Tiny Homeworld Build 05 — Taiidan Empire Part 1
Frigates and small craft.
I must say that I’m really humbled and happy with all the support and feedback this project is receiving. By this point I’m essentially done with the original Homeworld factions and now intend to move on to Cataclism, Homeworld 2, Mobile, and Homeworld 3. In the meanwhile I’ve already posted compilations for the Kadeshi and Turanic fleets in my Itch.io account, along with fleet listings should you want to play Grimdark Future: Warfleets with these models.
I’m truly happy that you’re enjoying these silly tiny ships as much as I am, my happiness only being elated by those of you have sent me pictures of the models you’ve built IRL. Thank you for all of that. I hope I’ve managed to bring some joy into your lives.
And on that note, let’s move on to the first part of our Taiidan Empire fleet.
Thousands of years ago, the Taiidan were the rivals of the Hiigaran as both factions battled for galactic dominance. After bitter struggle and some political maneuvering, the Taiidan managed to claim victory and exile the Hiigarans to the distant, sandy world of Kharak, where it was hoped they would slowly die and fade away.
For millennia, the Taiidan ruled the galaxy and, as it usually happens, they became decadent and greedy, sewing dissidence among their own ranks. Their many subjects waited for something, someone, that could finally topple the old regime. At this juncture and against all odds, the Exiles returned, led by their Mothership, and finally brought an end to the Empire, reclaiming their homeworld.
The Taiidan have some advanced ship designs, smaller but equally powerful when compared to other factions. Sleek and full of small details, I will admit that these designs were quite the challenge. Again, I have to thank ThatBroDad for the help and for coming up with solutions and even some complete designs for this post — I wouldn’t have done it without him.
The first build is the Corvette. Replicating the Heavy Corvette from the game the best way I can at this scale, this was one of the those designs where ThatBroDad and I bounced ideas back and forth for a while until I somehow melded all of our ideas into a simple shape. Each model uses 5 parts, which I believe to be that largest part count for this class of ship thus far.
The frigates were much more complicated. I had made a few builds for them in past but at a slightly bigger scale and they had been challenging already. But with the limitation of just 3 studs in lengh that I gave myself I was honestly stumped. Again, ThatBroDad was the one who came with the Assault Frigate, the Ion Beam Frigate, and the Shield Frigate. These designs are his and I’m glad he put in the effort to aid me in this endeavour.
The Assault Frigate is the smaller model and in lore it is a simple, yet effective ship that can be found wherever the Taiidan go. Deployed in numbers and wielding respectable firepower for its size, it was also the first proper Taiidan ship the Kushan met during the Homeworld War. The model uses 8 parts plus the base.
The Ion Beam frigate is another common design. Many fleets throughout the galaxy use similar classes, able to generate enough firepower to punch through the hulls of even capital ships, but cheap enough to be deployed in numbers.
This model is also very simple, using only 10 parts. Some of the parts are a bit hard to find, so they would be an issue should you want to use it.
A uniquely Taiidan design, the Shield Frigate uses advanced technology to produce a force field able to defend neighboring ships from long-range attacks. This makes it very useful to reinforce ship formations, although the shield will only project forwards, requiring more conventional means to protect the flanks.
I’m really glad with how ThatBroDad produced this one. The base idea came to me during a brainstorming session, but his skill made it work, in my humble opinion. The end result uses 10 parts plus the base.
And to end this part of the Taiidan fleet we’ll have the Support Frigate. Like its Kushan counterpart, this ship is essentially a mini-carrier, refueling and repairing strike craft during long engagements. Again, its the economic solution for a very real battlefield issue.
It took a while for me to come up with something that made me happy. I do enjoy the current iteration, but there are so many unused ones you wouldn’t believe it. It has a lot of details to put in a very small package and although I would like to make it more solid I think it does work well.
It is also the larger of these models, using 12 parts plus the base.
On the next post of this series we’ll see the big hitters of the Taiidan Empire and believe me I’m excited to show you those. I’ll also try to update the fleet listings with the Taiidan Faction (using he Eternal Dinasty) around that time.
Meanwhile, I shall post another Battletech build. Working well on the first compilation for that series too. I think you’ll like it.
If you enjoy what I do consider paying me a coffee, or check my gaming projects, including my original works, so you can go out there to play games and enjoy your lives!
