Federation Engines

dave · Post by **dave** » Thu May 21, 2009 5:53 pm

I think I read somewhere that the New Fast Cruiser should have *blue* warp nacels rather than the standard amber ones because it has "fast" engines.

Is this correct? And if so which other Federation ships available in FC should have "fast" engines?

Also are Federation Impulse Engines a standard blue, or some red like in the current movie, or some other colour all together?

For other empires I am pretty well set on what I want to use for engine colours.

djdood · Post by **djdood** » Thu May 21, 2009 6:15 pm

The SFU painting guides have traditionally called out Fed impulse engine glow as red.

If I recall the details correctly [somebody back-check me on this, please] , the New Fast Cruiser is an odd duck. It was made "fast" by reducing it's mass and adding an extra standard (orange glow) engine. So all three would be typical orange - this is different than the CF and other "fast" ships.

However, everybody is free to paint their minis the way they want. It's likely I'll paint mine blue, just to keep all my "fast" ships looking the same.

Dal Downing · Post by **Dal Downing** » Thu May 21, 2009 6:55 pm

djdood wrote:The SFU painting guides have traditionally called out Fed impulse engine glow as red.

Yepper but also like DJ pointed out you paint them they way you think they should look, be it Red, Blue, or Pink with Purple Poka Dots.

djdood wrote:If I recall the details correctly [somebody back-check me on this, please] , the New Fast Cruiser is an odd duck. It was made "fast" by reducing it's mass and adding an extra standard (orange glow) engine. So all three would be typical orange - this is different than the CF and other "fast" ships.

Close but nope

The Engines on the NCF are actually blue as pictured on the Cover of Booster #10. Even though they appear to be standard 12 box Engines on the Ship Cards they are still balanced as Hot or "Fast" Warp. Same is true of the DNL and the NLF/CWFs when they make it into Fed Com. But as always the rule is you paint them how you think they should look.

Scoutdad · Post by **Scoutdad** » Thu May 21, 2009 6:55 pm

As Will said...

The standard Federation warp engine has a red (or more typically orange) dome at the front of the nacelle.

I do not remember seeing any "official" notice that the "hot" or "fast" warp engines had blue domes. I do recall seeing a photo of a "fast" fleet painted by Mike Raper that showed blue nacelle domes. When asked about it, Mike stated that he painted the domes of the Hot warp engines (and also the X-ship engines) blue to differentiate them from standard engines at a glance.

Since I own a few of Mike's custom kit-builds (made before the Fast ships were available), I chose to go with the same painting scheme and have painted those domes blue and he standard nacelle domes orange.

I think that this scheme has been passed down to other painters / collectors as a standardized, but still unofficial method of designating the "Hot" warp engines.

mjwest · Post by **mjwest** » Thu May 21, 2009 7:04 pm

NCF engines are indeed "fast" (and therefore blue).

Actually, those 12 point engines cover the full range. You have normal engines, "hot" warp engines (like frigates and war cruisers), and "fast" warp engines (on "fast" ships).

The 12 point engines on the NCL (and its variants) are "hot". They get a higher efficiency at the cost of maintenance and longevity (not a concern to a "war cruiser").

The 12 point engines on the NCA (and its variants) are normal. Don't know how that works, but they are not hot. I am sure I will get some argument on this, but NCAs do not suffer from the same maintenance and longevity issues as NCLs (and other war cruisers). They produce power normally expected for its movement class.

The 12 point engines on the NCF are "fast". Meaning that they have a higher output (like "hot" engines), but produce much higher strategic speeds. The tradeoff is the reduced heavy weapons suite.

All of these engines look the same on the SSD, and even look the same on the miniatures. But they are all, somehow, different. It is just that the differences are not observable at the "granularity" of SFB/FC.

mjwest · Post by **mjwest** » Thu May 21, 2009 7:11 pm

Scoutdad wrote:I do not remember seeing any "official" notice that the "hot" or "fast" warp engines had blue domes. I do recall seeing a photo of a "fast" fleet painted by Mike Raper that showed blue nacelle domes. When asked about it, Mike stated that he painted the domes of the Hot warp engines (and also the X-ship engines) blue to differentiate them from standard engines at a glance.

First, "hot" and "fast" are different things. Convention has "hot" and normal engines are red/orange, and "fast" as blue.

Yes, the orange/blue differences were introduced into the SFB via artistic license. However, due to continued use in published art, the "blue for fast" convention has entered into at least "semi-canon". The same thing happened with the "saucer racing stripes" for war-era Federation ships(which were introduced by Ted Geibel).

The NCF engines are indeed "fast".

Scoutdad · Post by **Scoutdad** » Thu May 21, 2009 7:23 pm

I stand corrected. "Semi-canon" status for the blue domed "Fast" engines is exactly the term I was searching for.

Thanks, Mike.

djdood · Post by **djdood** » Thu May 21, 2009 8:04 pm

Fed DDF, from a few years ago:

I went with the "semi-canon" blue glow

I'm toying with the idea of stripping this one.

It was my first finished paint job in over 20 years. The decals look really good, but this one is an odd-ball in my fleet - I don't use the red "impulse squares" on any of my newer minis (in favor of an empty outline in black). I have also since done up some custom intercooler and window decals for the "neck" which will match the shape of the metal CF saucer I used a lot better (the decals I used were intended for the plastic DD).

Odds-on, I'll just leave it alone. Finished minis are far too rare in my collection and going backwards isn't going to get me any closer to finishing the project.

The Master · Post by **The Master** » Thu May 21, 2009 11:20 pm

great Job

djdood · Post by **djdood** » Thu May 21, 2009 11:33 pm

Thanks!

I lost the contest I did it for (to scoutdad!

) but it has some sentimental value since it was "first of the new batch".

Scoutdad · Post by **Scoutdad** » Fri May 22, 2009 12:21 am

yeah, but I only wish I had a DDF...

I've got decals.. just nada to place them on...

djdood · Post by **djdood** » Fri May 22, 2009 12:35 am

Ohhhh... second burn of the day, pal.

The weather is supposed to be spectacular this weekend. I have the parts for your DDF's in with my other to-do projects, so odds-on, I'll get that project done this weekend (if I can get wifey to play photographer as I go, as-planned).

dave · Post by **dave** » Fri May 22, 2009 2:44 pm

Thanks for the replies. I wasn't expecting such a "simple" question to generate so much discussion.

Interesting the bits of "artistic license" that we all adopt without quite realizing it.

Starfury · Post by **Starfury** » Fri May 22, 2009 3:52 pm

I've done my Fed engines red, orange, blue and green.

I use a base of silver paint and then put a coat of transparent paint over it. Gives a nice gem like appearance to the front of the warp engine. I also use this technique on other ships.