Classic Space Starfighter

Amongst other things I was busy with building a successor to the Andromeda, a project that is, with all its redesigns challenges and more redesigns, definitely worth a longer post on its own. But today I show you what I built immediately after I finished it (for now!). Contrary to the Andromeda II, this one was done in a couple of hours and consists of some leftover pieces I originally put aside for the big one:

While the Futuron-Federation is an organization of peaceful explorers, ongoing attacks by Blacktron Marauders showed the need for fast hyperspace-capable fighters as escorts for deep-space-travel.

Being primary an interceptor/escort ship, the starfighter is relatively lightly armed but fast and agile. Certainly not a threat to capital ships, it is an excellent dogfighter. The pilots praise the responsiveness of the ship thanks to its light weight, its small size and the excellent view from the cockpit.

It is definitely a pilot’s machine and despite its excellent performance it isn’t without its quirks. It is only lightly armoured and therefore not very resistant against damage. Pilots are urged to make use of its manoeuvrability and speed and avoid catching hits. While it might take a bit of practice to get used to it, the Starfighter is popular and very effective. It quickly became the backbone of the Futuron-quick-response units.

When I put this one together, my priorities were clear: speed and simplicity, while being faithful to the classic-space style. The design came together rather quickly – the wing- and slope-pieces you see on the picture are basically all that I had left!

I started making an outline with the grey pieces. They usually define the fundamental shape of a classic-space ship, while the blue ones are more supplementary, so they come first. Then I figured out ways to accommodate a pilot, keep the lines sleek and fast, added the engines… and there it was! It was done so quickly, I wonder if I had it waiting and being put together in the back of my head all the time I was building on the Andromeda II!

The canopy-piece, while not exactly in the perfect colour for its style (I know, yellow is the way to go…), surely helped defining its look. Bubble canopies just naturally allow so wonderfully curved lines and are so space-efficient as well (not in an astronomical sense!). For me, this little ship is like the perfect storm coming together. It just worked right first try!

A happy pilot. I really like this face-print. The orange Star-Wars goggles give him such a lovely, overexcited and slightly mad expression. Flying a space-ship like this just makes you grin like an idiot!