Nemesis Fleet

Zandris IV Miniatures makes some very nice ships in the style of the PC game Homeworld. He also made these ships which have a alien, crystalline look. I have never seen any painted versions of these ships, so I decided to try my hand at painting. This is a small squadron of 7 Yamas and 1 Azrael ships. Painting started with an undercoat of light grey with white highlites. The entire ship then received several layers of pearlescent white and then metallic/pearlescent paint was added to add some color/contrast. A closeup of the Yama is below:

The pearlescent white give a crystalline look to the ships which makes them feel that they were grown rather than welded. Here is the Azrael:

The grey/white undercoating give a nice contrast to the raised areas that is not too drastic. Some very nice ships which, unfortunately, no longer available.

Federation Constitution class cruiser

This was one of the first miniatures I painted. I got into miniatures through Amarillo Design Bureau's Star Fleet Battles. Some of the earliest miniatures I possessed were the Federation ships by Lou Zocchi. After seeing numerous painted samples of this ship online, I wanted to try my hand painting one. There aren't that many surface details on this ship, so I looked at a considerable number of pictures before deciding how to paint it. The coloring pattern is based of the painting guide from ADBs website. I added panel lines to the saucer section and some homemade decals for the registration. They are more easily seen in this shot:

Painting consisted of a white basecoat followed by panel lines in light grey. Several thin topcoats of white were added to reduce the contrast. Grey and red details were then added. The warp engines were painted red then orange lines were added to simulate active engines. Decals were then added. Aside from the decals, everything was hand painted.

I even added some details to the underside.

This miniature won one of the painting contests sponsored by ADB when they were starting to release new metal miniatures for their Starline 2400 series ships. I am rather fond of this mini and am very happy with how it turned out.

Expanded Jem'Hadar Fleet

I have been busy clearing my workbench for the past 2 months, hence the lack of posts. One of my active projects was to flesh out and complete the Jem'Hadar fleet. I can now say that the fleet is almost complete. I need just a few more Attack ships, however, the capital ships are done and here is the results. The fleet consists of 1 Battleship, 2 U-type battlecruisers, 2 V-type battlecruisers, 6 Cruisers, 8 destroyers and 14 attack ships.

Here is a close up of some of the cruisers. It follows the lines of the battleship and functions primary as an fleet escort. A closeup of the destroyer is here.

It is based on a preliminary design from John Eaves for the JH Battlecruiser. I decided to turn it into a destroyer. Its is designed for independent patrol and support for the Attack ships (in case more firepower than a squadron of attack ships are required). In a fleet action, it functions in a similar role as the attack ships to kill off damaged ships and protect against small attackers. It took a long time to make and paint these ships, however, I think the effort was worth it. Definitely an imposing fleet with a consistent design aesthetic. Probably my favorite fleet.

NAC Fleet

Here is a photo of the NAC fleet. Not as impressive as the Sa'Vasku fleet posted earlier, however. I'll need to obtain some additional Firestorm II fighters to flesh out the fighter complement as well as some additional light ships for escorts. Still a nice fleet with a distinctive design aesthetic.

NAC Fighters

The NAC has two primary fighters in their inventory. The Firestorm II (pictured above) is their main light fighter, focusing more on fighter-fighter combat. The heavier Phantom (pictured below) is designed more for an assault role.

NAC Ark Royal Supercarrier

The most numerous carrier in the NAC fleet. The Ark Royal is primarily a fighter platform. Its armament is defensive in nature, however, it can occasionally engage in ship-to-ship combat. I can carry 6 flights of fighters. Defensively, it relies on armor and shields and PDS. An impressive looking model.

NAC Inflexible Light Fleet Carrier

The Inflexible light fleet carrier is used in situations that do not demand the firepower or fighter complement of the larger Ark Royal carrier. It carries four flights of fighters, suitable for most fighter operations. Defensively, the ship is protected by armor and defensive screens. Armament is primarily defensive.

NAC Valley Forge Superdreadnought

The Valley Forge Superdreadnought is the largest capital ship in the NAC navy. It is heavily armed with beam weapons and carries 2 flights of fighters. There are some variants which replace the fighter bays with salvo missile systems. A well armed and armored ship.

NAC Excalibur Battledreadnought

A recent addition to the NAC fleet, the Excalibur is well armed with batteries and pulse torpedoes. This makes it ideal for independent operations as well as for long range strike missions. The ship can also cary a flight of fighters for additional defense or firepower (whatever is needed at that moment).

NAC Victoria Battleship

A battleship designed for long range patrols. The Victoria is armed with batteries and pulse torpedoes. It has no expendable armament, which makes it ideal for independent operations. There are additional mission-specific variants, however, the basic Victoria design has served the NAC well.

NAC Majestic Battlecruiser

Strictly a ship of the line. Unlike other NAC ships, its primary armament consists of missiles, with beam weapons serving a supporting role. It is not designed for independent operations. The ships shares a similar design lineage with the Victoria class Battleship..

NAC Vandenberg Heavy Cruiser

I apologize for the lack of posts recently. Kids started school and brought home a virus which floored the entire household for about 2 weeks. Just recently felt well enough to start painting and posting again. Now we are reaching the heavy hitters of the NAC fleet. This is the Vandenberg Heavy Cruiser. Pretty much designed for anti-ship action. There is a variant which sacrifices maneuverability for increased firepower. 

NAC Furious Escort Cruiser

Here is the NAC Furious escort cruiser. It is one of the most common ships in the NAC fleet and is used for both escort and patrol duties. It comes in torpedo armed and salvo missile armed variants. Painting this ship was relatively straightforward. Start with a white basecoat, add a black wash, follow with a white drybrush, then pick out the details with white.

NAC Huron Light Cruiser

Here is the second of the 2 posts today, the Huron light cruiser. From Fleet Book 1, the Huron is a rebuild of the earlier Hoshino class light cruiser.  Because of the lack of a replacement CL design, the Huron was a result of a study to extend the operational life of the Hoshino. It turned out better than expected. Primarly armed with beam weapons, it is also the smallest NAC ship to support screens for defense.

NAC Ticonderoga Destroyers

I apologize in the delay in posting. I have been on vacation for the past week and work has been keeping me busy. To compensate, this will be the first of 2 post today. We'll start with the NAC Ticonderoga destroyer. One of the older destroyer types in the NAC fleet. The class is primarily armed with beam weapons and PDS. This ship was painted with a white basecoat followed by a black wash then a white drybrush. Details were then picked out (such as the engines). The NAC emblem was then painted on. A relatively straigtforward color scheme.

NAC Tacoma Heavy Frigate

One of the newer ships in the NAC fleet. A good all around ship. There is also a anti-fighter and torpedo variant of this ship.

NAC MInerva Frigates.

A refit of the older Miyazaki class frigates, the Minerva is designed for close support. A variant exists which replaces some of the beam weapons with point defense systems. This allows the ship to provide close anti-fighter support for convoy escorts or in a fleet. A relatively straightforward ship to paint.

NAC Arapaho Corvette

Here are a trio of NAC Arapaho corvettes. A relatively weak ship, however has some armor to improve its survivability. It is armed with beams and occasionally a submunition pack. Ships were painted using a white basecoat followed by a black wash and highlighted with white. Details were painted and finally, the NAC emblem was added.

NAC Harrison Scoutship

According to Fleet Book 1, the NAC employ primarily multi-role ships in their fleet. Ships are armed with a mix of beams, pulse torpedoes and salvo missiles. Defensively, the rely on screens and their ships are relatively mobile. Here are the scouts of the NAC fleet, the Harrison class. It is primarily used for courier and recon duties. An older design that relies more on armour rather than speed in combat.

NAC Fighters

After a brief stint in the Star Trek Universe, we return to the Tuffyverse (Full Thrust). In FT, the New Anglican Confederation consists of what is currently the UK, Canada, and the US (please correct me if I'm wrong). It is one of the for main human factions in this universe. The NAC tends to use fighters in an offensive role, relying on escorts to protect their carriers. Above is the mainline fighter for the NAC, the Firestorm II. They also field a heavier fighter called the Phantom, which is designed more for an assault role.

The Breen Fleet

The Breen are an interesting race in the ST universe. Their ships are partially organic and they are apparently a very Machiavellian race. Class for class, their ships are smaller than the corresponding ships from the other factions in the Alpha quadrant, however, because of their energy disruption weapon, they can be particularly deadly. Here is a size comparison of all the Breen ships (the Tha Taan, the "official" Breen ship, is the second on the right). I tried to capture the design aesthetic of the Breen with a large boom on the right, sweeping curves and the asymmetric design. I think the unofficial ships capture the aesthetic well and the ships look like they were created by the same race. It does make a impressive fleet.

Additional pictures can be seen in the galleries.

Breen Ghor Taan Battlecruiser

Here is the Breen Ghor Taan Battlecruiser. The ship was designed in response to the development of the Klingon Vor'Cha and the Federation Nebula class ships. Designed for fleet combat, it is always surrounded by escorts. The energy disruptors coupled with the increased phaser armament means this ship packs a punch. The larger mass also allows it to take an increased amount of punishment as well. Painting this ship required painting all for parts separately then assembling the ship (the underside boom is more easily seen in the following photo). Final details were added after assembly.

Breen Ghan Lak Destroyer

Here is the Breen Ghan Lak Destroyer. The Breen energy draining weapon allows it to tackle large than expected for its size. It is designed for independent operations and in a fleet combat situation, runs in wolf-packs to harass and soften up opponents, as well as finish them off once the major fleet elements arrive. When designing this ship, I tried to maintain the general lines of the Breen cruiser so it is immediately recognizable which race the ship belongs to. I think I was successful in this case.

Breen Ral Koan Escort

In Star Trek, the Breen are a treacherous race allied with the Dominion during the Dominion War. Their ships are unique due to their assymetric nature and use of organic omponenets. We only see one Breen ship during the run of DS9. However, a fleet cannot be made by only one ship and one can only wonder what are some of the other ships were like. This is my interpretation of the rest of the Breen fleet. Here is the Ral Koan escort. This ship is designed for independent scouting duties as well as to escort larger ships.  It is equipped with a cloaking device as well as the dreaded Breen energy disruptor.

Sa'Vasku Fleet

Here is a beauty shot of my entire Sa'Vasku fleet. It took a while to collect all the ships and get them painted, but the end result is impressive.

Definitely not a fleet you want to be staring down in a remote region of the galaxy.

Ku'Tho'Ra Drone Fighters

The equivalent of fighters in the Sa'Vasku. Ku'Tho'Ra drones are generated in drone wombs in large Sa'Vasku ships. The number of drones that a Sa'Vasku ship can generate is limited by its biomass.

Var'Tuur'Sha Attack Cruiser

A relatively large cruiser, the Var'Tuur'Sha was designed to attack ships and installations. Design wise, it is a departure from the horizontally oriented Sa'Vasku ships.

The profile implies a fast attack ship suitable to attack its targets and withdraw quickly.

Var'Konn'Sha Light Cruiser

The Var'Konn'Sha is a relatively new light cruiser in the Sa'Vasku arsenal. Its mass is higher than the Var'Aar'Sha. The UN designation of "Sneaker" implies it was designed for independent strike operations behind enemy lines.

Fo'Vann'Ath Destroyer

Some of the newer models for the Sa'Vasku from GZG. Here is the Fo'Vann'Ath destroyer. It is larger than the Fo'Vur'Ath so the equivalent classification in human navies would be a heavy destroyer.

Vas'Kaan'Rosh Superdreadnought

The Vas'Kaan'Rosh the other super dreadnought in the Sa'Vasku arsenal. It has a slight reduction in firepower than the larger Vas'Sa'Rosh. Like its larger brother, it can also produce 6 drone fighters. Like the rest of the Sa'Vasku fleet, a dangerous ship.

Vas'Sa'Teth Heavy Carrier

A variant of the Vas'Sa'Rosh, the Vas'Sa'Teth is optimized to carry 24 Ku'Tho'Ra drone fighters. It is a massive ship (it has to convert its own mass into drone fighters). It is always escorted so it can devote all of its energy to producing fighters.

Vas'Sa'Rosh Superdreadnought

A particularly nasty Sa'Vasku ship. In addition to its suite of pod launchers and stinger nodes, it also carries a flight of Ku'Tho'Ra drones. This is also the main transport ship for the Sa'Vasku if they need to leave their homeworlds.

Sla'Tha'Rosh Heavy Battleship

This is the smallest regular warship to carry drones. It is heavily armed and armored and can give as well as take considerable punishment.

Ann'Var'Teth Battleship

The main battleline ship of the Sa'Vasku. A tough ship with considerable firepower and protection.

Shyy'Tha'Var Battlecruiser

Now we are reaching the heavy hitters of the Sa'Vasku fleet. The Shyy'Tha'Var has a tough carapace and can take as well as dish out plenty of punishment. The addition of pod launchers adds the equivalent of torpedoes for long range firepower. The ship was painted in the same fashion as the previous Sa'vasku ships.