Weird World War I

Inspired over a year ago by the imminent release of Brigade Models' range of Land Ironclads, I, in typical fashion, could not wait for the miniatures to begin appearing, and started to look around for possible alternatives.

At the time I was working my way through Irregular Miniatures' Sci-Fi Range, and was intrigued by what they termed a 'Land Dreadnought', IKSF26. Once my inevitable order had arrived, I was confronted with what looked like a cross between a Falklands War-era Type 42 Destroyer and a Jawa Sand Crawler. (I could be impolite here about inter-species mating, but I wont....you get the picture....)

The whole 'vibe' of the miniature was more modern than the VSF/Aeronef style of the line from Brigade, so a cunning plan began to form....why not push forward the timeframe, take advantage of the World War I range in 2mm from our old friends Irregular, and go wild!

I've come up with the following scenario:

Land Dreadnoughts: Weird War 1919

It is 1919.

The Archduke Franz Ferdinand sits stolidly on the throne of Hungary, dismissing the attempt to assassinate him five years previously in Sarajevo as the "backfiring of a horseless carriage".

The war that failed to materialise in 1914 still simmers below the surface, with the Entente Cordiale sinking fast, as world-wide recession and colonial ambition strain the ties of peace between the Great Powers.

The Ottoman Empire is now not the only 'sick man of Europe'; all mankind is struggling to cope with the Influenza Pandemic, which has at least put paid to the recent Martian attempt to invade the Earth.

The likely arrival of other races of Alien origin has triggered a belated and somewhat haphazard arms race; military budgets starved of funds are now receiving greater priority, and technological innovation is driven by the need to gain supremacy over the other competing Powers, as much as to defend the Earth from further intrusions from Outer Space.

This is the Dawn of the Age of the Land Dreadnought:

The fight for global supremacy has begun!

The Irregular Land Dreadnought, of course, would require some conversion to give a number of different vehicles, and as you may see in the photo at the top of this post, this was achieved to give 'GepanzerteUberlandSchiffe' and 'Grand Chars de Rupture' aplenty! But more on this later...