BATTLESTAR GALACTICA 2003

MY CANON Drawings

Re-imagined Battlestar Galactica From the new SciFi channel series. Differs considerably from the original, yet has many similarities. Drawn using plans released by the special effects company that designed her, as well as an incredible set of schematics drawn by Cobywan which provided details not visible in the official plans. XRaiderV1 has modified the drawing to show the missile launch tubes seen in "The Eye of Jupiter". The appear to be hidden behind sliding portions of the upper armor since they are not visible in any previous shots of the Galactica.

Battlestar Pegasus Mercury Class Battlestar Detailed references were finally released at the beginning of 2009, so The Beast has been updated with a new drawing. Some of the changes are subtle, others less so. I decided not to include lighting in this drawing, since the new, more accurate, hull color makes it hard to see and not worth the effort.

Colonial Vipers A collection of the various models from the original series, the new series, and the attempted continuations of the original series. Sizes are approximate, especially for the newer models from the new series. Several sources conflict on the various sizes.

MkVII Viper A revised drawing based on new images.

Colonial Raptor Intended as a recon and Electronic Warfare platform, the Raptor also sees extensive use in the troop transport and shuttle roles, as well as anti-ship strike missions.

The MkI Viper, From the New Series (!) This IS canon, since the Viper from the original series is seen in the museum in Galactica's starboard hanger pod, along with the MkII's that were put back into service. The color scheme is designed to resemble the MkII, with an alternate version resembling the MkVII. I added some RCS thrusters to keep it true to the new series which actually pays attention to newtonian physics.

Cylon Raider The fighter with a surprise inside... The semi-organic replacement of the classic Raider, which is canon to both universes since its seen in Galactica's hanger museum.

My Non canon Drawings

Battlestar Indra A design of my own creation. The Indra class of Battlestars were completed too late to serve in the Cylon War and were also the last class of Battlestar to have retractable flight pods. Many of her design features would be refined and incorporated into the later and larger Mercury Class.

Re-Re-imagined Battlestar Galactica A design of my own creation. This simply takes the "style" of the new series Galactica, and blends it with the original.

Battlestar Olympia From a fanfic by "pinchy417" at the Sci-Fi Meshes Forum In the story, the Olympia is a training ship that survives the Cylon sneak attack. The actual design is simply the original Galactica design "re-textured" with the color scheme of the new Galactica and with some added turrets.

Battlestar Manticore The Manticore and her sisters were slightly smaller than the Galactica and the rear hull was redesigned to allow landings to occur even with the pods retracted. The Manticore drawing using a modified head from Alexzandyr J.'s Zeus Class, as well as his gun turrets. The design is in response to a request from J. Mosher.

Assaultstar Harrier The Harriers were designed as escorts and as assault transports. They are were one of the largest vessels capable of a planetary landing, though this was done rarely and with much consternation and at least three were lost due to failure of the gravity suppression systems under the strain or outright structural failure. They could carry a maximum of four Viper squadrons though often the Vipers were replaced with specially designed troop carriers that could use the launch tubes for rapid strikes. They had nowhere near the endurance of a Battlestar, and that became a serious issue during the Cylon War when the Cylon tactics targeted fleet supply lines, forcing Assaultstars to sometimes "nurse" from a Battlestar, reducing its endurance in turn.

Battlestar Atlantia The Atlantia and Rycon were command versions of the original Battlestars, somewhat larger with extra Viper squadrons and additional firepower to compliment their flag facilities and enhanced command abilities. They served with great distinction during the Cylon War, with the Rycon being lost. She was decomissioned prior to the launch of the new Nova Class Battlestar of the same name. XRaiderV1 has modified the drawing to show the missile launch tubes seen in "The Eye of Jupiter". The appear to be hidden behind sliding portions of the upper armor since they are not visible in any previous shots of the Galactica. Here is the Atlantia armored.

Battlestar Andraste Designed as a fleet command ship, the Andraste was a one of a kind warship. And one was all the Council of Twelve was willing to pay for! The FTL system alone cost as much as a small Battlestar, and the advanced communications systems only added to the incredible cost. Her firepower and carrying capacity was unrivaled, with a half-dozen landing bays for several hundred Vipers, three hundred being the planned operational capacity, with ample room for additional squadrons in emergencies as well as extensive manufacturing facilities for both Vipers and Raptors. At the time of the Cylon surprise attack, Andraste was nearing the end of an extended patrol along the Armistice Line. Her fate is unknown, but she is presumed destroyed.

Battlestar Glorious Designed as an escort to the larger Mercury class Battlestars, the Glorious and he sisters lacked the larger ships Viper production capacity, and heavy firepower but cost considerably less to build and man.

Battlestar Terpsichore Armageddon Class Near the end of the first Cylon War, the Colonial Fleet was finding itself very spread out and in need of more battlestars that were being produced my the fleet yards. In an attempt to bring more battlestars on line, they sent the word out to civilian shipbuilders. An independent Caprican company, in need of contracts and money, approached the high command with a proposal. They had all six of their slipways open, but the problem was they weren't long enough to build the Galactica type Battlestars. The Caprican Bridge and Shipbuilding Corp. offered the solution of shortening the Galactica type to fit the slip ways, and they promised to deliver the first of the new "light" battlestars by the end of the year. The company was able to pull off the "miracle" and they delivered the ship 13 days ahead of the promised schedule, and contingent upon payment. She was presented to the fleet for testing. She was the first Battlestar to put to space unnamed. The CB&S, bet the entire company fortune on their private venture. The Fleet was impressed with the company, they had delivered the ship in prime condition. The Fleet only had to work out a few system bugs. In service the unnamed ship performed well on her shakedown cruise. Her smaller size made her more agile then the standard Battlestar, and she was slightly faster. The fleet felt these advantages outweighed her downsized Viper strength. In her first battle, she was able to come to the rescue, and place herself in front of a damaged Battlestar, and back two Cylon Basestars down. She proceeded to pass between the two Basestars, fired all her main batteries and anti ship missiles and at the last second, turned and ran to escape the holocaust. Upon the results of the battle and her first cruise....the Colonial Fleet issued a contract for 12 "Armageddon" class battlestars, all to be built by Caprican Bridge and Ship, who had forced herself in bankruptcy, to deliver the ship fully operational and head of schedule. As the Judge was about to sign a court order to start liquidating the company, the Colonial Fleet announced it was purchasing the 11 other ships. Backstory by CinC Battleforce.

Eurytion Class Light Strike Star A fast-attack missile boat.

Pandarus Class Light Strike Star A more modern missile escort.

Battlestar Atlas From a design by Ravenstar Studios. A heavy battlestar from the late Cylon War era, designed to be able to accomidate larger vessels than normal in its hanger bays.

Armored Galactica From a design by Ravenstar Studios. A Galactica class ship, fully armored and modernized.

Tiger Class Destroyer/Strikestar Another, different re-imagination of a design by Dexter Smith of the Battlestar Galactica Technical Manual

Assaultstar Aethon Entering service during the 1st Cylon War, the Aethon was intended to transport large numbers of ground troops and their equipment and landers to get them on the surface. Resembling a "squashed" Battlestar, the ships were never intended for ship-to ship battles, though they carried heavy defensive armaments to defend against Cylon fighters. Escorting Battlestars and smaller warships would defend the transport as well as provide orbital fire support for ground troops. The huge flight pods held several large vehicle landers as well as numerous smaller troop carriers, but no Vipers. The main criticism of the design of the design was poor speed and maneuverability. To cut costs, smaller, off-the-shelf engines were used and they could barely move the ship when fully loaded. This was seen as a minor problem since a normal mission profile would have an Aethon jump into close orbit of a target world or space station, disgorge its troops and vehicles, then jump back to a rear area, all the while under escort.

Battlestar Selene Based on Ravenstar's Atlas above, but with much of her armor removed. By the time of the Cylon holocaust, the Selene was part of the reserve fleet.

Battlestar Heracles The Galactica Class design proved itself during the Cylon War, and several more modified versions were built in the post war years. With advances in FTL technology, the need to retract the flight pods to jump was eliminated and the added space available was used for additional storage to extend its endurance.

Victory Class ELINT Ship based on a miniature from Ravenstar Studios

Battlestar Columbia (retracted pods) The Bellona Class Battlestars were designed in the latter years of the Cylon War as fleet command ships, larger and more powerfully armed than the Galactica Class. Five were eventually completed, though only the Bellona entered service before the war ended. One, the Battlestar Alcmene, was renamed while under construction to honor the last Battlestar lost in the war, the Columbia. By the time of the Holocaust, all but the Columbia and the Arcas had been retired and both of those were scheduled for decommissioning withing the next fiscal year. Arcas was reported destroyed over Tauron by a group of several Baseships and their fighters as she tried to defend the colony. Columbia was last seen in the frenzied fighting near Virgon where she and several other older Battlestars were the only effective Colonial units in the battle, the others being disabled by the Cylons' computer hacks.

Battlestar Pegasus (retracted pods) While the Galactica Class Battlestars were the mainstay of the Colonial fleet during the war, there were those in the Colonial Admiralty that clamored for a more powerful Battlestar, better geared towards directly engaging Cylon Baseships. The result was the Pegasus Class of Battlestars. The most obvious change from the Galactica was their sheer size, with far greater firepower and a much larger fighter compliment. Her main punch was provided by a pair of huge railgun turrets in the bow. These weapons were intended to have a wide arc of fire, but their size and recoil often meant that they were kept facing almost directly forward. Huge engines allowed the Pegasus to close rapidly with a target in spite of her tremendous bulk. They were also very fuel hungry, resulting in a shorter endurance than the Galacticas despite their increased size. Six were built and were to see heavy use during the war, with four being lost in combat. This high loss rate was not due to any design flaw, but was rather attributed to the aggressive nature of the Commanders chosen for these ships, ones willing to get in close to slug it out with the enemy. The Pegasus, under the command of Commander Rodney Tolan, exemplified this reputation. Pegasus was responsible for the destruction of nearly a half dozen Baseships and several other Cylon vessels during the war, finally being lost over the Canceron moon of Molecay. The two survivors did not remain in service for long after the armistice. They proved to be far too manpower intensive and expensive to operate. The huge railguns, while capable of tearing through a Baseship with ease, were hard to maintain and the shock generated by their firing would frequently damage systems in the fore part of the ship.

Escortstar Anala A late war design for an escort with heavy anti-fighter defenses.

Patrolstar Ranger Based on a design by Todd Boyce. A pre-war Scorpian design for a light patrol ship, the Rangers were tasked with patrolling the shipping lanes between most of the various colonies and were purchased by all but the poorest Colonial governments. During the war they were used for convoy escort and local defense but proved no match for even moderately sized Raider formations and many were lost.

Cutter Ranger Based on a design by Todd Boyce. After the war the surviving Rangers were transferred to the new Colonial Guards to once again patrol the inter-Colonial shipping lanes and enforce the myriad of new regulations and tariffs that came with the creation of a unified government.

Battlestar Fenris The last Battlestar to enter service, the Fenris was commissioned only weeks before the Cylon attack. Equipped with the latest in computer technology, including powerful firewalls and virtual intelligence computers she was able to resist Cylon computer hacking efforts but fell in battle over Virgon. Other planned ships in the class would have been named after older, famous ships that were recently retired like Galactica and Columbia.

Battlestar Europa A less than successful design from the First Cylon War, the Aquarion designed Europa had several design faults that doomed it from entering into production and the only ship completed as a combat vessel, the Europa, was lost over her home colony.

Battlestar Poseidon A Ravenstar design for a heavier version of the Mercury, with larger flight pods and a larger hull.

Battlestar Titan Another Ravenstar design for a monstorous design that dwarfs the Prometheus.

Stealthstar Banshee The desire to gain intell on Cylon intentions lead to the development of a dedicated stealth warship designed to penetrate Cylon space and gather information through a series of passive sensor systems. Great efforts were taken to reduce the ship's DRADIS signature, including hatches over the flight deck enterances, retractable weapons, and baffles on the engine exhausts. Weapons were limited and standard procedure would be to run if detected. The Banshee entered service about a year before the final Cylon attack, but the failure of the Valkyrie's mission and fears of provoking the Cylons meant that the ship was never used for her intended purpose and was presumed lost in the destruction of the main fleet anchorage over Picon.

Replenishment Star Africa The two unfinished Europa Class Battlestars were completed as Fleet Replenishment ships after the Europa design was determined to be a failure. The Africa and Asia could replenish two ships at once and also could carry large cargo shuttles to ferry supplies.

Warstar Thor A Ravenstar design. Fast and heavily armed, the Thor is designed to slug it out with Cylon Basestars without the added weight and volume of fighter bays.

Cormorant Class Cruiser A Pre-Unification design, the Cormorant class was fielded by the Scorpian military and saw brief service in the First Cylon War where its advanced computers proved its undoing and all but a handful were lost. Ill suited to conversion to more labor intensive systems, the survivors were stripped of their FTL's and used as planetary guard ships for the rest of the war.

Mercury Block II Class Battlestar The Rhiannon and Cerberus are "Block II" Mercurys, updated with additional weapons, armor, and a much greater launch capacity. The Cerberus carries a distinctive "Shark's Mouth", in memory of the original Battlestar Cerberus which served with distinction in the First Cylon War.

FIGHTERS & SMALL CRAFT

Two-seat MkII Viper A training or possibly strike variant of the MkII.

Viper MkII "Space Superiority" color scheme The same grey used on the MkVII

Viper Mk IV The DeSanto revival effort Viper, repainted to the same scheme as the new series MkII.

Viper MkVII in MkII color scheme.

Two-seat Viper MkVII and ECM variant Based on drawings by Talos.

Colonial Landing Craft A small Marine landing craft designed to be launched from Viper launch tubes.

Viper MkV Based on a design from the BSG video game for the XBox

Viper MkIB Based on a design by Maui Williams

Viper Based on a design by Larson

Python Mk II Based on Larson's Viper above, the Python is a Colonial FTL capable attack craft.

Viper Mk VIII Based on the Mk VII. Only a few were in service at the time of the Cylon attack.

Viper Mk III An upgrade of the Mk II which entered service near the end of the Cylon War, but was produced in relatively limited numbers.

Colonial Heavy Landing Craft Designed to ferry combat vehicles like Landram Mk II's to a planet's surface, the LCV (Landing Craft: Vehicle) was a modification of the standard Colonial shuttlecraft. It was unarmed, but was equipped with decoy and smoke launchers for defense.

Ships from "Battlestar Prometheus"

Ryan Keeton, author of the Battlestar Prometheus saga, was kind enough to let me draw the various ships in his story. I can not recommend this story enough! I personally think its as good, if not better, than the TV series. He's done a wonderful job of combining aspects of the original series, and even a character from Galactica 1980, into the new universe.

Colonial Units

Battlestar Prometheus Nova Class The Novas are intended to be fleet command ships, with greatly expanded capabilities over the Mercury and Galactica classes.

Battlestar Atlantia The second Nova Class Battlestar, Atlantia was the flagship of Admiral Nagala and fought a valiant but doomed battle against the Cylon onslaught over Virgon. (Episode 9, Season 2 of "Battlestar Prometheus")

Gunstar Vigilant Guardian Class Stealthy, with a heavy ECM capability, and a tremendous punch if all else fails.

Gunstar Sentinel Titan Class The Colonial Fleet's primary anti-fighter escort.

Battlestar Ares by XRaiderV1 The first prototype Battlestar, crewed by a mix of humans and Cylons. It plays a crucial role in Season 2.

Battlestar Eternal by XRaiderV1 Seen in Season 2 leading a Colonial colonization effort prior to the Cylon attack.

Gunstar Saber by XRaiderV1 Seen in Season 2 as part of a Colonial colonization effort prior to the Cylon attack.

Combatstar Olduvai by XRaiderV1 Seen in Season 2 as part of a Colonial colonization effort prior to the Cylon attack.

Battlestar Prometheus (First Cylon War) The original Prometheus, hero of the Battle of Caprica during the First Cylon War.

Small Craft

Scimitar Class Bomber A strike bomber based on the Raptor design, replacing the electronics, troop capacity, and FTL with a internal weapons bay and a considerable offensive punch.

Terran Alliance

Terran Alliance Conqueror Class Battlecruiser Pride of the Terran Alliance and roughly comperable to a Galactica Class Battlestar.

Terran Alliance Venator Class Destroyer Workhorse of the Alliance, comperable to a Colonial Gunstar.

Terran Alliance Accipiter Class Fighter Slightly less powerful than Colonial Vipers, the Accipiter does have the advantage of agiity, especially in atmospheric flight.

Vehicles

Colonial Landram Mk II Wheeled and Tracked versions. The Landram Mk II is a completely new, multirole design with the ability to switch from tracked to wheeled motive systems with relative speed, providing the Colonial Marines.

Misc

Size Comparison Chart showing the Prometheus and the other ships in the story along with the Galactica and Pegasus.