Neo Classic Space

Take a look at this beauty from James Shields. We've been following the secret progress of this model for many months. Now that it's finished, it doesn't disappoint.

Nobody knows quite why the Ugokin war started, but all attempts at finding a diplomatic resolution met with disaster. The war was proving long and bloody, and with the Ugokin almost never retreating, and self-destructing rather than surrendering, any victories came at a heavy price.

The first major break for the Federation came at the battle of Solice IV. Although hardly more than a skirmish in militaristic terms, it was the capture of a Ugokin "Hunter" class starfighter intact that allowed Federation scientists to decode secrets about the Ugokin spacecraft that are still classified today.

LL-451 "Manta" class carriers played a vital role in the battle, deploying their LL-109 "Mosquito" fighters to isolate and overcome a Hunter. It was LL-451 that carried the captured Ugokin ship back to Federation scientists for analysis. And what did they discover about them? We'll have to wait for the files to be declassified to find out!

James notes: I'd had the basic shape of the LL-451 in my head for a while, but it wasn't till I happened to get hold of a big batch of old grey bricks that I was able to realise it. It relies on stressing elements, using short bricks in the two "wings" with crossbeams at different points to pull them both into curves. I built a back wall out of plates, though there are gaps. For the "command deck" I wanted as smooth a shape as I could manage, so used lots of different curved slopes. The windscreen is an X-Pod, tilted back at an angle.

This is an astonishingly cool build from James. The wing technique is quite outrageous, and utterly lovely.

Nice work James!