The various ships of Battlestar Galactica are among the most recognizable spacecraft in science fiction, and play a large role in making this show the classic it is.  These outstanding ship designs were created by many of the same designers who created the spacecraft for Star Wars:  A New Hope, and who were the premier designers and model-makers of the time. 

In productions past, particularly for television, the miniatures and models used on camera were often simple things, relying on the poorer picture resolution and smaller size of the television screen to hide the lack of detail.  John Dykstra and his team at Industrial Light and Magic helped change that.  Battlestar Galactica, along with British predecessor Space: 1999, ushered in a new era in television, where the models were often more detailed than the full-scale mock-ups that were used.  Such detail helped add visual interest and bring the show to life, and forced all later sci-fi shows to rise to a new standard.

Using the same designers and model makers as the incredibly popular Star Wars invited the comparison between the two productions, and in some cases helped the misconception that Galactica was lifting elements from the earlier movie.  The final Viper design, for example, sported a similar look to Star War‘s X-Wing fighter, including the signature red stripes.

The Battlestar Galactica model kits, primarily released by Revell, remain some of the most sought-after spaceship models of all time.