It was just a bit too plain, not to mention dissimilar to the 'Home One' type. It's a neat ship on its own but it felt too... hmmm, I don't want to say generic, but it lacked the greebles that ships usually have. Even the far smaller Mc30 had a lot more definition to its plating.

It looked good but it didn't feel quite right in person.

Righto mates, seems like I finished the top of the Wingless Liberty, but I'm still going to have to redo the engines, and maybe parts of the bottom. I'll reserve a picture of that for when the whole ship and codex goes up.

Side Angle

Pardon my not posting alternate miniatures in the painting thread, I just... sorta didn't want to risk that one and be known as 'that guy who killed a good painting thread'. But I'll add a preview of a project, promise!

And here's a few other things I'm working on in the meantime.

They' tsalt's* gorgeous Assault pack (I got them because of the inclusion of the Missileboat... man these things are pristine and super detailed). My order was even heavy 4 Z-95's, and I can only thank whoever did that. It's like one of those fabled bank errors in your favour sorts of things. I've been eyeing those things for a while, so now I get to work with them too!

Hopefully I can play out the rest of the 3rd battle on Monday and have that promised update for the beginning of the week. I'm just a touch busy, tomorrow is an Armada tournament for me (roads permitting) and Sunday is a birthday thing I can't skip. So, Monday it'll have to be.

* Utar if I recall correctly, my sincerest apologies for not being certain. I am shamed, sensei. But the models are just fantastic. After about 8 frustrating hours of trying to fix a third of the bottom of the Mc80a, these were deliciously fun.

Would love to see a comparison pic of the MC80a with the FFG MC80 next time you take it out for photography!

There's a permanent warm place in my heart for XG-1s.

Righto Zen, mate. I got a quick picture of the MC80's.

Top view:

Tthe Wingless Liberty type is a bit shorter, a bit thinner, but also notably broader. A broadhead next to a bodkin as it were. Great, now I have another Mc30 to paint up and I can't decide what I want to do.

Aye, TrinityLyre*. The XG-1 are somewhere near the coals warming me cockles Now I've got a few flights and I use them to represent firesprays (while the Missileboats make for a convincing IG-88).

* Sorry for the name snafu, mate. Saw the name, fingers typed what they wanted. I blame little sleep, because it's better to blame than to say 'how'd dat 'appen?'.

And lo, we get to our project: a commission fleet, and an integrated story. I can't tell you how much fun it was, and what an honour it was

...

Echoes :

++initiate playback, line 19.11.00341.1417 Δ++

'-VSD Pegasus i nit...ing Em..ge... Code Ze... Repeat, Emergency Code Zero. All Imperial loyalist forces, re...nd immedia-'

“ Sir, the signal was received four minutes ago and terminates there. It could be faulty equipment or battle damage. Shall I dispatch parts and technical teams to their location?”

“ It may be faulty equipment, or it may be something else jamming our emergency signal. Hmm....regardless, the situation has become untenable. I think it's time to authorize the contingency. Commander, initiate Operation Citadel. Prepare my shuttle for immediate departure and submit the task force's cylinder codes.”

“ Sir.”

+++Secu-data line 19.11.00341.1430 Δ, SSD Event Horizon+++

___________________________________________

Painter's note: everything was done In I think 8 days. It was a lot of fun, a lot of experimentation, and a lot of stuff for me to learn and work with as well. Our commissioner may take a bow, it really was an awesome project. Of course, it's also part of the story, and I couldn't be happier about it.

Starscape

Ship markings:

Codex: Task force Citadel

Unlike the other official formations of the 477 ^th fleet, task force Citadel consisted of the remnants of the 105 ^th Core fleet, originally raised on Ganthel late in the Clone War. The 105 ^th was updated and re-tasked with wiping out the nascent Rebellion to restore the Republic's grass roots support on troublesome colonial worlds, but they were more commonly involved with tracking down pirates and settling system disputes between member parties of the Galactic senate.

When the 105 ^th was transferred to Alzoc III under command of Admiral Yann Cairbre, they were required to take an oath of silence concerning activities that may be observed relating to the planet itself. Alzoc III was supposed to be a 'barren planet' that acted as nothing more than a muster point in Sujimis, but what they found was a massive orbital manufacturing core, shipyards, administration centres, star forts, and the other trappings of a major mining and manufacturing world. The Alzoc III incident that followed was one of the more serious situations to involve the Sujimis sector, but due to the cloak of secrecy, never gained traction abroad.

During a rebellion sparked in one of the many forced labour mining camps that dot Alzoc's surface, prisoners and labourers revolted and seized a number of star forts and facilities. The prisoners overran the planetside garrisons and converted slag haulers into impromptu fireships, but the most serious reversal was the loss of the star fort Binary II . The fort's heavy defence guns were turned on the nearest berthed ship, the 105th's flagship ISD Constant. The attack coincided with a fleet general staff meeting onboard the flagship. Admiral Cairbre, Vice Admiral Uleska, and Rear Admiral Haller were all killed when the Constant broke up over the ice-planet's southern pole.

The rebellion was quickly suppressed at enormous cost in terms of both ships and industrial equipment. Alzoc's garrison as well as several other mustering fleets were mauled and required extensive refit and reorganization. Command of the 105 ^th was subsequently entrusted to captain Myra Sage after direct intervention by Sujimis's Grand Admiral Lukanes.

The newly promoted commodore had an unenviable task ahead of her. Operation Citadel was envisioned as a means to quickly restore minimal facility requirements to Alzoc III by stripping the surrounding sub-sectors of their excess manufacturing capabilities. Formed as a battle squadron in strength, the task force relied heavily upon the 105 ^th to fill its registry. Aside from a half dozen ships that would remain at Alzoc as an operational reserve, the entirety of the 105 ^th Core fleet was earmarked for Operation Citadel.

Alzoc III's industrial capabilities were reasoned to be more important than the well-being of an inconsequential sub-sector now teetering on the brink of total collapse. The decision was made to deny Renegade forces access to Ceknell's considerable manufacturing centres and stockpiles before the situation deteriorated. Task force Citadel was ordered to completely strip Port Eirkon's considerable manufacturing facilities, the stockpiles of Fort Respite, and the orbital workships at Jump Point Prime. Task force Citadel was given carte blanche to complete the mission at all costs.

ISD Indefatigable “Citadel Prime”

Painter's note: ... there are 958 windows on that frigging thing... 958. I counted, How could there be that many?

Alternate Angle: Windows

Alternate Angle: Starscape

Alternate Angle: Ventral

Altenrate Angle: Engines

Codex: Indefatigable

The sole remaining operational Imperial-class Star Destroyer in the 105th's registry is an Imperial-II, the Indefatigable . It is a newer vessel, built with all the contemporary electronic counter measures, augmented targeting computers, and the improved reactor standard to the Imperial-II. Thus, the Indefatigable is nothing less than an exemplar of its class.

The ship itself was built from the keel up in the Ganthal shipwright and was one of the first completed at the new facility. Now heralded as a 'lucky ship', the Indefatigable had little perceived seniority in the 105ths line of battle at the time of the Alzoc III incident where it was assigned the most undesirable berth at the far side of the Imperial navy dockyards. As a result, the Constant and Nordstromm were destroyed, and the Tempest and Moff Keiruss crippled, but the Indefatigable emerged relatively unscathed after it had time to raise its shields. Under then-captain Sage, the ship destroyed several waves of fire ships before ramming the star fort and landing stormtroopers directly into the breach.

Pursuant to its assignment, the ship has had several modest retrofits well concealed in its durasteel hull. The vessel's own stockpiles have been severely curtailed to make room for an automated modular conversion factory. This novel design, built by Umak Leth, was designed to enumerate all necessary elements, then break down industrial components to be stored at maximum efficiency within the Star Destroyer's now expanded holds. However, its size and bulk necessitated that the Indefatigable 's shuttle compliment was reduced to shuttle Immoden and the landing Craft Stormfront . The Indefatigable is critically short of support ships and entirely bereft of its ground assault assets.

As the flagship of the task force, the Indefatigable is captained by Commodore Myra Sage, an Imperial officer in her early 30's from an unassuming Ganthal family. Unlike a large number of other Imperial officers from the core worlds, Myra Sage's political credentials are lacking, as is her appreciation of 'the Grand Game' of Imperial politics in general. Headstrong, decisive, and creative, she represents an unpredictable element of command that is polarizing among the Sujimis admiralty. Only Grand Admiral Lukane's direct intervention ensured the captain's ascent to task force commander, and her lack of promotion to full admiral is an ever-present reminder of that tenuous position.

VSD Acheron “Citadel I”

Acheron left, Triumph right.

Alternate Angle: Side

Alternate Angle: Ventral

Codex: Acheron

The Acheron is the secondary command ship in task force Citadel. It is an ageing but remarkably competent vessel with an equally seasoned and capable captain. The VSD Acheron has a long pedigree, being the first ship in its class laid down at the Ganthal shipwright, the lead ship in every squadron it was placed in until the introduction of the ISD II to widespread service, and the ship with most confirmed capital-craft kills in the 105 ^th fleet's history. Only the Maelstrom stands as a more venerated vessel.

Founded on a keel laid down among great pomp and ceremony, the shipyards had to work around a number of design oversights. The Acheron 's recurring issue was linked to faulty hardware for the then-modern XX8 emplacements. The weapons were replaced with tandem H-9's allocated from Ganthal's CR90 defence force corvettes. Nicknamed 'The Warhorse', it now shares that honorifica with that of its commander, Captain Vigdaan Mars.

Vigdaan Mars is a long-standing servant to the Imperial Navy, stretching back to the Galactic Republic's Courescant militia before the start of the Clone Wars. Typified as an upstanding line captain, he follows orders to the letter and developed a familiarity for the Victory-class star destroyers like few others in the oversector. Mars's served as the third captain of the Acheron in its lengthy service record, and the relationship between man and machine is almost intrinsically understood. For eighteen years, Mars has led the Acheron into combat, serving alongside Grand Admirals and acting as a confidante and educator for leaders in more than a dozen sectors. It's even claimed that under Mars, the Acheron played host to Lord Vader during the pacification of Parnoush.

But like the Victory itself, Mars's stolid disposition and inflexible tactical doctrine has been a hindrance to his rise through the ranks. He had been called solidly dependable but lacking in both ruthlessness and creativity, which has kept him in command of a Victory-class Star Destroyer and little else. While the appointment of the far younger Myra Sage to the post of task force commander might be galling and improper considering Mars's decades of seniority, few in the Admiralty openly second guess Grand Admiral Lukanes decision.

VSD Triumph “Citadel II”

Alternate Angle: Bridge

Alternate Angle: Ventral

Codex: Triumph

The second Victory-class Star Destroyer of task force Citadel has a more storied history in marked contrast to its illustrious name. There is no registry of the vessel being created by a Republic or Imperial shipyard, and its extensive need for repairs and dozens of conflicts inflicted upon it, many have nicknamed the ship 'Tibanna syphon' from its tendency to draws laser fire like few others.

The VSD Triumph is heavily suspected to be a ship going by the designation 'Kingsbane', a heavily modified or unlicensed built Victory I-class Star Destroyer derivative. Its originated in an unlicensed and briefly recorded sector fleet known as the 'Pelagia Black Fleet', an intersystem militia unit tied to an unknown Pelagian house in the Tanpani sector. The fleet was destroyed during the Mecetti purge of 19:6 rS, when the Pelagian fleet was confronted by a joint Imperial-House Mecetti fleet orbiting the rogue planet of Molag in the Natalio system. The ancient derelict ecumenopolis was the site of the Pelagia Black Fleet's demise, but the Kingsbane destroyed the VSD Iron Resolve and the Acclamator Deliverance before limping into deep space to avoid destruction.

Desperate for more operational vessels in the local fleet in the wake of the Mecetti Purge, the then unknown ship was pressed into service: its hyperdrive and reactors gutted, and with a minor system refits, it entered service as the VSD Triumph . In its time it has been crippled, holed, ambushed, mined, and even survived a suicidal ramming attack by a Begondi pirate ship. Each time the vessel has sustained tremendous losses in equipment and personnel, but has always been deemed worthy of refit over being scrapped.

The current iteration, unsurprisingly, bears so few systems in common with its predecessors that it that it has been recorded in the registries as a completely different class. Its original configuration in the 105 ^th fleet sported twin LF9 thrusters which were soon replaced with the new tri-nozzle engines and secondary banks of the VSD-II class. When the Triumph 's fire control system was destroyed during the Alzoc III insurrection, spares from the Nordstromm were jury-rigged in place. When the system's concussion missiles were found to be incomparable with the Imperial-II's firing system, the decision was made to strip the ship's concussion missile munitions and all easily removable ordnance components. The shipworkers then replaced one pair of the Victory-class's quad turbolasers with two of the octuple emplacements from the Nordstromm 's ravaged hull. As such, the Triumph now bears more in common with a Victory-II class than the modified Victory-I it was just six months prior.

The latest in a long string of captains is Jerrin Wilthur, an unremarkable officer whose only notable accomplishment is being the Triump h's longest serving commander, 3 years. Mild mannered, comparatively uncompetitive, but religiously adherent to orders, Wilthur may have been one of Admiral Uleska's favoured officers but has little traction with Commodore Sage.

GSD Maelstrom “Citadel III”

Codex: Maelstrom

The GSD Maelstrom is one of task force Citadel's most vaunted and venerable vessels. With a history stretching back all the way to the start of the Clone War, the Maelstrom is almost twenty years old and is still a capable light warship. Thought to be one of the 105ths most senior vessels even before the Alzoc III insurrection, unwritten protocol dictate that the Maelstrom should be offered as the flagship for the 105ths rear admiral. With more than thirty tours of duty to its credit, and eighteen confirmed kills against hostile capital-class ships, the Maelstrom holds a ferocious reputation.

A lone point of contention mars its otherwise impeccable service history. The Maelstrom participated in blockade against a pirate cell who had made Mantlebahn its base of operations. An attempted blockade run was defeated when a stray concussion missile struck the derelict fuel conveyer Adomitus. The resulting blast destroyed the pirate forces, but also claimed two pioneer exploration ships and the passenger liner Crystal Hart, resulting in the deaths of more than 4,000 civilians. Dissident propaganda dubbed the Maelstrom 'The Scourge of Mantlebahn', an inauspicious title it still holds to this day.

The vessel itself is remarkable, being one of the few surviving A-series Gladiator I's examples still in service, making it one of the oldest operational examples of its class in the galaxy. At the time of its construction at the Kuat yards, the Gladiator-class was still being revised for final production, and as a result, the Maelstrom contains a series of notable exceptions to the later production models. Its main engine array was made up of Cygnus Spaceworks Gemon-4 thrusters, the manoeuvring thrusts that would appear on later Imperial-class Star Destroyers, rather than a preplanned Kuat designed KDY Gladiator-ion engine, which was delayed for almost eight months due to quality control concerns. This gives the Maelstrom an improved overall sublight speed and exceptional manoeuvrability at the cost of an accelerated maintenance schedule. The Maelstrom' s Fabritech Spectrum Kn-2 targeting computer was highly finicky as it relied on preset perimeters to calculate firing solutions. While this made it effective against most capital class ships and droid fighters, it remained a significant point of exasperation against pirates and renegades who presented more unpredictable patterns than droid controlled fighters. As a result, the then state-of-the-art targeting system went underutilized. The aged ship was slated for retirement In 30:01:01 rS, but was entered into the Naval Acts Life extension project. Its old plates were stripped and new durasteel coating was installed, along with refitted capacitors, couplings, and feed lines, which is expected to increase the service life of the Maelstrom for at least another twelve years.

With the death of Haller aboard the Constant, command of the ship passed to Captain Wayloone, an young Anaxis schooled officer that served in the Imperial starfighter corps for three years before reassignment to capital ships in the Imperial Navy. Wayloone's penchant for escorting and operating his vessel like an over-fed Tie bomber is well known and frequently mocked within the 105ths fleet. Yet, recent operations have vindicated Wayoon's 'eyeballed' discretionary firing patterns and aggressive maneuverings which best compliment the vessels natural design elements. Wayloone may be considered a pariah as a starfighter pilot in a navy commander's world, but his effectiveness albeit unconventional tactics have garnered attention from the Sujimis admiralty.

Raider S-series flotilla

Painter's note; putting individual markings to the starboard of each bridge was more fun than I'd have thought, and harder than I thought for that matter.

Alternate Angle: Engines

Codex: S-series

The final component of the task force is filled by the 105th's 4 ^th squadron flotilla, the Guardians of Kaddrin Straits . The flotilla was originally six ships strong, but over a period of sixteen months, half the ships have been lost. The squadron was made up of vessels exclusively from the Black-Six deep space manufacturing yards and represent the foremost development in Imperial corvettes today.

The three Raider-class corvettes are all part of the Black-Six S-series production run, S-104 Sword , S-105 Scimitar , and S-107 Saber . Each were mass produced under the Raider-I program and underwent their ship trials without incident S-106 Spadroon was wrecked in port after a collision with the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Tan Loghain, and never received its commission in the 105 ^th Core fleet. Now designated as Tower 1, Tower 2, and Tower 3 respectively, the squadron operates at the limits of the task force engagement envelope as a picket formation and anti-fighter defence necessitated by the lack of available TIEs.

Under command of Fleet-captain Linslow, the squadron has a standing order to engage enemy fighter craft under threat of an undisclosed punishment. Pressure is high on Linslow and his squadron to protect the larger vessels in the task force, even at the cost of his own ships. It has done few kindnesses to his disposition as a result.

Stunning Work Vykes.

Plenty to take inspiration from!

I swapped over my repainted Imperials for unpainted ships. I'm still ruminating on how to paint them.

What blues were used for the windows?

Man, impressive painting and theming ! I'm starting to want to get my fleet some personal paintjob because of you

Codex: Task force Citadel

Unlike the other official formations of the 477 ^th fleet, task force Citadel consisted of the remnants of the 105 ^th Core fleet, originally raised on Ganthel late in the Clone War. The 105 ^th was updated and re-tasked with wiping out the nascent Rebellion to restore the Republic's grass roots support on troublesome colonial worlds, but they were more commonly involved with tracking down pirates and settling system disputes between member parties of the Galactic senate.

When the 105 ^th was transferred to Alzoc III under command of Admiral Yann Cairbre, they were required to take an oath of silence concerning activities that may be observed relating to the planet itself. Alzoc III was supposed to be a 'barren planet' that acted as nothing more than a muster point in Sujimis, but what they found was a massive orbital manufacturing core, shipyards, administration centres, star forts, and the other trappings of a major mining and manufacturing world. The Alzoc III incident that followed was one of the more serious situations to involve the Sujimis sector, but due to the cloak of secrecy, never gained traction abroad.

During a rebellion sparked in one of the many forced labour mining camps that dot Alzoc's surface, prisoners and labourers revolted and seized a number of star forts and facilities. The prisoners overran the planetside garrisons and converted slag haulers into impromptu fireships, but the most serious reversal was the loss of the star fort Binary II . The fort's heavy defence guns were turned on the nearest berthed ship, the 105th's flagship ISD Constant. The attack coincided with a fleet general staff meeting onboard the flagship. Admiral Cairbre, Vice Admiral Uleska, and Rear Admiral Haller were all killed when the Constant broke up over the ice-planet's southern pole.

The rebellion was quickly suppressed at enormous cost in terms of both ships and industrial equipment. Alzoc's garrison as well as several other mustering fleets were mauled and required extensive refit and reorganization. Command of the 105 ^th was subsequently entrusted to captain Myra Sage after direct intervention by Sujimis's Grand Admiral Lukanes.

The newly promoted commodore had an unenviable task ahead of her. Operation Citadel was envisioned as a means to quickly restore minimal facility requirements to Alzoc III by stripping the surrounding sub-sectors of their excess manufacturing capabilities. Formed as a battle squadron in strength, the task force relied heavily upon the 105 ^th to fill its registry. Aside from a half dozen ships that would remain at Alzoc as an operational reserve, the entirety of the 105 ^th Core fleet was earmarked for Operation Citadel.

Alzoc III's industrial capabilities were reasoned to be more important than the well-being of an inconsequential sub-sector now teetering on the brink of total collapse. The decision was made to deny Renegade forces access to Ceknell's considerable manufacturing centres and stockpiles before the situation deteriorated. Task force Citadel was ordered to completely strip Port Eirkon's considerable manufacturing facilities, the stockpiles of Fort Respite, and the orbital workships at Jump Point Prime. Task force Citadel was given carte blanche to complete the mission at all costs.

ISD Indefatigable “Citadel Prime”

Painter's note: ... there are 958 windows on that frigging thing... 958. I counted, How could there be that many?

Alternate Angle: Windows

Painter's note: oh lord... the windows.... pre-squadron markings, but it shows it pretty well.

Alternate Angle: Starscape

Alternate Angle: Ventral

Painter's note: totally experimental, ton of washes and a lot of edging work. Every...single...plate. I painted up the ship 'socket' right after this.

Altenrate Angle: Engines

Painter's note: airbrush... 2 minutes. I hate how much of a cheater I feel with that thing.

Codex: Indefatigable

The sole remaining operational Imperial-class Star Destroyer in the 105th's registry is an Imperial-II, the Indefatigable . It is a newer vessel, built with all the contemporary electronic counter measures, augmented targeting computers, and the improved reactor standard to the Imperial-II. Thus, the Indefatigable is nothing less than an exemplar of its class.

The ship itself was built from the keel up in the Ganthal shipwright and was one of the first completed at the new facility. Now heralded as a 'lucky ship', the Indefatigable had little perceived seniority in the 105ths line of battle at the time of the Alzoc III incident where it was assigned the most undesirable berth at the far side of the Imperial navy dockyards. As a result, the Constant and Nordstromm were destroyed, and the Tempest and Moff Keiruss crippled, but the Indefatigable emerged relatively unscathed after it had time to raise its shields. Under then-captain Sage, the ship destroyed several waves of fire ships before ramming the star fort and landing stormtroopers directly into the breach.

Pursuant to its assignment, the ship has had several modest retrofits well concealed in its durasteel hull. The vessel's own stockpiles have been severely curtailed to make room for an automated modular conversion factory. This novel design, built by Umak Leth, was designed to enumerate all necessary elements, then break down industrial components to be stored at maximum efficiency within the Star Destroyer's now expanded holds. However, its size and bulk necessitated that the Indefatigable 's shuttle compliment was reduced to shuttle Immoden and the landing Craft Stormfront . The Indefatigable is critically short of support ships and entirely bereft of its ground assault assets.

As the flagship of the task force, the Indefatigable is captained by Commodore Myra Sage, an Imperial officer in her early 30's from an unassuming Ganthal family. Unlike a large number of other Imperial officers from the core worlds, Myra Sage's political credentials are lacking, as is her appreciation of 'the Grand Game' of Imperial politics in general. Headstrong, decisive, and creative, she represents an unpredictable element of command that is polarizing among the Sujimis admiralty. Only Grand Admiral Lukane's direct intervention ensured the captain's ascent to task force commander, and her lack of promotion to full admiral is an ever-present reminder of that tenuous position.

HMS ISD Indefatigable was lucky not to have her magazine detonated by Binary II's heavy defence gun "Von der Tann"

I might want to firm up 27th Fleet as well as the Rebel forces in the adjacent Dover sector

Great work Vykes! They look just as good in person too! Vykes and I talked about Commodore Sage as a sort of Admiral Beatty character too, with hopefully better results for the Indefatigable in this incarnation!

I've commissioned a few ships in Armada and X-Wing and I have to say it has been some of the most fun working with you - stellar work and communication!

Thanks mates.

Ayr, I was actually thinking about doing the same thing DWRR, and barely kept myself from it I figure, 'why not just get a few more ships instead?' It was a ton of fun to work on a fleet all at once. It felt unique really.

The blue itself was a wash of an old GW blue ink (The one in the old black 'bolter shell' 2 ^nd generation paint pots, from the famous Chestnut Wash (era) then it was a heavy drybrush of GW Altdorf blue then a dot of Vallejo Skye Blue. For anything that looked bigger than a millimetre, I added a speck of Minitaire white (Airbrush colours that have the good graces to be really thin so they act as a semi-transparent in moderation)

Dooo et, dooo et MoffZennsan! -laughs- again, I always like custom painted ships, it's artistic expression! And every wargamer knows, custom painted ships do better on the tabletop

You know Cruiser, as da Masta o' Zen said, this did come up! I was just hoping the phrase, “ There seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today” wasn't going to come up in the first game... because Lord knows, I've said it more than once. Especially after the beating I took not too long ago in 'Due Diligenge part 2'

Aye, it might be a good thing to bulk up the Rebs in the area, I know I've got some reinforcements on the way in the form of a modified (converted) light frigate, the Sidonean Dream (Mc80a) and a flight of Z-95's. I'm not sure its enough to counteract the Assault Gunboats and a whole new task force, but it's at least something of a token force. Now I need to figure out how to paint the Z-95's and frigate.

Thanks ZenMastaT, mate, this really was a ton of fun and a real honour. Great insights, good conversation, and a real attachment to the project: it was a pleasure

Long time lurker here but you're work is really amazing Vykes. Inspired me to start painting some of my squadrons and at least fill in the dark panels on one of my ISD's. once I get a better hang of washes and highlighting I may try something more ambitious.

I was curious have you thought about making a youtube video documenting the steps you make to paint one of these ISD's or other Capital ships. I would love to see your technique and especially how you get the windows to look so good. Is it literally just a steady hand making 800+ dots?

Keep with the great work and your writing on the stories is top notch, makes me think I'm reading an old Rogue Squadron X-Wing book.

Always glad to hear that something I can do is inspiration for others. Congrats on starting on on those panel lines too! It's always a great step towards a full repaint, and makes a world of difference. I know that I started off in Armada thinking 'oh good, I don't have to do any painting for this game' and that idea went right out the window in the first week. It all started with a dark sooty umber wash

Hmmm, I haven't thought about it, but it's not a bad idea. I don't think I've ever done any serious video editing, just some write ups and the like, but it's worth thinking on. I keep meaning to do something of a tutorial but I never seem to remember to take pictures while I'm doing things. I just get too caught up in it. But aye, the windows are just a steady hand, thin paints, and a fine brush

Writing is one of those things I always thought was fun, so to hear that it feels about right is really great to hear!

I'm always open to questions and the like, so don't be a stranger 'round these parts! You're always welcome by, eh? Thanks again, BMcDonald mate

You're welcome!! Up next is to try and paint my Tie Interceptors, Vader, and some X-wings. Once I get the hang of applying washes correctly I may try to add some various shades to make a more light blue hue SD and add some windows. I also am going to try to find some decals, I love the markings you do for each Star Destroyer like Nightmare's, the Citadels Task Force etc.. That little personal touch adds so much.

Best of luck on those fighters, mate! I know I actually was okay with the first few Interceptors. Vader can be fun too, my only advice is to have some fun and paint the unique' squadrons a little differently. After a while, multiple similar squadrons can get a bit painful And best of luck with those X-wings in particular.... seriously, they weren't too much fun for me.

With some experimentation you should be able to get it too. Always happy to help here as well, so no worries mate! Decals, I couldn't agree more. They really make a world of difference and just 'feel' right. I love 'em and don't have a bit of shame about it. My free hand sucks -laughs-

On a separate note, when did this get 15,000 16,000 views!? Well, probably closer to 10,000 after you count mine in Anyway, thankies to everyone. Bit of a 'thing' for it, I did up a 'Rebel pilot' a while ago and I figured "hey, I might as well post it". One of Dagger Squadron I suppose. I still need practie on flesh buuut I'm working on it.

Alright, lets try things just a touch different, but I'll have some questions for ya afterward, don't you think I won't!

Due Diligence, Mission 3: Along Came a Dragon

Pilots, armsmen, comrades: it's no secret that our last battle was disastrous. Furthermore, our new commander, Admiral Hackett, has fled. There will be no rescue from task force Lantern. Our last transmitted orders were to abandon the VSD Dawnguar d the MFRGT Raven , then escape with all fighter craft that could be loaded. An order that Captain Camlee has refused. We are in uncharted territory.

Captain Camlee transmitted an all-frequency emergency request for assistance. Against orders from sector command and Hackett himself, Fleet Captain Reylk has arrived with the ISD Dragon , a full wing of fighters. We also have word of a unit of Yenkurran assault gunboats responding from the Traverse.

But the situation is still precarious and our mission has not changed: our fighters will provide close air protection while the hyperdrive is transferred from the Raven to the Dawnguard.

To complicate matters further, the Raven was disabled by the Renegade Assault Frigate Shrike's ion cannons and is now vulnerable. Renegade assault transports have been launched from the Yrellion Skye and are preparing for boarding operations. We must not let this succeed, or we will be forced to abandon the Dawnguard as well.

The enemy flagship Shrike has pursued the Nightmare along the Callipsean way, leaving one Mon Calamari cruiser, two corvettes, and a mon calamari frigate for us to deal with. Despite losses inflicted upon their specialist fighters, the enemy can still muster a sizable starfighter reserve.

The Pegasus , supported by three flights of Tie fighters designated flight group Alpha and two flights from assault gunboat group Nu, will cover the Dragon's approach and ward off the enemy corvettes and the A-wings.

Imperial-class Star Destroyer Dragon will launch assault transports and engage the enemy cruiser, Yrellion Skye and its four flights of X-wing starfighters. Be advised, we have picked up transmissions indicating that a mercenary assassin may be working in close coordination with enemy forces. A small number of Y-wings have also been observed, though we believe they be adding their ion cannon fire to the assault transport. Three flights of Tie Interceptors from flight group Gamma will await strike orders from the Dragon , and will engage any craft that slips past flight group Alpha.

Meanwhile, the Dawnguard will provide a rearguard. Technical teams will be placed on standby, ready to restore the Raven to full operations and take possession of the hyperdrive unit. All capital ships have been warned of the threat posed by the Mon Calamari frigate which may act as a rogue element awaiting an opportune time to strike.

We expect the enemy to concentrate fire on the Dragon . The loss of the Shining Waters will be felt by the sub-sector fleet, and we cannot sustain the loss of another Imperial Star Destroyer and hope to retain full control over the Callipsean Corridor.

All hands to your stations. Providence guide you.

...

400 point 'Contested Outpost' match, secondary objectives is comrads for the Imperials and 'Face in the News' for the Rebels, centered around the Mc80 Yrellion Skye.

With a Whimper or a Bang?

A last thrumming shiver coursed through the deck plates as the lights began to flicker and dim. A quick scan, a moment of analytics, an answer.

Primary turbo pump feeds: offline. Cooling system:15%. Reactor output: >37% and decreasing.

“Do you hear that?” a sandy-haired navy rating glanced up and down the empty grey halls in a series of jittery twitches.

Cycling thorugh the dozens of sounds and echoes picked up in the audio filters, the droid hazarded a guess. “They shut down the main reactor.” LOM-8's rasp betrayed nary a sign of emotion.

“We're dead... they'll launch torpedoes and crack this thing in half.” the rating clutched at his starched ashen collar, beads of cold sweat forming on his brow. “Environmental must already have been taken offline.”

A response was forthcoming, but the faint pause gave rise to a sudden increase in breathing on the human's part, “Unlikely. Kaut Drive Yard's Nebulon B2 modified frigate was specifically designed to survive unshielded impacts from Lenstrom KX-two proton torpedoes, and are rated up to four-hundred RU. It would be more likely that a hull breach would trigger a catastrophic munitions deflagration cascade. It takes environmental cycling one minute to initiate a full shut down.”

He stopped and chewed on his lip, letting go of his collar. “See, this is why no one asks a droid's opinion.”

Failure. Cardiac fibrillation detected.

“Calm yourself, Innault. Your cardiovascular rhythms are distorted, we wouldn't want anything to happen to you.”

Rating Innault snorted as he scoffed, “Oh, I'm sure my blood pressure is the real worry here. Not that we'll be done before those hard-boiled eggs in the galley.”

“Observation: you won't have to worry about premature ageing.”

Innault looked ready to say something, stopped, and let himself go silent.

Success. Cardiac rhythms within acceptable ranges.

“I... suppose-” there was a clatter from patent leather boots on the deck plating.

A half dozen black-suited Imperial Navy guardsmen hustled by, each grasping a blaster rifle. Their leader, a man no more than thirty, stuttered and halted at the mouth of the hallway. The small file of men staggered to a stop around him.

“Corporal, set up here. We'll have to cut through the galley if we fall back.” He nodded to the crossroads, sending his small squad of armsmen to the walls, sidling behind buttresses and bracing their blasters against the durasteel bulkhead.

“You, rating!” Their sergeant stabbed a finger at Innault.

The young man unsteadily pointed at himself mouthing 'me?'

The sergeant sharply nodded, “Come on, captain's orders.”

“I-I'm a cook!” Innault protested, stumbling over himself as he pointed to his grey slacks and unadorned cap.

The black clad armsmen unholstered a bulky pistol and flicked it up in the air, upending it and holding it grip out to the cook, “Anyone can make a difference. Droid, disable combat inhibitors and pick up any blaster that's lying around.”

Safety checks: on. Back up checks: on. Negation: 00-1Alpha. Combat Inhibitor: On

>Dir /CLI /ExecutiveOrder

>/ExecutiveOrder/run.exe

Safety checks-1

...

Combat Inhibitor: Off.

“Understood.”

The dull whirring sound of ion cannons splashing against the hull blotted out any other order or commands. Each impact made the droid's sensors flicker as if in a snowstorm. Static.

A single communication and sensory reboot cleared the fugue. The chronometer was off by almost a minute.

The older sergeant patted Innault's shoulder, keeping the young man pressed against the wall, taking cover behind a three inch strut. The lights flickered again before the thick durasteel hull started to pulsate and glow. A shower of sparks spewed into the hallway, bathing it in harsh orange as a plasma blade punched right through the armour.

“You are part of His Majesty's Imperial Navy!” The plasma cutter ripped a three foot semi-circle through the hull before he'd finished.

“Pick your targets! And whatever you do, stand fi-” The wall exploded inwards in a roiling cloud of acrid copper smoke. The first hulking figure through the breach loosed a thunderous volley of blaster bolts at the Imperial defenders. The sergeant was dead before he hit the ground.

...

Little WIP updates: I've got 4 Z-95's that are done (the last is just like the other two).

And the slightly bigger ones, the gunboat and missileboats

I've been using them as Firesprays.

Missileboat. Only ever used one so it was IG-88, but I might consider them for Aggressors. And singular models as I don't ever recall a 'squadron' of them operating together.

Here's my two questions: YV-666 substitutes: ATR-6's, Sentinel Landing Craft, or Delta-7 Escort Shuttles?

Second question, any preferences for updates on the Battle Report style? I'll see if I can get some more legitimate pictures buuut it gets hard without someone dedicated to it. Still, I can try. That and movement markers and graphics for objectives/debris/asteroids/etc. Thoughts?

I'll finish up the conclusion as well as the codeci for the Nebulon B-2 and Assaultboats soon enough!

Awesome! The TIE briefings are cool but if they are slowing you down a ton I wouldn't worry a huge amount about them. I feel like the updates can stand on their own without them easily, though they are sweet!

Can't wait to see who survives this one!

Nah, the TIE style reporting is pretty easy for me to keep up with, they probably don't take more than 30-45 minutes at most to work up. But should I put some more detail into them as an actual 'battle report', arrows, directions, etc? I think I did that once before but I didn't really get much for feedback. Just seeing what people are good with, that or just the little pre and post-game blurbs saying the results.

I'm good with either option, honestly

Operation Due Diligence, Mission 3 Conclusion

Innualt ducked low and skittered across the corridor. Lines of sizzling blaster fire stitched the floor and walls around him before he threw himself against the wall and squeezed his whole frame behind a bulkhead. The durasteel around him popped and glowed around its edges from impacts of the sawn-off heavy blasters.

Clutching his blaster, the one-time duty cook stuck the muzzle out and squeezed the trigger. The E-11's angry scream was almost familiar by now as the blaster bucked hard against his wrist. He had little hope of hitting anything, but through the copper tinged fugue, he could see the stark red shoulder ensigns of the Imperial shocktroopers. Seizing their opportunity, four of them ducked into the end of the corridor and bracketed the opposite end of the hall. Orange and red blaster bolts whistled past the cook who clung to the safety offered by a sturdy buttress.

He couldn't stay there, it always felt like there was someone behind him, stalking him. Hands shivering, heart thumping erratically in his chest, the navy rating closed his eyes for a moment. Hisses of static and mechanically filtered voices seemed distant and alien as he curled further into the crevice behind the laser pocked support beam.

But from behind his tightly shut eyelids, a flash of light draw his attention again. He opened his eyes and found it wasn't from a thermal detonator, or a blaster bolt, but that he was staring out one of the portholes.

The Raven might have been disabled but some distance away, he watched the almost ballet-like dance of massive ships prowling through the void. A pair of Star Destroyers effortlessly glided past the blistered and bubbled Renegade heavy cruiser. Flashes and torrents of turbolaser fire silently traced through the infinite blackness, disappearing into winking stars.

The methodical dance wasn't at an end, but the shapes slid past each other. The pyrotechnics and flashes slackened, but never quite ceased. Destruction looked so impersonal between the massive behemoths, who drifted apart without a hint of the carnage wrought by their infernal machinations. Majestic, if cold. Outside was something closer to home, closer to the eye-watering smoke and choking vapours, the echoes of shrieking screams that blotted out rational thought amid a wave of primal fear. Death was far worse up close.

One of the bulky azure liveried Renegade assault transports tumbled by on all axis. It had been gutted by something, throwing its smouldering innards across space in a shower of molten steel and ceramic plates, before something detonated in its core. The ungainly hull bulged outward and dissolved into a fireball, taking with it an X-wing which followed too closely.

For the first ten or fifteen minutes the wave of ATR-6's and X-wings had seemed endless as they worked their way towards the ship. The breakwater came int he form of the iny sparks of Tie Interceptors, then the fighters that lept on them . A dozen Renegade fighter craft had been blasted apart or chased off by the prowling Imperial pilots. They were easy pickings, escorting the lumbering leviathans to the Raven. Thankfully for Innault, relatively few transports had gotten through.

But somewhere, at some point almost imperceptibly, that good fortune had changed for himself, and for the Imperial pilots. Whether the X-wings that withered under Imperial fire were replaced, or the Imperial's discipline had faded in the face of stiffer opposition, was impossible to tell. But all too often it was the Tie fighters outside that were trying to twist and weave away from their intractable foes. A single blue-black X-wing twisted through the void, turning another Interceptor into a twisted shower of sparks and glowing panelling that flared by like a meteor shower before ignobly flickering out of existence.

He, on the other hand, felt that skeletal spectre looming over him.

“ Armsmen!” Innault's attention snapped back to noxious interior of the modified frigate.

“ s-sir?” The cook's voice struggled to be heard over the clatter of blaster fire.

One of the senior navymen gave him a quick nod and a countdown on his fingers. 3, 2, 1. Innault swallowed the bile back in his throat and turned the corner, running from the predator into the trap. He knelt down, ducking the blaster bolts that lashed across at shoulder height that nearly took the top of his head off.

Through the thick concealing pall of smoke, he could see them: a trio of Ashtek clanners. They massively bulky forms had long trailing cloaks and irregular patterns of overlapping armour, cut down heavy-blasters, and worse yet, those wickedly serrated blades that they seemed all too eager to use.

Squinting down the sights, Innault squeezed the trigger, sending licks of blaster fire down the corridor. It struck the first Ashtek high on the shoulder. It exploded in a shower of sparks and white-hot slag, but the clanner was still on their feet. Twisting their blaster around, Innault got two more shots off, each scoring a hit on their thick plates and sending the warrior staggering backwards. They regained their footing just as a shocktrooper loosed a fusillade of shots, one of them finding a soft spot under the figure's chin. It dropped after that, finger still squeezing the trigger as they sprawled across the open doorway.

The clanners were never content to hold still, they were always moving, which made even the small number that got inside, all the more dangerous. But this was familiar, this was home for Innault. The wide grey hallway, the slight flicker of a bank of lights on the far wall, a faint stink of grease, it was the galley.

Innault raced forward with a half dozen others, all new faces from whatever ship had sent them reinforcements. He'd lost track of LOM-8 somewhere in engineering when they were sent reeling by a whole squad of clanners; but he'd been following the four shocktroopers around for some time. The half-dozen Imperial soldiers raced by, Innault joining them at the head as they rushed the doorway. A shocktrooper tossed a thermal detonator into door, clearing the breach.

Some part of Innault told him it was a mistake to assume it was safe the very moment he slipped inside. The wide galley and its innumerable polished steel countertops acted like a mirror with wisps of blue and copper plates seen everywhere. Throwing himself down to the floor, a scintilla of relief shudder through him as a brace of fire skipped past overhead.

Another body filled the void, the shocktrooper's helmet scorched black by the impact as he keeled back over the body of the dead clanner. Several other Imperials forced their ways in, slipping into cover behind the metal counters. Popping up to exchange fire every few seconds with the two remaining clanners. It settled into a back-and-forth, broken only by padding footsteps, rasping com chatter from the three troopers left, and the occasional winding howl as a bolt ricocheted off a pot or pan left on the stove tops.

Innault scrambled across the open aisle on his hands and knees, then lay flat against the floor near the freezers, squinting to see something under the two inch gap at the bottom of the counters. He found it in the form of a distinct pair of heavy copper-shod boots. The cook tucked the muzzle of the blaster in the gap and squeezed the trigger.

A muttered curse, a clatter of shots, the clanner fell heavily on his side. The shocktrooper behind Innault vaulted the counter and levelled his blaster at the fallen warrior. Not a single shot, instead he tapped the side of his helmet and knelt down.

Not a moment too soon. The other clanner scurried low, rounding the maze of galley islands and firing from the hip. A shot winged off a handle of a saucepan a foot from Innaul, spinning it around like a top. The cook pulled himself up to the lip of the counter and aimed at the figure, just like the last, then squeezed the trigger.

A single shot went wide of the mark, then silence. The E-11 squawked in protest, its ammo counter at a flashing “00”. Innault's eyes bulged. He was out. Looking up, he saw the clanner barrelling towards him.

The Ashtek vulted his counter, a heavy boot flattening the cook completely. Innault sprawled across the floor as the Clanner swung the heavy blaster rifle like a club. The first stroke caught one of the shocktroopers, batting them aside. The remaining unoccupied shocktrooper fired on the Clanner's back, the shots rippling off armour plates harmlessly before the trooper threw themselves forward. Catching the clanner's arm, the bone-shattering swing went wide of Innaul's face, thundering against the ferrocrete deck.

The cook clambered back hand over hand as the shocktrooper clung to the tribal warrior, winding an arm around its throat and pressing his knee into the small of the clanner's back. The warrior sought a handhold only to find it slide off the trooper's featureless cuirass. The Ashtek's hand shot down to its side, dragging out its combat blade and plunging it straight back into the shocktrooper's hip. The distraction was just enough to loose the clanner from the choke hold. Twisting hard, the Ashtek bucked the trooper back and reached for a thermal detonator.

“ Wait!” Innault protested from feet away. From the corner of his eye, Innualt watched as a skeletal form slipped in through the swirling smoke of the doorway. His nameless stalker had found him. Sweeping its cyclopian gaze over the struggling pair, the figure lifted its pistol.

A single echoing crack echoed in the galley as the clanner pitched forward, a smoking crater behind its ear. It keeled forward, the thermal detonator rolling harmlessly away from its spasming grasp.

“ Speculation: it appears your career as a cook is over.”

The skeletal figure 's metal cowling had been shaken loose, tangles of cords hanging down like a robe while other spots were melted right through to reveal its frame, eye-globes punched through revealing empty sockets and a single roving red lens.

LOM-8 stretched out a cold wire-frame hand. Innautlt took the proffered hand and unsteadily helped himself to his feet.

...

Players note: it was an interesting game. 400 point Contested Outpost with Ceknell secondary objectives. Imperials got Comrades again, and the Rebels got A Face on the News (and elected the Yrellion Skye MC80 to be in the Limelight to draw fire from the flimsy escort ships).

Both sides were brutally mauled and yet there were stunningly few actual casualties: 3 X-wing flights shot down compared to 2 TIE Ln and 2 Tie In. But the ships? The Imperials limped away with 13 damage to their Motti ISD, 8 damage on a VSD, and 3 on their final VSD, with the Rebels limping away with both CR90's taking 2 damage, the MC30 taking 3, and the MC80 taking a very healthy 1 damage.

Aside from that, Tycho still has a place... deflecting non-escorting firesprays. He held up 2 flights of Assault gunboats which was great when I realized they could only really cause 1 damage on him per turn. 4 turns held up, then Tycho went and buggered off leaving the mangled remnants on their own wondering how they couldn't catch him. It was the first time I've used Tycho since before Sullust, and I'm still impressed. Aside from that, Wedge/Dutch/Luke, did their jobs pretty well. Well, wedge and Dutch did, Luke rolled 2 blank black's but held up 3 flights of X-wings for 2 turns before rescue came.

My opponent's big mistake, 3 ship activation versus 4 with Defiance and a double arc on a choice of 2 ships. Oh, and deploying the gunboats opposite of the Mc30 where it was really needed. My big mistake... turn 5, my CR-90's slipped back behind the whole Imperial fleet and caught a bit of flak. The CR90's both got mauled by gunnery teams from rear arcs. The ISD couldn't get past one obstacle to finish off the MC-30, but punched up a CR90 pretty good with 3 damage, and the Pegasus did about the same to both CR90's.

“ I'll never be able to get him before he shreds me to pieces.”

... Of every single round that I had to forget what my blasted Admiral does, I picked -that- one! HOW?! Ugh, some poor poor officer is going to be non-force choked for that lapse. I can't believe I could have killed that ISD and chain-killed his VSD. I let that one get away from me. Worse yet, Tycho had those firesprays down to 1 and 2 wounds remaining... could have likely finished them both off too if I chose the sacrificial route.

It still ended with 39 points for the Imperials, with +40 due to 2 rounds of claiming the “outpost”, to 38 points and +20 due to one round of control of the objective So the Imperials come out on top by 21 points, but they failed Comrades by having two vessels crippled, while the Rebels completed 'a Face in the News' So a 5-5 Imperial victory becomes a 6-4 Rebel victory.

...

And thus ends operation Due Diligence.

As far as battle reports are concerned the in-universe writing is nice but it would be even nicer if some pics accompanied it

I love the art you created of that Nebulon B2 with the pixelated planet behind it btw, really great haha

-laughs- we'll see. Pics during the game is likely gonna be a difficulty unless I can get a third person to do it. I tend to get wrapped up in the story of a game as they go on... I forgot what my Admiral did so it's probably telling how often I'll forget to take pictures I'll make the effort to try buuuut no promises.

Thanks ZenMasta, mate. I rather thought it was good too. Crosshatch, blend styles, anything to make the two look like they're part of the same thing.

I like the gunboats and missile boats. Z95s look good too, I have to paint mine. YV-666 I am using the Sentinel for until we can tackle it with DA. Missile boats I am thinking of using as Firesprays as well, although I am not sure yet. ATR-6s I am currently trialing the Shipyards boarding craft rules out. Should be good fun.