Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
SHARK MOUTHS! Although most famously applied to the Flying Tigers' Warhawks, pilots started painting fierce faces on their aircraft during the first World War... and it continues to this day! So today let's see how that tradition continues through the 27th (and 28th) Century...
Wing Commander's very first shark mouth isn't even human: Prince Thrakhath's Bloodfang fighter has one in both the Wing Commander II demo and when redesigned for Wing Commander II itself.
The first human shark mouth we see is the Arrow in Wing Commander Armada which soon after appeared with a similar livery in Wing Commander III...
Wing Commander IV drops them entirely but they return in Wing Commander Arena! All three Arrow types (Scout, Eclipse, Guardian) have them, which is some attention to detail given you can't really see them in a top down game.
Wing Commander III also gives us the Thunderbolt VII. We see an ensharkened Thunderbolt in the CCG, too!
Wolfpack Squadron on the Midway puts their shark mouths in a unique place, on their Vampires' rotating engines!
Civilians like them, too! Privateer's Centurion breaks the Gemini system's unspoken very gray ship rule to sneak in an appropriate shark mouth.
In the Tri-System, the Kiowa pirate clan paints faces on their ships. Here's the Leighat and the Vector sporting them.
And I suppose the Skull also technically counts! Unless those teeth are just a coincidence.
Finally, honorable mention to this Kalrechi scheme seen in previews for Privateer 2. which has... uh... the Joker? A vampire? on its nose? Can you think of any others?
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Original update published on July 21, 2024
Wing Commander's very first shark mouth isn't even human: Prince Thrakhath's Bloodfang fighter has one in both the Wing Commander II demo and when redesigned for Wing Commander II itself.
The first human shark mouth we see is the Arrow in Wing Commander Armada which soon after appeared with a similar livery in Wing Commander III...
Wing Commander IV drops them entirely but they return in Wing Commander Arena! All three Arrow types (Scout, Eclipse, Guardian) have them, which is some attention to detail given you can't really see them in a top down game.
Wing Commander III also gives us the Thunderbolt VII. We see an ensharkened Thunderbolt in the CCG, too!
Wolfpack Squadron on the Midway puts their shark mouths in a unique place, on their Vampires' rotating engines!
Civilians like them, too! Privateer's Centurion breaks the Gemini system's unspoken very gray ship rule to sneak in an appropriate shark mouth.
In the Tri-System, the Kiowa pirate clan paints faces on their ships. Here's the Leighat and the Vector sporting them.
And I suppose the Skull also technically counts! Unless those teeth are just a coincidence.
Finally, honorable mention to this Kalrechi scheme seen in previews for Privateer 2. which has... uh... the Joker? A vampire? on its nose? Can you think of any others?
--
Original update published on July 21, 2024