Aeronef WIP: The Kingdom of Greater Siam

I decided to try my hand at making a dirigible-based Aeronef fleet.  Casting about for a host nation to give it some backstory, I settled for the mysterious and ancient Kingdom of Greater Siam.

Siam is actually a confederation of several Southeast Asian nations, including Thailand, Burma, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia.  As a result of colonial struggles between Britain and France, Laos and Cambodia's governments collapsed, which allowed King Rama V to occupy both countries under guise of a friendly stabilization of both areas.  Unfortunately, King Rama V died of typhus, as did his son and heir, which thrust a young prince named Vajiravudh onto the throne.  Vajiravudh had been studying at Britain's Sandhurst military academy when he was notified that he was now the king of Siam.

King Vajiravudh, or Rama VI, was an avid student of British military practices, and he quickly moved to assemble a new fleet of flying warships in order to resist any encroachment by the European powers.  It was this promise of security that led the Vietnamese to join the Siamese confederation. The Siamese fleet lacks much of the more sophisticated technology of the European fleets, relying instead on dirigible-based hulls filled with helium purchased from the United States.  Mounting excellent Krupp guns from Germany, the fleet relies on its firepower, since the digs are much slower than many of their counterparts.

Frigate:

Fast Destroyer:

Light Cruiser:

Armored Cruiser:

Battlecruiser:

Battleship:

Dreadnought:

Aerocarrier:

Aeronef WIP: The Spanish Armada

Here is another fleet of Aeronefs that I recently dusted off and spiffied up.  This is the Spanish Armada, and for this fleet I tried to add more of the finer details as well as go for an overall more industrial look than some of my earlier Aeronef fleets.  This fleet features outrigger propulsion fans, more stairs and doors, better-detailed funnels, outrigger torpedo tubes, and more detailed cannons in open barbettes.  I tried to add cowl vents, but they turned out just to be too small to be able to print, so away they went.



First up is a group shot for comparison:

Fast Frigate:

Destroyer:

Light Cruiser:

Heavy Cruiser:

Battlecruiser:

Battleship:

Dreadnought:

Fighter Carrier:

Aeronef WIP: The shaZulu

By way of backstory, these ships belong to the shaZulu Alliance ("sha" meaning simply "new" in the native language known as isiZulu). After the discovery of diamonds on their lands in 1867, the Zulu and Xhosa tribes set about conquering their neighbors, then began to gird themselves for battle against the encroachment of the European powers.   The shaZulu hired a Polish inventor who had been unsuccessful in selling his designs in Europe to direct the building of their new fleet.

shaZulu ships are designed for speed and firepower;   consequently, their weakness is in their thin armor.   The shaZulu doctrine of aeronaval combat is to strike quickly and then withdraw, repeating as necessary until the enemy is defeated.   A favorite tactic is to lure an enemy ship out of formation with a seemingly-helpless frigate, then pounce on it with destroyers and battlecruisers.

Design notes: The shape of the ships is actually inspired by the shape of the traditional Zulu cowhide shields, known as isihlangu, rather than a standard boat shape.  I kept the VSF-looking round turrets, funnels, and torpedo tubes in order to keep the ships from looking too futuristic against other 'Nefs.

An example of a Zulu shield:



Group photos:

Ithayiga ("Tiger")-Class Frigate

Umdumo ("Thunder")-Class Bombard Frigate

Gwaza ("Slaughter")-Class Destroyer

Ingwe ("Leopard")-Class Light Cruiser

Inkemba ("Sword")-Class Heavy Cruiser

Isijula ("Javelin")-Class Battlecruiser

Siyonqoba ("Conqueror")-Class Battleship

Ukhozi ("Eagle")-Class Fighter Carrier