The scouting variant of the Cosmo Messer I made is more or less finished barring some minor internal tweaks and systems for the second cockpit.

Since I probably won’t be making a Cosmo Zero or anything based on it anytime soon (maybe when I get around to another faction) I wanted to see how the color scheme looked on a Messer. I even threw in whatever those pod parts are the Zeros always carry. They had to go on the top instead of under the wings to save space for the landing gears and any potential heavy weapons, but it actually looks fine. This version of the ship doesn’t take up any more space on a dock or in a hangar than the slimmer base model. As long as everything stays within height and width dimensions without getting in the way of the landing gears, you can do a heck of a lot with this ship.

Internal thrusters remain a must whenever and however possible

This version of the Cosmo Messer is designated A.R. but I forgot what the acronym was for. It’s something reconnaissance related. This is a ‘cosmo’ version of a catapult launched recon plane or ‘spotting craft.’ It’s not meant to fight, but it’s as well armed as the base model and can be equipped the same as all the others if that’s needed. Naturally it’s got an extra camera in the front since the nose camera is actually for runway landings and has an obstructed upward view.

These long cylinders are recon pods with an extra camera, a spotlight, and two sensors on the back ends

Two sensors for two different search profiles; too bad their range is pathetic …

The sensors just didn’t look right mounted in the front, and I needed something to ‘cap’ the back ends of the pods, so this configuration worked. Plus, if a bigger spotlight was going to be going on the AR model, it should be on the front of a recon pod.

The second cockpit isn’t programmed yet, but its monitors are mostly done.

Next up is the Cosmo Stuka.

Not to be mistaken with the Snuka from Star Blazers (though credit for the inspiration where it’s due)

The DMB87 Snuka is based on the Ju-87 Stuka, and the Cosmo Stuka takes design cues from both

The Cosmo Stuka took surprisingly little time to build up to this point, and this monster is even more customizable than the Cosmo Messers. I call it a monster not because it can carry much, much heavier weapons than the Messers, but because this is a subgrid heavy ship. I nearly wound up with 10 subgrids when I decided to try to approximate the shape and angle of the rear stabilizers. That still left me with 8 subgrids in total, including the landing gears, which are two layers deep. I’ve done minimal testing with the Cosmo Stuka, but she can fly and maneuver well without upsetting Lord Clang too much. Every now and then there’s a hinge related noise I don’t like to hear, but no actual damage, drifting, or shaking. Like with any ship, it’s generally better to just not fly like a crazy person.

The Cosmo Stuka has some unique landing gears and enough room to mount numerous and devastating weapons

I hate the way they look, but in the end I decided to add a connector to the bottom of the ship. It can’t dock with the Heinrich with this connector due to the landing gear/pods, but any ship with enough room and a raised connector should fit just fine. Since the Stuka’s a fast bomber, any ship meant to carry it will have the raised connectors it needs for refueling and rearming. Also yes those are basically Jericho trumpets (stuka sirens) on the front of the landing gears. I had to.

Side profile

The cooling system, or in this case, some parts to disguise the internal hydrogen thrusters (faced forward), had to be kept slim and short to not get in the way of any ventral weapon mounts the ship might need. On an unrelated note, I like how the lancer turret (Akiad Defense mod) and the landing gears fit perfectly right at the center of the Stuka. That was my intention, but it wasn’t always looking to turn out that way. I had no idea how long or how short the ship was going to be while I was building it, so I kept the AR Messer nearby for reference. It couldn’t be shorter, but it couldn’t be too much longer, either.

The only visible rear thruster is a large one beneath a tail shroud.

The back end is the least interesting as far as I’m concerned and I’m likely to change it up a few times before I call it finished. It’s not bad for a first attempt, it just needs more work. I would like to keep it to being a single engine ship though. That’s a cue from the Stuka that needs to stay.

I don’t have any particular reason for putting two extra gyroscopes on the outside by the tailfins. They’re not helping or hurting the look so I left them on there. The maneuverability is right where I want it to be, so it’s easier than stuffing two more inside before I know where any extra internal thrusters might need to go. Then again, there’s plenty of room in the nose.

The paint schemes should be interesting

This has been a great challenge to get right, but the subgrids are working out. This thing will probably never be survival ready, but I still love it.

Bonus picture:

Coming soon …