VSS 002 - Ver 4 - The Dilemma (and possible solution)

How many decks? What exactly is this new VSS 002? Is it a carrier? Troop transport? Orbital space vessel?

The original VSS was designed to be an ocean vessel, an aircraft carrier actually. However, when I got my VSS kit, I thought I'll do something different: make it into a space carrier. As a space carrier the thought was two-fold: I could use the ship to store a lot of the vehicles I have (20+ HISS tanks) instead of having them on display taking up shelf space. Secondly the VSS would grant me excellent photo opportunities to showcase the latest DioWarriors props as each room in the ship is essentially a diorama. So it was planned to make my VSS space carrier around four decks tall. One deck would be dedicated to hold all 20 HISS tanks and troops and any other vehicle that could fit, and the other decks to be used for both photo and aircraft/space craft storage. This was the original idea, and that idea is beginning to change.

​Deck Breakdown

Original VSS 002:
Deck 1: Bridge
Deck 2: Aircraft/space craft maintenance bays and launch deck.
Deck 3: Crew quarters, engine room, computer, armory, medical, storage/supplies, life support
Deck 4: Ground vehicle maintenance and troop deployment staging area.

4 Decks, Single Layout.

Current VSS 002:
Deck 1: Bridge
Deck 2: Primary crew quarters, engine room, computer, armory, medical, storage/supplies, life support.
Deck 3: Ground vehicle maintenance and troop deployment staging area.

​

3 Decks (possibly 4,) Double Wide.

The reality is that the VSS does take a lot of space--it is a huge ship. Size is the primary challenge. The aesthetics to make the kit look like a space carrier is actually easy, especially when borrowing a page from Star Wars by adding greebles everywhere. Greebles help a lot. However, to make the VSS practical to a collector then storage for troops and vehicles is a must. Always the challenge comes down to maximizing the space available.

As a collector much of my collection are in boxes, so I don't get to enjoy them or even see them. I can invest in yet more bookcases and that will enable me to see the collection. Bookcases are static, though. Something like the VSS is dynamic. A diorama engages the mind. And although a diorama in a shelf also engages the mind, a diorama on display in the middle of the room engages even more. So the VSS will have to be at the center of a room, not in a shelf, and the only way I can think of to maximize available space for it is to make the ship double wide.

The ship would have to be stackable as well, but that can come in time. For the immediate concern Deck 2 would have to become twice as wide. A double wide Deck 2 would simply combine Deck 2 and Deck 3 of the original VSS 002 into one deck. The VSS is already wide -- an interior of two feet. Aesthetically the double wide look does seem to me a bit better balanced to the eye and doesn't look so boxy. Making the outer hull tapered with angled decks for a more streamlined look would also be easier with a double wide deck. And as already mentioned if another deck is ever needed, another double wide deck could be added.

So going forward my VSS project will be three primary decks. The topmost deck is half the height, so the entire project is seeming to be 3.5 decks tall. The double wide look will present some challenges aesthetically, but I think I have some ideas how to deal with that. It'll still be a carrier.