Hull Breaker

SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR THE RUSSIAN COALITION

Over the years of collecting, painting and playing Dystopian Wars I have done a number of conversions, some rather large and intensive, others minor and almost inconsequential. Some have been used as massive centrepieces for my fleets, others inspired entire campaigns, and some have just been because I was missing a piece or accidentally broke a model!

This most recent project is a result of the recent Dreadnought-Robot releases, and my general opinion of the Svarog-class  Battle Robot for the Russian Coalition. Unimpressed with its general appearance and looking for something a little more brutal, I was inspired by a passing comment that a Privateer Press Warjack would make for a good alternative. Looking over the range, a lot of the Warjacks are impressive, especially the Khador (Russian themed) selection, and I was drawn to the simple, stripped down brutality of the Devastator Heavy Warjack, with the thick armoured shell and crushing shield arms. The imagery of this monster smashing forward, shells bouncing off the armour before opening the arms to reveal a mass of weaponry was too cool, so I picked up a 'Jack from my local gaming club and got to work converting it

The Arktica-class Ice Breaker, first of its class and now refitted for battle, was a product of Aksyonov House, a rival scientific institute to the vastly more successful and well-funded Markov's Circle. Their focus has been on automation and robotics for peaceful means; a factor in their decline during the World War.

Nonetheless, they have produced a number of well-received inventions. The Arktica-class Ice Breaker was the largest of these, a beast designed for breaking down ice shelves and glaciers in the Kara and Berents Seas. Refitted for battle after attracting the attention of the Tsar, the armour of the Arktica was heavily bolstered and weaponry fitted onto the torso of the robot.

The defining feature of the Arktica is the pair of giant pneumatic rams for smashing through ice and other obstacles. These double as shields, offering protection from enemy ordnance. Brought together when advancing or striding through the water, they part when the robot is close, allowing it to unleash its payload at extreme close-range. Should anything survive, the rams come crashing down, quickly smashing apart their target.

Layers of armour plating protect the Arktica, giving it the appearance and behaviour of a battering ram. Subtlety has never been a strong point in Russian weapons technology

The rear of the robot is significantly less armoured, and several elements of the Sturginium-fuelled reactor and generators are visible, open to attack. The Arktica must keep its enemy ahead of it at all times!

Immense smoke stacks expel the produce of the several immense reactors

The juggernaut-like Arktica-class Ice Breaker Battle Robot advances at speed, striding with grim intent towards the enemy fleet

The conversion was... well barely a conversion, as I did not want to glue a load of crap to the model and ruin the simple aesthetic. I removed the symbols from the shoulder pads (badly, I might add - the Privateer Press plastic is horrible to work with) and then sawed the legs at the knee before building waves and water around the model with green stuff and polyfilla.

Russian ships run escort duty 

The first and biggest problem was the size - it simply does not measure up to the rest of the Dreadnought-Robots in size, and this has led me to treat it instead as a simple Battle Robot, with the stats of a Metzger. The experiment to make an alternative Svarog has failed, but now I have something smaller and cooler. I do not know what I will do with it yet, but maybe it will make an appearance in a Battle Report soon?

The Battle Robot smashes forward through the ice

Overall I am pleased with the result, though it does still look a lot like a Warjack and does not share many elements with the rest of the Russian fleet. This I will have to explain in the background... Painting took a surprising amount of time as I wanted the big expanses of grey armour plating to look good, and so it is a bit more weathered than the rest of the Russian fleet - as befits a big ice-breaking Robot!

The Federated States of America are alarmed at the sight of this new creation

So there we are, my first attempt to build a giant Robot for the Russian Coalition. The result may be a bit small, and will not be able to use the statistics of the Svarog, but it is still an interesting addition to the White Navy and I look forward to pitting it against the Robots of the Teutonic Order!

The Hochmeister-class Dreadnought-Robot engages the Arktica-class Battle Robot at close quarters

Thanks for reading,

George