Gratuitous Federation & Empire

 And other places. These are resin pieces, 6" diameter, sold by Combat Zone Scenery in the UK, and very nice they are too. Part of their Armada scenery range, they are useful hemispherical planets of various kinds. Here's my attempt at the moon/planetoid/large asteroid one: In any tabletop space combat game the miniatures are going to be wildly out of scale when compared with model planets, but often we need something visual to do the job well. These fit the bill nicely. Jungle planet: I used gloss acrylics for the sea effect. You'll notice a couple of metallic building son the surface - the moon of Endor? In fact, the other two definitely show the Star Wars Armada theme:  Ice planet - aka Hoth. And yes, that is a representation of a dead Tonton at middle right. You can also see a destroyed At-At walker at the top of the photo. The details are fun, but they have to impressionistic. I think this one turned out well, to my surprise. Someone once told me a long time ago not ...

 The Nagato  has not seen direct combat action for a while now, but I know that our time will come. It does so in the form of an order to accompany another of our New Light Cruiser class as pickets for a Heavy Scout Carrier/Cruiser, one of our former Galactic Survey vessels that has been repurposed for the war. Our first engagement against the Klingon offensive sees us stationed at the far port end of of the fleet. In conjunction with a New Heavy Carrier with F-111 heavy fighters, we see off a Klingon attrition group composed of 24 fighters and six gunboats. We exchange fighters before the Klingons warp out, saving their gunboats. Our second fight is rather more dangerous for us as our flotilla is paired with a New Light Cruiser squadron to take on the enemy command element. Their ships are extremely dangerous, comprising a Heavy Dreadnought, a D5X Advanced Technology Cruiser and a D5L Command Cruiser. We manage to damage their front shields, but at the cost of severe damage t...

 I end up fighting in only one engagement accompanying the Victory , in which our group sees off three Federation cruisers, all heavily damaged. At this point I receive new orders: to report to the D7C Demonslayer  with the rank of Commodore. I will be in charge of a Battlecruiser flotilla for the next series of combats, although I am beginning to wonder how many that will in fact be: the attrition on both sets of forces is incredible. Now I am not in command of my own ship, but two D5W Heavy War Cruisers as well. We are assigned to mask the base while the remainder of the fleet engages the Federation ships. I deploy my formation with the two D5Ws in front of the Demonslayer  due to their superior shielding. We advance to just outside overload range of the station and perform the dance of death, a manoeuvre in which our ships do not move closer but instead use tactical moves to change shield facings. This inevitably gradually reduces the shields on our ships and I order t...

 I take my place with the Rabblekiller  as one of two D5 Leaders assigned to accompany the B10 Battleship Invincible  in our attempt to reduce an Advanced Technology Federation Starbase. The approach battle was simple enough, but this fixed position will be difficult to tackle. I am not sure that we have the logistical superiority needed for such a task; against an "ordinary" Starbase, perhaps, but this one is a good 50% more powerful than that. A useful comparison view; from Deviantart Our first engagement goes well. The Flathead admiral is clearly one of their pre-war bureaucrats and we inflict a great deal more damage on their vessels than they manage to do to ours. We are in it for the long haul though, and our Admiral Ogir gives the signal for withdrawal as our fleet reaches the point where a viable assault on the base itself is no longer possible.  The second fight goes even better, although again we have to retire before engaging the base. Ogir's stated intent...

 It seems a long time since I began as First Officer of a Frigate. Now Captain of the D5L Command Cruiser Rabblekiller , I am tasked along with another D5L to front the Battleship Invincible  - in other words, to take any hits for her. The Eastern Fleet has been massively reinforced with a "swarm" of attrition units - 200 extra fighters plus another 18 gunboats, in addition to the already formidable force itself. In addition, a new wave of technology has seen the development of so-called "X-ships", advanced technology vessels with superior capabilities. We expect the Federation to deploy similar ships as we move to assault their main Starbase on the Eastern Fleet's sector.  Fighting has been going backwards and forwards in this region for years now and the wear and tear on the planets and Battle Stations is testament to the increasing severity of the war. Further to rimward, we have been able to maintain lines of communications with our Romulan allies. There are...