The first of the Britannian Fleet's new Nelson - class cruisers arrives at the Blue Sector capital of New Birmingham, having just returned from the Queen's Diamond Jubilee parade in orbit around New London.
Armed with two heavy lasers, two light lasers, and a torpedo tube for long-range attacks, this new vessel can defend itself against nearly any threat. Its somewhat eye-catching livery is a commemorative paint scheme applied for the recent Diamond Jubilee -- later Nelson-class vessels will be painted standard Navy gray.
Two engines give it enough acceleration to run down light cruisers and destroyers.
Every shipyard in the Blue Sector is working around the clock to turn out more patrol gunboats. Their speed and firepower are vital in protecting our sovereign territory from pirates and other enemies of the Crown.
Rather than leading the fleet from a traditional flagship, Admiral Blackdog commands his forces from aboard this specialized fast-attack craft -- a courier equipped with a powerful weapons suite.
The Tudor-class light cruiser filled the same role as the Nelson, but it is now showing its age and is generally considered undersized and underpowered for a warship of its class. Some commanders still prefer it for perimeter duty due to its larger suite of lightweight weapons -- two light laser turrets and a flak cannon can make short work of attacking fighters and missiles.
Admiral Blackdog himself is somewhat reticent about his origins. Found aboard a crashed starship by a group of pirates, he was put to work as a technician at the pirates' base, where he exhibited an impressive knowledge of mechanics and starship systems. His most notable demonstration of this was the construction of a hidden hyperwave transmitter which he used to broadcast the base's location to a nearby Britannian patrol. After he was recovered during the raiding of the base, he joined the Britannian navy and rose through the ranks to become
Vice Admiral of the Blue Sector.
His preferred weapon is a heavily modified hunting rifle. Its immense black-powder charge allows it to range on almost anything on the battlefield, and he is proficient enough to make use of it at its maximum range. Thanks to Natalya for the design.
A squad of Britannian Marines conducts a drill simulating open-field combat. As recruits join the Marines at an astonishing rate, the Admiralty is busily developing new tactics and equipment to improve their performance on the battlefield.
While outsiders may find the Britannian military antiquated compared to its neighbors', this impression is greatly mistaken. It is true that the Britannians ascribe a great deal of importance to tradition, but this means that their technology and strategy are time-tested and refined, and they're not afraid to modernize when they find it necessary. The infantry are one of the best examples of the Britannian ethos; the soldiers' shields, once used primarily to block melee attacks, are just as effective at providing cover against firearms, and their newly designed electric muskets are both accurate and powerful. And while swords are laughable weapons on a modern open battlefield, there are few things more dangerous in the cramped confines of a starship. Left to right: Officer, Marine rifleman, swordsman.
The Marines also employ a large number of heavy-weapons troops. Left to right: Steam Gatling gun, Enervated Phlogiston Projector.
I wanted to make a Steam Gatling with a backpack-mounted boiler, but I was all out of the right kind of tubing.
Honestly, my favorite thing about the Enervated Phlogiston Projector is the name. I don't have any of the white classic-space style blasters that other people usually use as the basis for Britannian weapons.
The Blenheim spotter plane, a well-respected workhorse used for recon, artillery spotting, and light attack.
The pride of the Britannian army is its mighty fleet of Landships. The Challenger-class land destroyer is one of the newest, a high-speed escort craft armed with a massive Steam Gatling gun and a pair of rocket-torpedo launchers.
I really like how it looks from this angle.
I haven't really decided how to stat the Steam Gatling yet. Right now the working stats are just "kills everything in front of it".
The rocket-torpedo launchers have to be reloaded manually. The ammo reserve is near the bow, but I haven't actually put anything there yet since nose cones and cylinders are in short supply.
A shot with the upper deck removed, showing a close-up of the atomic boiler. The tube coming out of it leads to the smokestack behind the helmsman, and there's an additional armor plate behind it to keep it from getting hit by attacks from behind the ship. The two minifigs standing on the lower deck are crewmembers who load and fire the torpedo launchers; I'm probably going to replace them with better ones before I use this in battle, and add a couple more for defense against boarding.
By the stars! I say Blackdog, jolly good show!