I wish you would publish the specs for these amazing ships and vehicles instead of making us all guess. that said this is definitely a more realistic version of the Imperial Nebulon than the EC Henry version. I’d call EC henry’s the first prototype, this would be the first production batch.
Dr. Bidlo
10 months ago
One of the images looks like the Intersector Sloop is docked under the spar of the Nebulon B. Does this model have a docking tube along the spar like the Medical Frigate at the end of ESB?
Bybthe way, I love both this and the EC Henry version. They are each great in their own way.
Destroyer Fan
1 year ago
I like both this design and EC Henry’s design a lot, but I think I’m gonna have to give it to EC Henry’s design for making more sense. EC’s design looks like what the Nebulon could be stripped down from, while Fractal’s looks more like a reconfigured version.
To add: I love both designs, EC’s Nebulon B is just a little more… realistic, so to speak.
Also something tips the scales in the Nebulon EC’s favour is the little bit of history. So like, basically while everything else I said was true, I’m just asking if you can make a specs/history library for your ships.
Landen
1 year ago
Your work is just phenomenal
LMGmaster123
1 year ago
I like the asymmetrical front end. I think bomb bay doors to close in the fighters would be perfect though. All said tho, amazing work.
bay doors would sorta be unorthodox for imperial strategy, though. These open launch bays are a typical fleet/battle group escort standard like the support ships in SW Squadrons videogame. they had a standby launch bay atop strictly for deployment before/after hyperspace. They’re kinda like the Cobra bays for Starfurry fighters in Babylon 5.
Hjalmar Weyse
1 year ago
The top and side bays seem arbitrary. Also, why not extend the middle bay down, protecting the docked fighters from below with a set of bay doors? It’s not like the extra depth isn’t there on the fore and aft structures. Also, where are the access hatches in the docking clamps? How do the pilots get to their TIEs?
It’s very imposing, but like the Space Dong, it just doesn’t look Imperial.
The entire point of the design is to extrapolate from the “stripped down” version in ESB, given some other concessions to usability. The top bay is to dock shuttles like a lambda, which for obvious reasons cannot dock in the other bays. The side bay is because the ESB version has a bay there, and so it’s expanded a bit. The lack of doors for the bottom rack is because adding that fundamentally changes the aesthetic of the ship. TIEs get loaded/boarded in the main hangar, and then they get cycled out into the rack area for rapid launch. The door connecting the main enclosed bay in the front of the ship with the rack system is shown on the renders.
So the TIEs only deploy along the spar when ready to launch? Is there enough room in the main hanger to hold them all when not strung along the spar? I am sure you figured the part out – and they don’t take up too much space with the rack system, I imagine.
Last edited 10 months ago by Dr. Bidlo
Samuel Bishop
1 year ago
I like this design better than EC henrys his can only carry 1 squad of ties while this one can carry 2 while still being able to accomadate a lambda shuttle. ec henrys seems to bee more hevily armed though
Kenneth Ferland
1 year ago
I didn’t like the top hanger on ECHenry’s version and I don’t like it here either, but here it’s even more redundant because you have a side hanger door. Acomadating a Lamda shuttle seems to be the main driver but this is a flawed premise, the Lambda is a VIP shuttle and a frigate dose not need to acamadate it, TIE shuttles and other craft are more then adaquate for people up to the rank of Admiral (Nedda flew in one to give his final apology to Vader) and such craft easily fit through the side hanger, as would other large TIE varents like Bombers.
The TIE racks are the best part of both imperial Nebs because they are both functional and explain the ships central spar. But I would have prefered to see the Ghozanti style tube connectors as these allow rapid pilot access and fast scrambling. TIE fighters in ceiling mounts always have catwalks for this access and the whole squadron can drop and fly out as soon as pilots can jump in the cockpits. These pilots are clearly being kept right by the hanger fully suited and ready to fly, we can assume the same happens inside a Ghosanti. But this claw-carosel arrangment provides no access. I know Fractal Sponge likes the claws he modeled but they are only appropriate for a servicing/repairbay type situation when the TIE is not going to called upon to scramble.
ReallyBigMistake
2 years ago
Looks amazing. I don’t know which one I like best, this one or the model that ECHENRY made. both are so good
David Alexander Tiller
2 years ago
Great design, maybe an Imperial Stealth Ship next.
RIgel
2 years ago
I count seventeen fighters a bit odd for star wars who’s squadron size was 12in all the books.
It clearly enough external space for 18, if another 6 TIE’s are internal then your at exactly 2 squadrons which is also the cononical carrying capacity of the ship per numerous video games, actually acomadating that many TIE’s inside the hull has been a nightmare for years, which the external storage now solves.
I would imagine the other 6 are the double-hull TIE types such as Bombers, Boarding vessels or shuttles, these obviously do not fit well into the external carosel thus why their is an internal bay and a dedicated door for them, though if desired the TIE ln fighters can use that door and it may even be nessary for recovering them
Believe it or not, I always wondered why some ships had a odd amount of TIE/LNs.
jean-luc
2 years ago
damn… this thing is even THICCER than EC Henry’s version and I am pretty sure it’s better. the external tie rack makes much more sense as it is simple and fast to deploy those ships which is what you want for a Convoy escort defending against fast pirates and raiders. two questions, does it have any repair facilities for the ties? what is its size compared to the “normal” rebel Nebulon and what are its armaments/special features?
I don’t really know, but I would say it is probably a bit longer than the rebel Nebulon due to that forward armor plating and its armament would likely be the same if not larger than the rebel frigate because we all know how much Palpatine liked giving ships a ridiculous amount of firepower.
Last edited 2 years ago by Nyle
Chris Davis
2 years ago
This is an awesome design. I think this would have been a great design for a episode in the rebels to steal a few of these. Then strip them down to trade for resources, weapons, ships and what not. So it explains why the rebels had stripped them down. Also to make them easier to fix to id bet.
well, the easier to fix is more like “easier to patch up with whatever scrap and junk we could get”. Frankly, it would make MORE sense to keep these as Fake escorts in their original condition for as long as possible. That way you could use them to sneak attack imperial convoys with their own fake convoys. Imagine an Imperial-looking Nebulon-B that at least cosmetically matched the silhouette of the real thing pretending to “help” an imperial convoy and conveniently it also would have its own convoy of Q-ships in tow to make off with all that sweet loot.
Visual wouldn’t matter in space, it’s all about the electronic emissions, engine signature and transponder beacon. If you get them right the Imps wouldn’t suspect a thing, get them wrong and no visual conversion is going to help you. Han had a sensor/transponder overlay that fooled the Imps into thinking the Falcon was a commando transport (Y4 I think) in Courtship of Princess Leia and the ships look nothing alike.
In a close transport situation like a convoy, visual would matter because in the films and tv shows we see that convoys are pretty close together. So your right that when you enter the system, transponder and energy signatures would matter, but once your at the convoy, if you look nothing like what you say you are, suspicions will arise
Sure, you could do that. I think however that since it is a enemy ship it has to be clearly marked as such. A example of this was the identification on German U-boats, (U-99, or such).
The ‘easier to repair’ reason is why the Y-wings have their shells off, but Y-wings do not have any functional parts removed. The Nebulon clear lost both armor and large amounts of internal space.
The only real reason to do this would be to speed up the ship. Convoy escort ships would not normally be very fast, in order not to fall behind fast ships like CR-90’s it makes sense to strip down the armor on any slow ship the rebels aquire because a stragler will die no matter what kind of armor it has.
The alternative explenation from EC Henry was that they were aquired by the rebels in an already stripped condition by raiding what were essential ship ‘boneyards’. In which case the ships might have needed to be built UP to what was seen in ESB.
Lastly if their were any version of the Nebulon that still acted as carriers for the Rebels they would have needed to be radically different from the medical frigate seen in ESB. All this external TIE storage area would likely need to have been enclosed into a proper hanger, such a ship has never been seen before though.
Nyle
2 years ago
This is an amazing design! The docking area for the Lambda shuttle is a very interesting feature to me. It kind of reminds me of how the Arquitens command cruiser could dock a shuttle between its forward prongs.
It is stupid, the Lambda is massivly overused in most content, it’s not the only shuttle the Empire has but because it’s icon it is shoe-horned into places it has no sense being.
The TIE shuttle should be the common ship-to-ship externally docking shuttle craft of the Empire and any ship with an docking ring on it could acamadate it without needing an entire hanger.
The ramp based boarding of the Lambda means it is clearly intended for planetary landing, not ship-2-ship docking in space.
Brandon F
2 years ago
Simply beautiful! This is the design I have been waiting for!
Nicholas Brown
2 years ago
Now we need a Nebulon B2.
Last edited 2 years ago by Nicholas Brown
Nicholas Brown
2 years ago
Wow. Shows how really stripped down this ship was with the rebels. Incredible work fractal. The strengthened neck reminds me of a Carrack cruiser’s hull just a little. This thing looks tough compared to its brittle appearance in the Rebel Fleet. It looks like it can really slug out some bigger opponents and hold its own with its TIE squadrons.
Superlative job.
Mind boggling and pleasing to look at.
Daniel Shenise
2 years ago
Love the port side view, the central spine racking with dorsal hangar, and general detailing. Not really sold on the forward starboard side hangar opening and protrusion. I’ve always thought forcing a hangar in there was more a WEG game mechanic versus practical understanding of internal space design. If anything I could see the hangar being more of a repair bay with the racks transferring fighters there exactly as you have them through an aft opening. I also really appreciate the comparison to the Kontos.
I think the spot where the Hangar door was put in videogames is the spot where the actual filming model of the Nebulon had the mounting rod connected, the films never show this spot for that reason. Thus making to door in that location atleast plausable.
The problem was that videogames explicity said the ships carried 2 squadrons and this can’t fit internally in this ship in anything short of sardine packing. As the games made zero effort (perhapse intentionally) to make Imperial Nebulon B’s different or larger then rebel ones this lead to years of confusion. Fractal Sponge has basically given us the ship model the videogames SHOULD have created decades ago, though at that time externally mounted TIE fighters had never been seen onscreen.
I agree that the internal space is certainly where any maintence, repair, refueling and rearming is done. It’s likely their are also some additional craft inside such as TIE bombers, shuttles or boarding craft.
Note though that extensive repair and maintence would not be expected of a convoy escort vessel, because they are going back and forth between known bases where all the TIE fighters can be exchanged. It would make sense to cram more fighters into the ship at the cost of repair capabilities, also when is the last time a TIE fighter actually took damage and survided to need repair? And we know they require very little maintence, probably a long enough maintence cycle that none needs to be done on a convoy route, so it’s really just refueling and rearming that are needed to be done in that hanger.
That’s my feeling as well. This side hangar is not needed in my opinion and it broke the lines and aestetics of the ship.
J. J.
2 years ago
Well done as always. Thank you.
Alexis
2 years ago
To be more precise, as an industrial designer, both of Ec and Fractal designs give me a lot of suppositions going thru my mind to fill the lore around these two imperialised Nebulon B projects.
EC design is kind of the first model to be produced, tested, bulky heavy armored with powerfull anti-ship weapons, a lot of ressources needed to produce each of this model and more crew to operate it. Fits perfectly the fearsome politic of the Empire.
Fractal design however, we feel like there was an economic improvement, sleeker model to economise ressources, smaller hull with less powerfull armament to economise crew, we can even think of a more automatised model to economise even more crew to operate the ship itself so there are more crew involved into the spacecrafts carrier part of the ship.
With its lighter weapons and if we think of a more automatised weapons system, plus this disposition of engines, and the starboard extension for a hangar, we can feel that this is a later imperial model modernised to fit the purposes of the end of the war where there are a lot of anti-spacecraft escort needs all around the galaxy, based on an hull which is retrofitted for mass production some times after the tested EC version, we then can think that the early Fractal mass production versions produced after EC version had the standard 6 engines dispositions and that the black market, rebels Nebulon B we see everywhere are the early Fractal version productions, modified lightened scrapped, and not the later version proposed here by Fractal which never ended in the black market nor rebel hands.
To resume it, EC version is the director’s cut, the first dream that came from the early studies, and Fractal is the evolution the realistic model that was needed later for the asymetric war against rebel raids.
I wholeheartedly agree. We really needed an imperial version. I never really accepted the way the ship looked back in any of the games. Many of my friends pointed out that the stripped down version looks so fragile. We needed a imperial pre-stripped version for 30 years and finally we get to see what a beauty it is.
EC did a Nebulon-A, it is without the lower part more like a long corvette.
In my vision i mean that EC Nebulon B are the first pre produced Nebulon-B, thick armored, anti-vessel purposes, which within the time within the war slowly been upgraded retrofit into slicker lighter more automated and with more anti-AA purposes, giving the Fractal version.
And the rebels are using decomissionned retrofit Nebulon-B (Fractal slickness but not with all the last upgrads) while actual Fractal Nebulon-B is the all last version still in use during the last days of the Empire, with the last technology, the hangar bulge ect.
I think of EC’s as the Nebula B Patrol Frigate, tough enough, fast jumping enough, and well armed enough to escape (and report) an encounter with a rebel fleet, but not built for extended front line combat.
For the Nebulon A Escort Frigate (Fractal’s model, in my head), everything was pared back and made cheaper. For example, the ridiculously expensive “sprint hyperdrive” that the Patrol Frigate needed could be dispensed with, along with all of the heavier turbolasers, powerful sensors, and high strength long range communications equipment. This produced a much cheaper ship, but still one which was unnecessarily capable and above the Imperial Navy’s per-unit budget for a ship they’d need many millions of.
That’s where the Nebulon B we see on screen comes from: they stripped out everything which wasn’t strictly necessary for holding off poorly equipped rebels (the largest known rebel ships at the time being a few converted Peltas). This meant that most of the armour was unnecessary, the complicated internal hangar and fighter maintenance setup was unnecessary, the relatively large secondary reactor could be removed, and the specially designed sublight drives could be replaced with off the shelf units.
They also designed in the massive structural weakness which is so often complained about in the fandom. Their logic being that the shields were strong enough to withstand anything that most rebel convoy raids could hit them with, but some would, inevitably, be captured/defect. When the rebels captured Nebulon Bs, they would have to use them as front line units because they would be some of the toughest and most powerful ships in their possession. This would put at least 300ish rebels into a position where imperial gunners know exactly where to hit them for a quick kill.
This design feature mitigates the Nebulon B’s usefulness as a rebel asset without having much of a negative impact on its utility as an Imperial escort. It finished up looking so stripped down and ugly because it was a rushed final design stage. KDY were competing with other shipyards for the contract and didn’t want anyone else’s design sneaking past them after they’d invested so much time and money into their design’s development.
Again, this is all just my view on it. I like your idea too, it certainly fits the obviously heavier armament on EC’s design.
Alexis
2 years ago
Feels like EC Henri Nebulon B is the prototypes, first models of the production, and that Fractal Nebulon B is the retrofitted economic version made for the mass production.
Both designs are great and fits the idea of imperial original Nebulon B before their black market, modified, scraped version we all know since 1980
Last edited 2 years ago by Alexis
Anthurak
2 years ago
An amazing piece of work, as always 😀
Also, I had a thought on how both this version and EC Henry’s concept could co-exist in the same universe: The EC variant is the ‘original’ version that was mothballed and later snatched up and retrofitted by the Rebellion. And the ‘Fractal’ version is a ‘Mark 2’/retrofitted model created by the Empire after seeing the effectiveness of the Nebulon B in Rebel hands.
Check standard stats for Nebulon-B. Add couple of meters in length for armor plates, rest is the same. Number of barrels (Fractal used dual-mode turrets), warheads launcher, ect.
Eugene
2 years ago
Jawdropping piece, Fractal!
On the sidenote, do You have a take on its acceleration? I reckon it wouldn’t be high on the priorities list for an escort, but with proper military hardware instead of civilian-grade multibank Alliance could’ve managed, much better performance should be within reach. And for that matter, do we have a number for tESB specimen somewhere?
Adam J Jacobs
2 years ago
I’ve been comparing this to EC Henry’s model. Both are excellent. Fractal’s version is much more armored and serves as a carrier, whereas EC’s is more of a command ship and has more firepower. I could easily see both serving as variants of the Nebulon-B within the Imperial Navy.
Fractal’s model really shines in its anti-fighter capability. Being able to field a relatively large amount of fighters and protect itself with anti-fighter weapons is key for fleet deployments. It doesn’t need to rely on the fighters it is carrying for protection, allowing them to disperse across the battlefront. The original purpose of the Nebulon B was to be an escort frigate, and Fractal’s definitely fits that bill.
Good summary. Indeed this version is more optimized for convoy escort, it lacks a heavy punch like EC Henry’s model. So IMO Fractal Nebulon is closer to original role that ship had in lore, convoy escort ship. Capable to chase away any pirate attacks but pressed against the wall in fight with true warship. Fractal deliver as always, amazing design and bring life to concept.
Galvars
2 years ago
Absolutely amazing. Still fit the stats but in much better implementation, double duty turrets, TIE rack… even that asymmetric upper bow looks in place.
svetoslav
2 years ago
well-groomed as always, although I would have approached differently. I notice that the distance between the fighters is about half a fighter, so if the middle part of the ship expands it will be possible to add a third row of fighters. I also wonder if it will be possible to use a shuttle type Mu in the upper hangar, I still think that its tail will stick out too much.
Imo, Mu should fit, since it doesn’t have much of a tail, wings would stick higher up, but they could be fold. And overall MU is tiny – Lambda’s main hull alone has the same volume requirement.
I wish you would publish the specs for these amazing ships and vehicles instead of making us all guess. that said this is definitely a more realistic version of the Imperial Nebulon than the EC Henry version. I’d call EC henry’s the first prototype, this would be the first production batch.
One of the images looks like the Intersector Sloop is docked under the spar of the Nebulon B. Does this model have a docking tube along the spar like the Medical Frigate at the end of ESB?
Bybthe way, I love both this and the EC Henry version. They are each great in their own way.
I like both this design and EC Henry’s design a lot, but I think I’m gonna have to give it to EC Henry’s design for making more sense. EC’s design looks like what the Nebulon could be stripped down from, while Fractal’s looks more like a reconfigured version.
To add: I love both designs, EC’s Nebulon B is just a little more… realistic, so to speak.
Also something tips the scales in the Nebulon EC’s favour is the little bit of history. So like, basically while everything else I said was true, I’m just asking if you can make a specs/history library for your ships.
Your work is just phenomenal
I like the asymmetrical front end. I think bomb bay doors to close in the fighters would be perfect though. All said tho, amazing work.
bay doors would sorta be unorthodox for imperial strategy, though. These open launch bays are a typical fleet/battle group escort standard like the support ships in SW Squadrons videogame. they had a standby launch bay atop strictly for deployment before/after hyperspace. They’re kinda like the Cobra bays for Starfurry fighters in Babylon 5.
The top and side bays seem arbitrary. Also, why not extend the middle bay down, protecting the docked fighters from below with a set of bay doors? It’s not like the extra depth isn’t there on the fore and aft structures. Also, where are the access hatches in the docking clamps? How do the pilots get to their TIEs?
It’s very imposing, but like the Space Dong, it just doesn’t look Imperial.
The entire point of the design is to extrapolate from the “stripped down” version in ESB, given some other concessions to usability. The top bay is to dock shuttles like a lambda, which for obvious reasons cannot dock in the other bays. The side bay is because the ESB version has a bay there, and so it’s expanded a bit. The lack of doors for the bottom rack is because adding that fundamentally changes the aesthetic of the ship. TIEs get loaded/boarded in the main hangar, and then they get cycled out into the rack area for rapid launch. The door connecting the main enclosed bay in the front of the ship with the rack system is shown on the renders.
So the TIEs only deploy along the spar when ready to launch? Is there enough room in the main hanger to hold them all when not strung along the spar? I am sure you figured the part out – and they don’t take up too much space with the rack system, I imagine.
I like this design better than EC henrys his can only carry 1 squad of ties while this one can carry 2 while still being able to accomadate a lambda shuttle. ec henrys seems to bee more hevily armed though
I didn’t like the top hanger on ECHenry’s version and I don’t like it here either, but here it’s even more redundant because you have a side hanger door. Acomadating a Lamda shuttle seems to be the main driver but this is a flawed premise, the Lambda is a VIP shuttle and a frigate dose not need to acamadate it, TIE shuttles and other craft are more then adaquate for people up to the rank of Admiral (Nedda flew in one to give his final apology to Vader) and such craft easily fit through the side hanger, as would other large TIE varents like Bombers.
The TIE racks are the best part of both imperial Nebs because they are both functional and explain the ships central spar. But I would have prefered to see the Ghozanti style tube connectors as these allow rapid pilot access and fast scrambling. TIE fighters in ceiling mounts always have catwalks for this access and the whole squadron can drop and fly out as soon as pilots can jump in the cockpits. These pilots are clearly being kept right by the hanger fully suited and ready to fly, we can assume the same happens inside a Ghosanti. But this claw-carosel arrangment provides no access. I know Fractal Sponge likes the claws he modeled but they are only appropriate for a servicing/repairbay type situation when the TIE is not going to called upon to scramble.
Looks amazing. I don’t know which one I like best, this one or the model that ECHENRY made. both are so good
Great design, maybe an Imperial Stealth Ship next.
I count seventeen fighters a bit odd for star wars who’s squadron size was 12in all the books.
It clearly enough external space for 18, if another 6 TIE’s are internal then your at exactly 2 squadrons which is also the cononical carrying capacity of the ship per numerous video games, actually acomadating that many TIE’s inside the hull has been a nightmare for years, which the external storage now solves.
I would imagine the other 6 are the double-hull TIE types such as Bombers, Boarding vessels or shuttles, these obviously do not fit well into the external carosel thus why their is an internal bay and a dedicated door for them, though if desired the TIE ln fighters can use that door and it may even be nessary for recovering them
Believe it or not, I always wondered why some ships had a odd amount of TIE/LNs.
damn… this thing is even THICCER than EC Henry’s version and I am pretty sure it’s better. the external tie rack makes much more sense as it is simple and fast to deploy those ships which is what you want for a Convoy escort defending against fast pirates and raiders. two questions, does it have any repair facilities for the ties? what is its size compared to the “normal” rebel Nebulon and what are its armaments/special features?
I don’t really know, but I would say it is probably a bit longer than the rebel Nebulon due to that forward armor plating and its armament would likely be the same if not larger than the rebel frigate because we all know how much Palpatine liked giving ships a ridiculous amount of firepower.
This is an awesome design. I think this would have been a great design for a episode in the rebels to steal a few of these. Then strip them down to trade for resources, weapons, ships and what not. So it explains why the rebels had stripped them down. Also to make them easier to fix to id bet.
well, the easier to fix is more like “easier to patch up with whatever scrap and junk we could get”. Frankly, it would make MORE sense to keep these as Fake escorts in their original condition for as long as possible. That way you could use them to sneak attack imperial convoys with their own fake convoys. Imagine an Imperial-looking Nebulon-B that at least cosmetically matched the silhouette of the real thing pretending to “help” an imperial convoy and conveniently it also would have its own convoy of Q-ships in tow to make off with all that sweet loot.
Visual wouldn’t matter in space, it’s all about the electronic emissions, engine signature and transponder beacon. If you get them right the Imps wouldn’t suspect a thing, get them wrong and no visual conversion is going to help you. Han had a sensor/transponder overlay that fooled the Imps into thinking the Falcon was a commando transport (Y4 I think) in Courtship of Princess Leia and the ships look nothing alike.
In a close transport situation like a convoy, visual would matter because in the films and tv shows we see that convoys are pretty close together. So your right that when you enter the system, transponder and energy signatures would matter, but once your at the convoy, if you look nothing like what you say you are, suspicions will arise
Sure, you could do that. I think however that since it is a enemy ship it has to be clearly marked as such. A example of this was the identification on German U-boats, (U-99, or such).
The ‘easier to repair’ reason is why the Y-wings have their shells off, but Y-wings do not have any functional parts removed. The Nebulon clear lost both armor and large amounts of internal space.
The only real reason to do this would be to speed up the ship. Convoy escort ships would not normally be very fast, in order not to fall behind fast ships like CR-90’s it makes sense to strip down the armor on any slow ship the rebels aquire because a stragler will die no matter what kind of armor it has.
The alternative explenation from EC Henry was that they were aquired by the rebels in an already stripped condition by raiding what were essential ship ‘boneyards’. In which case the ships might have needed to be built UP to what was seen in ESB.
Lastly if their were any version of the Nebulon that still acted as carriers for the Rebels they would have needed to be radically different from the medical frigate seen in ESB. All this external TIE storage area would likely need to have been enclosed into a proper hanger, such a ship has never been seen before though.
This is an amazing design! The docking area for the Lambda shuttle is a very interesting feature to me. It kind of reminds me of how the Arquitens command cruiser could dock a shuttle between its forward prongs.
which always seemed VERY dangerous and stupid to me but hey it’s the empire right?
It is stupid, the Lambda is massivly overused in most content, it’s not the only shuttle the Empire has but because it’s icon it is shoe-horned into places it has no sense being.
The TIE shuttle should be the common ship-to-ship externally docking shuttle craft of the Empire and any ship with an docking ring on it could acamadate it without needing an entire hanger.
The ramp based boarding of the Lambda means it is clearly intended for planetary landing, not ship-2-ship docking in space.
Simply beautiful! This is the design I have been waiting for!
Now we need a Nebulon B2.
Wow. Shows how really stripped down this ship was with the rebels. Incredible work fractal. The strengthened neck reminds me of a Carrack cruiser’s hull just a little. This thing looks tough compared to its brittle appearance in the Rebel Fleet. It looks like it can really slug out some bigger opponents and hold its own with its TIE squadrons.
Superlative job.
Mind boggling and pleasing to look at.
Love the port side view, the central spine racking with dorsal hangar, and general detailing. Not really sold on the forward starboard side hangar opening and protrusion. I’ve always thought forcing a hangar in there was more a WEG game mechanic versus practical understanding of internal space design. If anything I could see the hangar being more of a repair bay with the racks transferring fighters there exactly as you have them through an aft opening. I also really appreciate the comparison to the Kontos.
I think the spot where the Hangar door was put in videogames is the spot where the actual filming model of the Nebulon had the mounting rod connected, the films never show this spot for that reason. Thus making to door in that location atleast plausable.
The problem was that videogames explicity said the ships carried 2 squadrons and this can’t fit internally in this ship in anything short of sardine packing. As the games made zero effort (perhapse intentionally) to make Imperial Nebulon B’s different or larger then rebel ones this lead to years of confusion. Fractal Sponge has basically given us the ship model the videogames SHOULD have created decades ago, though at that time externally mounted TIE fighters had never been seen onscreen.
I agree that the internal space is certainly where any maintence, repair, refueling and rearming is done. It’s likely their are also some additional craft inside such as TIE bombers, shuttles or boarding craft.
Note though that extensive repair and maintence would not be expected of a convoy escort vessel, because they are going back and forth between known bases where all the TIE fighters can be exchanged. It would make sense to cram more fighters into the ship at the cost of repair capabilities, also when is the last time a TIE fighter actually took damage and survided to need repair? And we know they require very little maintence, probably a long enough maintence cycle that none needs to be done on a convoy route, so it’s really just refueling and rearming that are needed to be done in that hanger.
That’s my feeling as well. This side hangar is not needed in my opinion and it broke the lines and aestetics of the ship.
Well done as always. Thank you.
To be more precise, as an industrial designer, both of Ec and Fractal designs give me a lot of suppositions going thru my mind to fill the lore around these two imperialised Nebulon B projects.
EC design is kind of the first model to be produced, tested, bulky heavy armored with powerfull anti-ship weapons, a lot of ressources needed to produce each of this model and more crew to operate it. Fits perfectly the fearsome politic of the Empire.
Fractal design however, we feel like there was an economic improvement, sleeker model to economise ressources, smaller hull with less powerfull armament to economise crew, we can even think of a more automatised model to economise even more crew to operate the ship itself so there are more crew involved into the spacecrafts carrier part of the ship.
With its lighter weapons and if we think of a more automatised weapons system, plus this disposition of engines, and the starboard extension for a hangar, we can feel that this is a later imperial model modernised to fit the purposes of the end of the war where there are a lot of anti-spacecraft escort needs all around the galaxy, based on an hull which is retrofitted for mass production some times after the tested EC version, we then can think that the early Fractal mass production versions produced after EC version had the standard 6 engines dispositions and that the black market, rebels Nebulon B we see everywhere are the early Fractal version productions, modified lightened scrapped, and not the later version proposed here by Fractal which never ended in the black market nor rebel hands.
To resume it, EC version is the director’s cut, the first dream that came from the early studies, and Fractal is the evolution the realistic model that was needed later for the asymetric war against rebel raids.
I wholeheartedly agree. We really needed an imperial version. I never really accepted the way the ship looked back in any of the games. Many of my friends pointed out that the stripped down version looks so fragile. We needed a imperial pre-stripped version for 30 years and finally we get to see what a beauty it is.
So EC’s is the Nebulon-A and this is the proper mass production nebulon B type?
EC did a Nebulon-A, it is without the lower part more like a long corvette.
In my vision i mean that EC Nebulon B are the first pre produced Nebulon-B, thick armored, anti-vessel purposes, which within the time within the war slowly been upgraded retrofit into slicker lighter more automated and with more anti-AA purposes, giving the Fractal version.
And the rebels are using decomissionned retrofit Nebulon-B (Fractal slickness but not with all the last upgrads) while actual Fractal Nebulon-B is the all last version still in use during the last days of the Empire, with the last technology, the hangar bulge ect.
Maybe EC’s is the ‘Nebulon Strike Frigate’ or something? And the Fractal one is the cheaper Escort Frigate?
I think of EC’s as the Nebula B Patrol Frigate, tough enough, fast jumping enough, and well armed enough to escape (and report) an encounter with a rebel fleet, but not built for extended front line combat.
For the Nebulon A Escort Frigate (Fractal’s model, in my head), everything was pared back and made cheaper. For example, the ridiculously expensive “sprint hyperdrive” that the Patrol Frigate needed could be dispensed with, along with all of the heavier turbolasers, powerful sensors, and high strength long range communications equipment. This produced a much cheaper ship, but still one which was unnecessarily capable and above the Imperial Navy’s per-unit budget for a ship they’d need many millions of.
That’s where the Nebulon B we see on screen comes from: they stripped out everything which wasn’t strictly necessary for holding off poorly equipped rebels (the largest known rebel ships at the time being a few converted Peltas). This meant that most of the armour was unnecessary, the complicated internal hangar and fighter maintenance setup was unnecessary, the relatively large secondary reactor could be removed, and the specially designed sublight drives could be replaced with off the shelf units.
They also designed in the massive structural weakness which is so often complained about in the fandom. Their logic being that the shields were strong enough to withstand anything that most rebel convoy raids could hit them with, but some would, inevitably, be captured/defect. When the rebels captured Nebulon Bs, they would have to use them as front line units because they would be some of the toughest and most powerful ships in their possession. This would put at least 300ish rebels into a position where imperial gunners know exactly where to hit them for a quick kill.
This design feature mitigates the Nebulon B’s usefulness as a rebel asset without having much of a negative impact on its utility as an Imperial escort.
It finished up looking so stripped down and ugly because it was a rushed final design stage. KDY were competing with other shipyards for the contract and didn’t want anyone else’s design sneaking past them after they’d invested so much time and money into their design’s development.
Again, this is all just my view on it. I like your idea too, it certainly fits the obviously heavier armament on EC’s design.
Feels like EC Henri Nebulon B is the prototypes, first models of the production, and that Fractal Nebulon B is the retrofitted economic version made for the mass production.
Both designs are great and fits the idea of imperial original Nebulon B before their black market, modified, scraped version we all know since 1980
An amazing piece of work, as always 😀
Also, I had a thought on how both this version and EC Henry’s concept could co-exist in the same universe: The EC variant is the ‘original’ version that was mothballed and later snatched up and retrofitted by the Rebellion. And the ‘Fractal’ version is a ‘Mark 2’/retrofitted model created by the Empire after seeing the effectiveness of the Nebulon B in Rebel hands.
Which is hilarious because that basically what each creator said they were doing.
Exactly! XD
What are the spec for this beauty?
Check standard stats for Nebulon-B. Add couple of meters in length for armor plates, rest is the same. Number of barrels (Fractal used dual-mode turrets), warheads launcher, ect.
Jawdropping piece, Fractal!
On the sidenote, do You have a take on its acceleration? I reckon it wouldn’t be high on the priorities list for an escort, but with proper military hardware instead of civilian-grade multibank Alliance could’ve managed, much better performance should be within reach. And for that matter, do we have a number for tESB specimen somewhere?
I’ve been comparing this to EC Henry’s model. Both are excellent. Fractal’s version is much more armored and serves as a carrier, whereas EC’s is more of a command ship and has more firepower. I could easily see both serving as variants of the Nebulon-B within the Imperial Navy.
Fractal’s model really shines in its anti-fighter capability. Being able to field a relatively large amount of fighters and protect itself with anti-fighter weapons is key for fleet deployments. It doesn’t need to rely on the fighters it is carrying for protection, allowing them to disperse across the battlefront. The original purpose of the Nebulon B was to be an escort frigate, and Fractal’s definitely fits that bill.
Good summary. Indeed this version is more optimized for convoy escort, it lacks a heavy punch like EC Henry’s model. So IMO Fractal Nebulon is closer to original role that ship had in lore, convoy escort ship. Capable to chase away any pirate attacks but pressed against the wall in fight with true warship. Fractal deliver as always, amazing design and bring life to concept.
Absolutely amazing. Still fit the stats but in much better implementation, double duty turrets, TIE rack… even that asymmetric upper bow looks in place.
well-groomed as always, although I would have approached differently. I notice that the distance between the fighters is about half a fighter, so if the middle part of the ship expands it will be possible to add a third row of fighters. I also wonder if it will be possible to use a shuttle type Mu in the upper hangar, I still think that its tail will stick out too much.
Imo, Mu should fit, since it doesn’t have much of a tail, wings would stick higher up, but they could be fold. And overall MU is tiny – Lambda’s main hull alone has the same volume requirement.