Following hot on the heels of the Albion Class Demi-Dreadnought (HMS Sussex), we are most pleased to introduce you to another of our Kickstarter Admiral of the Fleet, Stephen Hallowich and show you his design ideas for two Medium sized flying models for Dystopian Wars.

Stephen has also written some cool narratives for his models which we would also like to share with you. So many thanks to him for creating this, it was great fun to read.

“When I took the plunge, and went for the Admiral of the Fleet pledge I was more than a bit apprehensive.  I knew I wanted 2 mediums and I had ideas, but I didn’t know if they would be too wacky even for Dystopian Wars!” explains Stephen.

“I settled on doing Aerial models for 2 reasons- first being I really haven’t played the ground game much at all (and I knew it was getting a revamp anyways) and second being while most Air Forces’ are decently functional in the game, they don’t have the crazy variety you see in the naval theater.”

Stephen settled on making two very different models that catered for what he viewed as fun needs for the Russian Coalition and Empire of the Blazing Sun. Let’s discuss each model and delve into Stephen’s thinking about the design process.

Russian Coalition Semyenov Bore Assault Ship

Stephen explains:

“I had kicked around the idea before talking to Spartan Mike and came up with the idea of a Flying Drill.  I sketched a drawing of a Saransk with a giant drill for a nose and sent it off to Mike even before the official designing began!  He loved the idea, especially being a Russian player himself.  We kicked back and forth ideas involving MARs and such. I knew it had to be a Low Level Flyer (I wanted to give it the most exposure I could to all 3 theaters) and I truly wanted it to be a Generator ship. I never thought it was fair that the Russian Air Force only has 1 ship with a Generator and it’s their most expensive. Plus, the idea of freezing a target’s steering so the Semyenov could line up the ram was just too good not to try!”

He added, “Mike agreed and so the Bore Assault ship was born. While the ship was being play-tested I wrote up some background, trying to weave real-life history and people with the Sturginium Age. Being a History nut I knew what and who I wanted to weave into the narrative – F.N. Semyenov is the ‘father’ of the modern Oil Well.  When Mike showed me the play tested adjusted stats I couldn’t be happier, the ship wasn’t toned down, his suggestions actually boosted the ships lethality!  When the Renders came out… I was stunned, absolutely stunned. I loved it- even if I’d be regularly cursing it as it drilled through my Imperial Fleet!!!”

“The best part was, at every step, it felt like I was driving the creation, not Mike.  He certainly offered direction and suggestions (as you’ll see with my 2nd model), but my suggestions and tweaks were what shaped the model.  At no point was it ever like ‘ok, we took your idea, here’s your stats and the ship’.  It truly was a collaborative effort, for these ships, I was part of the design team.”

EotBS Tengu Hunter Assault Robot

“For my 2nd model, the process was a bit harder.  First, for some hare-brained reason, I thought that if you took the ‘2 Medium; option, both models had to be the same faction. But Spartan’s flexibility meant this wasn’t the case. So, once I knew any faction was open, I turned back to my Blazing Sun.”

“Two things were driving my thinking. I loved the mythological influence in-game from the Alchemical College at Kobe, it’s what drew me to the Empire. The Ika has always been my favorite model in the game. Which dove-tailed into my second thought. The Empire used to have very good Anti-sub Warfare (ASW). However, they lost their main weapon, the Ika’s Aquatic Assault.  At the same time, every nation seemed to be expanding their sub capability, while the Empire stayed behind…This was something I aimed to correct!!”

“My first drafts were within the mythological, all squid-based underwater ships.  Every time I ran into issues.  Mike suggested I look outside subs for a change… We talked Japanese myth and settled on the Tengu. What could be more terrifying to a submariner than an attack from the sky?  The idea would be this clawed beast dropping into the sea with a katana thrust downward- almost like it was spearfishing subs!!  (Thank You Godzilla movies as a kid for inspiring these visuals!)  Even the name was a give and take process – my original name was warned it might give Neil an idea to make a giant version!

“When I saw the 1st draft stats, I was blown away – and worried. I even argued that it might be under-pointed for what it did! Yes – I was lobbying to nerf my own creation!  I’m a bit proud to say my thoughts were borne true as during playtesting a Squadron of 3 (at a lower point cost…) was too devastating. However, with the nerf came a number of stat boosts that actually make the ship even meaner! The end result is not only one of the most potent ASW platforms in the game I think but a deadly boarding threat period!”

“Again, the design process definitely felt like I was in charge – in this case I suggested a few tweaks to the Render. Even Mike was surprised how much they altered the “feel” of the Robot for the better.  As before I whipped up a background in the meantime. As to the end result, I couldn’t be happier about it and I’m hoping that Empire Admirals feel the same and all others… fear the skies!

Stephen’s Background – Semyenov Bore Assault Ship
The Sky-driller program had its beginnings begin in disgrace. F.N. Semyenov was an oil engineer before being drafted into the Russian Coalition Air Corp. When the war broke out he was nearing the end of his uneventful military career, and he had the misfortune to be one of the few remaining officers alive after the Skyship Squadron he was assigned to was nearly eradicated in the initial push to the Wolfgang Fortresses.

The air force needed a scapegoat and he was it. Banished to the Far East in the mountains of Mongolia, he burned to restore his honour. It was here that he made a friendship which would eventually cause terror in the skies. He became friends with another engineer, Mikhail Britnev.  Britnev created the 1^st metal-hulled icebreaker, the precursor to the drill on the Khatanga.

The two were observers during a border war between Coalition forces and the Chinese Federation.  One of the floating Chinese Dun Bastions was wreaking havoc among the army’s Land Ships, hovering right above the ground and flaming everything in reach. That is… until with a horrendous screech the Dun broke apart and a Vorkuta Driller burst from within!  It had actually drilled underneath the Bastion and aimed straight up!  It effectively rammed the Dun from below!  The sight of a Dun shattering apart from below broke the Chinese advance and turned it into a rout.

Semyenov and Britnev were struck with inspiration. They pushed (some would say pestered) the high command for research facilities until they were granted a small team, if just to make them go away. Coalition command put no faith in the ridiculous idea. That is until a test drill ripped apart a couple captured Chi Longs and tore a Taka Ashi walker to shreds. Once they got over their shock, the Air Generals began to see how effective a terror weapon like this could be breaking the deadlock in the West.

Shortly after the Interbellum ended, the first Semyenov Squadron launched against the Prussians, to horrific effect. By now all Bond soldiers, sailors and airmen have learned that to hear the high-pitched whine of the giant drill is a sign of impending doom!

Stephen’s Background – Tengu Hunter Assault Robot
At the beginning of the World War, the Empire had good control of the underwater theater.  The British had more types of submarine, but the Ika still outclassed everything the westerners could launch under the waves. The Federated States were not even present underwater.

But as the war stretched on, the Empire found itself in a very unfamiliar position. The Russians and as Operation: Shadowhunter showed the Empire, even the Americans began to enter the Underwater war. Even her allies began to advance their underwater capabilities while the Empire still relied on the venerable Ika as its only true combatant beneath the waves. With technology ever advancing, more and more subs became resistant to the Ikas’ underwater assault, some so much as to be completely immune.

For the Empress, this could not stand. She commanded the Alchemical Institute at Kobe to remedy the imbalance immediately. During the Interbellum, new and stranger designs began to emerge from the kagaku-sha at Kobe. The Ika was improved, the Chita joined her under the waves as an extreme threat to surface ships. Yet a weapon to strike true terror in a submariner’s heart eluded them. They knew that fear was a submariner’s worst enemy, and were desperate to play on that fear. So, they scoured the huge trove of Japanese myth for their monster.

Over a year later, the first terrifying result of their search took its maiden flight. The minds at Kobe combined that fear, their love of myth and the lessons learned from the Ayakashi robot to create the Tengu Hunter Assault Robot.

The Robot is a formidable Anti-sub platform combined with the most dangerous boarding threat the Empire has outside of the Ayakashi. The robot’s Kaiyo Rockets are designed to plunge through the waves and strike at subs hiding beneath. The rocket attack is usually followed up by a rain of Incendiary Depth Bombs (nicknamed Furaribi Bombs by the crews) that will burst the sub’s hull and burn up its valuable oxygen. Finally, the entire robot dives downward into the water, its massive katana spearing the sub like a fish, its armoured claws shredding the hull and drowning the helpless submariners.

All early testing showed incredible potential, the robots are sturdy enough (thanks to the Shield Generator) to survive the battlefield while they stalk their prey through clouds. With the deployment of Squadrons of Tengu to the skies, absolutely no enemy of the Empress is safe, on, above or below the waves.