The Carmakian Empire - My first Scratchbuilt Fleet

Here I present you the Carmakian Armada!

The mighty Carmakian Battlecruisers, along with a fighter squadron

The even mightier Carmakian Battleship

Side view

And now, the Legendary Carmakian Mothership: The Invader

side view

The underside detail. Here is where their engines are located, as well as some heavy duty batteries.

The Invader engines. This model came out very heavy (about 1,5-2kg), but the omni-stands are holding it just fine.

You can check the designs here and see if these conversions are decent enough.

And here is how I made them:

The first thing I learned about scrathbuilding is that anything you can use as a basic shape for your model is going to save you the trouble of having to come up with that shape with bare hands. 

So, the Carmakian dome-shaped hull, for instance. Instead of having to mold that free-handed, I could use some support to help me define that shape. Luckly, I found a sconse that provided me with exactly what I needed.

I disassembled the piece, and used the cone end as a support where to shape the battleship's hull with epoxy. 

To make the details, I simply "stamped" some Battlefleet Gothic bits on the epoxy.

I greased the support before applying the epoxy, but it wasn't enough to prevent it from sticking to the metal. Upon taking it out, it came apart, unfortunately. So I figured out I'd need to use a medium to keep the epoxy from sticking to the sconse.

Considering that the battleship's hull is kind of, well... phallic, what a better solution then...

Condoms...

Well, problem duly addressed, and now my hulls came off just fine, so bear with me here...

Anyway, moving on. The battlecruiser needed different solutions:

Basically, a lamp support and this plastic piece which I don't remember right now how to call it.

I positioned the pieces togheter as shown above, and then pressed epoxy into it from the underside, first applying oil on the plastic to prevent the epoxy from sticking there.

 After leaving the epoxy aside for a while to cure, I removed the plastic upperside and stamped the epoxy with BFG bits to apply details.

The underside got a few washers to represent the engines. They were stamped there while the epoxy was still soft.

The Battleships also got those lamp supports to work as the underside part of their hulls, except that for them I needed narrower ones.

For the battlecruiser, I then applied epoxy on the sides of the metal support, and again, stamped it to create the details. But this time I used a Borg Cube as stamp, for it holds a whole lot of detail, perfect for the job.

As for the battleships, I basically glued lots of BFG bits to the low hull, representing its weapons' array.

Now, the Invader needed an even more oddly solution. For the basic shape, I got a pet post.

I cut the post and rearranged the parts so to make its shape less straight, as the Invader tends to have the upper side much broader than the low side.

Next, I covered it with epoxy, and stamped it with a Borg Cube all over, to apply the details.

The fighters ade Agents of Gaming Fleet Action Centauri fighters, which I had bought in excess for my Centauri Fleet. 

And that was pretty much it. Here it is, the finished fleet:

Now, painting it white was a nightmare, mostly considering the spherical tendency of their structure, which makes washing them really tricky, but that is a subject for another day.

*End of Transmission*

Visiting a Legend

Today I paid a visit to a fellow gamer of our wargaming club, Geraldo, one of the pioners of wargaming here in Brasil.

The main purpose of my visit there, after a long trip to the city where he lives, on the outskirts of Curitiba, was to learn from him how to use silicon rubber and resin for modelling.

Still, I took some time to take a good look around and check his amazing collection of miniatures. The amount and quality of the stuff he has gathered throughout the years is unbelievable.

Here are some pics:

The stuff I liked the most are his custom made terrain pieces. They are simply beautiful:

Now, that beauty deserves an additional pic:

And another:

And more...

I was also happy to know that its not just my painting desk that gets, uh... a little messy and chaotic...

Anyway, my host was extremely patient and nice, and walked me through using silicon rubber to make 2 part moulds, as well as how to use resin on the moulds.

I also found out there is a place that sells Plasticard here in my city, so now I guess I have everything I need to start modelling my own designs for spaceships!

*End of Transmission*

Scale of Power for SciFi Races

One of the things I enjoy about spaceships Sci Fi is classifying all my favorite races into categories of Power Projection Capabilities.

In order to do so, I have to extrapolate a little on the current theory for types of powers on literature, to fit them in terms of outer space power projection.

So, I came up with the following suggestion:

Races may be classified on planetary, galactic and cosmic (!) levels.

Races that are capable of projecting power only within their own homeworld, to a greater or lesser degree, are classified under the current theory of power status (local power, regional power, major power, superpower, etc.), and fall under the planetary power category.

Races capable of projecting power over stars on their home galaxy are classified under the galactic status. And here is where my (silly) ideas thrive...

Galactic Level Powers may be: Interplanetary Powers, Local Powers, Regional Powers, Major Powers, Superpowers, Hyperpowers.

Interplanetary powers are races capable of projecting power on their own solar system, as well as on nearby systems, up to a few light years distant. Example of this on Sci Fi would be the Bajorans, from Star Trek DS9.

Local Powers are capable of projecting power over an area of space up to a few hundred light years from their homeworld. Ex: The Ferengui Alliance, the Gorn Confedaracy, both also from Star Trek.

Regional Powers are races with suficient capabilities to project power over an area a few thousand light-years around their homeworld. Here is where I believe most "major" powers in Sci Fi would fall into. Ex: Federation, Romulans, Klingons, Cardassians, Centauri Republic, Earth Alliance, Narn.

Major Powers are able to project power in a region of the galaxy far from their own territory. Ex: The Dominion, from Star Trek, the Centauri Republic in the past and the current Minbari Federation, from Babylon 5.

The main difference between a Regional Power and a Major Power could be seen in the Deep Space 9 series: The Dominion could fight a war on the Alpha Quadrant with extreme efficiency, though very far away from home. Could the Federation and its allies do the same? They could barely defend themselves from the Dominion Assault on their own backyard.

Superpowers are races capable of projecting power not only over far regions of the galaxy, but virtually anywhere in it. Ex: The Borg Collective, the Vorlon Empire.

Hyperpowers are those capable of projecting power on the entire galaxy (superpower), in a galaxy where there are no (other) superpowers or major powers. Therefore, their extreme power is unopposed.

As examples of this, we have the Galactic Empire, from Star Wars, and the Wraith on the Pegasus Galaxy, from Stargate Atlantis.

The Borg are classified here as a Superpower, rather then an Hyperpower, precisely due to the presence of the Dominion (a major power) in the Milky Way. Such race has suficient capabilities to oppose Borg interests on far reaches of the Galaxy.

The same happens with the Empire of Men, from Warhammer 40k, which would also fall into the category of Superpower, as its is capable of projecting power on the entire Galaxy, but can be effectively opposed by other superpowers or major powers (the Eldar, the Orcs, the Tau, The Necrons, etc.)

Finally, we have the scale for Cosmic Power. It is even more theorectical than what stated above, as it would imply assuming races could project power much beyond the limits of their home galaxy (!).

But anyway, here too we would classify races as Intergalactic Cosmic Powers, Local Cosmic Powers, Regional Cosmic Powers, Major Cosmic Powers, Cosmic Superpowers and Cosmic Hyperpowers.

Intergalactic Cosmic Powers are those capable of projecting force on nearby galaxies. They are assumed to be Superpowers or Hyperpowers on their own home galaxy. Ex: Species 8472, from Star Trek (and probably The Wraith, from Stargate, is too, as I don't recollect if they were able to travel among galaxies).

Local Cosmic Powers can exercise power on a few hundred galaxies around their own. Right now, I can't think of any Sci Fi race that have gone so far. But I have one of my own that reaches that level of power: The Citri!

They are so powerful they can submit entire galaxies, millions of light-years away from Citrar, their home galaxy...

The next level would be Regional Cosmic Powers, which would be those capable of projecting power over thousands of galaxies. Again, no Sci Fi race hits me right now. But I have one of my own here, too:

The Andromedans!

Beyond that, there would be the Major Cosmic Powers, which would be those races capable of projecting power over millions of galaxies. No, not even I have something to fall into this category... 

Next, Cosmic Superpowers would be those capable of projecting power over the entire Cosmos (!)

Finally, a Cosmic Hyperpower would be a race capable of projecting power over the entire Cosmos, if there was no other Cosmic Superpower or Major Power.

The rest of my own fictional races would almost all fall under the Galactic Regional Power category, such as the Oberons, the Calinori, the Burbassi and the Vidrians.

The Carmakian Empire is a Major Galactic Power, and the Alliance of the Worlds, a Galactic Superpower, although each member on the Alliance, separatedly, would at best be classified as a Local Power.

What do you guys think of that? Does it make sense? What other races would you classify under these categories?

*End of Transmission*

A Sci Fi Universe of My Own IV - The "New" Alliance and the Balance of Power

A number of the younger races that had been Protectorates of the Ancients for several millenia became pupils of the Alliance, once they achieved a certain level of both social and technological development.

Among those races were the Terrans (humans), the Bretori and the Olixians.

Officer of the Terran Star Navy

Bretori Female

Bretori Cruiser (520m long)

Bretori Battlecruiser (832m long)

Olixian

Olixian Cruiser (920m long)

The terrans are the most beligerant of the younger races that joined the Alliance, and with the Elders largely withdrawing from wars in the Galaxy, the humans became a kind of "war caste" amid the allied worlds.

Several other younger races have raised to power in the Milky Way, the most important being the already mentioned Carmakians, and also the Oberons, the Burbassi, the Calinori and the Vidrians.

Oberon Soldier

Oberon Destroyer (682m long)

Oberon Cruiser (931m long)

Oberon Battleship (1.3km long)

Burbassi

Burbassi Destroyer (690m long)

Burbassi Cruiser (900m long)

Burbassi Battleship (2.1km long)

Calinori

Calinori Destroyer (637m long)

Calinori Cruiser (716m long)

Calinori Battleship (960m long)

Vidrian

Vidrian Cruiser (1.03km long)

Vidrian Battleship (2.05km long)

The Alliance of the worlds and all the other major powers coexist in a state of "armed peace", occasionally disturbed by minor confronts, as no nation is willing to risk an all out war against a single foe, which could leave them vulnerable to the other powers.

Such circunstance is referred to as PAX STELLARUM by humans, in reference to the pax romana era in Earth history.

The Oberons have annexed several Calinori populated worlds centuries ago, and the majority of population there is still Calinori, in a region of space squeezed among three borders: The Oberon Republic, The League of Calinor and the Carmakian Empire.

Such situation is seen by the Calinori as an ocupation, even today, many hundreds of years after the annexation. This is cause to frequent conflicts between Oberons and Calinori.

The Burbassi, historical antagonists of the Oberons, are an aristocratic race, where social position is based on birth and family name. They watch the disputes among the Oberons and Calinori with extreme attention, seeking any signs of fragility on the Oberon side which could be exploited for their own ends.

The Vidrians are an aquatic race with extremely xenophobic disposition towards all "dryland walkers", and refrain from contacting alien races as much as possible. Any alien ship that travels through Vidrian held space is subject to immediate destruction by vidrian patrols.

As for the Carmakians, this is the race with heavier Citri genetic descent, which makes them extremely ferocious, intolerant and beligerant. Their armada is more powerful than that of any other major power alone, except for the Alliance of The Worlds, which rely on the more advance Ancient technology.

This is the context of the galaxy on the late 23° century (earth time).

And with this post, we finish the review of my fictional Sci Fi universe. 

*End of Transmission*