Archon Studio is closing in on the final few days of their Empire of Men Kickstarter campaign. They have blown through their initial funding goal and are focusing on stretch goal after stretch goal as the campaign powers on towards its deadline.

The Kickstarter is focused around two armies, The Great Empire and the Echelon Dominion and you can pick up both armies, packed with characters, troops, vehicles, and more. It should be noted that there is no game for this range, it's simply for you to do whatever you like within whatever game world seems fit!

When it comes to the themes behind these armies we have them dwelling within the realm of Weird World War and into full-on Sci-Fi. The idea is that World War I continued to rage and as it did the land became toxic and that's where we got the mutated Ubermen from! The force for The Great Empire is also almost exclusively women, but with plenty of proper equipment and armour rather than skimpy outfits.

The Echelon Dominion then push things further into the realm of Sci-Fi, but you'll see that as we take a look at the factions and some of the offerings that are available from Archon.

The Great Empire

Focusing in on The Great Empire we have a look that combines interesting designs from History as well as a big chunky 'made for purpose' look to the army.

Here's what Archon had to say about them...

"Heavy boots, thick leather coats and gas masks worn by everyone - that's The Great Empire in the nutshell. What they are lacking in physicality, they will compensate in calibres and number shots per minute. As World War One rages on mostly on their lands, toxic warfare resulted in whole zones being inhabited by mutated people, who eventually serve as Ubermans. Nothing is wasted in Military Industrial Complex of Great Empire."

As the fluff and background suggest a lot of their focus is towards plenty of leather, big helmets, gas masks and guns that are used for blasting things into small pieces. There is no subtlety about The Empire Of Men when they hit the tabletop.

Archon were kind enough to send through some preview miniatures to us, check out As'z Quick Look below.

Of course, as well as the female soldiers we also have the hulking mutated souls who were unlucky enough to have been out there in the radiated wasteland during the war.

The Ubermen serve as the tough backbone and shock troops of your force as you go forward. I like the idea of these soldiers with huge shields, able to get into range to use their shotguns for deadly effect.

As mentioned above, the team have gone through a lot of stretch goals as the campaign has continued with characters being added into the mix like the Officer here. The concept art seems to be translating over nicely into the models which is a good sign.

Of course, there are not just foot troops to consider for The Great Empire as they also unlocked some vehicles like the Little Eagle.

Still, in concept form at the moment, there's also some complimentary vehicles as well like the Firefly...

...and the Mammoth which is an awesome four-legged walker to throw into the mix.

There's plenty more for you to check out when it comes to the forces of The Great Empire, so if they appeal to you make sure to hop on over to their Kickstarter page and delve deeper.

Echelon Dominion

Now we move onto the force which is probably my favourite of the two from Empire Of Men. This selection of more alien looking warriors would be perfect for an esoteric and alternative force on the tabletop for your battles in the far future.

To give you an idea of the concept of the force we have more background and fluff from Archon...

"Inhuman sleekness, terrifying effectiveness and cold calculation are Echelon Dominion's traits. After mandatory "Echelon Civilian Enhancement" government programs, can no longer be considered as "human". This is not a decision taken solely by The Great Empire, but also by the Echelon, who see human equating to weakness.

Where other forces deploy heavy infantry, The Echelon deploys Constructs. Where other forces face fear and suffering, they welcome the challenge and seek to prove themselves. Their purpose is unknown as they don’t fight solely for the purpose of land, honour or survival but whatever their plan is it will end the current era for mankind for sure."

Much like with the first army for this Kickstarter there are plenty of interesting troop options to throw into the mix as the backbone of your force.

They have a range of sleek and deadly looking soldiers alongside some which are a bit more hulking but no less deadly. In particular, I was drawn to the Constructs above which show off how the weapons have been drawn into the overall design of the models alongside the armour - almost as if they are one with each other.

Things also get very weird with this force. Here's the Gunbot...

If you ever doubted the Giger influence throughout the faction I'm sure that this was able to put that to bed. That would be a fascinating project to work on where you've got this mesh of the organic and synthetic merging together.

One of the coolest vehicles available to them is this, the Velocity Pod. I like the idea of an enclosed jetbike and the sleek design. Once again, it's like the pilot and the vehicle will be as one as the art design continues across the model.

Beyond that more stretch goals have unlocked plenty of additional vehicles like the Crayfish Transport here which is more of a towering gun emplacement than anything. You could see this dropping your troops into battle and then staying there to defend their advance.

We also have another personal favourite with the Dark Seer.

I could see myself wanting to put together a force of just these on the tabletop. Imagine how cool that would be! The additional arms on the model are a nice touch allowing it to load and fire the weapon with ease and then lay some smackdown on someone who gets too close to it on the battlefield.

More is unlocked for the faction each day as the stretch goals continue to expand. Make sure that if this campaign appeals to you that you head on over to their...

Empire Of Men Kickstarter Page

...and get involved.

Which of the factions appeals most to you?