Some spaceship builders take their inspiration from science fiction movies or video games, while others use real-world inspiration, like NASA. But some of the most interesting sources, in my opinion, are naval vessels. Maybe it’s because I remember watching Starblazers (Space Battleship Yamato) when I was twelve. Battleships, fighter jets, and submarines in space? Count me in. From the looks of this amazing space destroyer, Ryan Olsen agrees. His original SHIP (built for SHIPtember) looks like a combination of a submarine and a battleship, with a symmetrical central fuselage bristling with an array of railguns, cannons, missile launchers, and even a few Modulex parts, is full of great details. One detail I love are several hardpoints or small docking ports along the center of each side where smaller ships could dock.

Another naval inspiration is the complex bridge and conning tower, which is covered in sensors, targeting scanners, and communication relays.

A fun fact about Ryan’s SHIP building process is that he often starts his models in a digital format using only parts that exist in real life, in currently available colors for added authenticity, and to explore many details quickly in order to perfect his designs. With his digital design complete, he created a fun info-graphic to point out the many points of interest on his space battleship.