The first gaming miniature I pulled out of my newly-arrived Squadron Box #7: Federation Reinforcements from Amarillo Design Bureau (ADB), the Federation War Destroyer (DW) was a fine introduction to the new Mongoose Publishing efforts to improve the Starline 2500 pieces. Now cast in white metal, and when you order directly from ADB, quality checked before they leave the door, the gaming miniatures are better than before. Not fond of working with white metal, I was pleasantly surprised with these look good and cleaned up in 1/3rd the time it took with the initial run of resin minis. I actually was able to sit down and assemble two of these new miniatures one Saturday afternoon in a little more than an hour - at my glacially slow pace. In the case of the War Destroyer, no putty was called for, and the assembly went so fast I looked around to make sure i didn't miss something along the way. I think I might actually have all five starships in Squadron Box #7 finished and awaiting markings before Tenneshington Decals is ready to offer them for sale.

The white metal minis still have the surface artifacts left over from the creation of the casting masters, and some minor mold seams to remove, but they are a marked degree above what was offered previously. I bit of careful cleanup and a pass with a wire brush in a battery-powered Dremel Tool polishes them up nicely for painting and finishing. My War Destroyer's hole for mounting was a bit too large for the Flight Stand provided by Mongoose Publishing. I wasn't comfortable with using it - lest the heavy miniature take a nasty fall - and fitted an old Gamescience Stand to it. Interestingly, the hole was just right for fitting the Gamescience Stand securely.

This is my first miniature in any scale of the Federation War Destroyer. Consulting the official Star Fleet Universe Ship's Name Registry, I chose to christen my gaming mini USS President Ronald Reagan, NCC-854. I think it is a fitting name for a plucky small ship that packs a punch. At left posed with the Federation Battlecruiser, the compact size of the War Destroyer is evident.

I had virtually no issues during cleanup and construction of this pewter miniature. The Warp Bussard Domes were well rendered and easy to cleanup, as were the Warp Engine End Caps. I did remove the locating pins for the Warp Pylons to make fitting them to the Engineering Section and final adjustment for proper alignment easier. With them in the way, the Warp Engines tend to seat with a tail-up attitude. The center Warp Engine slung underneath the suacer butts against the Gamescience stand when the mini is mounted, so I left it loose during the finishing process. Underneath the thin primer coat of Model Master Acryl Flat Black, I polished the pewter after cleanup and removal of seams and blemishes with a wire brush in my battery-powered Dremel Tool. Working with this mini was fun, and it created a desire within me to get to know the War Destroyer better in game play.