Thanks, mate!

Yeah I've been waffling between Sentinels, ATR-6's, Gozanti, and Delta-7's as YV-666 replacements. I'll have to see a few of them in person before I make any decisions, but thankfully that's not gonna be too far off.

Plans are still all-ahead full for a Lambda replacing the Jumpmaster 5000. (I'm just not a fan of the Jumpmaster itself, but I might very well toy with some modifications to it). It's hard to know what to use. Hmmm, It may take a bit to convince some of my group on the shipyards statistics, but I may very well have to lobby for their inclusion so I can try out the boarding rules too. Then I'll get to hang with the cool kids

I just allowed my group access to anything I wanted them to try. They wern't going to do it on their own. I needed to empower them. I have all of them in person accept for the Delta-7. What did you want to see, sizes?

-laughs- yeah I'm waiting for a few things to come in, and for a wild Mc40 to appear so I can snag up it and an Interdictor

Hmm, sure that'd honestly be great, mate. What's the Gozanti like in size compared to a Raider and something like a YV-666? (Though I've seen YV-666's and it might be my imagination, but they look grotesquely small. I really just can't judge the relative sizes of those 'shiplings' like the Gozanti and G75, so it's hard to slot them in anywhere.

Oh, that reminds me: did you have any issue with wavy lines in any printed Mon Cals? I had a striation of exaggerated wavy bands across a third of the bottom (I'd put up a picture of the bottom after I started working on it, but it looks like my MC80a caught some terrible tropical disease).

The Wavy lines will be an expression of the layered printing, based entirely on which direction the model was oriented when it was being printed... Unfortunately, with Shapeways, that is a problem that you just cannot control, because, well, they don't care as long as the model prints...

Honestly, with my Hobby Works, I'm considering progressing from complete 3D Printing from Proto to Product, to only 3D Printing Masters and going for the Resin after I clean up any surface striation issues.

Aye, I'd be fine with it in most cases but these were 2-4 mm high asymmetrical bands that you couldn't get a brush across (top was fine so I wasn't set to raise an issue about it).. Full resin ships always sound like something for clean up work but at the same time, I'm liking the idea more and more based on some of the potential complexities. For all the worry about air-bubbles in resin, they basically are just on par with banding on printed materials.

Still worth it, but man that was a lot to clean up.

My cruisers were perfectly smooth, but printed in FUD. I have no banding at all on any of it.

The Gozanti is smaller then the Raider, but not by much. The standard Rogues and Villains are a little tiny, and you are correct the YV-666 is very small for what should be the biggest of the bunch. That said, I no longer have a Gozanti model, but I found it too small for a ship base, and a little large to be a Rogue. Its just in that spectrum of too tiny to be a warship worth note, and too big to be a small craft.

Anyway, I will PM you some size shots of what I have out with their bases for size.

Thanks a ton mate, I do appreciate it. yeah I got an Mc80a in FUD too, but while the top was immaculate, the bottom had some issues -laughs- but like I said o'r there, it's worth it for getting my favourite ship of the series.

Yeah, I guess it really is a shipling, ain't it? But, after the recent Rebels episodes it's fast growing to be a ship I'm liking too much not to include in some form. Shame I have no idea what that form is

Fine, I'll put up the before and after pictures. I just wish I had one of the actual waves. I filled in the drainage holes too because, well frig why not if I'm already doing it.

Scary tropical Disease 'before' Work in Progress:

If it is too bad and or distorts the model bad enough you can request a reprint. Just send them a photo. I still need on of the standard MC80s. Meant to mention I feel the Gozanti will see Wave III of Armada. It is fast being spread around many sources. And was just released for X-wing.

-laughs- I'm fine with it now, it was a project is all Plus, the order came in heavy on Z-95's so I'll say it's a bit of give and take and I'm good with it. I just didn't think I'd need a dremmel on a 3D print. Still need to touch up the engines but that's paint, not body.

Its all good, I can get into some serious projects myself. I am still half tempted to use some Utar multi small ship flight pegs and make squadrons of medium transports and Gozantis mounted to a single small ship base.

Aye I wa wondering about that with the G75's in particular but they looked almost small enough to be 'large rogues' as well. Hmm, that Gozanti idea is sure sounding good right about now. But that Ghost and Phantom seem absolutely perfect for one of the dual pegs.

I forgot the Ghost in the pic. They work nice on a spread out standard squadron stand as well. The GR-75s really do look like Rogue sized ships. I am really wondering if Fantasy Flight intends to throw them into the game as a hybrid of some sort or attempt to sell them as small ships. Hard to say.

Very nice, it's good to know that they will work with even a normal squadron set. The G-75 is one I'm wondering about too, because I can't see them not including them in time. The hybrid ship/squadron idea has a lot of potential and I'm hoping they come out fairly soon.

My own personal stance has been that anything I get as a 3D print, I'll be picking up as an official model if/when it's released. So It doesn't feel too off for me Until then, onward to the homebrew!

I haven't got too much new -yet-, but I'm working on some great stuff and the group's on a short break thanks to an Armada tournament at one of the local shops (and it's mostly the same people in my D&D group, and we're restarting that so... Nerd overload this week.)

Perspectives between Lights

“They turned on us! Hackett, that rancid rat bast-”

The intercom's warm green light died with a jovial 'plip' as Reylk clicked his tongue, “Tch-tch-tch. Captain Camlee, would you so kindly wait until the fleet-wide communications are off before launching into an indignant diatribe?”

The dark haired woman bit her lip and rocked on her heels Silenced for a moment and seeming to snort coals, her face contorted in a series of ticks as she struggled to quell a rising snarl that forced itself onto her pinched facade. She finally clasped her hands behind her back in a white-knuckled grip and took a few deep breaths.

The pale master of the Dragon hid a smirk as he brought the data slate up and contentedly leaned back into the comfortable command dais. “Not that I wasn't enjoying it, but I thought that some of the younger ratings wouldn't understand. Besides, blathering on about a commanding officer has a particularly nasty habit of being misconstrued as insubordination. Sit, sit.”

Reylk roundly gestured for her to take a seat, but there wasn't a single chair to be had elsewhere on the raised gantries of the Star Destroyer's bridge.

Camlee blinked, eyes suddenly darting back and forth as a confused furrow formed on her brow.

“ Sir?” she asked at length while Reylk noisily sipped tea.

“ Hmm? Oh- pardon me, we seem to be out. Here, let me get you one from storage, I'm sure we have some that fold or float or something. Tassiner!” He called over his shoulder.

A quiet pause passed the bridge before a hasty clap of leather heels on ferrocrete decking reached their ears, “Sir?” A freckle faced youth in a neatly pressed and unadorned fleet uniform threw a hasty salute and tried to regulate his unsteady breaths.

“ ... Hmm, isn't that the strangest, thing I completely forgot what I was going to ask for. Hmm, mustn’t have been important. At ease Tassiner.”

An indignant huff of irritation and tapped his heels together. “Sir.”

From behind the rim of the data-slate, Reylk's smirk grew all the wider. “So Captain Camlee, how's the ship?”

For the first time in hours, the defacto commander paused without feeling the vitriol bubbling to the surface, “I... Captain, the Pegasus is holed through and through: there's breaches on eight decks, crews clogging up the med bays, overworked armsmen, a coffle of uncooperative prisoners brought aboard from the Raven, oh, and a gaggle of smoldering TIE fighters sitting in the hangars.”

“ But other than that, everything's fine, I take it?” Reylk made a note of momentary surprise, quirking a brow at the cup.

“ Well, it can fly forward.”

Placing the slate beside the chair with a noisy clatter, the pallid captain sprang to his feet, “And that's -just- what I wanted to hear. Because I have a feeling we're going to need quality ships like it rather soon, what with the Dawnguard in the shop and the Raven popping in a few lights and what-not. I'm sure they can handle it, but Hackett might be in a bit of a bind if certain things aren't taken care of.”

The Arkanianr officer gestured out the large front viewscreen overlooking the Jelladyer shipyards at the edge of the sprawling Port Eirkon orbital facility. Dozens of tiny shuttles ferried work crews between the massive scorched and crumpled behemoths that lay at rest, tethered to the skeletal scaffolding by the vice-like jaws of the mag-clamps.

A thousand firefly-like sparks in the distance near the glittering cerulean spires of Port Eikron hanging above the swirling verdigris clouds of the ancient world. The Imperial vessels were certainly large, but even a few heavy passenger liners and mass conveyors were nearing their size. A half-dozen green corvette lay at rest, interspersed between the cinearl warships. The local defence forces had picked up some of the slack after all.

“ Now, I do have a question for you, Captain Camlee: what exactly does the Pegasus require?” it was asked much quieter and with little reserve.

Camlee huffed, “A month in drydock and about six hundred new faces.” She sighed heavily, “And a captain that can actually get her to perform how she should... I'm, look I'm not cut out for this whole 'captain' thing. The Pegasus needs Arboe back.”

“ Hmm...” Reylk's stared down his nose at the work being done to the pair of Victory-class vessels in the middling distance. “Tassiner!”

Tassiner crossed back from the shadows at the edge of the bridge, hustling to the pair of ship captains standing at the foremost section of the bridge. “Sir?”

“ Do fetch my data-slate.”

The young man stifled a groan and made the shuttle run right back to where Reylk's command dais before promptly returning it to him. Reylk neatly passed it offhandedly to Camlee.

Camlee caught the utilitarian dataslate and glossed its display, “It's Arboe's warrant signed by-” she made a dangerous growl, “Hackett.” Reylk voiced a chirp of affirmation but little else. “And the sentence for... there's a note here for Fleet Captains and above. She was sent to the Prozerras prison colony?! Why would an Admiral let a Fleet Captain see this? It's a step away from treason itself, and the whole thing is full of holes. I think I remember some of these from a vid, because I sure never said even half of what-”

“ Fleet-Captain Hackett had it censored to the best of his ability... at the time.”

“ You went snooping through his records.” Camlee's eyes glittered as the Fleet-Captain smirked.

He pursed his lips and “Now now, 'snooping' is such an ugly term. I merely investigated all the happenings to prepare myself for this position, here in this... cozy, little corner of the galaxy. Now, I shall be recording that the Pegasus is in dire straits and in no condition to rejoin the rest of task force Anvil at this present juncture. But, you shall be provided a rousing good time here in task force Springtrap, on a provisional basis of course. You shall retain complete mastery of the Pegasus while I'm indisposed.”

“ Indisposed?”

Reylk held up a finger, begging for silence. There was a brief pause before a musical chime broke the stillness.

“ Sir!” an officer called from the port command pit. “Fleet HQ, the Admiral requests your presence at the Azora's number five lagrangian point, near nav buoy two-twenty-five.”

“ And we were having such a wonderful day. Now Captain Camlee, aren't you and your crew going on something of a trip? Do bring me back a souvenir.”

Camlee shot him a salute that he readily returned before turning to gaze out over his ship's bow. “Bosun, make ready the Dragon . Comms, ring me up corvette Gallowglass , bad form to show up for a party without a guest. Tassiner, break out my other good mess jacket.”

...

Author's note: I think it was Lyraeus who mentioned the notion that Motti could be represented by the willingness for a crew to go above and beyond for a leader, which explains the extra Hull Points a ship gets beyond its natural max. So, I figured 'why not make Reylk less war hero, more kamp noble'. It also explains his otherwise complete lack of tactical acumen.

....

And here's some old new TIEs. Got a few stands done up.

Got a bit of a story update too, and a battle planned for the near future so I should have some stuff up soon.

As always, looking **** fine.

Thanks mate! I am liking the new ties, even if they take forever. Only another 4 more TIE Ln squadrons to go, then 3 Tie In. Think that'll be it until my Tie Defenders show up.

Well, I went to one store tournament last week and lost aaaall 3 games, still made out like a bandit with neat Armada swag I need more practice... I also need a list I've played before. Mon Mothma was great at not getting killed, but I don't think a single one of my bombers rolled a hit all night. An A-wing was really going at it, and lately my Y-wings have been chewing up enemy fighters more reliably than my X-wings. Fancy that.

Alright, well, the new little bits and bobs I'm working on (or a sampling of them at least).

Thiiis was a fun one, the paint was a little tinted and it made the model turn out slightly tinted. Honestly, I think it works just great.

Firespray. I now have another one so I'm getting all ready to paint that one up when I finish this project. Ooooh the possibilities! I adore painting these things. I wonder why Mel doesn't do a 3 pack... hmm.

I've got a whooole lot of other things going on so you can expect some more painting stuff in the next little bit. And Ceknell should be getting at least a little game on Monday (Family Day here) but we'll see if everyone shows up. I might be able to snap some pictures this time.

The Azora Schism

Operation Azora's Light has begun. All pilots are to refer to orders three-oh-four and follow them to the letter. After the disastrous confrontation at Pelatine, Admiral Hackett has invoked the aid of the ISB in uncovering any dissenting elements before continuing anti-insurgency operations. We believe Fleet-Captain Reylk has been in contact with insurgent forces, and must be apprehended so proper judicial prudence may be exercised. If he is in collusion with the enemy, it will be for purposes of destabilizing the Empire.

ISD Dragon has been summoned to the Azora cordon, a narrow strip between the planet and an exceptionally dense asteroid field, designated M-8. Here, we will initiate negotiations for the peaceable hand-over of the ISD Dragons to the admiral's command. While task force Anvil is being refitted and reinforcements are fully mobilized, task force Lantern has been given lead in this operation.

The Gladiator-class Star Destroyer Banshee will act as the flagship for the operation, under Rear-Admiral Perch. He will act as the relay officer and inaugurating official of any diplomatic exchange between Admiral Hackett and Fleet-Captain Reylk. In the event of a break down, it is possible the situation may turn hostile. We have planned for the event.

The majority of our fighters have already been deployed inside the M-8 asteroid field near the nearest moon of Choban. On the signal 'Remain at Azora', Lawbringer squadron will begin their attack run on any enemy support ships around the Dragon , clearing the way for the Banshee . The Lawbringers will then aid in attacks upon the Dragon itself. Be careful, we only want to drop the Dragon 's shields, not destroy a valuable asset. Follow up attacks by the Raiders will disable the ISD Dragon in preparation for boarding.

In the meantime, Tie Advanced from the Tibanna Bats will form flight group Gamma, and will conduct a combat air patrol over the Azora cordon zone. The Waywatcher will be detached as support if the situation becomes untenable.

Corvette Warlock will focus on engaging the enemy flagship with its torpedoes and ion cannons. GSD Banshee will close at an oblique angle, driving the Dragon to engage either it, or the Corvette squadron. It will then engage the Dragon at point blank range and remain alongside until the Dragon can be properly boarded. The Baanshee 's expanded warhead launchers should be enough to quickly deplete the Dragon 's shields, clearing the road for ion cannons to disable the ship.

The objective is the Dragon , we can not afford to lose another Imperial-class to treachery or rebellion. To your posts and wait for the go-phrase: Remain at Azora. Dismissed.

...

With a hissing crack and a faint scarlet haze, a pair of ships tore through the veil and dropped back into realspace above Azora. The glossy blue globe span with cyclonic topaz clouds, shadow cast by a trio of precariously hanging moons blotted its surface. Long fingers of debris, asteroids, and other cosmic flotsam spanned the spaces between the gaudy cluster of lifeless grey rocks orbiting the oceanic globe. And far above it, a single man-made star clung to the horizon as a spark on the edge of darkness.

“Dragon , this is Rear Admiral Perch of his majesty’s ship Banshee , stand by for instructions.”

The holonet fizzled and hissed on the bridge of the Imperial-class star destroyer, a smaller CR-92 silently drifted in the Dragon' s wake, a minnow in the shadow of a shark. The Gallowglass' s captain remained silent, as did most of the bridge crew aboard the Dragon.

Fleet-Captain Reylk casually lounged in the command dais. The air of affluent disregard practically oozing off him as he absently flicked the pulsing green glyph on the arm of his seat.

“ Ah, Admiral Perch. Morning. I've heard a lot of good things about you. Of course, I was expecting Hackett. He's not around then?”

Silence greeted the core-worlder's question for almost ten full seconds.

“ Standby.” a mechanical voice rasped. The pale captain held up a finger and beckoned his aid to him in the meantime. A small white porcelain cup was set on on the opposite arm of his chair, passing the interminable lull.

A squeal of connecting holonet links drew a wince and the grainy voice that replaced it garnered the same response. “Hackett here. Reylk, you violated orders to withdraw and not come to the aid of our scuttled ship. Your blundering mistake interrupted a delicately tuned operation and is responsible for the deaths of countless crew and the escape of the insurgent forces.”

Reylk listened to the stern voice, piping back up after a noisy sip from the cup, “Ah, Hackett. S'that you? I expected to see your shuttle. We had a nice little reception planned. And how's the family?”

“ Your glibness does you no credit Arkanar.” there was a snort from the other end of the holonet. “You will stand down and -”

“ How was the Pegasus' s emergency channel jammed?” The captain interjected with a lilting hint of curiosity.

There was an incredulous halt from Hackett, “What?”

The smirk only grew as the pale captain grinned and leaned forward with the serving plate on his lap. “I said, 'how was the Pegasus' s emergency channel jammed?' We use a full spectrum burst for Order Zero emergencies. The subnet mask should have still gone through as a data signal. You can jam it with something bleating on all frequencies, but the subnet signal is still there. You can't shut down a Code Zero emergency broadcast without destroying the array or routing it through the local command ship and switching it off. So, how was captain Camlee's Order Zero broadcast switched off?”

“ Your insinuation borders on treason, Reylk. I order you to turn yourself over to the Imperial Security Bureau and stand down your ship effective immediately. I will be sending a representative to appropriate your vessel.”

Reylk's smile never failed, “I think I'll wait for the proper authority before handing over an Imperial-class Star Destroyer-”

“ I am the proper authority, captain! Remain at Azora.” Hackett's comlink clicked once. In the distance, the winking silver star flickered and began to shift.

The impertinent fleet-captain looked back over his shoulder, “Signal the Gallowglass to break off and-”

A sudden chime interrupted him. “Sir!” one of the signal officers chattered quickly, “two ships exiting hyperspace off the portside!”

Reylks attention snapped back to the wide bridge window. A pair of shimmering blue trails etched through the darkness well above the asteroid belt. The dagger-like Raider corvettes altered course and cut off the hyperspace route back to Port Eikron. Dozens of ruby lights flickered to life among the asteroids.

“ Scramble all fighters. Now!” Reylk slammed a fist on his console and bolted upright from his chair sending the serving plate to the floor. It shattered, fragments of delicate white porcelain skipping across the walkway as the vessel rolled its ponderous bulk to face its foes.

Break Free:

Captain Ceito's fighter savagely bucked, the flight yolk barely responding as the nimble craft was thrown into a sickening spin. Turbolaser fire glanced across the flight surfaces, the inertial dampeners already stressed to the limit before the ion cannon shots skimmed just wide of the solar panel's surface. The blistering blue lance screamed past, narrowly flaring across the bow of the CR-92 a kilometre behind the depleted fighter screen.

“ Gallowglass ?! Is anyone still there?”

The corvette rocked hard, another small electrical fire sparking from its engine block, wisps of smoke and atmosphere escaping from cracks in its alabaster armour. The ghostly blue traces of its deflector shields did little more than entertain the enemy gunners as they picked up the ion resonance and briefly flickered to life before dying. The corvette's tibanna pumps were starting to fail, its batteries pocked and sparking from hits.

The vessel had come off poorly from a knife-fight engagement against a Raider. To its credit, between itself and the Dragon , that same Raider which had inflicted the damage now drifted as a ruined husk near the edge of the asteroid field.

“Knight six, Gallow 's comms are down. Relay must have blown.” A gravely voice of one of the captain's wingmen chimed in.

The Tie flight still skirted the capital class, providing close-in protection; Hackett's trap-fleet drew ever closer, throwing every shot it could at Reylk's tiny group. The Gallowglass had come out the worse for wear compared to one of the Raider's that had slipped right next to it. Hackett's lead ship Banshee veered hard to port, loosing a full spread of torpedoes which corkscrewed across the void, a dark shadow swept across the Gallowglass.

The massive bulk of the ISD Dragon slipped in the way, scarlet ribbons of flame sweeping across cracked and buckled plates, soaking up the fire meant for the smaller stricken ship. The Dragon was rocked, wreathed in baleful fire and wounded by the onslaught. Its lights flickered, but held.

The massive beast's turbolasers adjusted, then breathed a barrage of heavy bolts at Hackett's fleet. It struck the Gladiator in the bow. The shields flickered on the first shot, the second passed straight through and impacted against its dorsal spine which promptly burst into flames.

“ Banshee is hit! You seeing this!?” crackled over the holo-link.

Captain Ceito smiled as the Tie pulled in close to the Dragon , skimming past the buckled armour plates and venting oxygen clouds. “I see it, I see it. It's still too far out for us to get too. Stay with the Dragon . If any more snubfighters show up, we'll have to get them before they bring her down.”

“Sir, yes sir.” one voice after another echoed back.

The enemy fighter screens had been a hassle, but the bombers, the advanced, each one he'd clashed with had disappeared in flames. Although there was scarcely half a dozen pilots left now. Ceito inhaled deeply, listening to his heartbeat slow. It was a duel between the behemoths, not his fighter pilots. Again, if the Dragon were taken out, they might very well be stranded there.

The Dragon and the Gallowglass slipped right past the Gladiator which altered its heading after a last parting shot. They slammed into the Dragon , sheering off pieces of its heavy armour as if descaling a fish. All that was left was the last Raider. But the Gallowglass was barely holding together, and the Dragon itself seemed to be functioning on strength of will alone.

“Raider-two, Ion cannons!” One of Ceito's pilots shouted into the com-channel, making it crackle painfully on his headset. But sure enough, he was right. The tiny Raider altered its course and slipped closer, the Dragon 's guns still focused on the distant Gladiator.

“We're getting awful close to that thing Cap'n-”

“I know!” Ceito's composure cracked as he stared at the corvette. They were the bane of fighter craft across the outer rim and beyond. But as the turrets twisted to track the Dragon , the man took an unsteady breath.

Colonel Alhonza's words rang in his ears, a moment long ago when he stood on the parade grounds as a newly inducted pilot. 'I expect only one thing from you: the courage to do what's right no matter the cost. If you are to be knights, you must be dedicated : dedication to each other, to the honour of the squadron, and to every person on every world that relies upon you for protection. You are Knights, not because of the name on your flight patch, or by the call-signs, but by the actions you take when the accountability rests on your shoulders alone. You are knights, and so long as you hold to these things, no one can take that away from you.'

The captain tapped his all-ship communication channel. “I'm going to see to it that the Dragon gets away no matter what. This isn't an order.”

His hand stayed on the throttle for a moment. It was an insane, inane, and likely fruitless venture if that Raider ignored them. But he had to try something. Another voice rasped across the com net, “Copy that, locking in the Raider.”

“Throttle up and close in on point-o'six, make their gunners pick a target!”

“Let 'em see what the Knights can do!”

Ceito clenched his fist around the metal thrust lever. “Hear that, Dragon ? Get yourself and Gallowglass out of here. We'll cover you as long as we can. Might even take that nosey little corvette with us.”

The Tie fighters banked hard and pulled away from the Dragon and climbed, finding the highest attack angle. Hackett's Raider placed a few shots on the Dragon , but it seemed to have hesitated as the fighters closed to attack range. Ceito's target reticule still showed black as the rangefinder's readings decreased with astonishing speed.

“Close to one-three and open up!”

The black circle lit up bright green, and Ceito's thumb mashed hard on the flight yoke. Lances of green laser fire raced towards the Raider and impacted against its shields which flared bright blue arcs. The rest of his group's joined in, bombarding the shields in emerald spears. It crackled, and under the onslaught, burst with a rasp of sparks.

Whatever it did, it caught the Raider's attention. Fire at the Dragon slackened as the murderous turrets were turned on the Ties.

“Press the attack!” Ceito howled as the last staccato burst walked across the Raider's hull leaving black pock marks.

The response was immediate: a maelstrom of fire swirled around the fighters as interlocking rapid-fire cannons tracked the screaming fighters. In seconds the first Tie flared into a gristly orange ball of fire and tumbled into the raider amidship, disintegrating in a flurry of sparks and mangled steel. A second was spitted by a heavy laser cannon and exploded. Shrapnel tore off a corner of Ceito's own fighter as he brought his fighter down on an angle below the bow, barely outrunning one of the primary turrets.

Ruby-red fire spat past him, and even a quick count said that he'd lost three fighters already. The quick turn would have certainly been enough to throw most ship's targeters, but it was a vain hope. Another of his wingmen's wings were clipped, sending it into a terminal spin only to be ripped to pieces by another chattering turret.

Bringing his Tie up and around, he flipped his cannon recharge off, letting it drain. The twin ion engines shook as every ounce of power was put into them and the power levels started to fall. The external amps picked up the sound of another explosion behind him as the Raider's guns chattered to life in incandescent streams of fire.

Just a bit more.

Ceito struggled against the high speed spin as he brought his Tie back around on the bow, watching as even the Raider's weapons struggled to keep up as it spat death mere feet from him.

“Thank you, Knights. This is fleet-Captain Reylk, Dragon is away.” The corvette and the Imperial-class hung in the void a moment longer, then with a blink, disappeared into hyperspace.

Ceito looked back over his shoulder as he put all his weight against the yoke, lining up the Raider's bow again and watching as the cannon levels completely drained.

He narrowed his eyes and smirked, bringing the Tie right across the Raider's scaly hull, skimming the wing struts over the ship's thin metal hide, eating up the hundred and twenty five meters distance as wrestled the speeding fighter in line with the Raider's bridge.

'Wasn't like that was going to do much anyway... still, this way I'll get to see the look on their faces too'

Very nice! I love the image you came up with there in front of the asteroid field, very thematic haha

And its nice to see a little outright dissension in the ranks once in awhile!

I rather like that image too, I've got a larger version up on my desktop as a wallpaper image just because the colours are kinda nice.

Aye, dissention is a great one, and this is only the beginning. Hopefully now that the 40K league thing is in full swing it'll lessen some of the need to test and coordinate things for new lists, and I can get some more Armada in. I've even got the pre-game write up already worked through.

But, for now, I've got a few updates. Just a small one at first, but there will be more rather soon. Oh, and one little clarification: I happened to have gotten my earlier order of Z-95's from Mel rather than Tsalt. (Thanks Mel!) and now I have some from both, and gunboats from both. I'll write a little bit about them when I get those new fighters painted up (they're both great, they just have a few interesting aspects that differentiate them that are worth noting). Just figured I should clarify

I am sincerely and seriously considering replacing all my existing Tie advanced stands with Tie Avengers. They really are just awesome little models that get me more than Advanced did.

These... these let my little Ceknell group finally take notice of some custom stuff beyond the usual 'dey is painted!' sort of thing. Bit unfair, but in general, the Defenders caught a lot of people's attention, as did the promise of a few other Imperial 'specialist' fighters in the future. There will certainly be groups of them in my future, they were a lot of fun to work with, and I'd ever so like to have some of these, and Missile Boats, in the shipyards sometime.

And I should probably put my R&V stuff here too.

I don't much care for it, so I'll probably simple green it and go over it again when i find ideas to match the ship.

And my HWK. It's not too impressive from that angle but there are still 3 coats building up to white... which outright didn't help as the red diagonal stripes instantly make me think 'coast guard' more than anything else. But I don't hate it... almost amusing.

A merc based on the X-wing Scum 'Mandalorian Mercenary' picture that I modified just a touch. Still, I'm pretty happy with it.

And the H6. I'm still not sure what exactly that ship is, but I'm fine with it. The lights turned out well but the background washed out the weapons and canopy shading. Ii worked with another H6 thhat turned out better, but that's for another time, eh?

Anyhow, that's all for today. I'll hopefully post something else more interesting tomorrow.

Vykes, do you have a legend for the campaign map? Something to show what each symbol means...is it a star, a base, a planet, a "jump point", etc?

I plan on using your map and some of your lore for an Edge of the Empire campaign I plan on running.

As it is it's just 'bigger dot means bigger population centre' but I can easily make up one with a more detailed legend if you'd like. I still have that PSD file around from when I actually made the thing, so if there's anything you need I'd be happy to help.

Ah. I was just curious if they were all supposed to represent planets, or if some were habitable planets, others were just star names, others might be space stations, etc. No big deal.

Lets see then: if it's named it's generally a basic populated star system (so long as it has the diamond dot. Ex: Moranth, Korith, Yethalla, Ashwargo, etc). Tenagra is an exception, it's a once-populated region that's still on the charts but no one is around anymore (hence, no dot).

If it has a single ring it means that it's a site of a significant station or transit hub. Some may have dots (major population centres) but some like Allutia and Laven don't, which means it's primarily orbital.

Port Eikron is the Subsector capital, it's got the dual rings.

Hyperspace lanes are just graded on their use and stability, bright to dim, major to minor routes.

The only other thing I can think of is that any place within the 'grid' has been charted and explored. The rest is essentially wild space.

Well, we've got a bunch of 'custom' ships done up today. Arquitens, Gunboats, CR92, Z95's, etc. I finally got a bit of stuff done (actually a lot, but it's been on hold while I finish this after action report). And that's over, now it's just left for me to write and process it all.

I had to use one of my own frigates as a colour guide to see if something would work, so I made up an 'Imperial' Nebulon B for my forces.

Z-95 Green 'Guardian' Squadron.

The three flights on the left are Utar/Tsalt's, and the right most one is Mel's. My personal opinion is that Mel's is nicer as a game piece, but Utar's is better for a display piece (it scares me how thin the cannons are, and the sides of each needed a bit of greenstuff filling).

CR-92 "Gallowglass"

I made it up as a Raider replacement, but really I just wanted an Imperial-aligned CR90'ish thing. It's painted up in a supposed Ceknell system's militia scheme, much like the Z-95 Guardian squadron, and this very well might just form the beginning of my 'Scum' or security force group. R-41's, R-22's, CR-92', maybe some Action flotillas, that kind of thing.

Assault Gunboats

The centre group are Mel's and the left and right are Utar/Tsalt's. Mel's are, once again, less detailed but far more freedom to paint while Utar's are more detailed. If you happen to like your washes, Utar's are likely the way to go, Mel's gives a bit more freedom. But Mel's are also closer to the old TIE fighter models while Utar/Tsalt's is the newer 'heavier' ships that I aesthetically like a bit more. Both great, just a 'thing'.

Jumpmaster

I hate the jumpmaster, this one I don't intend to use that much, because I have a better replacement. Still I can't show up at regionals with something 'more' custom, right?

Sentinel

These things are awesome, no question about it, pure out awesome little miniatures. These and Shuttles make up my jumpmasters.

Imperial Light Cruiser. (Arquitens)

A better replacement for GSD-II's I have not seen. I adore these ships, just a bit smaller than Gladiators but bigger by far than a Raider. It's part of a squadron, and part of the upcoming Prozerras raid story! But yeah. Oh, I can always put up a step-by-step tutorial in case anyone wants it. These ships paint up very similarly to my other stuff, GSD's, ISD's, VSD's, all are about the same.

Aggressor

Just a multi-view show. It's not my favourite green (one I did on commission I like better as it's more vibrant) but the windows are a lot of fun.

Gozanti

I keep looking at the upcoming FFG gozanti, then this one, and can't help but think "I'm going to need more". One of a group that I did on commission, the others are even more fun.

The Vector was done on request and yeah, that was fun. Tons of little bits, getting used to it, overall I'm very pleased with how these things are.

X-wing stuff that occupied my time

And here's been what's taken so much of my time lately. Okay, not much, I've been busy with touranments and the like too, but here are some neaaaaaarly finished snubfighters.

Anyhow, I'll get back to writing up that battle report, and I'll have a bunch of other pictures up this weekend.

Amazing