Corellian Musings

Back, with Epic Goodness!

2009-11-23T14:29:00.000-08:00

Here's one of my "Traveling Palette", that I use to take my work anywhere within the household. There's about 4 companies of armor in different stages of preparation here.

In the foreground are a few of my tanks that are "closer" to completion.

My goal is a Vostroyan Armored Division with a TO&E like this;

1 Command Company (1 Chimera, 3 Centaurs, 1 Trojan, 5 Leman Russ')
7 Heavy Tank Companies (10 Ragnaruss' tanks each)
3 Tank Companies (10 Leman Russ')
1 Field Artillery Company (6 Earthshaker Guns, 3 Thudd Guns, 10 Centaurs)
1 Motorized Artillery Company (6 Basalisks, 3 Converted Medusas, 1 Trojan, 1 Centaur)
1 Motorized Artillery Company (6 Basalisks, 3 Medusas, 1 Trojan, 1 Centaur)
76th Krieg Reconnaissance Company (8 Centaurs, 2 Chimeras)
1033rd Vostroyan Super-Heavy Tank Company (3 Macharius Vulcans, 1 Stormblade)
33rd Krieg Assault Squadron (2 Gorgons, 1 Stormblade)
68th Independent Narmenian Tank Destroyer Company (6 Destroyers, 3 Vanqs)

(And don't even mention realism, as I am aware that the number of combat vehicles I have are ridiculous...but guess what? I don't give a damn...in the Grim Darkness of the Far Future, there is only Nonsense!!!!)

Temporary Hiatus

2009-11-14T19:17:00.001-08:00

Well, I've got 30 of the Dreads painted and have decided that I want to reach the molding goal before I paint any more. I'm estimating about 10 more days before I hit the 200 mark, allowing for miscasts, so updates will be sparse.

Also, I've resparked my interest in Epic 40k, and have started on a reinforced Armored regiment. I'll post some photos this week.

My ECW Covenanters may take up some time as well...don't you just hate when Gamer's ADD kicks in?

Small Update

2009-11-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

Dreadnaught Count: 142 Resin, 7 metal

I have successfully painted 26 of them, with 30 more cleaned and ready for paint. Now I'm waiting on a few more bases to arrive, as finding 200 flying bases is somewhat hard to do!

Tomorrow, I'll start on a new mold of 3, so hopefully I can pull some cleaner casts faster.

Dreadnaught Test

2009-11-03T16:20:00.001-08:00

Comparison-shot of 2 resin Dreads, 1 metal Dread, and 1 Modified Nebulon-B

Another angle; it was hard to decide what color to make the drive flare, but I like this light blue.

Paintjob was accomplished thusly;

Spray-prime in Black (Krylon Ultra-flat Black)
Base-paint in Charadon Granite (GW Foundation)
Dry-brush in Codex Gray (GW Paint)
Wash in Badab Black (GW Wash)
Drive-flare done with a mix of Prussian Blue and Titanium White (Liquitex Art Acrylics)

This achieves a decent table-top standard, considering I'm painting over 200 of the things, though the Katana will receive extra detailing, as will the extras for the Rendili Home Defense Fleet.

I may try to convert a few into Assault Frigates eventually, but that will wait until I have finished molding the first couple of hundred.

Dreadnaught Count: 118 Resin and 7 Metal

Home

2009-11-01T17:11:00.000-08:00

Home from our trip this weekend and the Packer/Vikings game....boy was that disappointing!

On the upside, I managed to snag two boxes of Alumilite Resin for $7 each, at Hobby Lobby. It would appear they were priced incorrectly, and I happened to have a 40% off coupon, so I walked out with enough resin to last until January.

Photos of the recently organized work area and some base-coated Dreadnaughts to follow tomorrow.

Small Victories

2009-10-28T18:20:00.000-07:00

Well, even though I haven't had much time to update or do any work on the ships this week, I have made some progress;

Completely cleaned and organized my gaming room. Thank God for the USPS free Priority Mail boxes, as they make great storage-savers.

Hit the 100 mark on my Dreadnaughts. I'm starting to see a little degredation, but I should make it to 200 without having to remold.

Sold a bunch of stuff, so I placed another nice order with Drew. Minus the Euphemisms, I ordered:

5x Dreadnaughts
2x Interdictors
3x Vindicators (Cruiser the Interdictor is based off)

And finally, I managed to trim, assemble, drill, and base all 7 of my Kuat Command Cruisers (SWMB Rebel Cruisers).

Weekday Drudgery

2009-10-26T22:21:00.000-07:00

And so much for my successful molding run! I only had time to do 8 Dreadnaughts today...

Tomorrow I hope to pour the first half of a new Imperial Frigate design based on a chopped-up Jedi Starfighter.

Also I received three Starter Sets today that I acquired very cheaply, so I now have 3 Super Star Destroyers! Just need to find a way to trade off 2 of the Viscounts...

SWMB Rebel Cruiser

2009-10-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

A few folks have asked about the modified Rebel Cruiser I have in my Dreadnaught photos;

I'm using it as a larger Fleet Command Cruiser, but I cut the center section out, as on most of the minis they are badly warped. Many of the SWMB ships suffered from being pulled from the molds while still setting, leading to a certain degree of warpage on many of the miniatures.

I think it makes a nice little Cruiser and adds some variance to the fleet.

Dreadnaught Count 2.0

2009-10-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

70 Resin
2 Metal

Here's some photos;

Titanium Venator, Modified SWMB Rebel Cruiser and Resin Dreadnaught

Venator, Resin Dreadnaught and Metal Dreadnaught (mine are a little shorter and fatter)

38 Dreads awaiting flash-cleaning.

Suspicious Dog is watching you mold...

Dreadnaught Count

2009-10-23T20:55:00.000-07:00

Up to 42 resin and 2 metal!

If I can hit 100 by next weekend, I'll be happy, though next week will be quite busy.

Photos of the Dreadnaughts and a few new conversions will be up tomorrow night.

Woohoo Again!

2009-10-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

The mold worked quite nicely and two successful pulls later I have birthed 4 small Dreadnaughts!

They are about 1-2mm shorter than the Bergstrom one, so I'll still buy some of Drew's to flesh out the resin masses.

Photos will follow.

Dreadnaught-class Concept photos

2009-10-21T18:33:00.000-07:00

Plans are for at least 200-300 of these guys...I'd like a decent representation of Republic vessels, a few Sector Defense Fleet vessels, and part or all of the Katana Fleet. That'll be alot of resin!

Another Mold Update

2009-10-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I finished my scratchbuilt Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruiser. I used a Studio Bergstrom one for my dimensions and came up with something that compares nicely. Though there's not as much detail as the metal one, it'll be better than buying 50-100 of the buggers. First part of the mold was poured this morning, so first pull should be tomorrow.

Katana Fleet here I come!

Random Murmurings

2009-10-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

While Grouse hunting this afternoon my mind began to wonder...and this is what bubbled up;

Possibility 1

-Terrible Air-speeder crash causes loss of Palpatine's supporters

-Assassination attempts on Antilles' supporters fails

-Antilles elected Chancellor, Bail Organa becomes Senator

-Worried by his inability to foresee this outcome, Sidious is shaken enough for Maul to try and eliminate him

-Sidious/Palpatine fades from public view to allow for direct command of seperatist effort

Outcomes;

Seperatists recieve more support from Outer Rim systems

Jedi unaware of Sith resurgence

Republic Navy begins slow expansion in face of increasing lawlessness

Ship/Weapons research sped up, leading to earlier deployment of various vessels and equipment

Clone Wars start on Geonosis, Republic is better prepared for open war

Clone Wars last longer

Possibility 2

-Existence of Strong Naval tradition leads to less Clone crews in early days of the war

-When Military Expansion Act passes, volunteers are directed towards the navy rather than army

-Chancellor creates "Expeditionary Fleets" for Jedi use, uses mostly clones

-Republic Navy fleets are more experienced, but most new equipment goes to Clone Armies creating animosity towards government

-Passage of Republic Security Act alarms many high-ranking officers, cementing the growing unease in non-clone forces

-Order 66 and war outside of Core progresses as normal, however volunteer forces revolt against Emperor

Outcomes;
Republic fleet is numerically outnumbered initially, but has more experience

With the Military Expansion Act, more equipment becomes available to the volunteer Navy, however Clones recieve newer vessels

Volunteer Navy becomes resentful of their treatment and the treatment of Clones, many officers grow to oppose the "new" government

Upon issuance of Order 66, Volunteer Navy rebels against Republic/Empire, because of close contact with "free" military, more clones suffer madness from programming errors

Roughly 5% of clones openly rebel, especially in Spacefighter Corps, and side with Volunteer Navy

Formation of Alliance to restore the Republic, Galaxy is divided in thirds;

1/3 Loyal to Empire
1/3 Loyal to Alliance
1/3 Neutral, in hopes of avoiding the Civil War (mostly Outer Rim worlds)

Palpatines forced to sieze most of now de-activated Seperatist equipment to augment Imperial Forces

Alliance also siezes much Seperatist equipment, leading to oddly mixed fleets
Major Alliance worlds; Chandrila, Corellia, Alderaan, Rendili, Sluis Van, Sullust, Dac, Thyferra, Bothawui, Caamas

I prefer possibility 2. Next post shall have large photo update of current fleet and fighters. Also, I'll be outlining a 1/72 Hoth "Realism" project.

Conversions

2009-10-15T20:35:00.000-07:00

Corellian "Star Destroyer" Conversion

A mix of Nova-Star parts, Otterware vessels, and my own. The gunship is from Odyssey Slipways.

Main-line Corellian Cruisers

All the stuff I cleaned and assembled this evening. I'll be working on a new mold tomorrow and a few more casts.

Casting Update

2009-10-15T11:54:00.001-07:00

Well, they'll do for now, but I believe I need to go with a different type of silicon next time. I've been using OOmoo 30 for it's ease of use and cheap overall cost, but I think I'll switch to the MoldMaster line in the future.

Also, my 7 Trade Federation Battleships are en route and should be here by Monday. I intend to use those as the basis for my aggressor force, and a few other Lucrehulk vessels may get repainted for Imperial or Alliance use in the future. They may have been nice targets by the time of the Galactic Civil War, but they would make great Carriers, and did in some cases.

Obligatory Pet Post (Dieter)

2009-10-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

8 weeks old

11 weeks old

22 weeks old

Primary drain on my free time= 5.5 month-old German Wirehaired Pointer

He's already at 52 pounds, and considering the parents were 65 lbs and 75 lbs each, he's gonna be big. He's at least 5 lbs bigger than any of his litter-mates.

Foray-class Gunship

2009-10-14T19:26:00.001-07:00

I'm working on a Plasticard master of something like these so I can get a mold started before the end of this month. I plan on updating the engine pods to something similar to the current CEC offerings.

Hooray!

2009-10-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

Well, the first parts-mold is done! This one consists of 2 "Forward Hull" sections, 1 from the Republic Cruiser and 1 from a Corellian Corvette. Test casting will begin tonight, and hopefully the next mold (of the engine sections) will be done tomorrow.

Concept photos (2) AA-9 Freighter/Transport

2009-10-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

Concept photos (1) Corellian Star Shuttle/Combat Shuttle

2009-10-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

Ships for the "Judicial Navy"

2009-10-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

So, here's the background I've chosen to justify me fleet;

For those of you who know a little about Star Wars canon, the Ruusan Reformation effectively dissolved any organized military forces the Republic posessed in 1,0000 BBY. After the legislative power was for all intents and purposes removed from the Supreme Chancellor and restored to the Senate, the Jedi Order renounced their military ranks and disbanded their troops, placing themselves under the Judicial Departments' jurisdiction.

I will be ignoring the Reformation, as I feel that the concept of a Pan-Galactic government disbanding any organized combat forces it possesses as completely ludicrous, if not idiotic.

That said, I do believe the military would have been down-sized with the newfound peace, but would still be a viable combat entity. I foresee a large number of "Core-centric" designs, especially Corellian and Sienar Systems vessels making up the vast majority of the Republic naval forces.

Here's a breakdown of the ships I intend to use or model;

Capital-class Vessels
Chancellor-class Cruiser (SWMB Republic Cruiser)
Ambassador-class Cruiser (Micromachines Corellian Corvette)
Sentinel-class Light Cruiser (bash of Odyssey Slipways Corvette & SWMB Republic Cruiser)
Senate-class Light Cruiser (Modified SWMB Republic Cruiser)
Various Corellian Vessels, to be produced from bits and detailed later

Escort-class Vessels
CR-70 Corvettes (Odsy Slpwy 1/10,000 Corvette)
D-75 Gunships (Odsy Slpwy 1/10,000 Gunship)
Foray-class Gunships (Scratchbuilt)
Pelta-class Frigate (Scratchbuilt)
Corellian Combat/Star Shuttle (Scratchbuilt)
Command Frigate (Modified SWMB Republic Cruiser)

Starfighters
ARC-170's
Eta-2 Actis'
V-19 Torrents

Photos of New Stuff

2009-10-07T16:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a few comparison shots of my recent purchases;

(L-R) SWMB Republic Cruiser, Otterware Starfire Scout, Odyssey Slipways Radiant VII, Odyssey Slipways Corellian Corvette, Otterware TFN Light Cruiser

(L-R) SWMB Republic Cruiser, Otterware Vagyr Battlecruiser, SWMB Action VI & Modified Action IV, MicroMachines Star Destroyer

Loads of Consulars! (51 to be precise)

Star Wars Miniature Battles

2009-10-07T15:32:00.001-07:00

I know, I know; the words "Collectible Miniatures Game" makes most of us cringe in disgust, but some of them are really cool!!!

I've always loved the Republic's Consular-class vessels, especially the design and paintjob. So, I've decided to use these as my primary Cruiser-type in the Corellian fleet I'm building.

Now, I never said that my fleet would be accurate or canon in composition, simply cool and fitting for Star Wars.

I'll post some photos of my recent acquisitions soon.

First Post

2009-10-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

Well, Corellian Musings...sounds very "new-age", doesn't it? Basically this will chronicle my adventures in shipbuilding for the Pre-Clone Wars and Clone Wars eras. The purchases and scratchbuilds shall reflect a distinct Corellian style, hence the name. I have a number of ongoing projects, but this will be my primary focus for the winter.

Enjoy!