Dystopian Legions - Infantry Special Weapons Upgrades

For the last of the Dystopian Legions Wave 2 reviews I will be looking at the Section Upgrade Specialists.
As these as 2 Infantry model per box and are quite similar, I will look at all for sets together.

Kingdom of Britannia Line Infantry Flamer
Reasoning that a sheet of flame is one of the best ways of making sure the enemy stays well away, engineer Sydney Haskins of the Royal Ordnance Works perfected his flamethrower design with the Mark III. It is nicknamed the ‘Ricardo’ after his Italian-born engineering assistant, who had the unenviable task of livetesting Haskin’s designs! The Mark III was a resounding success, and was quickly issued to the Britannian infantry regiments. In battle, the flamethrower operators shelter amid the ranks of the riflemen.

Even for a small upgrade pack of 2 models, Spartan keep up with the high quality of packaging.
Full renders taken direct from the models so you the exact details and all the info you need is on the box. Along with a little bit of fluff about them as well

In the box you get 2 models. Extra Infantry on the left and specialist on the right. Each with a 30mm base.
The Specialist come with a separate flamer. The hand is meant to be attached to the flamer but I managed to break it off when taking it out of the box. The joint was very fragile so take care.
The tubes run from the Specialists backpack to the flamer. These are quite thin and need to be bent into place. I suggest do it a bit at a time so you don't break them.
The Line Infantryman is different to those in the Starter box so this set gives you a full Section of 10 different models

The quality of the models and the details are very impressive. Only a couple of little vents and tabs (extra bits of metal) that are on joints or areas of minimal detail. Easy to remove with no damage to the model at all.

They do have a slight mould line running over them. The shadow in this pic makes it look worse than it is though. A quick file and you don't see a thing.

I really like these models. Great detail and they keep the feel of the KoB forces while still being different enough to stand out in the Section.
Its a shame about the hand breaking off but that was more my fault than Spartans to be honest.
7 out of 10 Badger Points
It would have been a 9 if the tubes were cast in shape and the hand was so fragile.

Prussian Empire Quad Barrel Vierling Gunner
The favoured support weapon of the Grenadiers is the ferocious Koch-Mannlicher ‘Vierling’. This awesome quad-barrelled weapon owes more to the late medieval organ gun than to modern machine-guns, and only the strongest soldiers can handle its violent kick. When the trigger is pulled, all four barrels fire in a gigantic and ear-shattering burst of flame and shrapnel that can lay half an enemy section low and leave the stunned survivors easy prey to be finished off by the Grenadiers.

Again the packaging of the Prussians if high quality. Everything you need is there but still manages to look appealing.

In the box you get 2 single piece metal miniatures, each with a 30mm plastic base.
On the left is an Prussian Grenadier loading his rifle. This mini is different to the Grenadiers on the Starter Set so you don't have multiple minis in the same Section.
On the right is the Veirling Specialist. VERY different to the one in the Starter. Weapons down and aimed, helmet on and includes a faceplate. To be honest I prefer this one to the first. Look much more aggressive and in a battle ready pose.
The fact that all of the minis in a Section are different sculpts is wonderful. You don't see that in many games and the way Spartan have made sure this happens is really impressive.

The models are a very high standard. Lots of detail on all parts and very minimal vents and tabs. Again, only in places with little detail so the minis don't get damaged when removing.

Around the models are very small mould lines. a quick run over with a file will clean them right up.

VERY impressed with the Prussian Empire Specialist set. I don't think I can find a single thing wrong with them which is a really good sign with me seeing I am usually quite picky.
10 out of 10 Badger Points!

Emipre of the Blazing Sun 'Cherry Blossom' Rocket Launcher
The feared Type 7 Rocket Projector, commonly known as the Okha or ‘Cherry Blossom’, is a potent weapon. Lightweight and simple to build and operate, it hurls a warhead packed with powerful chemical explosives. These shells can blast a hole in an enemy ironclad or blow a machine gun nest to smithereens, making a lone infantryman a threat to the largest targets. Ashigaru rocket-gunners are often issued with special gas warheads for when the cowardly enemy must be flushed out of concealment to face the Blazing Sun warriors in honourable combat

Need I say any more about the Dystopian Legions packaging? The quality keeps coming.

In the box you get 2 metal minis and 2 30mm bases.
On the left you have an Ashigaru Infantryman. But unlike the Infantry in the first 2 boxes above, this one isn't your normal soldier. He is loaded with extra rockets for the Specialist as well as his own weapon. The model is still standard Infantry but stands out as a loader at the same time.
On the right is the Rocketeer. Armed with a shoulder mounted 'Cherry Blossom' and additional ammo he is also different from the Specialist in the Starter box.
Take these 2 and 3 from the Starter Set and you have a deadly fire team with twin rockets that are a threat to any Section or Ironclad on the field.

The detail and quality is once again very high. Hardly a single vent and the only noticeable tabs are on the bottom of the ammo packs and end of the rocket launcher. These aren't that small though so will need to be removed with care and cleaned up a little afterwards.

Very small mould lines run around the models. Not hard to remove with a file and doing do wont damage any of the detail.

Although the Empire of the Blazing Sun aren't my favourite force, simply due to the style isn't for me, I can still see that these are high quality. I love the way the extra Infantry is also a loader for the Specialist.
I do have a funny feeling that when I start playing games with them I will become a fan very rapidly.
8 out of 10 Badgers Points

Federated States of America Light Machine Gunner
The Pattern 1869 Light Machine Gun is a lightweight but sturdy weapon, fed from a large drum magazine with excellent ammo capacity. Although unlike the Gatlings in having only a single barrel, the Pattern 1869 includes an ingenious clockwork crank system as part of its firing mechanism. When necessary, the gunner can activate the crank, increasing the weapon’s rate of fire to a frightening degree for a short time.

Once again, great box, info and art. Speaks for itself.

In the box you get 2 metal models and 2 bases.
On the left is the FSA Light Machinegun Specialist. The model comes in 2 parts, man and weapon. 
Again he is different to the on in the Starter. A nice action pose like he is unloading a full barrel of ammo.
The model on the right is an Infantry member. Different to the original sets so stands out with a very impressive pose and gives you the opportunity to field a Section with no multiples of any models.
The Infantryman also has an LMG ammo barrel on his hip. Like the EotBS model, he is shown as a loader for the Specialist. Although there is no 'Loader' rule it is still a nice touch.

These minis have a bit more of a clean up job than the others but that is due to the pose and sculpts being very different. The Specialist (right) has a small bar from his jacket to his base to remove and the Infantryman (left) has large bars to remove between the base, gun and ammo feed.
These can be easily taken off with a pair of clippers and no loss of detail. A quick file may be needed depending on how close you use the clippers.

A tiny little mould line runs around them. Barely even noticeable and could be ignored completely if you wanted.

I like the poses of this set. Real action has been captured here while making sure they don't stand out too much while in a Section. Getting them on the field will be fun.
9 out of 10 Badger Points

The rules for all 4 of these sets can be found on the Spartan Games page in the Downloads Section (link)

Price
All 4 sets can be picked for £7.20 each from The Troll Trader. A bargain price in my opinion. You wont get 2 specialist 32mm minis in metal for that price in most other games.

Overall
I'm impressed. I love the fact all the sculpts are different to the Starter Sets. Two of the Infantry being shown as loaders is a wonderful addition and great attention to detail.
I have scored each on the quality of the models but I don't think I can pick my own personal favourite. I keep going from one to the other. "Thats cool, but I like that one as well, but they are great" ect

What do you think of these sets?
Which do you prefer?
Which were your favourite models out of the entire second wave?

That's it for the Wave 2 Releases then. Tomorrow I will carry on with the Upgrade theme and show you the Support options for each of these units.

Hendybadger awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!