Well, I must admit I've been looking at Dust for a while, being a Wargamer however never really getting to it.

Nowadays though I dont often find the time to paint stuff up and make/line up terrain. Let alone get the "group" together to have a game, so I am starting to lean towards more of a boardgame hybrid. Thats where I believe Dust Tactics comes in, I just wonder if there are real "armies" to choose from yet, I mean do the Axis and Allies sides mirror eachothers units in the general sense or do the Axis and Allies actually play differently?

Like in real life, there are similarities in the units, there has to be, but they do play differently due to the specials weapons available to either side. The Allies tend to be faster and have numerous short-trange one-shot one-kill weapons. The heroes also have different abilities which then transfer to any unit they join, again making the units that bit different. And of course, the mechs look totaly different.

Yes, the armies are similar... but different. For the most part, each squad has something of an equivalent on the other side, but as the game evolves they seem to be growing more distant from each other. So far, all around the allies have the advantage of better movement and more weapons that ignore cover, the axis tends to have the advantage in overall firepower.