Being Creative with your Vipers

Two more months left before the Starfighter2 contest ends at Starship Modeller and I still haven't really started anything yet. My fault. I used the excuse that my workroom was too hot to work in but now that I have an AC in there .. HAHAHA. .... Its has now being replaced by the anticipation of the Moebius Galactica that's coming soon and I can't wait to get started on that one. Already thinking of giving up on this contest as my heart is not into it but ... OK, you just witnessed the civil war going on in my head. I still have some time to make a decision. Yeah I know what you're gonna say .. procrastination is bad for the soul.

I'm also having a brain drain trying to come up with ideas for a fighter. I have more BSG stuff than I do Star Wars or Star Trek, and almost all my other genre collections are from my college days, so a lot of stuff are a little behind the times there. Its amazing how some people can get a moment's inspiration and come up with really amazing stuff. Let's stick with the BSG Vipers for this topic in terms of creativity.

Here's John P's variant of the Mark II Viper, done up in his personal tradition of occasionally building a Sci Fi Vehicle in honour of his father who served in the P-47 fighter squadron during WWII - the 333rd. They had a yellow nose and black/yellow stripes on the tail toward the end of the war. And since his dad's plane had the number "02", the number is further emulated onto the Mark II. His Viper was also given the insignia belonging to the Battlestar Pacifica as his dad served at the Pacific. I couldn't find colour images of the P-47 333rd squadron and the closest I found was this - 318th Fighter Group Le Shima, 1945.

The end result for his MKII yielded a colour combination that fits really well with the Viper, and she looks really good. Kudos for a job well done. Not only is this a remarkable build, but it carries a very sacred meaning to the builder.

Of course there are many more variants you can come up with in terms of colours, but I'm still waiting for someone to build a distinguishly different Viper that are not in existence in plastic or resin format. Yeah, a partly or wholly modified version. Here are some samples:



Dual Seater Mark II



Concept Viper for BSG that never made it to the series

The "Don't Mess With Me" Viper

The Mark 6 Viper? Ice-Dragon, a BSG fan designed her and I really like it

These images showcase a very early Viper design as shown in the "Caprica" TV series, a spin off from BSG new series. Caprica has since been axed due to low ratings but the early Viper design stood out with some.

She looks like a cross between various aircrafts (think of the Mustang, Phantom and F18 Hornet), and you either love it or hate it. Wonder if we'll see a replica of her sometime in the near future.

Well, there's some ideas to emulate if you plan to join the contest. Waiting to see everyone's design and build for this when its over. I'll highlight some of the builds there when I have them. Good luck to all those who are participating.