imperium fleet in one box - worthy of a high amount of points in-game.

“The Ice Maiden is a real centre-piece model and something to build a truly powerful Force around.” says Chris Pond, Assistant at Warcradle Studios.



Dystopian Wars has built on the spectacular launch of the game at the start of the year with a strong release schedule, proving popular with the community and growing steadily. Connecting with other games titles, such as Wild West Exodus, within the Dystopian Age.

This is an incredible month for Dystopian Wars as the greatly anticipated Crown faction makes its way onto the tabletop. With enthusiasm building online for the upcoming release of the Britannia Battlefleet Set, the first product for the fan-favourite faction. “We are all really excited for the Crown release. I can’t wait to get my hands on those ships!” Chris Pond, Assistant Studio Manager

This Battlefleet Set Includes the mighty Britannia Battleship and two cruiser sprues each one allowing players to build one of five Crown Frontline Cruisers plus two Frigates.



The Crown faction was teased earlier this year on St. George’s Day, providing players with an insight into the upcoming fleet joining Dystopian Wars.

August is truly an incredible month for Warcradle Studios as a team and an exhilarating month for Dystopian Wars as a game system. With the release of the Ice Maiden, a new faction, and official in-game terrain adding further depth to the tabletop.

The 'Islands and Archipelagos Set' provides enough terrain for a 2 foot x4 foot play area, making it easy to combine several sets for your games or add to your existing terrain collections. Creating a Dystopian Age environment that takes the game past a sea-themed playmat for players of Dystopian Wars.

The set of islands have been designed with in-game strategy in mind. Allowing players to add additional turrets on the placements with ease with glue and magnetization, for perfect placement in play.



Dystopian Wars is available to purchase from Wayland Games and a vast range of stores worldwide.

Customers can pre-order their Ice Maiden Battlefleet Set, Britannia Battlefleet Set and Islands and Archipelagos Set from the 30th July 2021, ready for the retail release on the 28th August.

Read the full press release here: https://blog.warcradle.com/blog/warcradle-studios-launches-ice-maiden-battlefleet-set-for-the-third-edition-of-dystopian-wars

Wait... wasn't the iceberg carrier originally Russian?

No, it was always prussian as far as I know.

Yep massive Prussian construction with those big roll-out electric tesla coils at the front and I believe originally small mechs that would also launch from it along with aircraft.

We here at Warcradle Studios have been holding on to our excitement for too long. With a brand new trailer outlining the next biggest product heading to Dystopian Wars. Keep your eyes peeled for the newest highly detailed, mammoth unit making its way onto the rough seas.

The Ice Maiden Battlefleet Set is the biggest box for Dystopian Wars since the release of the Hunt the Prometheus Two-Player Starter Set released earlier this year. The box contains a whole Imperium fleet for players to start, grow and enhance their Imperium faction, coming late August 2021.




After a tweak and a transformation, the Ice Maiden is back and better than ever. Players will now have the option to build their Ice Maiden in several different forms. Whether players want to create the Ice Maiden, the SMS Eiskalte Schoenheit or SMS Prinzessin Wilhelmina. New customisable features, such as weapon options and an alternate aircraft lift have been added to the refined model.

Ice Maiden has enlisted reinforcements this time around, not just deploying as a single unit but as an entire Battlefleet Set. Including the infamous Ice Maiden, Cruisers, Frigates and Destroyers all within the box. These units are also customisable, enabling players to customise the weaponry across all units.



The excitement is not over. Warcradle Studios are overjoyed to announce the first-ever terrain set heading to the tabletop for Dystopian Wars, with the Islands and Archipelagos Set available late August 2021.



The Islands and Archipelagos set has the ability to enhance the naval wargamer experience on the tabletop, taking the game further than just the simplicity of a playmat on the table.

Allowing players to customise the Islands to their gaming needs and immersing the game into more detail and atmosphere, players will be able to incorporate turrets and weaponry using magnetization into the terrain pieces available in the set.

Want to take a closer look at the Ice Maiden’s abilities and more information on the SMS Eiskalte Schoenheit or SMS Prinzessin Wilhelmina? Be sure to head on over to the ORBATS to take a closer look at the technical.

Follow this link to the full article:

https://blog.warcradle.com/blog/ice-maiden-battlefleet-set-and-islands-and-archipelagos-set

That is an awesome boxed set and I like the train idea coming to the fore again with the massive iceburgship!

Out of interest is this how you'll be rolling out leviathan/dreadnought ships for each faction in the future? And will this be the only way to buy the Ice Maiden or will it come on its own or in a smaller set?

I know you want to keep your SKU bloat down and not have too many individual or small blister sets.

The Studio is working hard so, eventually, every faction will have a centrepiece or two for battling it out on the tabletop. However, just like with the other flagships in our other battlefleet sets these centrepieces will only be available in their battlefleet set (Ice Maiden included).

The good thing is, taking into account how much the RRP would be for the Ice Maiden by itself, it works out that you are pretty much getting the rest of the boxed set for free.

Woulda been nice to see painted examples of the terrain, a bit difficult to tell what I'm looking at, the textures look like they are supposed to represent sand, but in a couple instances it looks like they might be waves instead?

Also looks like one has a runway on it, 4 have turrets or towers or something, and one might have like a small facility built into the hill.

Personally I feel like constantly pushing out ever bigger ships was a mistake on Spartan's part.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Personally I feel like constantly pushing out ever bigger ships was a mistake on Spartan's part.

Problem is that businesses in the industry need to keep feeding the beast, you can only do so many things with the existing hulls/sizes available to you, and its hard to go smaller, whereas going bigger is very very easy - to a point. So its either go bigger, or start doing new factions, etc. I think Spartan eventually realized going bigger wasn't necessarily working out and it started doing new factions too but it came too late (and maybe wasn't well implemented). It seems to be mainly a problem with naval wargames as the design space seems to often feel more limited than those of non-naval based games, though I think thats more due to lack of imagination than anything inherent to the genre.

Honestly I generally feel naval games generally ignore the obvious expansion. Spartan Games never produced variant cruisers and escorts unlike Battlefleet Gothic which are an easy way to expand fleets wthout causing the issues with scope. Both this generation and Dropfleet commander have several variants in the plastic kits but spartan didn't.

 Llamahead wrote:
Honestly I generally feel naval games generally ignore the obvious expansion. Spartan Games never produced variant cruisers and escorts unlike Battlefleet Gothic which are an easy way to expand fleets wthout causing the issues with scope. Both this generation and Dropfleet commander have several variants in the plastic kits but spartan didn't.

I never really engaged with Spartans Dystopian Wars products besides being superficially aware of them. I know that there were large numbers of different cruiser/destroyer/frigate, etc. classes for each faction when Spartan was producing the game. Whether they were variants based on a common hull system or each a unique sculpt is kind of irrelevant aside from the production costs on the manufacturers end of things. If Spartan produced a dozen cruiser designs for faction X as unique hulls, and Warcradle produced a dozen cruiser design for the same faction as a modular kit, then you've both ended up in the same place - a dozen cruisers. Theres only so many iterations of "cruiser" you can do before you eventually run out of design space or customers start balking at buying more of them from you, producing endless variants isn't really a possibility, at least not a profitable one.

No literally all Spartan games had a single statline per size class, outside a few specialist toys in Firestorm. There was a frigate, a destroyer, a light cruiser and so on. One of each. DW might have had some swappable turrets in some factions.

Yes, but they has a lot of sub-classes for cruisers, and later on they did release "new" cruisers that did have different stats to older designs.
I still think what limits WCradle the most is having universal weapon stats, so two different cruisers literally cannot have different weapons if both have Heavy Battery.

Huh, I remember there being much more variety than that. Some googling indicates Cronch is right, seems like when they shut down there were a number of variant classes in design for each faction, most of which were never released. In that case it seems Spartans problem was it went "wide" before going "deep", i.e. they released a lot of different factions with a lot of options but not a lot of variety.

Spartan did masses for Dystopian Wars. The problem was they were all unique castings and they were a small company. Couple that to their boss being sick near the end; a big Kickstarter; The Halo Licence and running several other major game lines - each one having several different model ranges.

Basically far as I could tell Spartan knew that new things would generate big sales that they needed to remain afloat; but starting more big things meant a constantly expanding library of models and they just couldn't keep up. They'd be all over one game for a few months, then shift to another and another and before long customers of the first game were annoyed because releases were being missed; previews were vanishing and in general they were "ignored".


Spartan basically almost had GW style output but a small team to try and handle production. My impression is that they couldn't find a way to profit enough without releasing new things; but that the constant new things resulted in them spreading themselves so thin they just couldn't sustain themsleves.




Warcradle have a LONG way to go to catch up. One trick they are using is plastics for core ships and doing a lot more variant builds so that 1 kit does several models. It helps cut a lot down from their model production.

chaos0xomega wrote:
Huh, I remember there being much more variety than that. Some googling indicates Cronch is right, seems like when they shut down there were a number of variant classes in design for each faction, most of which were never released. In that case it seems Spartans problem was it went "wide" before going "deep", i.e. they released a lot of different factions with a lot of options but not a lot of variety.

There was no depth to go into, as their systems were so simplistic. The variants were mostly down to starter sets being resculpted as their casting tech improved and the core ships were renamed with maybe a slight stat boost. As vapid as their rules always were, late era Spartan ship sculpts (in both DW and Uncharted Seas) remain unmatched to this day, by a large margin, and I don't just mean by Warcradle.

I've still yet to see anyone do space ships as good as Firestorm. Dropfleet get very close but lose points because they like doing ridges on mould line seams which drives me nuts. If they could improve their designs for casting DF would replace them as top.

I have big hopes for FA returning under WC; its a big gap right now that only Dropfleet fills and nothing 3D print land even comes close.

I'm...more cautious seeing what they did with Dystopian designs. Firestorm models weren't perfect, but some of the sketches they've shown for FA either won't translate well into models imo, or (for someone who was well versed in the original designs) look wrong, like mixing terran and directorate designs or making dindrenzi ships even more...brutalist squares.

 lord_blackfang wrote:

chaos0xomega wrote:
Huh, I remember there being much more variety than that. Some googling indicates Cronch is right, seems like when they shut down there were a number of variant classes in design for each faction, most of which were never released. In that case it seems Spartans problem was it went "wide" before going "deep", i.e. they released a lot of different factions with a lot of options but not a lot of variety.

There was no depth to go into, as their systems were so simplistic. The variants were mostly down to starter sets being resculpted as their casting tech improved and the core ships were renamed with maybe a slight stat boost. As vapid as their rules always were, late era Spartan ship sculpts (in both DW and Uncharted Seas) remain unmatched to this day, by a large margin, and I don't just mean by Warcradle.

Some of those late era sculpts are gorgeous - but I think they have nothing on the Dropzone/Dropfleet sculpts.

I personally prefer FA sculpts, even if they could stand to be 1/2 smaller, because of their cleaner lines and more...high scifi designs I guess? Space-Opera-y? Dropfleet humans are quite decent, but Shaltari ships are...a whole nother thing, and scourge try to look organic and mechanical at the same time and I never was a fan of that, plus their eyeball-lasers are silly.
And across the entire range I cannot stand those comically huge torpedoes that look like they've been glued to the hull as an afterthought.

I love both for their own things and like that they take very different styles. FA is very much more your 80s starwars style sci-fi whilst DF is a touch more "real" in some respects and not others.


And eyeball lasers will ALWAYS be cool!

I really like the late-Spartan era FA designs. Hawker Industries, the Syndicate, Ryushi, Rense System Navy, Works Raptor, etc. are all really cool designs. I wish I had realized that before they went under and got my hands on some of those minis (ESPECIALLY the Syndicate). In general though I find them to be significantly less detailed than Dropfleets designs, and they are generally kinda chunky and cartoonish by comparison, whereas Dropfleets sculpts are really finely and very precisely detailed to the point of coming across as more "realistic".

As a CAD guy and 3D sculptor myself, I really admire David Lewis talent, creativity, and skill. I couldn't hold a candle to that if I tried, the amount of time and effort he has to be putting into this to get the results he gets is incredible.

Dropfleets designs are definitely more detailed. I am firmly in the camp that there is such a thing as too much detail, so I don't necessarily view it as a good thing.

Fair enough.