Remember my old boarding pods? I've updated the design a bit...


The way I see it these are used to board enemy ships. Whilst the shuttles are also capable of doing this, the boarding pods emit some sort of 'counter field' that allow them to penetrate the enemy's Distortion Engine's field (since normally matter is turned into energy by these things).

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Look what just became available at Bits Blitz: link.

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Started on something of a distraction: transport ships. These lack the Distortion Engines the larger ships have, so they are dependent on stuff like cruisers. However, their main advantage is that they can enter a planet's atmosphere without completely disintegrating it due to the Distortion Engine's field, making the perfect craft to supply the vast Ecoria hive cities.





Plan is to have a few variants of these, primarily some different types of containers. Another wish is to make a bunch of smaller ones. Maybe this is just me unconsciously trying to postpone the redesigning of the modular cruiser kit...

Oh yeah, to give you an idea of scale:

The middle ship, which I had already printed is 37mm long. The blockade runner (on the right) is about 42mm long, whilst the transport ship, once complete will be around 52mm.

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I continued working on the ship. Thing is that I'm in a bit of doubt at the moment. I also made a slightly shorter version of the transport ship, I'm kinda digging it since it looks sturdier. Which one do you guys think looks better?

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longer

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Updated the design once again. Removed the turrets, added a bridge (!!!). I know...quite a thing coming from me. The reasoning is two-fold: (a) since these craft are meant to also travel to a planet's surface, they would need something more meant for '2d flight', meaning they work more as aquatic ships in a way. (b) this more 'conventional' thing might make the ships more compatible with other games, but also add a certain crudeness to it which I kinda like. These are supposed to be simply work horse kinda ships, not the sophisticated military gear such as the previous escorts and cruisers.



Need to add some more details to the tanks and then this one is good to go. I noticed that I could also add other stuff to be transported, the back of the ship is basically the 'ship', with the cargo just being a removeable attachment (at least in the background, not sure if I want this to be a multipart kit). I am pondering a bit about another type of transporter, more meant for colonisation, able to carry a few 300x300x300 meter cubes... (hint hint hint...)

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Got a feeling the ship is almost finished. I'm sticking to a single piece model for now due to easy castability. However, I've got two models now: one transport ship with two tanks, and another one with three.






All the ship needs now is some additional detailing here and there.

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So I decided to try out modular...

Some pics:



Here are the four parts needed to make a three tank ship. Two of the tanks are identical, the front one is a unique piece. It looks too cool to ditch, at least in my humble opinion. In the meantime I could try to come up with other components that fit as 'carriages' in between the tanks.

The second pic shows how the tanks are connected to one another.

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By the way, I've put my old escorts up on Shapeways for those interested in getting some ships: LINK.

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I've been tweaking my existing escorts, let me know what you think!

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I like the direction of the new escorts. They look good!

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Nice! They would look very good in a Mechanicus fleet!

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Continued with the ships. The one in the back/left has been given some larger guns, enabling it to actually give out a punch in combat, making it akin to a corvette version of a Sword/Gladius Frigate I guess? The guns need a bit of extra work, and then it's just adding some final details here and there.

The ship on the right/front has been modified as well. Brought back the torpedo tubes, removed the guns at the back and put them at the front. The whole bridge/tower part still needs to be made. I'm also tempted to make some sort of turret/cannon on the top of the hull, not sure yet though..


In the meanwhile I also started working on a light cruiser. The "body" with the bridge and engines still need to be added, as are the weapon systems and the rest.

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Continuing with the Light Cruiser:

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