Great source for ISD2 pics, better than Saxton

Alan Bolte · Post by **Alan Bolte** » 2003-06-30 02:43am

Check This
If you slip back a page, there are also some nice pics of other ships from other sci-fi, like BSG and ST.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-06-30 03:19am

Excellent pictures on that sight, I can make out all the detail without eyestrain. I think these have come from some form of official source, since the model doesnt seem to have been photographed while behind a glass case.

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2003-06-30 03:44am

Those really are fantastic. On the Executor page at Saxton's site, I could identify model parts from Revell's USS Arizona and Olympia right off the bat. This is the first time I've seen recognisable parts on an ISD.
Cool.

Emperor Palpatine · Post by **Emperor Palpatine** » 2003-06-30 04:15am

The more I look at the model, the more it show how much dedication those model makers have when they made the ISD model, trying to make the SW universe as realistic as possible.

This is indeed the first time I have seen the ISD models so up close. Maybe someone can 'invent' (those not covered by any books.) what each part of the ISD does.

E.Palps

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-06-30 10:59am

They had this same model when I was in Chicago, but the lighting was poor and the glass kept reflecting my flash (and I don't have a steady enough hand to keep the camera still enough w/o it)

Alan Bolte · Post by **Alan Bolte** » 2003-06-30 11:04am

Sea Skimmer wrote:Excellent pictures on that sight, I can make out all the detail without eyestrain. I think these have come from some form of official source, since the model doesnt seem to have been photographed while behind a glass case.

These photos were taken at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum Star Wars exhibit in Washington DC by model builder Jim Creveling

Hell if I know. Maybe he somehow got permission to get that close, maybe he is a Lucas guy.
Is it just me, or does that linear array look like it's very much designed to be tilted foreward, just like it did on an ISDI in ANH? Some people seem to think that's a design change, but I'm willing to bet that's just something which can swivel on all ISDs, but doesn't often. I have my doubts about this 'was a targeting array, became a holonet transceiver' bit. Because wasn't the array down for the opening sequence in ANH?
Also: should I post the full site to Other Sci-Fi or PST? I'm not sure where this should go, but it needs to not be forgotten. This pic collection is priceless.

JodoForce · Post by **JodoForce** » 2003-06-30 01:18pm

Why don't I see guns anywhere

Grand Admiral Thrawn · Post by **Grand Admiral Thrawn** » 2003-06-30 02:42pm

JodoForce wrote:Why don't I see guns anywhere

See Upper Surface Details. HTL turrets plainly visible.

Mutant Headcrab · Post by **Mutant Headcrab** » 2003-06-30 02:54pm

Are those weapons along the rear of the SD? They look sort of like turrets of some kind

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-06-30 03:20pm

Holy shit. I have noticed those before, but I never looked at them that close. Those appear to me, no those clearly are dual 5.25" turrets from the British King George V class of battleship from around WW2.

Damn. If the model builders used turrets from a kit, that makes them fairly clearly weapons, doesn't it?

*EDIT* These turrets can be seen to the port and starboard of the foreward superstructure. They have two light-colored barrels.

Also visible here and here.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-06-30 04:01pm

Jesus, someone must get these pictures to Saxton!!

Great link, Alan.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-06-30 04:15pm

Holy shit, I count 22 dual turrets on that face alone. I count at least 20 turrets per side on the bottom. That brings us to the grand total of no less than 168 guns covering the rear arc

Someone should scale them to find out what sort of weapons they are. I'd guess LTLs, but I don't know.

Interesting, there's also a larger dual turret here. Directly below the aft top edge of the notch.

*EDIT* I also see some of the rear pattern of LTLs in this picture here, below the big fan thing. There's also another of these turrets at the top of the image, on the very front corner of the dorsal superstructure.

*EDIT* I also see a darker grey structure that looks like a weapons emplacement abaft the foreward bay in this picture.

Fixed link-GAT

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-06-30 04:30pm

Hmm, is it just me, or do those turrets look like they're connected to those shafts?

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-06-30 04:32pm

They do look like the shaft has some sort of function connected to the turret. Perhaps a long-base optical rangefinder? Ought to be useful if theres a lot of jamming.

There are two structures in this picture foreward and outboard of the main hanger that look gun-like.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-06-30 05:12pm

Howedar wrote:They do look like the shaft has some sort of function connected to the turret. Perhaps a long-base optical rangefinder? Ought to be useful if theres a lot of jamming.

I don't know. In this picture, the guns look like they're connected to those round things in front of them on either side of the shaft.

Mutant Headcrab · Post by **Mutant Headcrab** » 2003-06-30 05:14pm

If those are guns along the back, then that's just another reason why Feds couldn't attack an SD from the rear....

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2003-06-30 11:04pm

Those aren't rear guns. They probably control whatever panels those are (best guess would be they help redirect thrust for mobility purposes)

I kinda doubt where some of those others are turrets, since I don't see any barrels.

Except for the one shaped like a mouse in the trench notch - I pointed that one out to SAxton long ago (and I've gotten credit for it

)

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-06-30 11:51pm

Connor MacLeod wrote:Those aren't rear guns. They probably control whatever panels those are (best guess would be they help redirect thrust for mobility purposes)

They appear to rotate and they have gun barrels. Fuck, they are 100% ripped off a fucking battleship! They are undoubtedly turrets.

I kinda doubt where some of those others are turrets, since I don't see any barrels.

I would guess they have broken off over time. This has been known to happen on SW models. The turrets are identical.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2003-07-01 12:01am

Howedar wrote:
Connor MacLeod wrote:Those aren't rear guns.
They probably control whatever panels those are (best guess would be they help redirect thrust for mobility purposes)
They appear to rotate and they have gun barrels. Fuck, they are 100% ripped off a fucking battleship! They are undoubtedly turrets.

Have you ever *SEEN* the model in person? I have, and they most certainly were NOT turrets.

Also, look here http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/ ... yer004.jpg

and here

http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/ ... yer012.jpg

Notice a symmetry of the "arms" above and below the edge panels? That suggests they control the thrust.

And lastly, take a look here:

http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/ ... yer009.jpg

and here

http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/ ... yer011.jpg

And note how those "barrels" appear to be. They don't look like them to me (they appear to have flat rounded ends that look anchored to those panels.)

I would guess they have broken off over time. This has been known to happen on SW models. The turrets are identical.

Perhaps. The model looked rather well preserved to me, though. You couldn't even see any signs that there was something in there that had broken off.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-07-01 02:36am

Connor MacLeod wrote:
Howedar wrote:
Connor MacLeod wrote:Those aren't rear guns.
They probably control whatever panels those are (best guess would be they help redirect thrust for mobility purposes)
They appear to rotate and they have gun barrels. Fuck, they are 100% ripped off a fucking battleship! They are undoubtedly turrets.
Have you ever *SEEN* the model in person? I have, and they most certainly were NOT turrets.

Well, thats a nice argument. Well I've seen the model, and they most certainly were!

So I suppose these masterful model builders used turrets off of another model just for shits and giggles, right?

Also, look here http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/ ... yer004.jpg

and here

http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/ ... yer012.jpg

Notice a symmetry of the "arms" above and below the edge panels? That suggests they control the thrust.

How would one control thrust from a hundred meters away on top of a plate of armor? For that matter, why would one choose to do so when we can see thrust vectoring systems on the engine nozzles themselves? You're grasping at straws. The fact of the matter is, the structures are visually fucking identical to the 5.25" turrets on the KGV, as well they should because they were ripped right out of a model kit.

I agree that the inner boxes could conceivably have a propulsion-related purpose, but I don't see what the turrets would do when they don't even have a line of sight to the engines.

And lastly, take a look here:

http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/ ... yer009.jpg

and here

http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/ ... yer011.jpg

And note how those "barrels" appear to be. They don't look like them to me (they appear to have flat rounded ends that look anchored to those panels.)

I don't know what I'm supposed to be seeing here. I see 5.25x2 turrets stuck onto an ISD, completely unmodified.

I would guess they have broken off over time. This has been known to happen on SW models. The turrets are identical.
Perhaps. The model looked rather well preserved to me, though. You couldn't even see any signs that there was something in there that had broken off.

The image quality isn't quite that good. Whatever barrel remnants remain would be inside those shadowed areas on the fronts of the turrets. Certainly I've seen other ISD pictures with gun barrels broken off (although I think it was the ISD1 model).

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-07-01 03:15am

Frank Hipper wrote:Those really are fantastic. On the Executor page at Saxton's site, I could identify model parts from Revell's USS Arizona and Olympia right off the bat. This is the first time I've seen recognisable parts on an ISD.
Cool.

That picture off the ISD rear guns appears to have a bunch of stuff out of an News Jersey battleship kit in addition to the KVG turrets.

I think where going to need some new counts on ISD weapons. Though I suspect those aft guns are smaller then LTL's.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-07-01 03:38am

The width of the ISD's neck is roughly 77 meters. Scaling from this picture, the turrets appear to be at least 5 meters in diameter (fairly crude scaling). This would mean that each gun is roughly the size of the crewed guns seen on the DS1 in the Rebel attack in ANH. They are certainly much larger than the quadlasers on the Millenium Falcon.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-07-01 04:11am

Howedar wrote:The width of the ISD's neck is roughly 77 meters. Scaling from this picture, the turrets appear to be at least 5 meters in diameter (fairly crude scaling). This would mean that each gun is roughly the size of the crewed guns seen on the DS1 in the Rebel attack in ANH. They are certainly much larger than the quadlasers on the Millenium Falcon.

But how large are LTL's? Honestly I could never pick out a single one on the models. Though these new pics do seem to show a lot of guns from battleship kits along the trenches and those might be what people are talking about.

I didn't think these twin turrets are in the same class as the Falcons guns, which are used for PD on Dreadnoughts anyway. I doubt that level of weapon could be represented on this model by anything identifiable as a gun.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-07-01 04:13am

I concur. I have no idea how large LTLs are, but I always imagined them as the same as those guns on the DS1.

nightmare · Post by **nightmare** » 2003-07-01 09:17am

This site was first posted by Shinova. Credit where credit is due.