TJOTMS: EP.12, “The Dragon, Revealed”


Location
KCS Mary Shelley in port at K’Tusk Free Station
Night Cycle

Background

The KCS Mary Shelley is docked at the K’Tusk Free Station undergoing upgrades to her Warp Drive. A dispute has erupted between the station Leaders and the crew of the Shelley over Nazi spies and the Shelley’s attempt to apprehend them (see previous episode: HERE)

Meanwhile, there is a starship lurking within the upper atmosphere of nearby Catilla..

The Kaptain of this mysterious vessel believes that the upgrades to the Mary Shelley have been halted mid-installation. At this moment, her Warp engines must be disassembled, she cannot escape… and with the station’s rotation cycle, she is on the far side. Her sensors are blocked.

Kapitan
“Order Fighter Operations to launch a strike immediately, and inform the Growler to cooperate.”


SCENARIO
The fighter complement, augmented by the Jeaux Pirates, will launch and fly to attack the KCS Mary Shelley. Their approach will be concealed by the bulk of K’Tusk Station until they are very close. To further maximize the chances for success, both the station and the Mary Shelley are on their “night” cycle and might possibly be less alert.

The strike plan is to make a single pass and determine if the Shelley’s jump engines are disassembled. If so, the attack will proceed to a second stage and will continue until she is destroyed.

K'Tusk Traffic Control
"Wait, what is that?"

K'Tusk Traffic Control
"Turn on the illuminators! Alert the Shelley! She has hostiles inbound!"

KCS Mary Shelley
Red Alert, multiple hostiles inbound, Red Alert…”

QUEUE MUSIC!




Status Board of the KCS Mary Shelley

Bridge of KCS Mary Shelley
Interceptors, LAUNCH LAUNCH LAUNCH!

Right off the deck,
Bulldog 1 takes Growler head on, knocking both fighters out of control. Growler causes a chain reaction collision and the right side of the attack formation is scattered.
The left side of the formation presses on with a pirate leading the way.

Although the right side of the attack formation has sorted itself out, the Growler has not regained control, and is easy prey for incoming missiles...
But it's not all going the Shelley's way, Bulldog 1 careens out of control and out of the engagement envelope. 

The attackers continue to bore in, score hits... and overfly Shelley's deck!
Pirate, AA Guns, and Missiles all come together in a massive explosion!

Able Spacer Jones
"Positive ID on the fighters, they are definitely from the 4th Reich"

Able Spacer Smith
"We have 2 AA Batteries down and multiple penetrating hits!"


Captain Thuries
"Navigator, Warp Engineers...
 we need to transition to the Warp, what's our status?"
Level 1 Navigator Celestine (Warp Navigator on Duty)
We have a fire Captain, I cannot bring our transition into focus.

Warp Engineer Hari
"Warp Engines are undamaged and will be charged momentarily."
Able Spacer Jones
"Enemy fighters are continuing away."

Captain Thuries
"Then, there must be something else....
Charge all guns, active sensors to full power"
Able Spacer Jones
"Warpsign Captain! 
The is a warp emergence forming. Port side... it's BIG!"

The Reich's BATTLESHIP "Die Drache" , The Dragon materializes at point blank range...


Status Board of the RS Dragon
Bulldog 2
"...look at the size of that thing!"

Mary Shelley Fight Ops
"Cut the chatter, Bulldog 2!"

PanzerSpacer Franz
'Enemy ship targeted, Kaptain"

Kaptain, RS Drache (the Dragon)
"Main Batteries, Open Fire!"


Captain Thuries
"Port Battery, Return Fire!
Navigator we need to get out of here."




Kriegsmarine Franz
"Kaptain, the enemy warp drive is engaging. She is about to transition."

Kaptain
"Keep firing!'


Able Spacer Smith
"Massive hits, damage alm..."


Captain Thuries
"Navigator! ANYWHERE is better than here!"


PanzerSpacer Franz
"Kaptain, the enemy has transitioned. The Mary Shelley has escaped..."

...or has she???

_________________________

Thanks for your patience readers! Finally, the Dragon is complete and has made the blog! It was quite the task to hold back until she was done, and airbornegrove is going to be beside himself having to wait until June to get a crack at her.

It was a great battle to game out, and the amount of carnage was very high, but within what would be considered acceptable. The pirates of Jeaux have been sent packing as they lost all of their ships, and the Reich certainly doesn't feel the need to pay, (I'm sure that won't come back to bite them in the ass. It's not like Orks are known for holding grudges or anything :) )

As for the Shelley's escape, she is very heavily damaged, on fire, and now inside the warp. What could go wrong?

I'll show you a few pics of the Dragon below as a teaser, and then next post I'll do a full breakdown of all the construction pics I've been saving.







Thanks for reading! 
And if there is anything specific you want me to cover on the post about the build, just let me know.



Comments

  1. That was brilliant. Well done for keeping your powder dry for so long!

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    Replies
    1. Ooooo, the temptation to throw pics out there during the construction was almost overwhelming. But OTOH, I wanted to make a splash, so thanks for confirming I made the right choice!

      BTW -Your new post about RT and the Solo movie is spot on. I'll have more to say on your blog...

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  2. Replies
    1. Thanks Frank,
      I just realized you moved your blog. Apologies, I am very dense. I'll be over there poking around and changing my link here.

      Delete
  3. I got hooked since the first pic. I made a tour on all of the pics first, I was mesmerised by them. And then I gave it all a read. And I found it mesmerising as well!!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Suber. There was quite a bit of set dressing and photo composition in this post. I'll tell you using, 28mm scale models in a giant ship battle creates some very challenging background problems.

      Delete
  4. I didn’t understand everything going on but am nearly speechless. Building one giant model ship is crazy but TWO? Awesome!

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    Replies
    1. That's ok, I never really understand everything either. Yep, 2 ships, being in a project with the right people can really push your hobby. This is a real testament to what a group is able to accomplish together.

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    2. BTW - just checked out your blog. I had never seen it before. I'm a big fan of the AWI myself. Your posts were great.

      Delete
  5. That was awesome! That is the kind of game you'd love to see in the flesh. All the cool toys!

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    Replies
    1. I really did put almost everything on the table that I have for this project so far. It was huge.

      Setup for the photos took way longer than the game itself.

      Delete
  6. Oh sweet baby Jeebus! Did not expect the Die Drache! And I like how the ship can be converted into a pocket carrier to. Great idea on the modular design.
    Of course now that you have established the dragon class of battle ships for the Reich, you can name the next one the Fafnir.

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    Replies
    1. Good eye. I hadn't realized that's what the last couple shots were all about. Makes an amazing project even more so!

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    2. I second daveb on your eagle eye. I snuck that shot in there, and I was wondering if anyone would spot what it meant. Just FYI, that was not part of the original plan. I kept the turrets separate during the build because they were so damn heavy, and would precariously unbalance the model. I had every intention of gluing them down at the end... but then I had a revelation...

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  7. That was outstanding! This one is going to be an epic clash!

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    Replies
    1. Think "Master and Commander"...and you will probably be able to figure out the next clash. :)
      Thanks Don

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  8. Holy crap! The space ship... the dog fights... the affects!!! But seriously, those background affects man!

    This is battle is simply epic, both in scope, and in just how cool it is... and the space station... and the space ships... (I may have already mentioned that one)...

    I have but one request: do you think it would be possible for some Colores intelligence agency to capture some footage of Die Drache with its crew manning the rails? Like the one you did for the Mary Shelly? I know I asked airbornegrove26 for the same thing but... its just too cool!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I think a "Manning the Rails" pic can be smuggled out of the Reich. I've painted up around 15 or so crew, so it should look pretty good. I'm still looking for a suitable Kaptain though. I know EXACTLY what I want , but I cannot seem to find the right mini.

      Thanks for the enthusiastic response!

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  9. Any intelligence on the aerospace manufactorum of those attacking Reich jets? Or will that have to wait with the "Construction Reveal"?

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    Replies
    1. $6 apiece from Russia

      https://www.ebay.com/itm/Condor-Assault-Flyer-by-Tehnolog-from-Robogear-line-Stormtalon-Stormhawk/142256672952?epid=0&hash=item211f2890b8:g:QgMAAOSwnHZYh4D6

      Dependable delivery, but slow

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  10. Wow!

    Wow!

    Those Technolog fighters looked great zipping in to attack the poor MS.

    And that you can reconfigure the Reich ship is very useful... you could put the two guns up front for a different class of battleship, or make a smaller pair of guns to make it a cruiser. (or an even smaller set of dual purpose guns and it is a destroyer!)

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    Replies
    1. And as for what I want to see in your construction post ASIDE from "everything", and the afore mentioned manning the rails shot, could you do some explaining how you connect the modules together? the base and the body and such?

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  11. This is one of the best things on the internet! Bravo!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Jason,
      That's really high praise. I appreciate it!

      Delete
  12. I don't know how I missed this, but . . . WOW! Well done sir! The Mary Shelly is living up to her exciting potential. And the Dragon's near sister is a nasty surprise.

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  13. Absolutely brilliant stuff! Plus, I'd never heard of Robogear before and now I'm going to have to stop myself making a massive order! :)

    ReplyDelete

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