The League of Italian States

A LOOK AT THE LEAGUE OF ITALIAN STATES - A WORK IN PROGRESS

The Fleet so far...

Back when 1.1 Edition Dystopian Wars was released and the League of Italian States came out shortly after, I decided I had found my second fleet. Two boxsets with a solid 1270pts worth of models between them, the Italian States have a lot to offer - beautiful models, new gaming options like the Tiny squadrons of Torpedo Boats, and some interesting rules like the Amplified Shield Generators, Inventive Scientists and Elite Crew. In this short article, I make excuses for only painting a small number of Italian ships.

Gladius-class Cruisers bring a squadron of Torpedo Boats, as well as powerful turrets and a bucketload of special rules

The Italian fleet has proven to be a difficult challenge gaming wise. They are expensive in points, limited in numbers and have some choices that are rather distinctly better than others - their Destroyers versus their Frigates, for example. After some brutal games with them I became disheartened, and was quickly distracted by the Australians and Chinese, then the Merchant Navy, Kingdom of Denmark, Black Wolf Mercenaries, Eclipse Company...

Cinquedea-class Destroyers - not the prettiest ship in the fleet, but they do the job!

This in turn distracted from them being painted - I like to paint models for a purpose - unless I'm gaming with them or have a set deadline, they quickly fall down my (rather long) list of "Works in Progress." The models are extremely detailed and require a steady hand - especially with the scheme of faded gold and green I have chosen. Red operates as the spot colour for this fleet, featuring on the lovely torpedo turrets and also present on the panelling that I have chosen to paint as the Italian flag.

The glorious Affondatore-class Fleet Carrier and the whole fleet of tokens and models it carries with it

The Italian fleet was purchased over a year ago, and my grasp of Dystopian Wars has improved somewhat since then. Even so, other fleets and projects have always gotten in the way of painting and playing with the League. I only have only finished  650pts worth of ships, though it feels like a lot more given how detailed they are, and how many extra Tiny ships they each bring with them! 

The Tiny Flyer Tokens feature the great tri-wing design, but I am not particularly happy with these guys - some more work needed!

Overall, the League of Italian States are a challenging project that still need some effort to finish - as it stands, I have a further 1350pts worth of models sitting by my painting table patiently awaiting their turn.

Gaming wise I have not used the League for nearly a year, something I consider a massive shame given how lovely models are with their ridiculous "form over function" aesthetic, and how enjoyable they can be to play - a game against the Italians some months ago was immense fun, showing how interesting they can be if used correctly.

I imagine I will get back to the League and finish off my collection just in time for Spartan to release another round of models for them!

Hobby projects never end, they just wait for new avenues of expansion.

Thanks for reading,

George