[MOC] KdaptPreacher's 1:1455 Fleet --- 206 ships and counting (New: Ahsoka's Shuttle, Fondor Haulcraft)

[Kdapt-Preacher]

14 minutes ago, Kage Goomba said:

Found this - oddly there's not one damn video on the net.

People love skipping cut-scenes.

TIE Bomber - hatch opens up below - rack tilts - down she goes into space - rapid deployment system.

Likening to Babylon 5's way of launching Star Fury's

Not quite as elegant in terms of how an ISD does it from what little we know - but you get the idea.

 

This video has it, at around 2:00. As best as I can tell they're launching out of a Nebulon-B2 rather than an ImpStar in that specific instance, but I'll take your word for it that the game shows ISDs using those racks as well (it would shock me if they had more than the one animation sequence). It makes perfectly good sense, and like I said, that basic method is still canon with the Gozantis so it's reasonable to assume that other ships do it as well (FractalSponge's Vigil-class in Legends, for example) but I don't think anybody's followed that thread with ISDs specifically in the last couple of decades.

I'm a huge fan of FractalSponge's work--I made his Vigil-class already, and my Customs Corvette is influenced by his as well--but he subscribes to an idiosyncratic and (in my opinion) slightly crazy view of canon, many of the details of which haven't been updated since 1980 or so (as you can tell from the fact that he still insists on calling them Imperators rather than Imperials...). He wants Star Wars to be a much harder military sci fi than it ever has been, and while everybody occasionally has to ignore the parts of canon that don't make any sense (like the 144 fighters thing), that community ignores a lot more canon that I personally think is reasonable. Their view is that "it would make more sense if..." trumps virtually everything else, to the degree that their picture of the SW universe often has very little in common with what's actually depicted on-screen. There's plenty of great content over there, but there's also a lot of stuff that I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole--at some point you just have to be able to accept that, like, trying to correlate reactor volumes to the specific energy yields of various weapons isn't going to make anybody happy, and trying to bend the SW universe until the numbers line up is very clearly the path to the Dark Side.

[Kage Goomba]

4 minutes ago, Kdapt-Preacher said:

This video has it, at around 2:00. As best as I can tell they're launching out of a Nebulon-B2 rather than an ImpStar in that specific instance, but I'll take your word for it that the game shows ISDs using those racks as well (it would shock me if they had more than the one animation sequence). It makes perfectly good sense, and like I said, that basic method is still canon with the Gozantis so it's reasonable to assume that other ships do it as well (FractalSponge's Vigil-class in Legends, for example) but I don't think anybody's followed that thread with ISDs specifically in the last couple of decades.

I'm a huge fan of FractalSponge's work--I made his Vigil-class already, and my Customs Corvette is influenced by his as well--but he subscribes to an idiosyncratic and (in my opinion) slightly crazy view of canon, many of the details of which haven't been updated since 1980 or so (as you can tell from the fact that he still insists on calling them Imperators rather than Imperials...). He wants Star Wars to be a much harder military sci fi than it ever has been, and while everybody occasionally has to ignore the parts of canon that don't make any sense (like the 144 fighters thing), that community ignores a lot more canon that I personally think is reasonable. Their view is that "it would make more sense if..." trumps virtually everything else, to the degree that their picture of the SW universe often has very little in common with what's actually depicted on-screen. There's plenty of great content over there, but there's also a lot of stuff that I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole--at some point you just have to be able to accept that, like, trying to correlate reactor volumes to the specific energy yields of various weapons isn't going to make anybody happy, and trying to bend the SW universe until the numbers line up is very clearly the path to the Dark Side.

The Video - wow....good find. If you watch it - you'll notice that is not even close to a Nebula B Frigate - its obvious the fighter is being lowered out of an ISD :P (at least to me hehe). And yes they reuse that scene for every-thing - so yeah. But for a game that old - have to admit - it fits...for most situations. ISD wise.

In truth there's not much revealed about what's over the hanger ceiling (over space) - so a "rack on rails" system for TIE's. - It's common accepted "military" practice to have something akin to a "Alert 5" method in terms of rapid launch. So having a rack of TIE's ready to go at a moments notice kind of make sense.

Granted other cross sections show "smaller bays" on the walls for fighters to fly out and out. So I could be summarily shut down. Personally after reading so many books that discuss methods of TIE Fighter launches in sudden succession - I'd like to think my method fits better. One comes to mind where Thrawn orders the Chimera to show her belly off to a target and spew fighters out directly - and another where someone does that backwards - etc. Don't remember which books.

So don't sweat the detail - I'm not going to be picky in your chosen method - as its kind of a fun little playground that not many wander through.

Frankly I don't give a damn what people say because there's nothing to prove its canon or not short of conclusions being drawn from what is seen. So its all fair game honestly.

As to Fractal - I don't know the guy and I was only looking for a hanger drawing - and his "interpretation" on "that point" seems to line up with my rack/drop method. Everyone past that is subject to correction. My viewpoint is one of obvious common sense - structure - rationality. People are too quick to draw to conclusions and take some random "Reddit thread" or something on "wookieepedia" as "holy text" and not "someones "best guess"" - my classic examples is the KDY Firespray Patrol Craft that Boba Fett fly's that people are now calling a "gunship" because Disney said so. When for years it was understood as something very different.

Granted its black vs "asphalt" or "tar" in terms of discussion - I'm just loose and you can call me conservative when it comes to ship tech.

As long as the specs line up - and the model fits - I'm happy - even if the name is in contention let alone details.

Bottom line - end of the day the Executor is massive - with no blueprints to the level of detail we/you need - your free to go as you see fit.

 

I'm just glad to get in on the discussion - I love this stuff. :D - I only wish I could be there to build one with you - would be a dream task.

[Kdapt-Preacher]

9 minutes ago, Kage Goomba said:

The Video - wow....good find. If you watch it - you'll notice that is not even close to a Nebula B Frigate - its obvious the fighter is being lowered out of an ISD :P (at least to me hehe). And yes they reuse that scene for every-thing - so yeah. But for a game that old - have to admit - it fits...for most situations. ISD wise.

Oh, no, the animation is definitely based on an ISD. I meant that in the specific mission that that video shows I'd thought they'd started in a Nebulon, but I think I had the wrong level and that that's the ISD-1 Garrett in the video.

Edited January 28, 2022 by Kdapt-Preacher

[Kage Goomba]

1 minute ago, Kdapt-Preacher said:

Oh, no, the animation is definitely based on an ISD. I meant that in the specific mission that that video shows I'd thought they'd started in a Nebulon, but I think I had the wrong level and that that's the ISD-1 Garrett in the video.

Ah...ok - and I remember that mission - played the game for hours and hours - always thought it was very..weird they did that.

[Kdapt-Preacher]

Just now, Kage Goomba said:

Ah...ok - and I remember that mission - played the game for hours and hours - always thought it was very..weird they did that.

I was in the middle of editing the previous comment, but you already replied, so screw it. My understanding of the Cross-Sections's take on TIE launches is more Battlestar Galactica rather than Babylon 5. Their vision is that the TIEs land in the ship through the main hangar, are refueled and rearmed and everything, and are then moved internally into dedicated launch tubes that can spit them out all in a line much faster than they could launch individually from a hangar or even from racks, like they do with Vipers in BSG. There isn't really enough room in the roof of an ISD's hangar to launch most of its fighters from racks like that; you'd have to have some kind of complicated rail system to move the empty racks out and new fighters in place to launch, which would defeat the whole point of the rapid-launch system. You can have a couple, like FractalSponge shows, but 72 racks would take up the entire ceiling of the bay and would have to be very obvious, even when the hatches were closed. Something like the Vigil-class that only carries two squadrons or so can launch everything at once from racks, and something like Executor has so much roof space that it can do whatever the hell it wants, but an ISD is in a bit of an awkward place with 72 fighters and not that large an opening to drop them through.

[Kage Goomba]

2 minutes ago, Kdapt-Preacher said:

I was in the middle of editing the previous comment, but you already replied, so screw it. My understanding of the Cross-Sections's take on TIE launches is more Battlestar Galactica rather than Babylon 5. Their vision is that the TIEs land in the ship through the main hangar, are refueled and rearmed and everything, and are then moved internally into dedicated launch tubes that can spit them out all in a line much faster than they could launch individually from a hangar or even from racks, like they do with Vipers in BSG. There isn't really enough room in the roof of an ISD's hangar to launch most of its fighters from racks like that; you'd have to have some kind of complicated rail system to move the empty racks out and new fighters in place to launch, which would defeat the whole point of the rapid-launch system. You can have a couple, like FractalSponge shows, but 72 racks would take up the entire ceiling of the bay and would have to be very obvious, even when the hatches were closed. Something like the Vigil-class that only carries two squadrons or so can launch everything at once from racks, and something like Executor has so much roof space that it can do whatever the hell it wants, but an ISD is in a bit of an awkward place with 72 fighters and not that large an opening to drop them through.

A fair argument - if anything the drop racks could be for specialized fighters that don't fit the rank and file of a TIE or TIE Bomber/Interceptor - more specailized fighter craft that may need dedicated space away from the main bay.

 

But in any case - call it a preference - ISD has a lot of space - its a big ship really - but your argument has a great deal of validity in any case.

Granted we're not talking about 1000's of fighters in this scale as an ISD isn't going to carry that.

[Kdapt-Preacher]

10 hours ago, Kage Goomba said:

A fair argument - if anything the drop racks could be for specialized fighters that don't fit the rank and file of a TIE or TIE Bomber/Interceptor - more specailized fighter craft that may need dedicated space away from the main bay.

Oh, that's a good point, actually. TIE/lns are very very narrow relative to almost any other fighter, including everything else in the TIE series. It's totally possible that the launch tubes would be designed for them specifically and wouldn't fit most other fighters, leading to Phantoms or whatever else having to find other launch mechanisms. This would be especially likely to be true for ISD-1s, since when they were entering service the only common Imperial fighters were TIE/lns and V-wings (which are similarly very narrow), so their facilities would probably be optimized around those.

[Kage Goomba]

12 minutes ago, Kdapt-Preacher said:

Oh, that's a good point, actually. TIE/lns are very very narrow relative to almost any other fighter, including everything else in the TIE series. It's totally possible that the launch tubes would be designed for them specifically and wouldn't fit most other fighters, leading to Phantoms or whatever else having to find other launch mechanisms. This would be especially likely to be true for ISD-1s, since when they were entering service the only common Imperial fighters were TIE/lns and V-wings (which are similarly very narrow), so their facilities would probably be optimized around those.

Interceptors fit the space of a TIE easily enough hence why I included them - TIE Advanced or Defenders however - take up a bit more space than usual profile wise.

I guess Bombers would fit that bill too considering they are wider - and considering the fact they carry more "Dangerous payload" as a fighter.

Phantoms as much as I'm inclined to include them are very large  for all intents and purposes - with an actual cockpit that includes life support (if we're going off of Rebel Assault) - frankly they are hard to accept as a "common TIE" - a Scimitar (even if narrow - take up space of 2 at least by length) is more likely to be there or Gunboats/Missile Boats.

I utterly despise the new TIE's in the Disney flicks - cept rylo's TIE - that at least made sense - I ignore them anyway.

[Kdapt-Preacher]

6 minutes ago, Kage Goomba said:

I utterly despise the new TIE's in the Disney flicks - cept rylo's TIE - that at least made sense - I ignore them anyway.

I can't agree with that. The TIE Brutes from Solo are 100% consistent with the heavier TIE models from the old EU, and while the TIE Strikers and Reapers look a little silly (I would rather have seen a new non-TIE dropship model, like we finally got in Mando), they're still NOTHING compared to the TIE Crawlers, Maulers, Boats, Predators, or any of the other completely ridiculous Legends ones. There's certainly a nostalgia factor to the old ones, and I wouldn't be disappointed if they started creeping back into canon, but you can't possibly claim that they make more sense than the new Imperial or First Order fighters. :P

[Kage Goomba]

38 minutes ago, Kdapt-Preacher said:

I can't agree with that. The TIE Brutes from Solo are 100% consistent with the heavier TIE models from the old EU, and while the TIE Strikers and Reapers look a little silly (I would rather have seen a new non-TIE dropship model, like we finally got in Mando), they're still NOTHING compared to the TIE Crawlers, Maulers, Boats, Predators, or any of the other completely ridiculous Legends ones. There's certainly a nostalgia factor to the old ones, and I wouldn't be disappointed if they started creeping back into canon, but you can't possibly claim that they make more sense than the new Imperial or First Order fighters. :P

Solo and Rogue One I could get  behind.

I guess its just a preference.

The Mando TIE was a modification that I could also accept as well - Structurally Id be suspicious of the strength of the panels - but its not beyond reason. That and TIE Fighters don't have life support (have to wear a suit) - oops? (Ok technically Moff didn't go into space in one :P )

Thus far Mando/BoBF ships have been pretty damn good so I can exclude that from my "hate list"

 

TIE Crawler <snickers> ahhh yes....love that Tank....its just utterly hilarious. It made sense - but thats because they openly admit that only the worst of the worst would be in one - and its functional - just more of a "literal scary story" and less "legend" XD

Edited January 28, 2022 by Kage Goomba

[Kdapt-Preacher]

I have so much work that I really ought to be doing, so if I have any sense I'll probably stop posting random things for at least a week or two, but here are some ideas for heavier turbolaser batteries based on the style of the ones from 75252 (on the left). The center is an ISD2-style octuple barbette battery, and the one on the right is a heavier turret that might correspond to some of the small rectangular greeblies on Executor's hull. On the studio model the little rectangles are just flecks of random plastic, but presumably the intention was for those to represent something too small to add any detail to rather than literally just a featureless rectangular box, so some of them might as well be guns.

[Kage Goomba]

31 minutes ago, Kdapt-Preacher said:

I have so much work that I really ought to be doing, so if I have any sense I'll probably stop posting random things for at least a week or two, but here are some ideas for heavier turbolaser batteries based on the style of the ones from 75252 (on the left). The center is an ISD2-style octuple barbette battery, and the one on the right is a heavier turret that might correspond to some of the small rectangular greeblies on Executor's hull. On the studio model the little rectangles are just flecks of random plastic, but presumably the intention was for those to represent something too small to add any detail to rather than literally just a featureless rectangular box, so some of them might as well be guns.

Even better if you can light im up :) - but they look good.

[Kdapt-Preacher]

This got pretty positive responses over in the Technic subforum. I'm becoming increasingly convinced that this could actually be done (somewhat to my family's horror).

[Geihlen]

13 hours ago, Kdapt-Preacher said:

This got pretty positive responses over in the Technic subforum. I'm becoming increasingly convinced that this could actually be done (somewhat to my family's horror).

I was reading that thread last night. The technic forum seemed pretty convinced it was doable and it seemed like there were some really helpful posts in there. Your family should have nothing to worry about...unless the Sandcrawler moves out so this can move in.

[Kage Goomba]

3 minutes ago, Geihlen said:

I was reading that thread last night. The technic forum seemed pretty convinced it was doable and it seemed like there were some really helpful posts in there. Your family should have nothing to worry about...unless the Sandcrawler moves out so this can move in.

Don't forget the car.

[Kdapt-Preacher]

7 minutes ago, Kage Goomba said:

Don't forget the car.

Nah, the car's in the other garage. Sandcrawler's the only issue. And that could maybe live outside? We patched the hole in the roof. But I still have to come up with at least probably half a million dollars for bricks. Disney, if you're listening....

EDIT: No, wait. I forgot that I live in a floodplain. My garage is not the right place for this. I need a different plan.

Edited January 31, 2022 by Kdapt-Preacher

[Kage Goomba]

2 minutes ago, Kdapt-Preacher said:

Nah, the car's in the other garage. Sandcrawler's the only issue. And that could maybe live outside? We patched the hole in the roof. But I still have to come up with at least probably half a million dollars for bricks. Disney, if you're listening....

EDIT: No, wait. I forgot that I live in a floodplain. My garage is not the right place for this. I need a different plan.

Flotation devices recommended. :)

[Kdapt-Preacher]

Returning to the original point of this thread, here's #165, the XS stock light freighter! This is the same version from the pictures I posted a couple days ago; I decided I was satisfied with it. Six months from now I might wake up in the middle of the night with an idea for how to do it better, but it's not going to get any better from continued poking in the short term. This means that I'm now effectively finished with the SW:TOR player ships sub-project, which started with the Fury-class Interceptor almost a year ago:

Spoiler

Speaking of which, three weeks from today is the 1-year anniversary of my uploading my first MOC. It seems like I should do something to celebrate that, but I don't know what. I don't think I'm going to finish the Interdictor in time, honestly, but I'll probably get something at least.

[Geihlen]

I think the solutions you arrived at for the XS are quite good and the set of all 6 look really great together. I was originally thinking of building just one or two, but I think I'll have to build the set. I'm a sucker for these ship designs and these are way more manageable to build and display than some of the options I've considered over the years.

[Kdapt-Preacher]

I've just finished setting up some of my ships to display at Atlanta Brick Con. Anybody local should come down and see them in person!

Edited February 11, 2022 by Kdapt-Preacher

[Kage Goomba]

53 minutes ago, Kdapt-Preacher said:

I've just finished setting up some of my ships to display at Atlanta Brick Con. Anybody local should come down and see them in person!

Very nice!

Ok I gotta ask - how do you transport your ISD? That thing is a pain to move.

[Kdapt-Preacher]

10 minutes ago, Kage Goomba said:

Very nice!

Ok I gotta ask - how do you transport your ISD? That thing is a pain to move.

Nothing fancy. I took the middle sections off so I could grab it by the internal frame and just put it in the car. I wouldn't want to carry it any truly long distance like that, but a couple hundred feet between the parking lot and the convention center isn't too much of an issue. Although I did sit in the back of the car so I could keep a hand on it in case we braked hard or something--I'm pretty confident that it's sturdy enough that that wouldn't really be a problem, but there's no reason to play those kinds of games if you don't have to.

[Kage Goomba]

Just now, Kdapt-Preacher said:

Nothing fancy. I took the middle sections off so I could grab it by the internal frame and just put it in the car. I wouldn't want to carry it any truly long distance like that, but a couple hundred feet between the parking lot and the convention center isn't too much of an issue. Although I did sit in the back of the car so I could keep a hand on it in case we braked hard or something--I'm pretty confident that it's sturdy enough that that wouldn't really be a problem, but there's no reason to play those kinds of games if you don't have to.

Mines wired with LED's so..yeah........design is little to be desired in terms of transpo

[Kdapt-Preacher]

Just now, Kage Goomba said:

Mines wired with LED's so..yeah........design is little to be desired in terms of transpo

Ah, yeah, that would complicate things. I haven't done anything fancy with mine; that's just the stock set. At some point in the nearish future I'm going to post something like an upgrade kit for it, with one set to bring it slightly better in line with the detailing on the ISD1 and another as a full conversion to an ISD2 (and maybe another for an Interdictor-class), but I haven't done all that work yet.

[Stormsword]

Hey man, just popping in to say how absolutely impressive your models are. I'm still amazed at how close you've managed to get the proportions of your builds to the actual models - you do a better job than most 3D modellers do, with a much more constrained medium. If I weren't so completely broke, I'd probably have bought the pieces for your sets already.

As an aside, would you be interested in joining the Fractalsponge discord? We have a pretty active community of 3D modellers, and your content here would fit in quite well with that. Also, we have a really nice set of ortho shots for a wide variety of ships if you'd want. Cheers man, and keep up the good work.