Model Additions - Star Wars, Babylon 5, & Star Trek

Good afternoon everyone; as these weird times continue I have pushed along getting models off my painting desk. As of late I have found great success by working on small batches of minis from different universes to keep things fresh. Anyone who has painted mass groups of grey ships can understand the apathy that can build up and apathy leads to degradation of outcome.

This model can be found here.

Many months ago I received an order from Shapeways with more Star Wars models. I have finally reached a point where instead of ordering new classes of starship I am finishing off classes. In this case, my Rebel fleet had one MC30 Class Cruiser but my envisioned fleet list includes four. With these three models I no longer need any more of these plucky Mon-Calamari ships.

This model can be found here.

Just as with the MC30s, I had one Quasar Fire Class Cruiser for my Rebel fleet but my envisioned fleet required one more. Additionally, my Imperial fleet needed two, and so three arrived at my door along with the MC30s. The Quasar Fire has gained some prominence in the lore in recent years with appearances in Star Wars: Rebels as well as the newly released Star Wars: Squadrons. This little carrier gives me options in smaller games as it is a cheap way to get four squadrons of fighters on the table.

This model can be found here.

Finally for Star Wars is an XQ5 Space Platform. Previously I have completed an XQ4; with these two stations I have expanded my scenario options. The XQ5 is a little more powerful than the XQ4 but still only equivalent to a cruiser in firepower. I adore this little model and wish that I had ordered it in a higher quality; the current material has a graininess that detracts from its splendor.

This model can be found here.

In adherence to my plan of switching up my painting queue, I reached into my bin and out came some Babylon 5 models. Digging around my endless supply of ships it occurred to me that my massive Earth fleet had no Oracle Scouts. Considering this little cruiser served as the backbone of the fleet for decades and as a support vessel for nearly a century, I believe this was some sort of crime on my part. I have more of these models but three should be sufficient for my needs for now.

This model can be found here.

As my hands ruffled through the contents of my bins they came upon something I did not expect. My Earth Alliance fleet contains all the Artemis Class Frigates that I own. Apparently not. Two of these hard hitting escorts came out of the ether, much to my surprise. After an examination of the models I realized why they had not been painted previously, the casting is horrendous. However, feeling that their appearance was a sign from the gods I decided they would now be ignored as painted models on my shelf rather than unpainted models in a box. Seriously, I don't think I will even field them. Why did I paint them?

This model can be found here.

Finally, just these past few days I gathered up the courage to tackle an intimidating model. I have previously painted one of these Galaxy Class models but have never been happy with the results. For my Starfleet force I chose to go with a darker hull scheme, partly due to the first models I dealt with being First Contact era classes which benefited from it. However, the darker scheme on the TNG era ships has bothered me since they were first completed. Thus, with this model I decided to experiment with new techniques and methods.

The darker scheme on the first model also suffered from an inconsistency in the paint tone on the hull, a problem I believe I have corrected. With a few minor modifications I believe this new scheme will be what I use going forward.

Then I got a little silly after completion with custom decals. The USS Dauntless, NCC 72116.

And also livery on the nacelles; This may have been going too far.

Next I have to figure out how to strip the paint of 3D printed resin models so I can make my fleet match. There are also 22 Excelsior Class headed my way, joy!