If you hadn't already noticed, we're getting stuck into Dropfleet Commander this weekend which is currently up on Kickstarter from Hawk Wargames. With that in mind we thought we'd give you a sneaky peek at the future with an exclusive look at the Shaltari renders for their fleet in more detail...

Here is the full fleet that has now been unlocked by the campaign already thanks to the manic amount of backers jumping onto this campaign. However, we're going to be showing them off in a bit more detail so you can get a really good look around the fleet as a whole.

First off we're looking at the Amber Class Cruiser...

Each of the Shaltari ships has a very alien design as you might have imagined. They have continued this same ridged and almost skeletal look from their land vehicles over to their ships and I could imagine them painted up in vibrant colours and glowing with energy.

Secondly we have the Topaz and Jade Class Frigates (can you guess the naming structure yet?)

Bringing in the big guns we have the Obsidian Class Heavy Cruise too which looks like it's going to be dealing some serious damage on the tabletop. I really like the design of this one where every angle of it has something going on.

As a fleet the Shaltari have a different way of playing compared to the likes of the Scourge and the UCM. They have done away for the need for turrets and the like on their ships in favour of fixed guns and rely on their speed to get them into the right positions to bring them to bear. A low starting signature makes them hard to spot until they are right on you.

Following along from the Cruisers we focus in on some of the centrepiece models within the fleet, namely the Emerald Class Mothership which looks rather fascinating indeed.

One of the other benefits of the Shaltari Fleet is that they come with energy shields. These are incredibly helpful in keeping their more lithe ships alive but also make their signature massive. Once the shields have flared up you won't have trouble spotting the Shaltari and ranging in on them but by that time hopefully they are in a position to strike.

Talking of being in a position to strike they also have this rather awesome piece of kit, the Shaltari Voidgate...

I would assume this has much the same use as the gates the Shaltari use on the ground in that it enables you to teleport around the battlefield. If this is the case then it would allow them to be even more manoeuvrable but also means that if you rely on it too much you could be in trouble once it's destroyed.

Overall I would say that the Shaltari are well worth taking a look at as a Bolt On option via their Kickstarter.

Hopefully it won't be long until we see the work on the Post-Human Republic too!

What do you think of the Shaltari?