Apanok Reconnaissance Fighter
Combining the sensors of a small capital ship with the speed and maneuverability of a large fighter, this hybrid ship was usually deployed one or two per fighter squadron. The resulting improvement in battlefield intelligence helped insure victory, even against superior forces.
It started as a phone. I took it apart, turned one end around, put it together, and inseted plasticard into the resulting gap. The rest of the body is plasticard. I needed a way to blend the rounded phone with rest of the sharp-edged body, and I had a TON of mech parts, so that's what I added. Elastic gift wrapping cord, attached then soaked in superglue, was an additional alien touch. A boom led to an engine module which was later removed and became the Agile Gryphon. A mech leg and Easter egg replaced it. Mounts for wings were added, but the shape of the wings hadn't been decided.
And there it languished for over a year, relocated to the loft, where my delightful nephews spotted it and pretended it was a gun. Hey, what a good idea - Turn it around, let the boom be... That bulbous end just doesn't look like a gun. But it is vaguely familiar. I know - A sensor probe! Now, where do think that came from? (If you've ever watched "It's a Wonderful Life", this is the point where Earnie the Cop says, "I think I'll go home and see what the missus is up to.")
Before returning it to the ship-factory I was looking at it while burning some DVDs of video extracted from my TiVo and I put a disk on each wing mount. Hey, not bad! But it could stand a little tweak, so I cut a section off and repositioned it back on, leaving a notch, as if for an angeld-out engine. I actually made each wing out of a single sheet of plasticard, but made the same size as a DVD disk.
APANOK is an anagram of Anagonist Perpetrated Aggression Number One Kick, which is what I thought of when I first decided to turn it around so that the ball at the end of the boom was a forward-facing sensor instead of a rearward-facing engine. The combination sensors and weapons also reminded me of the Simultaneity concept in APA - Simultaneous attack and defense. This specific training move in APA starts from Combat Stance. The right knee comes up, then the foot shoots forward, aimed at your opponent's chest. The way my friend does it, with immediacy and precision, is thrilling to behold. This is more how I do it, though - Straight out, not angled up. Yeah, I'm deadly against dwarves and children.
Paints are Floquil, Signal Red and Up Light Orange, with stripes of TTX Yellow. Lettering is identical to my Regina Orient, "alien" dry-transfers I got from Archer Fine Transfers.
Dimensions: 15x5x6 inches.
Second place, Category 604, Scalefest '06.
Original phone
Nude
First coat of paint
Orange inside the edges
Underside
Still see the earpiece
Boring top
