The Imperial Bosun: Armada Nexus Painting Comp 2025
26 Oct 2025
Rosco
5 mins
The Star Wars: Armada Nexus Painting Competition has kept me very busy in my spare time lately, and I couldn’t resist diving in with a few of my favourite ships and squadrons that are now available in Armada scale - thanks to all my favourite Etsy sellers and other 3D printing enthusiasts. From Rebel icons and Clone Wars relics to deep-cut Expanded Universe and Andor-era designs, this lineup showcases a mix of official and community-made models that have been sitting on my painting bench (or flying off it) for a while. This has actually been amazing and came at precisely the right time, when I was looking to start a competition of my own to help the hobbyists among us get their ships painted (especially with all the 3D printing going on now). Thankfully, we have great community leaders around who love to keep engaging us all—people like @Flavor Wob at Armada Nexus!
As is the usual thing whenever I paint something, every entry tells its own little story; whether it’s a salute to the classic Rebellion comics, a nostalgic nod to old-school video games, or a straight-up experiment in colours I’d normally never touch. It’s been a blast bringing these ships to life and seeing what the rest of the community is putting forward, too.
Da Rulez
Here are the rules of the comp, as detailed by @Flavor Wob themselves (as posted in the Nexus Discord HERE):
So, without further ado, here’s my complete set of entries for the competition!
The Fleet has arrived
Ship: Providence-class Carrier Rebel One
Faction: Rebel Alliance
Category: “It still has the wrapper on it!”
Description: Since the Rebel Providence was released, I knew I had to get a 3D printed Rebel One hull and paint it up ASAP. The Rebellion comics are among my favourite forms of Star Wars media, and I was pleased with how this turned out, getting as close as possible. The Rebel symbols are decals from the old Redflare store on Etsy, and the print is from MelMiniatures via Shapeways.
The Rebel Alliance: Flying yesterday’s technology, TODAY! Join now!
Ship: MC30c Frigate Variant
Faction: Rebel Alliance / New Republic
Category: “She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts, kid!”
Description: This MC30 variant, which looks like a cool mix between an MC30 and a mini–New Republic Defender-class cruiser, was a prize from the Canadian Tabletop Championship Armada GT (the LAST AMG GT) in Ottawa, Canada. It’s one of Wobble’s designs, produced by @Link. I wanted to challenge myself with a colour scheme, so I randomly picked a colour card to follow. I think I did well to follow it, while sticking to the Star Wars Rebel/NR aesthetic.
She’s too pretty for space battles now…
Ships: MC75 Cruiser Profundity, CR90 Corvette Tantive IV, and Imperial-class Star Destroyer Devastator
Faction: Rebel Alliance vs. Galactic Empire
Category: “Photographing ships is easy, try getting pictures of Spiderman!”
Description: Here, I was going for the transition from the end of Rogue One, into the opening sequence of A New Hope, as Tantive IV narrowly escapes Vader’s Flagship Devastator at Scarif, only to be pursued and captured at Tatooine. I used my OG Armada minis, my playmats and some funky angles to try to recreate the scenes.
Squadron: TIE/mg Mining Guild starfighters
Faction: Scum / Mining Guild
Category: “Straight from the shipyard!”
Description: I’ve always really liked these modified TIE fighters since their appearance in the Rebels animated TV series. They just looked cool as a mix of a spaceship and a Tonka construction truck. Minis are resin 3D prints from WesJanson3D on Etsy, with the original design by Onil Creations.
Squadron: The Cavern Angels, Saw’s Renegades
Faction: Saw Gererra’s Partisans
Category: “Where did you find that heap of junk?”
Description: I picked up some resin-printed U-Wings from PulsefiredGaming on Etsy (design by Onil Creations) and was looking for the various canon paint jobs out there. I remembered Saw’s Renegades from X-Wing and decided to have a go at the black and white dazzle-style camouflage, then added a couple of X-Wings as escorts, maybe an E-Wing later too. Not sure how these would actually work as a combined squadron in Armada, but they look cool anyway.
Squadron: LAAT/i Attack Gunship
Faction: The Muunilinst 10 ARC Commandos, Galactic Republic
Category: “Why did you paint the pilot too?”
Description: I also picked up a bunch of these resin-printed LAATs from PulsefiredGaming on Etsy (design by Onil Creations) and really wanted to have a go at all the awesome designs seen throughout the Clone Wars era across all of the various Star Wars media. I think the hands-down best of the lot (and most BADASS) has to be the Muunilinst 10 Gunship from the Star Wars: Clone Wars cine-manga, first appearing in Chapter 2 with the mission to Hypori with its blue Rancor livery. I tried my best to reproduce it at such a small scale, and I’m pretty stoked with the result!
Subject: Venator II-class Imperial Star Destroyer
Faction: Galactic Empire
Category: “Showstopping beat dropping”
Description: The idea here was to create an old, beat-up, rusty-looking Clone Wars relic that has been hastily repainted (badly) from Republic Crimson to Imperial Grey. The model is one of the official ones, and the decals were just little symbols I printed on paper and worked into the hull, kind of like a crappy decal, lol. Y’know… I always wondered how exactly they painted these gigantic starships and how much bloody paint they used!?!? Can’t exactly stick the bosuns over the side on a bosun’s chair or pontoon with some paint rollers lol
Subject: Alpha-class Xg-1 Star Wing Assault Gunboat
Faction: Galactic Empire
Category: “Showstopping beat dropping”
Description: Always loved these from when they first appeared in the old X-Wing and TIE Fighter video games… Huge nostalgia vibes, and I want these on the Armada table badly, so I’ll definitely be painting up the rest ASAP. Minis are resin 3D-printed by WesJanson3D on Etsy, with the original design by Onil Creations.
Subject: V-21.1 Chevlex Light Haulcraft / Luthen Rael’s Fondor Haulcraft
Faction: Rebel Alliance (?... shhhhh)
Category: “Showstopping beat dropping”
Description: Can’t argue about how cool that scene in Andor was, when Luthen escaped from the Imperial Cantwell-class Cruiser as he was leaving Segra Milo. Badass. Mini from PulsefiredGaming on Etsy (design by Onil Creations).
Subject: Modified Star Courier Scimitar or Sith Infiltrator
Faction: Sith / Confederacy of Independent Systems / Galactic Empire
Category: “Showstopping beat dropping”
Description: Always a cool model and awesome to get Maul’s Scimitar and/or Dooku’s Sith Infiltrator on the board. Mini is resin 3D-printed by WesJanson3D on Etsy, with the original design by Onil Creations.
Wrap-up
That’s the whole fleet! Huge thanks to @Flavor Wob and Nexus for running the comp. It’s such a fun way to showcase the creativity of the Armada community, from careful recreations to full-blown kit-bashes and custom designs.
Seeing all these incredible builds side by side reminds me just how much passion still fuels this game, even years after the official line went quiet. Whether you’re painting, playing, or just admiring, it’s the fans who keep the galaxy alive.
Now, time to get back to the painting desk… I’ve got a few more ships that might make the grade for a possible follow-up comp next year…. Stay Tuned.
Ok. Stand Easy is over, BACK TO WORK YOU LOT! ⚓
Cheers,
Rosco 🥃
