The Chig Carrier

We only see this ship briefly in S:AAB. However it is very memorable with its angular appearance. The most difficult part of making this ship was scribing the lines and trying to make sure they line up. Painting the ship was tedious. The ship was initially painted with steel and then the triangles were individually painted black (if anyone has a faster technique, I would love to hear it). The base is a 1 3/8" from flat to flat. Here is the ship compared to the UNSC carrier:

UNSC John F. Kennedy class carrier

Now switching to Space: Above and Beyond (S:AAB). This was one of the workhorses of the UN space command. Blocky and utilitarian, it is an imposing ship that has a no-nonsense feel. The model was originally from tanker at SCN. Now it is produced by minimodelmadness. This model was slightly modified from the stock model. Window ports were added to accurize the model from pictures from the show. The difficult part of painting this ship was getting the details on the top of the hull to show. Painting the landing lights and the caution stripes were also a challenge (see top view below):

Overall, this was a fun ship to paint and looks impressive when in a squadron.

Klingon Negh'Var

The Klingons started out as enemies and eventually became allies during the timeframe from the original TV series to the Next Generation and DS9. Their ships are sleek and aggressive. We first see the Negh'Var in the finale of TNG, "All Good Things" (although it was actually a variant). The Negh'Var proper was seen during the DS9 Dominion war arc. There has been other Negh'Var models made, notably the Micro Machine model, however, I wanted one in scale with the Jem'Hadar models (1:7000). This was the result. Overall, I am happy with the paint job, although, it could use another coat of paint to tone down the contrast. It is a very detailed model with a considerable number of scribe lines. The bottom is also detailed:

This was a difficult ship to construct. I started over about 3 times before I had a hull form which I liked. All in all, it was a very rewarding to see the finished product. Additional views can be seen in the gallery.

Federation Fleet (SST)

 A small federation fleet from Starship Troopers. Ships consists of an Athena, 3 Rodger Youngs (1 carrier variant and 1 transport variant), 2 Minervas and 3 squadron of TAC fighters. The Rodger Youngs and the Athena are from Minimodelmadness and the Minervas and TAC fighters are from Studio Bergstrom. Even though the ships are from different lines, they go together well.

Minerva Destroyers

In Starship Troopers, we don't get to see any other ships other than the Rodger Young and Athena. One would think there would be other ship classes. These are Minerva class destroyers from Studio Bergstrom. They fit the design asethic of the Federation rather well. The interesting part about this ship is the main guns are asymmetrical. Additional views can be seen in the gallery.

TAC fighters

We see glimpses of the TAC fighter on a carrier on route to planet P and when they perform a bombing run. They can function in both space and atmosphere. It is unclear what their armaments are, but they are fast and deadly. The models were purchased from Studio Bergstrom and are relatively straightforward to paint.

Athena

Here is the Athena from Starship Troopers. We catch a brief glimpse of this ship at the end of the movie. Not much is known about the capabilities of this ship as we never see it in combat. It is definitely larger that the Rodger Young class of ships. This model was from Minimodelmadness and was not detailed in front. The lines in the front were actually painted. A light coat of grey was given to tone down the contrast. Another view of the front:

Rodger Young Carrier Variant

Another variant of the Rodger Young class in the movie. The model was made by cutting out the bridge section of the hull and making a TAC fighter launch/retrieval bay. The communications tower was scratchbuilt. The entire model was then painted as the original Rodger Young. Here is a detail of the launch area:

You can also see the new communications tower in this shot. This is my favorite variant of the Rodger Young class.

Rodger Young Cargo Variant

In the movie, there were several variants of the Rodger Young class of ships. One of them can be best described as a cargo hauler. I modified one of the base models and constructed two cargo modules. I think it turned out fairly well.

The Rodger Young

Starship Troopers wasn't a great movie, but it did have some interesting ship designs. Above is the "hero" ship of the movie, the Rodger Young. The miniature was originally produced by Tanker at the SCN boards. Production is now by Minimodelmadness, who occasionally sells the ship through ebay. Painting the ship was relatively straighforward (a grey basecoat with a dark grey wash and a light grey drybrush). Window ports and running lights were painted by hand. The most difficult element to paint was the numbers on the side of the ship (I don't have the ability to print decals).

Jovian Confederation Fleet

The currently produced Jovian Confederation ships from DP9. I wish DP9 would continue to expand this range as they have some very nice designs in their ship technical manuals. One day, I'll probably scratchbuild the missing ships in the fleet, unless DP9 decides to produce the missing ships.

Cylon Worldstars

Here are 3 generations of Cylon Worldstars. This attempts to show the transition from the older circular form to the current star shaped form. These are large models, as illustrated from the ruler. The left and right ships are from Ravenstar. The one in the middle is from Novastar at Hangar 18 FASA.

Jovian Confederation Godsfire Supercarrier

The heavy hitter of the Jovian Confederation navy. Compared to the other ships, this one was relatively easy to assemble and paint. Again, the ship was painted in blue to maintain a consistent color scheme.

Jovian Confederation Valiant Strike Cruiser

The Valiant strike carrier. The habitation area in this model can rotate freely. According to the JC ship recognition manual, the habitation modules can be in either combat position (as shown above), or in cruising position (as shown below):

What I did with this model was to cut apart the habitation modules and then create hinges from a pin and an 18 gauge needle. The hinge parts were then glued to the main arm and habitation modules. This would allow me to freely adjust the position of the habitation modules. The modules are held in the attack position by magnets. It was a royal pain to make the joints and you have to be careful about opening and closing the habitats, but the results are worth it.

Jovian Confederation Athena Destroyer

The Athena destroyer. For some reason, they call the smaller ships cruisers and the larger ships destroyers. The painting scheme is similar to the pictures posted on the DP9 website, however, I wanted a uniform color pattern for the fleet. That is why this ship is in light blue rather than red.

Jovian Confederation Javelin Missile Cruiser

A pair of JC Javelin missile cruisers. These ships are very similar to the Thunderbolt, except for only one engine and they are missing the ventral gun. Painting these ships is identical to the Thunderbolt.

Jovian Confederation Thunderbolt Cruiser

Switching to the Jovian Chronicles Universe from Dream Pod 9. Here are two Thunderbolt cruisers from the Jovian Confederation faction. These minis are highly detailed and were a bit fiddly to assemble (the side guns were a pain to mount). Painting however was relatively straigtforward. These ships received a white basecoat with a medium blue wash, followed by a white drybrush. The engine block was painted in dark grey with a light grey drybrush. Details of the guns were added with red and steel paint. Engine glow was added (not seen in this orientation). All in all, a very nice ship.

Kharandorn Kreralthra Battleship

The heavy hitter of the Kharandorn Navy. This was a fun ship to paint because fo the large wing area and multiple engine pods. Rather simple assembly, but an aggressive looking ship. One of my favorites in the Cold Navy line.

Kharandorn Rerrorark Carrier

The only known carrier in the Kharadorn Navy. There weren't many large areas to allow for striping. Painting the gradient and the stripes in small areas is challenging, but can be striking if done well. Here is a top view:

The black wash really brings out the details of the main hull.

Kharandorn Darloarkha Battlecruiser

Now we are getting into the heavy fleet elements of the Kharadorn Navy. Again, this was a fun ship to paint because of the large wing area. My only complaint is the wings tend to have raised panels that functions as a border for the orange striping pattern and there are no raised panels on this ship. Also, unless you change the orientation of the stripes, it is difficult to paint the region between the main hull and the engines. However, I do like a painting challenge every once and a while. :-)

Kharandorn Lorraga Heavy Cruiser

Another workhorse of the Kharandorn Navy. The engine pods were a bit fiddly to attach and the inserts in the wings made painting the gradient and the tiger striping a little more difficult. However, the results speak for themselves.

Kharandorn Nargaro Light Cruiser

The workhorse of the Kharandorn Navy. Not much has been published about the class history of these ships, however, I would guess these would be faster and more maneuverable than their respective counterparts in the Cold Navy universe. Again, the large area of the wings and head allows for nice detailing of the ship.

Kharandorn Karria Destroyer

One of the newer ships of the Kharandorn Royal Navy, the Karria is a fast, maneuverable, and deadly ship. The ship has the characteristic "wings" and engine pods. Painting these ships were fun since the wings had enough surface are to allow significant detail. Pictured above is a squadron of 3 of these ships.

Kharandorn Gerrak Frigates

Here is a squadron of Kharandorn Gerrak frigates. I used these to test the color and pattern scheme for the Kharandorn ships. They were also good to practice the tiger stripe pattern I would use on the larger ships. Here is a top view to highlight the striping and details of these ships:

The Kharandorn Royal Navy

A change of pace from the Star Trek universe. Xtreme Hobby made a line of miniatures called Cold Navy which had a well developed background and some very interesting miniatures. One of the factions is called the Kharandorn and from the box art, have ships that are characterized by tiger striping. I though  it would be neat to have an entire fleet painted in this fashion. I managed to get a fleet box before Xtreme Hobby folded. Fortunately, Ravenstar Studios picked up the line and not only are the ships available again, the line is actively being developed. I will be posting pictures of the individual ships over the next few days.

Dominion Fleet

When I saw the Dominion fleet orbiting Cardassia, I wanted to try to build one. The primary reason I got started in making my own miniatures was to create this. The current fleet numbers 1 Battleship, 4 Battlecruisers (2 U-Type, 2 V-Type), 3 Kheldons, 6 Galors, 6 Breen cruisers, 12 Hideki, and 21 Attack ships. The fleet is not complete as I still have several Attack ships and JH Battlecruisers left to be painted. Additionally, reinforcements are coming from the Gamma Quadrant and the Breen Confederacy. The Alpha Quadrant is going to have a bad day.

Cardassians

The Cardassians were the main antagonists for most of DS9. Their ships are reminiscent of rays with the wide front and thin body. As far as miniatures go, Studio Bergstrom produces a Galor and Kheldon which are very close to 1:7000. His Hideki, however, is a little on the large side, so I created my own. Here is a picture of the official Cardassian ships (from left to right: Kheldon, Hideki, Galor).

Breen Tha Taan Cruiser

According to Wikipedia, the Breen are a treacherous race who were powerful allies of the Dominion. Their ships have organic components and are equipped with an energy dampening field which they used to great effect during the battle of Chin'toka. The asymmetric design of the ship is fairly unique in the ST universe (the Borg renegade ship is the only other one I can think of). There are no good references for the size of these ships. The dimensions from Ex Astris places them about the size of a light cruiser/heavy destroyer. A comparison with a micromachine Vor'cha is shown below.

This was a fun ship to make and paint.