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Hey guys,

Wasn't too sure where to put this thread! It's not really a painting/modelling thread (although will include some of that), it's not really a Q&A thread about learning the game, or with battle reports or anything like that (although will hopefully include those also!), but perhaps most importantly is just a thread about a new player coming to the game - their observations, as well as those of others, and a description of finding out what the game is like.

I also noticed that this section of the board isn't really as busy as it could be - I've done a bit of research, and while the official forums are really busy, thought it would be nice to help replicate what has happened to the Infinity forums on Dakka, which have become a really fun little community, and get some more traffic here. So, I've made this post here, rather than on the official forums, even though it might initially not get much in the way of comments!

Anyway, enough waffling! A few weeks ago I made the most of a rather nice price reduction from Tripple Helix wargamers, and got myself a Dystopian Wars rulebook and a starter fleet set. I spent some time looking through all of the different factions. I loved the paddle-steamer style of the Federated States, the Zeppelin of the Prussians and the style of the Republique of France ships, but in the end settled on the Britannian Navy, just because of their overall look. I've chosen these purely on the basis of the models looking nice, I've got no idea whether they are effective, or their style of play! I'm now waiting for a "yes the models look nice, but you'll find out why no-one plays Brittania" style comment now

Here they are, arrayed out of the box, ready to sail upon the tablecloth:



And my thoughts on it:
The miniatures - To be honest, the main reason I play wargames is the miniatures and painting them. These models are just so cute (can't think of another more appropriate adjective unfortunately!) The level of detail on them is stupendous; the decking wooden planks, tiny guns on the side, these miniatures are a labour of love from someone I have no doubt. Chiefly, after close inspection there is not a single resin miscast out of the entire box. Very minimal flash, which was very simple to cut away with a craft knife. I'm already imagining pushing these about, making explosion noises. GW, Battlefront and other producers of crumbling and distorted detail - please take note, this is how you make resin!

Assembly/Use - I realised upon getting the miniatures out of the box that I know absolutely nothing about the rules and how the game plays. What are those funny little dome things? I can see that they fit on the larger ships, presumably in place of the turrets? I've now ordered some very small 2x1mm magnets to go inside the turret holes, which will not only allow me to rotate the turrets, but also to swap them out if needed.

Cost - The starter set was a very reasonable £26 with free shipping! I also found that I had a free flight base of the little aircraft has presumably been put in the box by mistake, which is a nice little extra! Again, absolutely no idea whether the planes are effective or not, although a quick look on the website revealed a rather cool looking air-aircraft carrier, which I can imagine myself buying at some point.
Also like the little cards which come with the set, and I assume are in lieu of an army book with points lists?
Finally, there was a piece of card with what looks like lots of status-type messages, presumably to be cut out and used through the game.

Next steps - to have a read of the rulebook (which also looks great - had a flick through and the art and painted miniatures look fantastic, very encouraging!) and to start thinking about painting! I've already mounted a couple of the smaller escort vessels on cocktail sticks, ready for an undercoat.

Any comments or advice very welcome at this stage, and thanks for reading if you got this far!

The bonus "extras" are kind of common, best surprise iv seen so far was a few extra frigates.

Not sure what to say on top of this other than have some fun and get some play under your belt. A very good job on the initial review good sir

Ah that is a nice touch. Will definitely have to have a play eventually, but for now just enjoying getting the miniatures painted up and undercoated.

A couple of questions if I may!

1) What kind of scale is Dystopian Wars? I realise this is a bit of a difficult question, as there haven't been too many giant land-striders or mechanical squids in history, but I wanted to make some terrain (perhaps some little fishing villages on islands, that kind of thing, to begin with) and wondered if there was anything out there I could use?

2) I've already seen the nice little turning circle templates that come with each pack. Undoubtedly they will do the job, but I can already imagine them not weathering too well. Are there any plastic or better made equivalents out there?

In thinking about what colours to go for for my Britannian fleet, I've decided to go for something that has a historical basis (colours of WW1 boats, things like that) and ended up doing a fair amount of reading. Took a trip to a local bookstore and ended up picking up this rather interesting title:



Has this got any relevance at all to Dystopian Wars? Well, to be honest no! However I am a bit of a history buff, and the book has made very interesting reading, and has helped inspire me in a round-about way to get these miniatures painted up. Time to break out the battleship-grey and hopefully some pics to show soon, if anyone is able to answer the questions I will be very grateful!

Dystopian wars is around the 1:1200 scales, or 1.5mm

The card templates do hold up surprisingly well actually so long as your not dunking them in your tea. They tease us with plastice ones for the other games, but as yet no "official" DW ones. I believe there are 1 or 2 folk on the SG forums who sell their own though.

About as relavant as any paint scheme in the game. Technically the timeline is nearer pre WW1, but honestly its a miniatures game. My friends French land are done as the French Foreign Legion so go nuts buddy