Earth Federation's
Salamis class cruiser mounted 6 mega-particle cannons, 6 twin cannon
turrets, 8 bow torpedo tubes and 2 six-round missile launchers. Despite
this seemingly heavy armament it proved ineffective in combat against
enemy Mobile Suits (MS- basically giant robots) since it carried none of
its own. Nevertheless they were built in large numbers and remained in
service for decades, undergoing refits and upgrades. '221' was a one-off
conversion given a reinforced lower hull and buttresses to test the
utility of landing and staging cruiser fleets from planetary surfaces. '221'
is seen here during the test program at Luna Base, dotted with
high-viz tracking markers and docked with a cargo shuttle.
Click on
images below to see larger images
This build started with
the 80s era 1/1200 Salamis kit and much sanding. The original curved
ventral fins were discarded and 'landing supports' fabricated to fit in
with the overall angular design. Main gun turrets were bulked up with
card and small squares stuck on to represent flat-panel
radars. The whole affair was sprayed grey and dirtied up with a black
wash. Bridge windows were painted red to simulate combat lighting
conditions and orange decal circles punched out. Clear blue was
pooled in the engine nozzle to show a hot fusion glow,
unfortunately it is only visible with lighting.
The cargo shuttle was made from the arm of a too-simple Gundam
kit and one of the Ball workpods supplied with the ship. It got a silver
undercoat as the yellow did not cover well. Sanding off the yellow revealed some
silver and a wash made for a truly filthy craft.
The lander shuttle got white uppers and black lowers. The tail
was left unpainted so it can glue into its socket.
Ken
Click on
images below to see larger images
|