Federation Commander

More fun with the razor saw. Seems like I'm finally getting good use of it.

Started work on a Federation Police Frigate (seen in CL41, details in CL24).

Since its an upgrade of the standard Pol mini, I started there. Extending the front hull isn't so hard, just cut and pin like my Gorn CCH and Orion MR. After that, I cut a length of brass tubing and filed down the front to make the rounded bussard collector with some help from my Makita drill.



And then some pins and I was ready to go.



This however didn't match the description in CL24, saying that the engines were in a "V" configuration. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out how that was possible, since the new nacelle HAD to be on the top (also inferred from the description, and putting he nacelle on the bottom would have blocked the stand hole, and seen in the art from CL41 HERE). Then, duh!, I realized that the OLD engines were in a V configuration. So I made a new nacelle strut from brass sheet (like on Will's awesome CVA), and used that.

Here it is quickly tacked together with some superglue. Sorry about the poor quality of the picture.



This also makes it look more distinct from the standard Pol.



Now, I am going back to epoxy it together, make the nacelles fit the strut better by filing down the existing arms, and I'm going to cover the lower side with putty to make a nice even surface.

More pics up on my NEW page.

Great job, Paul.

That's another one of those "fairly easy" conversions I've always wanted to do, but never seem to find time for.

I'm glad someone actually did one.

Me too. I've toyed with the idea of doing this one, and (yet again ) Paul blazes the trail. Truth be told, I have my Gorn BCF, Romulan FastHawk, and will soon have a Kzinti BCF, because Paul went there first with his Kzinti conversion.

If I do a Fed Pol FF, I might fly my lower engines down so the "V" is inverted and they look like this:

ACK! It looks like a Hydran... Next thing you know, Mike Curtis' son John will be painting one up in bluish-gray and trying to launch Stingers from it!

Thanks for the kind comments.

Will,

I like that configuration too. Just remember the extra phasers on the front hull (I know a quick and dirty drawing, just wanted to mention it). I had no idea that I was an inspiration like that for the fast cruisers. Wow.

Tony,

It does look a bit like a Hydran. And, yes, the PFF is a "simple" conversion to do. That's why I like it--not too much thought and pain, but enough to keep my curiosity and talent sharp while I don't have a lot of time since I'm trying to concentrate on writing (for work/school).

Yours looks awesome, Paul. I like how you keep pointing out details that I miss (like missing phasers), so please continue to check me on stuff like that. It was a quick and dirty drawing, but more-eyes = goodness.

I went back to fix up my DDF recently. I was happy with it, but after I made my CF with it's LOOOOONG nacelles, I wanted my DDF to match. Since the nacelle was made of plastic tubing, it was easy to fix.



And here it is compared to my CF.



And another large project that I started almost 1 year ago finally got finished.

I wanted a small Gorn X-ship squadron, and I knew I had a BDX, and had an old lead BC to make the CCX, but I didn't have any old CLs (until now) to make either a CLX or an HDX. So I took the existing HDD mini and cut out the nacelles, with the center of the rear hull and everything, leaving a 'U' shape. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of that. But here's the mini after I filled that part with putty.



And then I separated and cleaned up the nacelles and added pins to pupport the pylons and the endcaps like on my CCX.



And the finished mini:



And here's my small Gorn X-ship squadron (all finished):



And my wonderful (and too inquisitive) cat watches as I take photos.

Nice work, Paul.

I probably should have tweaked my fast-ship engines, but I already have my DDF painted, so it's just the blue nose-caps for me.

Looking really good, Paul.

I like the strecthed engines... but I have way too many "X" type ships already painted to worry with going back and changing them now.

Scoutdad, my son wants to know if you have done enough Hydran X ships. He wants to use them.

I have lots of Hydran ex-ships...

Or at least they will be after my Vudar get a hold of them.

Thanks guys.

The stretched engine really came about because of an "accident" of getting the 2nd CF that I hadn't planned on.

And for this project it was nice that I haven't had time to paint and decal, so the DDF could be torn apart and redone.

That reminds me, I need to make some custom engine pennants for that one now.

Sweet-looking cat.

CF and DDF look sweet too!

Had some time the past few weeks and I finally got back to some minis.

First, my finished Federation Police Frigate.



I added the forward phasers from sewing pins that I filed down.

And they're going to need this ship, because of what's next:

Some (a)typical ships that the police forces would encounter.

A Light Raider Scout

Simple enough to add some sensor dishes to the mini. The standard ADB ones are just too big for this mini, so I fashioned my own. They're not the best, but they'll do.





A Mauler Battle Raider

The initial outline of the added battery banks and power transfer cables:


The power transfer cables and the side batteries added:


The forward batteries and the mauler cannon added, and initial scribing lines added to the batteries:


FYI, the epoxy dots on the rear of the hull aren't phasers, they're going to be warning lights.

One thing I tried to do with both of these minis is make them indistinguishable from the parent miniatures when viewed from the top.




As always, more pics on the 'NEW Miniatures' page (link below in my signature).[/b]

Fantastic work! Well done!