"GZG Phalon Ships - Gigantic (hurr hurr) in-joke intentional?" Topic

Just noticed how they're named, and how they're very reminiscent of a certain male anatomical part…

It bugs me.

I always heard that was the joke. If they made it powerful power gamers would play with any model even something that looked like one of those.

Tsk. Snails! They are supposed to be snails!

That's why they've never interested me. I can't even bring myself to paint Gaesati so these guys are completely out.

Painted right they don't look like anything but snails.

-Eli

I dunno, they kinda remind me of the second boss from R-Type.

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Look for Gormander up there.

At least "Phalons" sounds better than Penoids or Wangars.

They were inspired by the ships in the Outlanders comics:
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But then again, Jon did name the game Full Thrust with the first expansion called More Thrust…. ;-)

Yes they were taken from outlanders, any phalic symbolism must've come from me unintentianally… but IIRC Jon did call them Phalons after seeing the masters

Not AGAIN!!!!!

Americans are so obsessed with sex, they invented the word 'rooster' so they didn't have to say the other word . . . and Star Ranger has it right; I notice no-one is bothered about the resemblence of the Sa'Vasku to the genitals of medusae jellyfish and starfish, which only goes to ignorance.

Interestingly enough, it *does* mean that you oil-grabbers are going to go without one of the best fleets currently available in the FT canon – which makes going to GZG-ECC much more attarctive to me and others :)

PS while on the topic – why doe sthe American capital city have a huge erect phallus in the middle of it, and so many governmetn building have breasts on the roof?

CW,

I hope you don't think that not knowing what the genitalia of a jelly fish or starfish is an indication of ignorance.

I do have to say that I am not one of those Americans who's mind doesn't go there. I can if I want to, but it's not reflexive.

I find it very annoying when gaming. that I'll create something with an interesting anatomy or name that I have put a lot of thought into, only to have it lampooned by sophomoric players who's thoughts immediately go to sex.

I mean God help you if you ever create anythign with orbs, orafaces, sphincters, stalks, stems, stamens, phlanges, or anythign else remote suggestive.

Alright, gripe mode off.

-Eli

Hmm bulbous head on a shaft that goes back to a wrinkled sack on the biggest ships and they are called PHALONS…How could anybody make that leap? It is exactly the same as a monolith topped by a pyramid.

It certainly isn't exclusively an American attitude check the GZG forums here:
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There it was started by a Norwegian player and the Swedes chimed in.

There is no leap here. Jon admits it being a joke, but it's the way people react to it that bugs me. Yes, it looks like a penis, but so do hotdogs, zuccini, carrots, twinkies, bratwurst, or even beer bottles.

-Eli

I thought Phalons came from Ireland:

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How can anyone possibly make a phallic connection when they see these? :)
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Shame on you. You and your filthy minds!!! :)

CC

As Freud said, sometimes a spaceship is just a spaceship.

"CW,

I hope you don't think that not knowing what the genitalia of a jelly fish or starfish is an indication of ignorance."

well, maybe not – however, I am told how ignorant *I* am of the natural world ( On this very site, funnily enough)and I *do* know these things having two degrees in biology.

Mind you, point taken. Still, the points I made are still valid and it does seem more of an American preoccupation – it would be ironic if the Swedish player I know made a comment as he now sculpts the damn things and their land vehicle sin 6mm . . .

I'm a complete gentleman in real life, honest!

I happen to be from a tiny Catholic Southeast Asian archipelago, thank you. But I'm a rather voracious consumer of Japanese tentacle porn comics, so that kinda evens it out.

:D

Nevertheless, about the train of thought of this thread, one can say its the product of idle minds or it just might be one attempt at shallow, puerile humor. It doesn't really matter, does it? Reading the title, would you have expected intelligent philosophical, sociopolitical or scientific conversation?

Of course its going to nothing but shooting the (electronic) breeze with gutter humor!

I'm just calling it as it is and wondering if it really was an in-joke or an (un)fortunate coincidence, Phalons look like s, the word sounds like a derivative of Phallus.

Well then, since we're on the subject… Aren't a lot of starships in general gigantic flying phallic symbols? So there really isn't anything new with our snaily friends, the Phalons.

(one of these should work for you)
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Now that my innocence has been ruined by YOU filthy guys . . .

. . . don't these look like flying nipples?

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CC

IMO They are a lot less suggestive than Citadel's
Star Cruiser 'League' ships (Later re-imaged as Tyranid Drones)
(2nd from bottom)
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auction
auction
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CC-
Nipples? No-
'Power Pasties'? Maybe…

@ CC

I dunno, they look more like cymbals, hi-hats or cooked slices of salami to me.

@ Volstagg

Sea cucumbers, i say. SEA CUCUMBERS!

Sea Cucumbers they may Be,
but I wouldn't want to be in the Same Room as SCL6 !!!
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(..not that there's anything wrong with that…)

Actually, SCL6 reminds me of those pro-abstinence programs they used to show us at school with frighteningly detailed photos of diseased "parts."

Well…It is upside down, after all.

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CC

"Well then, since we're on the subject… Aren't a lot of starships in general gigantic flying phallic symbols? So there really isn't anything new with our snaily friends, the Phalons"

Yes, try explaining the aerodynamics behind rockets, missiles and other high-speed aircraft to feminists and expect any other answer tahn "But they only make them that way to look like penises!" and see where it gets you . . .

Again, the whole discussion ignores how useful the Phalon fleet is against all human forces and practically every other race in FT . . .:)

CW,

The Phalons looks very cool when given a good paint job that doesn't try to make them look like genitals. I think it is cool that they are bio fleet that is designed to look somewhat "real" and not a collection of gnarly, spiky, clawed, tentacled mess. Space mollusks is what I choose to see.

-Eli

OK, let me lay this one to rest (oo-er, was that some unintentional innuendo there…?) with an "OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF THE TRUE FACTS"(tm):
The original inspiration for the Phalon ship designs did come from Outlanders, one of my favourite Manga at the time, and was definitely more "snails" than "phallic" in intent. Dave (Garhnhamghast here, so he DOES know what he's talking about on this!) did the sculpting for us. At this point the fleet/race had no name, I just wanted a fleet of biotech starships made.
Once Dave had done the first few ships, it became quite obvious that there were certain, shall we say, "symbolic influences" that some people would pick up on… so we decided to run with the joke, hence the name was chosen. Look on the bright side, they were very nearly the "Nobberonians"….
The rest, as they say, is history (or biology, or something).
For anyone that this upsets, we apologise – I can only assume that you also never watch, read or game with anything that H.R.Giger has had a hand in (ooops, was that some innuendo again…?).
Putting this into perspective, I can only refer you to a wonderful quote from the gorgeous Liz Hurley, who once said that being English, she found anything to do with lavatories or bottoms absolutely hilarious! ;-)

Jon (GZG)

emu2020, of course they are cool. :) But they are not really a biofleet – just ships built with a technology that uses organically grown materials that in themselves are not alive, which is actually more 'real' than the living ships in most backgrounds . . . wait.

No, I stand by that- the SV are pretty realistic in that they are a sort of artificial lifefoprm in some ways.

they're very reminiscent of a certain male anatomical part…

If yours is as warty and scaly as those miniatures, run (or perhaps hobble painfully to avoid chafing) to your nearest Genitourinary clinic.

<puts on Baldrick voice>…I find this thread ironic because I have a thingy shaped just like a starship…

Say what you will. I bought two very good E-bay deals on Phalon ships. Helped me put together another fleet on the cheap. A good paint job and a sence of humor when the fleet comes out to fight are necessary for us Phalon fleet owners. The ships really do paint up nicely. I have made purchases of the newest ships Jon has come out with and everything looks good together just as a fleet should. So laugh and giggle all you want, just remember no one can hear you in space!

Man oh man. I am left with a couple thoughts…

grow up…these are little toys to represent alien ships

so what?…a little humor and an inside joke is fun, and after all the point of the game is to interact and have fun

With the real potential of what could be made…insert Japanese tentacle porn (I know…tee hee I made a joke :) imagery and you would have something to talk about.

The original manga image was fairly well replicated and it is left to the painter to bring the miniatures to life with an interesting or in your face (ahh ahhh you know wot' I mean ayyy ayyy…).

As noted before…sometimes it is just a spaceship.

We see what we want to see, and that is not what I want to see so it will remain an alien spaceship for me.

CW, so a fleet made of biological components is not a "bioefleet"?

I'll have to remember that next time I'm eating my sandwich that is made of ham and cheese but is not a "ham and cheese sandwich".

No, all joking and silliness aside, the Phalon ships are cool, different and deserve more respect than they are given. Honestly, I wonder if they would get the same level of reaction if Jon had given the race a different name?

-Eli

Two Owl Bob hit the nail on the head.

"CW, so a fleet made of biological components is not a "bioefleet"?"

emu2020, is a house made of wood a tree?

Plastic and ceramic components don't make something organic or a stone, either. If the parts are not living, then it ain't a 'biofleet' and the background is specific about the materials being not alive, just sourced from organic components.

I suppose it all depends on the definition of biofleet here.

I wasn't really trying to argue it, just found it funny saying somethign was made out of organic materials but wasn't a bioship.

It's all good,

-Eli

emu2020, the boiologist and deep SF fan facets in me combined to come up with those comments: It does indeed depend on the definition and we clearly had different takes on it. No offense meant there….

Americans are so obsessed with sex, they invented the word 'rooster' so they didn't have to say the other word . . .

Actually, it was the Anglo-Saxons who invented the word rooster, through the Flemish soldiers who were settled in England after the Conquest. Apparently it remained in use in Kent, which had a strong congregation of Puritans, and was transported to the colonies that way.

(Puritanism -- another Anglo-Saxon invention!)

Obviously the Anglo-Saxons invented the word "cock" just so they could say it -- apparently equally obsessed with sex! (It was called a jal before then.)

Would have written this earlier but my hands were so slippery with all that oil I've grabbed that they kept sliding off the keyboard.

"(Puritanism -- another Anglo-Saxon invention!)"

Yes, and as Will Cuppy pointed out, the Puritans travelled to the New World to find a place where they would be free to find even more rigid forms of religious persecution. :)

'Rooster' was revived during the very strict 1890s ( I'd call it Victorian, but the Americans were much more serious about it than the porn-loving English :) ). An Englishman reported serving a high-class American woman at dinner and upon carving inquired if she preffered leg or breast. She replied "How impertinent your are, sir – I wonder where you learnt your manners. I shall partake of some turkey bosom, if you please."