Export Light Frigate Challenge

Some comments/feedback from me:

On the challenge overall: I think there might have been a bit of confusion over what exactly "light frigate" meant. The weight limit 1,500-4,000 tons covers a lot of ground and a lot of higher-end 4,000-ton frigates are not "light" in capability or size, especially when considered for export users.

Lalisa-class ASW Frigate by Superboy: I really liked this entry and it looked well thought out and plausible as a GDR export design. The only thing that let me down was that 100% Soviet parts were used and no GDR radars (TSR nav radars for example) were used. But otherwise a solid design.

Kazagumo-class escort ship by Shigure: an interesting ASW frigate with self-protection SAMs, I liked it, no real negatives and nicely drawn. The US-post-war Japanese style is nicely balanced.

Kiel II-class Frigate by BvonTeapot: basically a Bremen-class repaint with some minor changes. Nothing wrong with the drawing per se but just struck me a low effort given how early this was posted during the challenge.

Rinoceronte Class Frigate by PhoenixMoscva13: I liked this design, but I am very surprised that it came in last place. Perhaps a little more detailing would have helped, but overall it was well drawn. I thought it was overall a decent design, if a little gun-heavy.

Kokoda Class Frigate by Rowdy36: a very nice design, my only nitpick is that the detailing was overdone a little.

F2000S Mod. Stealth Frigate by H_K: I wasn't sure how much was Garlicdesign's work and much was H_K's, as it always a danger with kitbash jobs, but the design overall looks good. Could have done with a few extra details and the black outlining on the hull panels/hatches would have been better in dark gray.

FFG-467 by rbz88: an interesting design and nice to see a top view too. The large sonar seemed to be located a bit too far aft. The overhang shading seemed inconsistent, the torpedo tube cutout and deck below the helicopter deck lacked any shadow. Overall a decent design but just needed a bit more care and finesse about the details and shades.

Vosper Mk 8 Frigate by tbshift: to be honest on first view I felt this looked dumpy and ugly but it grew on me as I looked at it. Very much a super-Type 21, it just feels to me like it has too much superstructure, it looks very topheavy. A twin L/70 is an interesting choice, I think it would make the ship a little bow-heavy and magazine capacity would be an issue. The shading is contrast - there is one overhang shade missing at least (the platform at the base of the funnel), but I didn't deduct marks for that - its easy to miss something as an oversight.

WestPacT-FR Program by Richelieu180: an interesting concept, not what I would call a light frigate though. Generally the overall design seems sound, apart from a few points - a twin 100mm felt like overkill and the chaff/flare dispenser seems to conflict the arcs of the CIWS. I'm not hugely fond of complicated hull plating on SB drawings, the lighter panel lines struck me as looking odd (when the panel lines on the superstructure were darker...).

Orla-class by Blackbuck: a solid design, as I would expect from Blackbuck, and well drawn. The drawing felt a little sparse, but then its better to be sparse than cluttering with greebles so not complaints from me. The Sea Eagle launcher layout was interesting, four pairs rather than two quads, but it offers something new.

Zhenya Mikhailov class frigate by Yamato Sammy: this design felt very 1950s. There were some interesting features but a few things felt odd - the twin sonars were too close together and its not clear why a basic ASW frigate with RBUs needs two sonars. The RBUs seemed oddly placed amidships with cluttered arcs - usually they fire ahead of the ship. Do the Mi-2s actually fit in that hangar? It seems a couple of pixels too low. The vents above it seem odd too.

F-2800-Class Frigate by Garlicdesign: superbly drawn as one would expect from Garlicdesign. This is a kitbash of his real ship works, but glues together nicely, even if it feels a little beefy for a light frigate.

Kaposvár Class Frigate by El Snow: a very nice design and nicely drawn, detailed but not too much clutter. The dazzle paint job is certainly novel too, overall a good effort.

Thana Class by Hood: I like how it turned out, the 105mm turret is perhaps a bit bland - but its the real concept and was basically a box turret. I added as much clutter as I dared to keep within realism. I was in two minds about adding more EW equipment, but most export designs are fairly sparse on that kind of kit and the Mentor ESM is cutting edge for the date.

CANS Class by Corp: I wanted to give his higher marks but a lack of shading and overhang shading disappointed me. A good concept but it felt a little rushed and underdone compared with Corp's usual standards.

Fiamletta-class Frigate by Kirk7070: a worthy winner perhaps - a Type 21 on steroids. The overall design looks spot on, colours and shading are well done in the main (I envied the gas downtake vents), though the hull panel lines didn't entirely convince me as being realistic.

Villar-class frigate by Villar-class frigate: an entry by a new member. I have to be honest, it amazed me that this got to third place. Artistically there is little wrong here - it feels quite like a 2016-era SB drawing, and that's no bad thing. It's got shading and detailing and is very well drawn. My main concerns are the design itself. It has two Tyne and two Olympus gas turbines and yet no downtakes are shown and very little space for them - that seems to be a major flaw. The location and placement of the Mk 13 seems odd too, very high in the ship which raises topweight concerns and the magazine is completely above water and unprotected, the base of the magazine drum just cuts into the forecastle deck by about 3ft. Pairing SM-1 and Sea Sparrow felt like overkill too. I'm worried the Exocets would be very wet on the forecastle too. Well drawn but some snags to the design.

Nik'uneti-Class by APDAF: an Eastern-bloc style Leander. This seems to lack flair, the superstructure is blocky and its layout is not entirely clear (big windows in the side of the helicopter hangar, weird kink in the deck just ahead of the ship's boats). The twin 100mm mount looks very chunky and heavy. Very nice helicopter though. Very basic overhang shading, basic shading overall, it just feels underdone and rushed (I know it wasn't by the multiple WIPs posted on Discord but the end product feels rushed).

1978 Export Frigate by acelanceloet: I like this a lot and I dig it. Just felt too large for this challenge. I would have preferred a little more overhang shading and shadowing in places (aft of the funnels etc.) but overall very well drawn.

Kalimantan Class Frigate by Illuminati: a very sound design overall. Very well drawn, though I found some of the detailing a little 'fussy' at times, maybe some excessive use of highlights and again not a fan of highlighted hull panelling and the layout of the hull panel lines seemed a little odd to me. Was in danger of being over-detailed but just inside the lines for me.

SSCS North Point by _Zustt_: an intriguing design and certainly novel and something different. I'm not sure the camo brought out the best in this design, the topview was nicely done. I felt having two SAM systems was overkill on this small hull - especially in the absence of any fire-control radars for the SAMs which feels like a big omission...

Type 85-5 frigate by wb21: pretty much a classic export frigate (strong Krivak III vibes) and well drawn.

RI Tan Malaka by Tigerhunter1945: it always amazes me how in every challenge Tigerhunter manages to post an amazing design right before the deadline! Well drawn (though not sure about the two vertical hull plating lines) and an excellent top-view to boot. In the absence of any data I wasn't sure if the MRLs were for anti-submarine or shore bombardment, certainly novel and the whole late 50s/early 60s super-Riga vibes work well. A worthy second-place finisher.

Shipbucket

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