Lit Fleet Junkie Flagship- The technical discussions of the GFFA (Capital Ships thread Mk. II)

I do not drink your Kool-Aid that they are ugly ships...but I do believe we should see more ships of that size from other manufacturers. Basically the ships the Rebels have that can go one on one with SDs are the Mon Cal ships and the support corvettes and frigates are other manufacturers. I would like to see Corellian, Lantillan, Sorosuub, etc...capital ships of that scale in the Rebel fleet.

 

they need to find new mon cal numbers than MC80, MC80A, MC80B, MC80AA, etc
really wish LSG would retcon Liberties and the "wingless liberty" into something different from the Home One, don't care which retains the MC80 designation, but they really shouldn't keep using that over and over again, there's literally infinite numerals aside from the number 80

 

At this point, my head-canon is that MC-80 is the reactor style, with the Home One mounting several, and the MC-80a/b as refined reactor designs, while the MC-30 and -40 are smaller ones. Since Mon Cal cruisers are supposedly all individual works of art (which never matched the movies), categorizing them by reactor instead of hull makes sense.

 

At this point, my head-canon is that MC-80 is the reactor style, with the Home One mounting several, and the MC-80a/b as refined reactor designs, while the MC-30 and -40 are smaller ones. Since Mon Cal cruisers are supposedly all individual works of art (which never matched the movies), categorizing them by reactor instead of hull makes sense.

 

Those are nice looking designs. They should go thru all the film models and concept art and start assigning ships to class names that never had a picture done for them.

 

Does anybody know if the explanation for the big blue laser bolt that shoots out of the ventral hanger of the Venator to one-shot a Munificent in the opening scene of ROTS is still canon? That it was a SPHA-T walker bolted on by Anakin Skywalker? I can't recall whether that was just in legends or if Lucasfilm had concocted that story.

 

It was Legends (Incredible Cross Sections: Revenge of the Sith) - but it's the sort of thing they probably wouldn't change. I don't know if the Visual Encyclopaedia references SPHA-Ts in the ROTS movie or not.

 

That's a really cool way to get around a continuity hiccup. Make a Venator even cooler somehow!!

 

I just had the thought that you could have a huge conga line of B-17 style door gunners on each side of the Nebulon B spar, sort of like that part of that level in Jedi Academy where you and Katarn board a Dreadnought, I think that would be pretty cool.

 

Honestly, I don't really love the idea of designs persisting across centuries. As cool as it is to see Rebel Hammerheads in such a prominent role, it kind of bugs me that they're based off something that existed (in Legends at least) 4,000 years ago.

 

I don't really like the flying saucer on a stick look of legacy era starships and that one republic cruiser from KOTOR, if the starhawk looks like anything I think they oughta take inspiration from the Valor class from SWTOR but iron out the aesthetic design bugs to make it fit in star wars and not have the fascia look quite so generic

 

Battlefront II shows us what appears to be a MC80 Liberty-type star cruiser with large hangars underside. More like Home One-style hangars.

It's kinda how I imagined the old EU MC80 Justice, which was sister ship to the Liberty but designed to be an assault ship.

--Adm. Nick

 

I just realized with how LSG loves turning unused concept art into different versions of extant things or entirely new types of thing in Star Wars (e.g. the Ralph McQuarrie snowtrooper -> Rebels AT-DP Pilot, Ralph McQuarrie A-wing -> Resistance A-wing, Republic Communications Ship -> Malevolence) that they might repurpose this old Nilo Rodis-Jamero art from ESB for the Starhawk. I posted that guy's art a while ago, discussing his Mon Cal cruiser concepts.

 

YES! My head canon now imagines an upscaled version of that Neb-B concept art as the Nadiri Mark 1 Starhawk. So say we all!

--Adm. Nick

 

It'd need changes and refinements of course to make it more "their own" but I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out very similar looking when we finally get a chance to see it. Speaking of which, I'll be keeping an eye out for the On the Front Lines book coming out next week and see if there's any such reveals in there. I'll keep you posted; if there's nothing really new in it I'll tell ya, if there's first visual renditions of text-based starships, I'll buy it and take a few photos on my phone.

 

Justice had another sister ship called the Remember Alderaan. Those ships were well named.

 

Not a lot of new Fleet Junkie stuff in On the Front Lines, but the book is awesome. Dan's admiration for Ackbar and his skills really shines through in the book. His section on the Battle of Jakku is an expert weaving of all canon sources, making the narrative very smooth and fit well with Lost Stars, Blade Squadron, and Empire's End.

--Adm. Nick

 

Oh you already have it? No new visual designs then? Any good renders of extant ships at least?

 

I find it disappointing that they do not use opportunities to give us pictures of ships that we do not have pictures of.

 

The books new art is focused on some stunning images of ground battles and leaders. I'm sure we'll get an image of the Starhawk battleship at one point, we Fleet Junkies are used to be patient to wait for images of ships. Hell, I'm still waiting patiently for a picture of the EU's Mediator-class battlecruiser!

--Adm. Nick

 

Well krif...no Starhawk Class Battleship eye-candy in the On The Front Lines book. Looks like our last hope to see it this year will likely be at the end of Episode VIII. Sort of like how the rag-tag Rebel fleet was teased at the end of Episode V. Yes I'm still in the camp that believes there are a few surviving New Galactic Republic military elements (not in the Hosnian star system when the mighty Starkiller Base roared). Sigh. Well if the Starhawk never is depicted - or if it is too organically shaped - I'll settle for a few NR military survivors using old Quasar Fire Class Carriers. Of all captured Imperial ships the QFCCRR would be the design likely still being used into the Episode VII era. Why? It's main offensive / defensive weapon is the starfighter (more in line symbolically with Rebel Alliance / NR military philosophy). It's not as imposing as a SD - or as psychologically tainted in the memories of the general NR population. At the very least if no longer in the hands of the NR Starfleet then perhaps in the hands of various PSDs allied to 'beheaded' NR government. I just want the protagonists of the saga to have some nicely angular and razor sharp capital ships. Such ships can still be designed to be distinct from Imperial / First Order designs. Really is that too much to ask for Disney Studios?

 

Yeah, no new ships. Plus the images of ships featured in each battle's weapons of war section are stock images. So we see familiar angles of MC80's, Neb-B's, CR90's, ISD's, SSD's, etc.

This book wasn't billed to be the next Essential Guide to Warfare. It's meant to be an intimate look at the major battles and examine the leaders, tactics, and impacts of them. Besides, the more we fans buy books like this or the upcoming Rebel Guide, the more the good folks at LFL will see there is a market for this.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a "New Essential Guide to Warfare" between now and the end of the ST.

--Adm. Nick

 

I've been Googling Star Wars concept art, I came across this gem today.

http://www.rebelforceradio.com/news/2017/5/5/exclusive-ilm-dumpster-diver-treasures-revealed-on-rfr



Another Neb-B concept, would make a fine Starhawk too.

Also- this ROTJ storyboard reminds me that had ILM had the technology at the time, Endor would have been even more wicked cool that it was:



--Adm. Nick

 

Wow, that looks uncannily like the Resistance heavy bomber thing from TLJ. Chalk up another one for reused concept art?

 

So it would've been B-wings firing instead of A-wings!

 

I NEEEEED IT

 

That (imho) would make a better Starhawk than the more Nebulon B looking concept art.

 

Note too, how prominent wingless MC80 Liberty-type cruisers were.

--Adm. Nick

 

Consider some of the things WEG did....they used ISD concept art and made it the Vic...they used X-Wing concept art and made it the Z-95. This is the kind of thing I would like to see more of from the material. Release art books and use some of those concepts to flesh out ships. Art based on the canon battles we have seen.