In general I can't stand the WEG ships. They all scream, done on a tight deadline by someone not terribly interested in good design. That said, this is an excellent polishing of a WEG tu**. I like your proportions and general massing. The only thing I'd change at this point is eliminating the 3rd blister (counting bow to stern). I just don't think it's necessary and it crowds that section of the ship. You could then nudge blister 5 (aft-most) vertically down a little, giving it better firing clearance and generally cleaning up the hull. The quad positions along the bow are a nice addition. It might be cool or worth a look to have them mirrored vertically.
Also there was a physical model of the TIE Shuttle at Celebration Europe! That CieranHarmony guy took some pics and the Star Wars Sourcebook Facebook page shared them. The design is distinctly different from earlier presentations of it (cough, WEG, cough). My assumption is it's the official version of it. They even have a higher res pic from Empire.
I still think the two best 1:1 one's they've done is the Tie Interceptor for at Celebration one year, and the Lego X-Wing for Force Awakened (which was -godlike- in how well put together it was).
As for the Dreadnought itself, its known, in-universe, to be a less than top tier unit. It suffers horribly in any engagement where it goes nose-on to a target, and even worse tail-on (not one of its primary weapons can shoot straight aft without requiring the ship to turn slightly), as only 3 of the large weapon blisters on either side can actually shoot forward. However its very nasty if used to go broadside on a target, or, even better, able to turn so that its topside is engaging, as then 90% of its main/heavy guns can lock on. Conversely, it sucks if its 'above' a target, which also neatly means it has almost 0 protection against snubfighters coming in from that angle.
All of which neatly mimics some of the compromises actual WWI-WWII warships had to deal with in that in some areas they're spectacularly good, while in other areas, they're horribly exposed.
I still think the two best 1:1 one's they've done is the Tie Interceptor for at Celebration one year, and the Lego X-Wing for Force Awakened (which was -godlike- in how well put together it was).
As for the Dreadnought itself, its known, in-universe, to be a less than top tier unit. It suffers horribly in any engagement where it goes nose-on to a target, and even worse tail-on (not one of its primary weapons can shoot straight aft without requiring the ship to turn slightly), as only 3 of the large weapon blisters on either side can actually shoot forward. However its very nasty if used to go broadside on a target, or, even better, able to turn so that its topside is engaging, as then 90% of its main/heavy guns can lock on. Conversely, it sucks if its 'above' a target, which also neatly means it has almost 0 protection against snubfighters coming in from that angle.
All of which neatly mimics some of the compromises actual WWI-WWII warships had to deal with in that in some areas they're spectacularly good, while in other areas, they're horribly exposed.
Pretty much all of this. With my arrangement it's a little better - all heavy turbolasers can point forward (through a tiny angle, but still), and it trades 100% armament cover topside for a 66/33 split dorsal/ventral. There are even some direct aft arcs for the medium turbolasers (for about a quarter of them). Most guns would be best on broadside.
I'm going to add some heavy missile launchers ventral, like the Kandosii, and that will help make the ship a bit more credible as a warship.
As for WEG, I'm not sure even how the tube-form ship became so popular there. It's not like the OT film ships used that format...at all, so no idea why they went with it for Carrack/Dreadnaught/Lancer/etc. when ALL imperial capitals from the films were daggers...
It looks gorgeous, fractal. But, it feel over-gunned for Star Wars for me. It's almost got a Space Marine Dropship level of gunnery on-board. The guns all look great, and they all fit that Star Wars "used industrial" motif ... but there's so MANY of them. But, hey, that's my Couldn't Model My Way Out of a Wet Hard Drive opinion.
not digging that big wide flat bottom but this has some great shapes particularly around the cockpit. and i love the wing gun designs. those are tight.
After seeing your Dreadnought come together Fractal, I find myself wanting (quite badly at that) to know how you would go about building a nBSG Battlestar.
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Also there was a physical model of the TIE Shuttle at Celebration Europe! That CieranHarmony guy took some pics and the Star Wars Sourcebook Facebook page shared them. The design is distinctly different from earlier presentations of it (cough, WEG, cough). My assumption is it's the official version of it. They even have a higher res pic from Empire.
As for the Dreadnought itself, its known, in-universe, to be a less than top tier unit. It suffers horribly in any engagement where it goes nose-on to a target, and even worse tail-on (not one of its primary weapons can shoot straight aft without requiring the ship to turn slightly), as only 3 of the large weapon blisters on either side can actually shoot forward. However its very nasty if used to go broadside on a target, or, even better, able to turn so that its topside is engaging, as then 90% of its main/heavy guns can lock on. Conversely, it sucks if its 'above' a target, which also neatly means it has almost 0 protection against snubfighters coming in from that angle.
All of which neatly mimics some of the compromises actual WWI-WWII warships had to deal with in that in some areas they're spectacularly good, while in other areas, they're horribly exposed.
Pretty much all of this. With my arrangement it's a little better - all heavy turbolasers can point forward (through a tiny angle, but still), and it trades 100% armament cover topside for a 66/33 split dorsal/ventral. There are even some direct aft arcs for the medium turbolasers (for about a quarter of them). Most guns would be best on broadside.
I'm going to add some heavy missile launchers ventral, like the Kandosii, and that will help make the ship a bit more credible as a warship.
As for WEG, I'm not sure even how the tube-form ship became so popular there. It's not like the OT film ships used that format...at all, so no idea why they went with it for Carrack/Dreadnaught/Lancer/etc. when ALL imperial capitals from the films were daggers...
ahhhhhhhhhh yes. i know this design. but what threw me off was all of the guns in those warts as you say.
If this is a Mi-28... how would an Mi-24 equivalent looks like?!
A standard LAAT/i I guess, which was inspired by the Mil-24
The Mil-28 has basically the combat capabilities of the -24 but none of the transport capacity.
Superb work as always, fractal. :thumb:
Really cool design.
Then it's a Strikestar. =D
Light Atmospheric Assault Vehicle/Infantry (LAAV/i)
Rescue pods or heavy rockets?