vehicles – Living History in the Star Wars Galaxy

Why don’t we have a starfighter mobile game yet?

While this post is perhaps outside the scope of this blog’s usual meat&potatoes of galactic reenacting research and costume crafting, I still think it’s a worthwhile concept that I think many of you will appreciate, and which I hope gains traction! I trust that my aviation historian readers will note the date: 7 September, 1940 marked the beginning of nighttime bombing of London that became known as the Blitz.

As part of ‘inner persona’ “research” for the pilot impression I’ve been working on, I’m always looking for ways to gain insight into the flyboy life. I can only rewatch Top Gun, or Maverick‘s trench run so many times, and while some of Dan Hampton’s books were decent overviews, they’re largely lacking the level of detail I crave. At the same time (whether a cause or byproduct of the pilot project, I’m not sure), I’ve been on a bit of a Second World War kick lately and was curious if there are any good WW2 pilot-based mobile games to play on my lunch break. Luckily, I managed to find one that I think is pretty much perfect, and it got me thinking…

a fun game recommendation and a great idea, after the jump

More galactic whittling – CR70 corvette

It’s been quite a while since I’ve had any new Star Warsy whittlings to show off! I had planned to do some whittling along the Appalachian Trail last year (and found the perfect little neck-knife in a hiker box)…but unfortunately hiking 15-20 miles a day doesn’t leave time for much else besides eating and sleeping. I actually carved up this little consular ship last midwinter, and forgot I had been sitting on it for a whole year! Unlike the Republic cruiser I last whittled, this one was made out of poplar, so I was able to include a much higher level of detail:

It’s almost certainly Blockade Runner nostalgia, but I think this line of ships look so much better seen from an aft perspective.

Contrary to popular belief, while they look very similar, this is NOT the same model ship as the iconic ‘blockade runner’ of Episode IV!

persistent inaccuracies and more pictures below!

Galactic Style Guide – Aurebesh II

Welcome back to another installment of the Galactic Style Guide (where we break down the ‘Star Wars aesthetic’ in order to help you create a more authentic ‘outer persona’) and the end of Aurebesh Month! In last week’s installment we showed how before the Disney buyout, Aurebesh words on clothing were incredibly rare. This week, we’re taking a look at some places where using in-universe lettering IS appropriate!:

**Tattoos or scarification:** Force Hounds (26,000 BBY), Morlish Veed (Legacy), Kaddak (Cry of Shadows), Enviro-suit (FFG), Sketch, Kix (The Clone Wars)

Note that while there are plenty of tattoos in-universe, these were the Only examples of letters-as-body-art I could find in the rather complete listing of Aurebesh appearances.

Thoughts on ‘The Siege’

Welcome back to my breakdown series on The Mandalorian Season Two. While I’m a bit behind schedule, this time we’re looking at Chapter 12 ‘The Siege’.

Right off the top I feel the need to point out that nothing in this episode resembled a siege. Once the plot kicked in, I actually started getting some serious Rebel Assault II vibes…but levels in that game were either ‘sneak around Imperial base, hide around corners, and point-and-click to shoot Stormies’ or vehicle-based ‘shooting gallery on rails’…so not exactly the most dynamic, compelling, or realistic tone for a TV show to take.

More galactic whittling – Republic cruiser

I was always intrigued by the Radiant VII, the first starship we see on-screen in the Prequels.

radiant7 — The obvious Corellian Engineering Corporation design elements to connect it with the *Tantive IV*, the red paintjob, and that sweet, sweet Ben Burtt engine sound – what’s not to like?

I was reminded recently that MicroMachines included this craft—technically a Consular-class cruiser—as part of the Action Fleet line back in ’99, but they’re way out of my budget on eBay, so I opted to while away a few hours of quarantine in a galactic-folksy way and make my own! 20200814_130147 Continue reading “More galactic whittling – Republic cruiser”

More Galactic Whittling – V35 landspeeder

Because research and living history are never complete (one’s persona can always be improved), as part of my continuing efforts in refinement, I am always on the lookout for more goodies to put in my pockets to flesh out or embellish my personas, and as I’ve said before, I’m a big fan of whittling. It’s easy to pick up, requires a little brainpower but is still relaxing in the moment, and the end results–like this V-35 landspeeder–are lots of fun to show off. Why did I decide to whittle this vehicle specifically? Continue reading “More Galactic Whittling – V35 landspeeder”

Image Analysis: Taxi Ride

This will be a short post, as there’s not a lot in this vignette (from page 109 of Wizards of the Coasts’ Galactic Campaign Guide) to talk about, just some buildings, a lot of ships, and a few non-humans (a Duros taxi driver, two Cereans, and an unknown). However, one of those speeders is very familiar:
lavaskim2 Don’t recognize it? How about now?
Boba's_airspeeder_model

That’s right, we finally have an appearance of Boba Fett’s toy airspeeder in situ – it’s no longer just a prop made up for a Visual Dictionary, it’s a legitimate vehicle!