Cylon Resurrection ship model

Who says officers in the Colonial Fleet can’t play with toys? And by toys, we don’t mean guns. We mean models. Small scale models.

One such model is that of the Cylon Resurrection ship that Kara Thrace took pretty pictures of with a certain camera attached to a certain ship. Of course, based on that someone on the ship—ok, the props department—whipped a model up so the bored people in the situation room can play with it. And they have to move it with sticks, since touching of the models by hand are verboten. (Except if your the Old Man, then you can throw the models around in frustration, particularly if you’re planning a rescue op from Cylon-occupied New Caprica.)

The model itself is made of plastic, with a clear plastic stand, durable enough to take being moved repeatedly by bored officers whose recreational activities are rapidly dwindling in the face of equally dwindling supplies. (Not everyone is a pyramid or a card player, you know.)

As you see it on screen…

Raptor concept designs

Since you’ve seen the Raptor in yesterday’s post on the Cylon basestar interior, we may as well continue on that tangent.

With the Raptor being the mainstay military transport and support vehicle available to Galactica and, later, Pegasus, the ship is modeled after real world military helicopters, namely the Apache.

These designs show a more complicated model of Raptor, however it is very close to the final product that we get to see on screen both in CGI and the physical, full-scale models used on the show.

These are pencil drawn and shaded designs by Ken Rahebl (familiar with that name yet, folks?) on vellum, and said originals will be available in the auction.

And the final product, that you get to see in every episode…

Astral Queen control room concept drawings

These are scans of the concepts for the control room of the Astral Queen (referred to as “Prison Ship” on the these sketches) by artist Ken Rabehl, directly from the originals that were pencil drawn and shaded on vellum.

The pencil drawn and shaded concept of the Queen‘s control room by Ken Rabehl. Note the lack of a sunken pit, in comparison to what’s below.

A pencil drawn variant of the previous concept, this time with a sunken pit for the center console.

A pencil drawn and shaded version of the one-level control room, with center console and different girder and support beam structure.

As for the final product that you’ve all seen on screen, here are a few screencaps of the widest shots that are available of the Queen‘s control room.

The Blackbird

The Blackbird is a one-of-a-kind, prototype stealth ship built by Galen Tyrol and various Galactica crew members. It is introduced in Season 2, and is destroyed three episodes after its introduction.

Series appearances

The Blackbird makes its appearance in the Season 2 episode “Flight of the Phoenix“, where Galen Tyrol decides to build a ship to offset Galactica‘s losses in terms of fighter craft. Initially conceived as a replacement Viper, Tyrol draws up plans for this ship and begins building it, despite the doubts of his fellow crew mates. However, the project ends up boosting morale amidst the deteriorating conditions, and the ship becomes something completely different than just another Viper replacement: a stealth ship. After a suspenseful test-fight by Kara Thrace, the ship is christened the Laura in honor of Laura Roslin.

It is pivotal to the Pegasus and resurrection ship arc in the middle of the second season.

After the introduction of a second, surviving battlestar named Pegasus, Peter Laird—the engineer who built the DDG-62 engines and survivor of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies forcibly pressed into service by Admiral Cain—inspects the Blackbird, declaring it the ugliest thing he’d ever seen.

After Admiral Cain and Commander Adama agree to attack a then-unknown ship in the Cylon fleet trailing Galactica’s Fleet, Kara Thrace uses the Blackbird and, equipped with a surveillance package, is able to take stunning recon photos of the resurrection ship. Upon returning from this mission in “Resurrection Ship, Part I“, she discovers that the Viper squadrons from both battlestars are nearly ready to wipe the other out. Discovering that things have nearly gone to hell between Cain and Adama over Galen Tyrol and Karl “Helo” Agathon, who assaulted—and killed—Alastair Thorne as he was raping Sharon Agathon neé Valerii as an “interrogation” technique. As Thorne was a Pegasus crewmember, Cain exercised her authority and sought to execute Tyrol and Helo, itself placed on hold after Thrace transmits pictures from her recon mission to Pegasus.

After both sides agree to a truce, the two battlestars lead an offensive against the pursuing Cylon fleet in “Resurrection Ship, Part II“. During this battle, Lee “Apollo” Adama pilots the Blackbird—armed with a missile—and is able to take out the resurrection ship’s FTL drive, thereby allowing the Vipers to destroy the resurrection ship with near impunity. However, Apollo himself is unable to participate further in the battle as the Blackbird collides with a Raptor. Apollo is able to eject, but his flight suit is punctured by debris, leading to his near death—he is rescued by a SAR bird after the battle and resuscitated. (The effects of Lee Adama’s close call with death during this operation manifest themselves in “Black Market“.)

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