[M4-23 - Imperial Ship] Imperial Marauder Cruiser

[Brickshipyard]

Hello Eurobricks community, I present my entry into the May the 4th contest: a MOC of the Marauder Cruiser. The ship has an interesting shape and I had a lot of fun  capturing the inflated cockpit area as well  as  the swooping nature in the wings. I was  limited  in my piece use because this MOC is made ONLY from a single set each: the underated Ambush on Ferrix and Obi-wan vs. Vader set (which is not popular, but has some very handy pieces and figures). In particular, I enjoyed integrating the windscreen into the cockpit  (which has a very similar match to the source  material), making various interior  spaces with a  colorful engine bay, sandwiching the engine thrusters, and adding some serious weaponry. Wookiepedia has a cannon manifest of the ship to include 8 turbolaser cannons and in some editions, 4  missile launchers. Needless to say, these ships could really  pack a punch in firepower! I built two heavy cannons  on the wings, two  forward  mounted lasers on the nose, a dual laser belly turret, and a  single ion cannon turret on top for disabiling craft. My version could seat a maximum of 8 figures if pushed, but 6 comfortably.

 

The  Maurader class of ship fulfilled many roles from patrol to interdiction. Marauders in a group can be highly effective for taking on bigger ships and their sublight speed comparable to some slower Rebel starfighters. The design history dates back to Sienar Technologies before the Clone Wars and the Republic sales  weren't good. Mostly, the ships were sold to the Corporate Sector Authority (CSA) and used in that region of space up through and after the Imperial Era. The CSA utilized Mauraders in their fleets for law enforcement and anti-piracy, although ironically Pirates prefered to use the Marauders wherever possible because they were quite resourceful. Eventually, quite a few Marauders find their way into the Rebel Alliance's hands.

My particular version is a CSA variant (as evidenced by the yellow markings and CSA Blue pilot) during the early Imperial Era, conscripted for Imperial use and under the command of the Imperial Capt. Tala Durith. The time period is a few years before 9 BBY (before battle of Yavin) when she was a less cynical and still an impressionable Imperial Officer, yet was gradually becoming aware of the evil, not the good, the Empire cast upon the Galaxy. In my hypothetical mission, she is ordered to Stars' End, an infamous CSA prison located on Mytus VII, a desolate asteroid located in the Mytus system of Wild Space. In my main image, that purple hued asteroid with a space base is meant to represent Stars' End. Her objective was to inspect the state of the art prison system which used entropy field stasis booths, instead of normal prison cells. The Empire was interested in these advancements for their own prison networks and wanted to study the CSA's approach.

Furthermore, the Empire wanted to remind the CSA that it would do wise to remember the might of the Empire and that the CSA was always allowed operational autonomy, but not true independance from the Empire. The CSA knew this, but was also inclined to invite the Imperial auditors because the prison project could prove profitable. According to cannon, the Emperor himself was scheduled to tour the facility. The utterly hopeless prsioners Capt. Durith saw at Stars' End made a lasting, negative impression on her. She discovered that many prisoners were sentenced for nothing more than freedom of expression violations. In essence, political prisoners and if you want to know more about the CSA and this prison, I encourage you to read the novel Han Solo at Star's End, written by Brian Daley. A solid Star Wars book from a galaxy of book writing far, far away....

Anyways, back to the ship. Capt. Durith is accompanied by a Stormtrooper escort and her trusted Ned-B droid is assigned for ship maintenance and labor duties. He sits in the back of the ship. Their mission to Stars' End aboard the Marauder is one the early chapters of their special, human to droid relationship, as the droid was the only sentient thing she could safely share her personal feelings and concerns with about the Empire. Ned-B was a lot smarter than what he had been designed for and Durith, having recognized this, would falsify his memory wipe records. Thus allowing him to develop a personality.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed my story and the way I weaved real cannon with my own spin on things :). Thanks for reading. I will be happy to explain any aspect of the story and the ship. More pictures can be found on my flickr:https://flic.kr/ps/3mi3BG Good luck to everyone in the contest and thank you judges for putting it on.  

- Thebrickshipyard

 

 

[icm]

Very nice alt-build of the two kits! The shape reminds me of the old Milton Bradley Starbird toy.

[Brickshipyard]

4 minutes ago, icm said:

Very nice alt-build of the two kits! The shape reminds me of the old Milton Bradley Starbird toy.

Thanks! I checked that toy out and see the similarities! Maybe that's the thing that inspired the Star Wars designers of this ship decades ago :).

[MKJoshA]

Thanks for including the link to see other pictures. I liked seeing all the angles.

[Brickshipyard]

Thanks Josh for checking out my entry and Flickr! I bode you and the other judges good hunting/selection because there is just a ton of quality entries.

[Jody Meyer]

I recognize LED lines when I see them...this is a great build, must have been <fun> to route the lines.

[Brickshipyard]

LEDs? Where? I wish! Maybe you are refering to the whips around the laser cannons. Those were added for some additional texture/power line feel. However, your suggestion of LED lights is possible because room can be made in the cargo hold or underneath the engines. Thanks for checking out my build!

[Wurger49]

Great looking ship with with a sloped fuselage! Love the alternate build!

[Brickshipyard]

15 hours ago, Wurger49 said:

Great looking ship with with a sloped fuselage! Love the alternate build!

Thanks Wurger and I'm glad the sloping detail is to your liking! I definitely need to get to work on the instructions because you and others are proving there may be some appetite for this MOC.