Building the Battlestar Galactica/Cylon Fleet

[Whiterook]

OK, switching up a little and started work on my Battlestar Galactica game's Colonial and Cylon Fleet! Following is some of what I am working with for the Colonials (on the right), and Cylons (on the left).....









These are all metal miniatures, and have a gorgeous sculpt to them. The Cylon capitol ships need assembly, but otherwise, everything else is one-piece.

[Whiterook]

The smaller Colonial fighters are magnificent! In this first shot, you can see the old Mk I Vipers in the foreground; the Mk II Vipers in the center, and the newest Mk VIII Vipers in back. I bought these strategically, specifically for the game I am designing: I only have a few of the Mk I's, as they are the oldest ships in the line, and represent fighters used mainly for escort and ceremony purposes. The Mk II's a re little more plentiful, and are batttle Vipers, though they are now being replaced by the newest Mk VII's, which will be the most plentiful in the game.



These Mk VII Vipers make up the lion share of the fleet's squadrons.....



And I have a few Raptors, which each Colonial capitol ship (Battlestars, mainly) will have full squadrons of these babies!

[Whiterook]

These are the Cylon Basestars, along with some destroyers and one cruiser....





I plan on sculpting some additional smaller Cylon capitol ships and support craft.

[Whiterook]

Work first begaon on the Cylon capitol ships, actually. As you can see with the perter ships, they have a male/female connoctor in the way of peg and hole attaching pins on the central core disks.



I used Superglue to glue them together, and then clamped them overnight.....



The Basestars are the true gargantuans of the lot and reguired the clamps to get them to seat properly in the glueing phase.....



The pin connectors work very well, and in the end, the pieces are solid and substantial! Of course, I cleans what little mold venting and flash that was present, and then gave the pieces a good bath with dish soap and a toothbrush, patted dry, and allowed to dry overnight.

[Whiterook]

Also, I worked on the Colonial capitol ships, which are cast resin. The Pegasus Battlestar is a real monster, and a nice meaty ship. All these resin miniatures were cleaned of flash and mold lines, wearing a suitable mask of course, and needed some filing. They were then washed with dish soap and a toothbrush after they had been dusted off using a computer keyboard canned spray of air (works great, BTW). After washing, they were patted dry and allowed to dry overnight. Then, assembly of the landing pods and tail thrusters commenced, in which I glued everyting with Super Glue. A note: Superglue cures QUICK on this stuff, so work quick to get placement right, as it'll be stuck for good in no time flat!





Below is a Thor Warstar.....



And a Raven Battlestar.....

[Whiterook]

I love the Raven Battlestar! I just may cast a few more similar to this!





The Tjhor Warstar was a beast to assemble, as the thruster pods are a real pain to hold and align. Impatience is not your friend, in a case like this mates!



Thank goodness the Cronus Warstars only have the rear thruster assembly to mount!

[Whiterook]

I used one of my spring clamps to hold the Thor Warstar up so that the thruster pods could cure unhindered. This went next to some of my Cylon Fleet clamped in their Dry Dock! I actually broke tow clamps, which had to be chucked away.....cheap material on these clamps bought at the Dollar Store!

[Whiterook]

The Atlas Battlestar is a real beauty!



The Helios Light Battlestar is a solid piece, thank goodness. I like the shape on this unit, but the detail is a tad busy for my tastes...still, it adds a lower line ship to the mix. I may cast a few more of these.



The Thors.....



And two Vanguard Gunstars

[Whiterook]

And of course, the Queen of the board, the Battlestar Galactica, which comes in several pieces. This required the most filing and cleanup af all the pieces, and I took extra care with her!

[Whiterook]

A grayish-white primer went on the minatures. Then black acrylic was brushed on lightly, enough so that the color sank into the nooks and crannies. Later, a drybrushing of Metallic Aluminum would go on the top.....