Cold Navy Mauridians

It's been a while since my last post. I did manage to paint and photograph several fleets during my absence, however, real life and other interests took over last year so I wasn't as motivated to post. Recently, I got the itch to paint and photograph again and decided to update with a new entry.

Here is the Mauridian fleet from Ravenstar Studios Cold Navy line. I decided to go with a green dazzle pattern that was based on the original drawings of the Marudian fleet. A close up of one of their battleships his here.

The ships themselves are well cast and easy to assemble. The ships look sleek and aggressive and were fun to paint. The main difficulty was painting the white stripe of the dazzle pattern (my eyes and hands are not as sharp and steady as they once were).

According to the fluff, the Mauridians emphasize small ships over large, and that is reflected in the sheer variety of frigates and destroyers that this faction has. The numbers and dazzle pattern makes for an impressive looking fleet. Additional pictures can be found in the gallery section. Again, any comments or criticism is appreciated.

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.