Sizing up fighters

Someone asked about space fighters over at The Minaitures Page.  That made me realize that although I previously posted measurements of my Starfleet Wars/Galactic Knights ships, I had neglected to do the same for my SfW/GK fighters (called "Star Fighter Attack Craft" in Starfleet Wars and just "fighters" in Galactic Knights).

Top: Terran Meteor & Comet; Aquarian Eel & Pike.
Bottom: Avarian Raven; Carnivore Leopard; Entomalian Mosquito.

Here, then, are measurements for the fighters pictured above:

Terrans

• Meteor: 20mm
• Comet: 19mm

Aquarians

• Eel: 16mm
• Pike: 11mm

Avarians

• Bluejay: 13mm

Carnivores

• Leopard: 15mm

Entomalians

• Mosquito: 18mm

Note my collection is missing Raven (Av), Bobcat (Carn), and Gnat (Ent) fighters. 

Calling all starfleets ...

A few of my Starfleet Wars/Galactic Knights ships.

One of the reasons I started this blog was to let other fans of the Starfleet Wars/Galactic Knights line of miniatures know they're not alone.  That works the other way, too--I now know I'm not the only gamer who collects and paints these spaceships.

For example, maxmike (incidentally, the creator of Mekton and Cyberpunk 2020) mentioned his SfW collection in a comment on on my first post on this blog. 

More recently, RavenFeast left a comment in my star bombers WIP post with a link to his own gallery, which includes quite a few Terrans and Entomalians he's been using for Firestorm Armada.

By following a link to Leland's/BlackWidowPilot's gallery from this unrelated thread on The Miniatures Page, I discovered his pictures of some Aquarian starships (link takes you to the first photo).  Not only that, but over in the gallery at Starship Combat News, there's a picture of some Terran ships that appear to be painted by the same person.

I've found a couple of versions of the Entomalian Web space station: This version, used for Battlefleet Gothic, on a message board for Warhammer and related games; and another version, part of a workbench article on The Miniatures Page.  Of course, the Galactic Knights Yahoo group gallery (members only) also has images of painted GK starships.

Even though I've scoured the Internet, I'm sure there are other gamers with SfW/GK ship collections.  So post those pics online (if you haven't already done so), send me your links, and I'll be happy to post them here.  Or if you don't have access to a camera, just tell us about the paint schemes for your ships.  Either way, you're not alone!

The Blogs of War Don't Capitulate

The Blogs of War, "A list of 948 wargames blogs - any period, any scale," aggregates wargaming-related blogs, listing new posts from each blog it adds to its list.  Well, yesterday I noticed some visitors had boarded the Dreadnought from Blogs of War.  I went over there to check and, sure enough, earlier this month Blogs of War added Super Galactic Dreadnought to its blogroll. 

Thanks, folks!  I'm greatful for being added, and I'm also thankful for the service this site provides wargamers, helping us find others with similar gaming interests.  Blogs of War is a great resource for gamers of all genres--I've added a couple of blogs I found on it to my own blogroll--and I encourage you to check it out.

Oh, and the title of this post is a reference to a (post-Roger Waters) Pink Floyd song that comes into my head every time I see the name of that blog.

Sci-Fi of Christmas Past

No, I didn't get any science fiction or gaming-related gifts for Christmas this year.  Instead, I got clothes, which is what I needed and asked for.  I guess that means I'm growing up--at least a little.  Still the holiday has me reflecting on past Yuletide holidays, and the gifts I received as a young space cadet.

I was interested in astronomy and science fiction from a young age, but I don't remember getting many space-oriented toys until Star Wars with its massive merchandising.  One year, I got a book I still enjoy, Space Wars, Worlds & Weapons.

Once the movie toys started coming out, my brother and I could expect vehicles under the tree and action figures in our stockings.  I'm sure everyone else around my age has similar memories of the Original Trilogy and its associated products, so I won't go into detail here about the cool Star Wars toys I got over the years at Christmas.

Before that, however, my brother and I received some sort of plastic building blocks--not Legos, but some generic brand that wasn't compatible with any other brick set.  I think they were even called Bricks or something like that.  The typical piece was flatter and wider than a Lego, and the pins were much narrower.  The pictures on the box showed you could make all sorts of hi-rise buildings that all looked like mid-20th century urban architecture.  Of course, I quickly used these bricks to make all kinds of spaceships.

One year, the Micronauts toy line came out.  There was even a Marvel comic book featuring many of the characters and vehicles.  One of my favorites was the Battle Cruiser, a huge toy that separated into multiple vehicles and carried several characters.  I had seen it in the comic book and in advertisements, but I didn't have any Micronauts stuff.  In the month leading up to Christmas, my brother and I started building our own version of the Battle Cruiser from our brick blogs.  Our home-grown design was shaped like the commercial version and even split into several different ships, just like its inspiration.  I don't know if my brother and I were purposefully dropping hints--I knew it, at least on a subconsious level--but our parents noticed what we were doing.  That Christmas, under the tree, Santa had left us this:

What science fiction toys do you remember receiving as a gift, at Christmas, for your birthday, or any other time?

The Five Powers

In the galaxy there are five empires ranging from the powerful to the weak, the numerous to the few, the conniving to the naive, the treacherous to the unsuspecting.

--Starfleet Wars, p. 3

Commenting on my post with photos of my Aquarian ships, Porky asked the provenance of that species's name, wondering if the term was astronomical in origin.  His question made me realize not every reader will be familiar with the Starfleet Wars setting, so I will briefly discuss the background of the Five Powers--a quintet of sapient species, each with its distinctive starship design motif. 

Terran Federation starships are arrowhead-shaped, implying force in a certain direction.  Vessels of the Aquarian Alliance are bulbous and smooth, befitting their watery origin.  Avarian United Words spacecraft sport delicate, necklike projections from a wide body, ending in beaked prows.  Carnivoran Republic ships are muscular in appearance, either squat or lean, conveying the impression of a predator.  Spaceships of the Entomalian Enpire are jagged and asymmetrical, suggesting an organic construction process.

According to the Starfleet Wars rulebook, the two main players in the SfW galaxy are the Terrans and the Entomalians, who have been "vying for control of the galaxy for several centuries."  Three other species share the galactic stage.  The Avarians have the most powerful ships, while the Aquarians have the fewest, and the Carnivores are "a race of vicious barbarians."  The Directory & Identification Manual offers more details on each of the Five Powers.

TERRAN FEDERATION: According to the Observer's Directory & Identification Manual, humanity's home planet endured a nuclear war in 1987.  (You think I'd remember something like that!)  Not too long after that, the Entomalian massacre took place.  The book tells us the Avarians contributed a great deal to the restoration of the planet, but the Terrans' crucial cities and factories moved to Mars and the Moon, where the "first primitive intergalactic battlefleet was constructed."  The SfW rules describe the Terran fleets as "relatively numerous, well armed and well protected. ... The Terran Federation has been intact for centuries and has always managed to defend its territories."

ENTOMALIAN EMPIRE: As their name implies, the Entomalians are an insectoid species with three castes: workers, warriors, and rulers, that exist in "a continuous state of war,"  the ID Manual tells us.  The Entomalians live on jungle planets, burrowing deep underground.  These four-armed, two-legged sophonts possess exoskeletons, breathe through pores in their thorax, and are slightly slower than humans.  The SfW rulebook states their military is not as well developed as the humans' but is far more numerous.  The Ents use their numbers to box in foes and destroy them with firepower from all directions.

AVARIAN UNITED WORLDS: This birdlike species evolved on an arid world with a surface gravity lighter than that of Earth, the ID Manual notes.  Avarians have hollow bones and are slightly smaller than humans, with a correspondingly faster metabolism.  They dwell in cities built atop stiltlike towers, separated by large tracts of irrigated agricultural land.  As the SfW book states, Avarians use diplomacy to achieve the territorial expansion their lack of numbers would otherwise inhibit.  The rulebook also notes the Avarians' vessels are individually the "most powerful ships in existence."

AQUARIAN ALLIANCE: These amphibians inhabit the equatorial oceans of their homeworlds, according to the ID Manual, usually at 70 meters or below.  Aquarians use organs similar to the gills of terrestrial fish to filter oxygen from seawater, and these organs can also remove atmospheric toxins.  The current monarchy ruling the Alliance has been in power for fourteen generations.  The Starfleet Wars rulebook informs us the Aquarians prefer to fight from a distance behind their defensive shielding.  The Aquarian Alliance is also the only one of the Five Powers that equips its starships with an invisibility shield.

CARNIVORAN REPUBLIC: The ID Manual portrays Carnivores as muscular and long-winded, thanks to the barren environment of their home planet.  The various city-states of this species engage in constant conflict; ground engagements usually being fought with stun pistol and energy axe.  According to the SfW rules, the Carnivores prefer close-range space combat as well; they use their energy damping beams to neutralize enemies' long-range weaponry so the Carnivores can close in for the kill.

The Age of Aquarians

Sorry, I just had to go with that title for this blog post (pop culture reference here).  I've posted these ships on Starship Combat News previously, but I thought I would put them up here as well.  This is my Aquarian fleet:

Group (or is it school?) photo.



I have about 21 fighters that I need to get painted so these carriers have something to carry:

Two Stingray-class galactic attack carriers.

 I had fun painting these as well; I used various metallic colors on top of the blue; I think it gives a nice piscine look to the vessels.

Shark-class battlecruiser.

 Ooooooh! Barracuda!

Barracuda-class stellar cruisers.

 I have three more destroyers painted as well as the two pictured here.  And that's my entire Aquarian fleet.

Piranha-class stellar destroyers.



Entomolians--just because

I've had these Entomolian ships painted for quite awhile, but I don't think I ever posted them to this blog.  I had fun painting these to achieve an iridescent look.

Hornet-class stellar cruiser.

Hornet (left) and Hive-class galactic attack carrier.

Hive and Hornet on maneuvers.

I have the most fun painting the bugs' ships, because I get to use so many different colors.  I still have two battlecruisers and another carrier left to paint, along with the Ents' super galactic dreadnought.