Reinforcements for the League

THE LEAGUE OF ITALIAN STATES ARE JOINED BY THREE MORE SQUADRONS

The month may have been dominated by painting Covenant of Antarctica (the big reveal of this project coming soon...) but I managed to squeeze in some time for the League of Italian States, a project that has been going for a long, long time. Suffice to say, I have not considered the League a top priority...

Mars-class Battleship

The first and biggest ship completed this month was the Mars-class Battleship, never my first choice for the Large vessel in an Italian fleet but still a lovely looking vessel. In the game, it is disappointing compared to the mighty Affondatore-class Fleet Carrier, yet nonetheless I own two, and thought I should paint up at least one of them!

Mars-class Battleship with three Scutum-class Escort Frigates

With gold, green and brown as the main colours of the fleet, painting looks simple. The gold and the green can be tiring however, with the green relying on very careful and subtle highlighting, and the gold taking a great deal of time due to the multiple washes and re-highlighting. 

Four Scutum-class Escort Frigates

The Scutum-class Escort Frigates were painted rather quickly, given their small size. I particularly like the torpedo racks on the sides of the ships, and the depth charges piled up at the aft. In the game, they are better suited as Escorts than Frigates, leaving the hard work to the Cinquedea-class Destroyers. 

Four Cinquedea-class Destroyers

A second squadron of Destroyers joins the Italian fleet, models I have always enjoyed with their fine torpedo turret and rows of smoke stacks. Game-wise the Destroyers are an excellent choice, high but in points but effective with their powerful turrets and Pack Hunter.

The Fleet as it stands - 1080pts so far!

The fleet currently stands at 1080pts, though I do need to finish the Local Air Support. The finished 2000pt list will see the following added to it...

One Affondatore-class Fleet Carrier (yes, a second!)
Three Gladius-class Cruisers
Eight Scutum-class Escort Frigates
Four Fortuna-class Bombers
Twelve Uccisore-class Torpedo Boats
Fifteen Support Aircraft Wings

Quite a project, and one that will not be completed for some time yet. Operation: Shadow Hunter is released within the week, and with it a host of new models and rules to distract and grapple with. Hopefully the League of Italian States will see some nice re-working with the Second Edition of Dystopian Wars, and some new releases on the horizon.  In the mean time, I still have a rather large Covenant fleet to finish!

Thanks for reading,

George