Hey, Katchoo, you really should link to that webpage in your sig! Took me a while of digging through this thread to find it again
BTW, I have a suggestion for that future shipset you posted about on page 2 (the one with the big glowing energy sphere in the hull)
If you line up the minis, such that the spheres are in the exact center, then they will be in the exact same location even when the ship turns in combat.
You could then have the shield animation based around that energy sphere. Have it pulse and swirl while projecting the shield!