V1.1 of this document adds a list of miniatures, the UpgradedEnterprise, Tholians, an excuse for not having Orions and Gorns,and another Romulan Bird of Prey, (one that corresponds to themost available miniature).
The History of the Romulan Bird of Prey S3-E25 - Duration: 6:01. Omega Ordained 677 views. How Star Wars was saved in the edit - Duration: 18:39. RocketJump Film School Recommended for you. The Bird of Prey is one of the most common Klingon ships seen in the Star Trek franchise. Introduced in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, the Bird of Prey has featured in five of the films and frequently appears in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. Industrial Light & Magic designed and built the Bird of Prey for Star Trek III, assisted by the film's director, Leonard Nimoy. Mar 17, 2017. Mar 15, 2013. Dec 07, 2011.
Yet another adaptation of Star Trek (ST) for Full Thrust (FT)? Yes, there have been quite a few. But all have beenbased on secondary or tertiary sources, most notably Task ForceGames (TFG) Star Fleet Battles (SFB). I'm ancient enoughto remember Gamescience/Lou Zocchi's Alien Space,the first Star Trek miniatures rules. Gamescience stillproduces a limited range of starships, but no rules, while thestands on the Starline 2200 series still show the 4-quarterarcs for those rules, over 20 years later. So I prefer going backto original source materiel, when adapting ST for FT. (In passing,the Starline 2200 and Starline 2300 miniatures areat a scale of 1/3788 ). Therefore, firstly we have a quick definitionof the Primary Sources.
The basic source for ST(Classic)FT - also known as The Old StarTrek or The Old Series (TOS) is the Star Trek Star Fleet TechnicalManual (SFTM) by Franz Joseph Designs, published by Ballantinein November, 1975. This is the same prime source used by the Amarillo Design Bureau (ADB), as mentioned in A1.3 of theCommander's Edition of SFB. In addition, the Klingon Battlecruiserand Romulan Warbird Blueprints (or at least, what I can rememberof them!) have been used, as mentioned in SFB Z.2. Finally ofcourse, the TV series. Additional 'Primary' sourcesare the figurines available, and of course, the Full Thrust and More Thrust Rules by Ground Zero Games(GZG). One of primary aims of this conversion is that all resultantdesigns should be compatible with comparable existing FT ships,and conform strictly to the rules without exception. They mustalso be representable by existing models.
Star Trek Models
There are several sources of 1/3788 models in production or stillavailable as at the time of writing. These are, in approximateorder:
* - Polystyrene Plastic
** - Whitemetal (lead)
*** - Pewter
**** - Vinyl Plastic
Gamescience (still in production)
Federation Destroyer*, Scout*, Tug*, Heavy Cruiser (ie Enterprise)*, Dreadnought*
Klingon Battlecruiser** (1-piece casting) Battlecruiser** (3-piececasting)
Task Force Games Starline 2200 ** (out of production) allintended for Star Fleet Battles (list is not exhaustive!)
The Gamescience Federation range (under licence)
Federation CV, CL, NCL, FF
Klingon Tug, C9 Dreadnought, Battlecruiser (3-piece casting),D5 Lt Cruiser, B-10 Battleship (SuperDreadnought),F-5 Frigate(actuallysmaller)
Romulan TOS Bird of Prey/Warbird (System Defence Boat), CondorDreadnought, Sparrowhawk Cruiser
Tholian Patrol Craft, Cruiser, Destroyer
Gorn Destroyer, Lt Cruiser, Hvy Cruiser, Dreadnought
Kzin - various
Lyran -various
Neo-Tholian - various
Andromedan - various
Hydran - various
Many of these are available as 'Starline Limited Edition'models, in the 2300 range below, but are not believed to currentlybe in production. Other SFB models, sch as the Romulan Seahawk,Kzinti Tug and so on are only available in the Limited Editionrange.
FASA (out of production)
Federation Enterprise (pre-refit), Enterprise(post-refit), Reliant,Destroyer (size of a Cruiser at least!), Tsiolkovsky, Excelsior
Klingon B-12(?) Dreadnought/Carrier?, D7 Battlecruiser (stripped-downversion, as in the films, with exterior detail), D10(?) Battlecruiser(very large cruiser or small battleship), L7(>?) Destroyer(light cruiser size, with apparent hanger door), E5(?) Frigate(Light cruiser size)
Ferrengi cruiser
Task Force Games Starline 2300*** (list not exhaustive,and range is growing)
Federation Heavy Cruiser (different mold, warp nacelles somewhatslimmer than previous models), NCL
Romulan TOS Bird of Prey (Cruiser size, larger model than the2200 one)
Klingon Battlecruiser (1-piece model, different nose to previousversion)
Tholian Patrol Craft (different mold)
Unknown ***
Enterprise-D ( with detachable saucer, and last model I saw was$129....)
MicroMachines****
Enterprise (pre-refit), Reliant (about 3% larger than the FASAone, but quite OK), Botany Bay
Klingon Battlecruiser (5% larger than the others), Vor'Cha attackCruiser
Out of scale models
The MicroMachines also include a number of ships significantlytoo big/small for inclusion, except as different classes of vesselfrom the one they're supposed to be. This includes:
1/100,000-ish Borg Ship
1/20000-ish Romulan TNG Warbird
1/7000-ish Excelsior
1/300-ish Klingon Bird of Prey, Romulan TOS Bird of Prey
And Starline 2200 also had
1/300-ish Romulan TOS Bird of Prey
Now, on to the rules. The best known, and coincidentally, best-documentedclass is that of the NCC-1701 USS Enterprise. Therefore,when the conversion to FT is performed, this class will be donefirst, and the rest of the Federation Fleet (and others) shoehornedinto using the resultant conversion methods.
The Starship Enterprise and her sisters
Paragraph 1, Article 53 of the United Federation of PlanetsArticles of Federation, Stardate 0965
1. Initial expenditure is granted under these articles of Federationfor the design, procurement, and operation of fourteen (14) HeavyCruiser type of Starships to provide the nucleus of Star Fleet'sPeace-Keeping Armed Forces. These cruisers shall be capable ofextended duration patrol of intra-galactic range, with weaponryappropriate to such class of starships. They shall be providedwith fire-power superior to that now employed by any member ofthe United Federation, and appropriate to the tasks expected ofthem.
Original Construction - Mk IX 'Constitution' Class
The following ships of the Mk-IX class were authorised by theoriginal Articles of Federation of stardate 0965.
Naval Construction Contract (NCC)
1017 Constellation 1371 Republic 1700 Constitution 1701 Enterprise 1702 Farragut 1703 Lexington 1704 Yorktown 1705 Excalibur 1706 Exeter 1707 Hood 1708 Intrepid 1709 Valiant 1710 Kongo 1711 Potempkin
Batch II 'BonHomme Richard' Class
Naval Construction Contracts 1712-1727 for Mk IX a (BonHommeRichard or 'Bonny Dick' class) Starships were authorised bythe Star Fleet Appropriation Bill of Stardate 3220.
Naval Construction Contracts 1728-1731 for Mk IX a Starships toreplace the losses Constellation, Farragut, Intrepid and Valiant, were authorised by the Star Fleet Appropriationsof Stardate 4444.
Batch III 'Achernar' Class
Naval Construction Contracts 1732-1788 for Mk IX b (Achernar class) Starships were authorised by the Star Fleet Appropriationsof Stardate 5930
Particulars (All)
Deadweight Tonnage 190,000 Standard Range 18 years at (Metric) L.Y.V Max Safe Cruise Warp Factor 6 Emergency Speed Warp Factor 8 Main Phasers 3 Banks/2 Each Photon Torpedos 2 Banks Length 288.6 m Breadth 127.1 m Height 72.6 Officers 43 Crew 387
For comparison purposes, the Mk VIII Saladin class Destroyersweighed in at 95,000 t, the Mk VII Hermes class Scoutsat 94,500, the Mk VI Ptolemy class Tugs at 126,500, andthe Mk X Federation class Dreadnought at 285,000 t. Moreon these later.
Full Thrust Conversion Rationale
Size
The Enterprise is described as a Heavy Cruiser, in both SFB andthe Articles of Federation. It would therefore be aestheticallypleasing to keep her as a (Heavy) Cruiser in FT. This means asize of 36 or less. All other FT interpretations of the Enterprisethat I've seen are based on a very literal transciption of the SFB StarShip Designs (SSDs), and result in large, Capital ships.Similarly, ST Destroyers should be FT Destroyer sized, and theST Dreadnought an FT Capital ship, rather than a Supership.
Given a deadweight tonnage of 190,000, dividing it by 5500 gives35.45 - call it 36. A Very Heavy Cruiser, but a Cruiser. OK sofar, but how does this compare with the others?
Destroyers - 95,000 t - 17.27, call it 18. A large Escort, butan Escort nonetheless.
Scouts - 94,500 t - 17.18, call it 17.
Tugs - 126,500 t - 23 - standard light Cruiser or Merchant
Dreadnoughts - 285,000 t - 51.8, call it 52; a reasonable Dreadnoughtsized (large Battleship/Small Battledreadnought) Capital ship.
Systems
In the TV series, we only ever see 2 phaser beams, and singletorpedos being used. This is a good thing, because there's noway to fit 6 beams of any reasonable size and two torpedo systemsonto a Cruiser Hull! The firing arcs of each battery, pace SFB, appear to be mutually exclusive: what one twin batterycan fire at, another cannot. In addition, Captain Kirk never says'Fire the Chin Phasers', he only says 'Fire Phasers'.When the Phaser Banks are KO, it's an all or nothing affair -we never have the port phasers knocked out, either the phaserbanks (plural) are OK, or not.
So 3 banks of twin phasers firing in mutually exclusive directionscan plausibly be interpreted as two beams, each with a port-fore-stbdfiring arc.
Similarly, the twin photon torpedos need to be interpreted asa single torpedo system in FT.
OK, let's see what we have:
2 A class Beams (triple arc) Mass 6
1 Torpedo system Mass 5
Why Class A Beams? Frankly, so that the Enterprise is notunder-armed in comparison with other FT cruisers. The Torpedosystem gives a small advantage against the heaviest screens, comparedwith its equivalent mass in beams, but not that much. 2 A classand a Torpedo seems quite reasonable, even a touch on the lightside.
We've used up 11 of our 18 budget already. Add a level 1 screen(mass 3) and we have 4 left over. Which is rather fortunate, aswe have no point defence (PDAF) or area defence (ADAF) yet. Addone PDAF and one ADAF and we've used up the whole of the budget.Alternatively, we could add a PDAF and beef up the screens tolevel 2. Finally, the Enterprise, if no other of her class, shouldhave an extra Damage Control Party (DCP) if using More Thrust.
Given that fighters play no part in the TV series, and that theEnterprise is primarily a research vessel often used fortransporting high-value urgent cargoes, it is plausible that thebasic Class IX Constitution Class has either 4 spare space, orthe extra shields and one spare space. Considering the difficultythe Enterprise had with an Orion highly-manoeuverable smallcraft (fighter?) and the larger Tholian patrol craft (a smalltarget), it is also more probable than not that the original classIX had no anti-fighter defences whatsoever. Yet her shields seemrather better even than the later NCC-1701A - they certainly areable to be raised faster than appears on 'The Wrath of Khan'.In the TV series she takes quite a lot of Disruptor fire withonly minor damage. Given that two additional batches - the MkIX a 'BonHomme Richard' and Mk IX b 'Achernar'appeared afterwards, I have interpreted them as differing mainlyin the anti-fighter armament. Mk IX has Shield 2, and one sparespace (used for research). Mk IX a has shield 2 and a PDAF. MkIX b has Shield 1, a PDAF and an ADAF. These are probably notadditional beams or missiles as such, but are additional firecontrol equipment and batteries to allow the unused phaser banksto fire low-energy pulses at small targets.
Parenthetically, the ADB came up with remarkably similar reasoningand armament when it added the '+' refits (SFB R2.70)and Command Cruiser. Oh yes, and Enterprise may have receivedan upgrade to IX a standard during the TV series, when the uniformschanged, amongst other things. It is nearly universally the practice that current combat ships receieve a major rebuild called the'Mid life upgrade' about halfway through their career,and a number of significant alterations every few years in anyevent.
Speed
The Enterprise is renowned for its high speed. I originallygave it aspeed of 6, more in keeping with a Light Cruiser thana heavy one, but as the Destroyers and Scouts have an identicalWarp Speed according to the Technical Manual, it's not unreasonable.However, I've been pursauded that 4 is more appropriate, at leastfor the rest of the class. After all, there's only one Scotty.
Full Thrust Class IX Heavy Cruiser
Recommended Models : Gamescience, Starline 2200, FASA, Starline2300, MicroModels
Mass 36
2 A 3-arc Beams
1 Torpedo
Speed 4
Shield 2
Cargo 1
Cost 271
Enterprise - add one DCP and Speed is 6, cost 317
Full Thrust Class IXa Heavy Cruiser
Recommended Models : as above
Mass 36
2 A 3-arc Beams
1 Torpedo
Speed 4
Shield 2
PDAF
Cost 274
Full Thrust Class IXb Heavy Cruiser
Recommended Models : as above
Mass 36
Size Of Romulan Bird Of Prey
2 A 3-arc Beams
1 Torpedo
Speed 4
Shield 1
PDAF
ADAF
Cost 259
Refits
Although not strictly TOS, the refit of the Enterprise in thefirst movie do provide a base for further adaptation to latereras. Various sources make a good argument for the Enterprisehaving received a refit to BonHomme Richard standard duringthe TV series - the Uniforms changed, for one thing. The majorrefit that ocurred though - corresponding exactly to the widespreadpractice of doing a rebuild of a ship called the 'mid-liferefit' , was to add an additional 6 individual phasers, andto lighten her by 15,000 tonnes. This can be best simulated bya variant of the Achenar - shrink her by mass 2, and replace theADAF with a 3-arc B Beam. The PDAF and B-Beam represents the dual-roleabilities of the additional single phasers rather than the co-ordinatedspecialised anti-ship punch of the phaser banks, according toPSB sources.
Mk IX c 'Constitution II' later changed to 'Enterprise'Class
Recommended Models : FASA NCC1701A, MicroMachines Enterprise-A
Mass 34
2 A 3-arc Beams
1 B 3-arc Beam
1 Torpedo
Speed 6
Shield 1
PDAF
Cost 282
Other Federation Vessels
Paragraph 2, Article 53 of the United Federation of PlanetsArticles of Federation, Stardate 0965
2. Expenditure is also granted under these articles of Federationfor the procurement or construction of such lesser classes ofspace forces as shall be required to support Star Fleet operationsand the Heavy Cruiser class of Starships. These may be, but notneccessarily limited to, types such as Scouts, Destroyers, Transports,Re-Supply, Shuttlecraft, and Survey Ships.
'Saladin' Class Destroyers
NCC 500-519 of the Mk VIII Saladin class were authorisedby the original Articles of Federation in 0965. Another batch,NCC 520-529 of the Mk VIIIa Siva class were authorisedin 3030, and the final batch, NCC 530-555 of the Mk VIIIb Cochise class in 4699.
There is a difficulty with Federation Destroyers. According tothe SFTM, they have an identical armament to the Heavy Cruisers,differing only in their physical dimensions, and range (9 yearsinstead of 18). How to deal with this?
Firstly, we'll downgrade the A class beams to B class. Due tolack of power, or lesser Fire Control. Then we'll delete the shields.FT escorts rarely have shields in any event, and the power hasto come from somewhere! In Star Trek, every ship, even merchants,have some minimal shielding. We'll just count this as 'shieldlevel zero', and leave our destroyer as a classic 'eggshellarmed with a hammer'.
Given the complete lack of anti-fighter armament of the originaldesign, it would be reasonable to suppose that the later versionswould remedy this. The Mk VIIIa deletes some of the phasers fora fighter self-defence capability, the Mk VIIIb the torpedos aswell for an ADAF fit and beefed up screens
The result is:
Full Thrust Mk VIII Destroyer
Recommended Models : Gamescience, Starline 2200
Mass 18
2 B 3-arc Beams
1 Torpedo
Speed 6
Cost 114
Full Thrust Mk VIIIa Destroyer
Recommended Models : Gamescience, Starline 2200
Mass 18
1 A 3-arc Beam
1 Torpedo
1 PDAF
Speed 6
Cost 112
Full Thrust Mk VIIIb Destroyer (Escort)
Recommended Models : Gamescience, Starline 2200
Mass 18
1 A 3-arc Beam
1 ADAF
Shield 1
Speed 6
Cost 129
The ADB had a similar problem in SFB. Their solution resultedin a class of ship that was defensively good, but unable to makefull use of the torpedos it carried. The ADB also formulated noless than three different anti-fighter-armed variants, the DE,DDL, and DDG. The intent of this article was to get away fromthe entirely SFB-based FT conversions, but the basic sources arethe same, so the results will be similar. The VIIIb correspondsto a DE or DDG, and the
VIIIa to a DDL, (sort of!).
'Hermes' Class Scouts
NCC 588-600 of the Mk VII Hermes class were authorisedunder the original Articles of Federation in 0965. Batch II, NCC601-616 of the Mk VIIa Monoceros class were authorisedin 3669. The final batch, NCC 617-625 of the Mk VIIb Cygnus class differed from the others in being specially outfittedas command and diplomatic couriers.
The armament of the lowly Scout is confined to a single double-bankof phasers, capable of firing only in the forward arc, a cut-downversion of the very similar Destroyer. Add Supeior Sensors andan Area ECM fit, and it fits neatly.
By cutting down the phasers (but improving the Fire Control) wecan add a minimal fighter defence, and get an improved Mk VIIaclass. Finally, with the courier version we can increase speedand add a Cloak, at the expense of adding some cargo space anddeleting all of the EW equipment.
Full Thrust Mk VII Scout.
Recommended Models : Gamescience, Starline 2200
Mass 17
2 B 1-arc Beams (Fwd)
Superior Sensors
Area ECM
Speed 6
Cost 147
Full Thrust Mk VIIa Scout.
Recommended Models : Gamescience, Starline 2200
Mass 17
1 A 1-arc Beams (Fwd)
Superior Sensors
Area ECM
PDAF
Speed 6
Cost 147
Full Thrust Mk VIIb Courier.
Recommended Models : Gamescience Scout, Gamescience Destroyer(Transparent plastic version), Starline 2200,
Mass 17
2 B 1-arc Beams (Fwd)
PDAF
Cloak
Cargo 2
Speed 8
Cost 132
'Ptolemy' Class Tug/Transports
NCC 3801-3815 of the Mk VI Ptolemy Class Tug/Transportswere authorised by the original Articles of Federation in 0965.In 3640, NCC 3816-3830 of the Mk VIa Keppler class wereauthorised. Finally, in a truly massive shipbuilding programme,NCC 3831-3933 of the Mk VIb Doppler class were authorisedin 4990.
These Tugs are used in conjunction with the Mk I NCC-1000 seriesLiquid, Mk II NCC-2000 series Dry Bulk, Mk III NCC 3000 seriesRefrigerated Goods, NCC 5000 series Mk V Products and NCC 4000series Mk IV Starliner pods, the last self-propelled at sublightvelocity in case of emergency. In passing, the standard ST Shuttlecraft is designated as Mk XIIb. Mk XI does not appear to be mentionedanywhere. The Mk VI also, by its 'Tug/Transport' designation,appears to have some stand-alone cargo capacity. It is also designatedas a 'Class I Starship', so is to full military ratherthan commercial standards (ie it is not a merchant). The tug itselfis 126,500 t. Mk I, II and V pods are each of 121,566 t, the MkIII is 100,000 t, and the Mk IV 80,000t deadweight, that is, empty.Cargo load of the bulk pods is about 100,000 t. This correspondsto a size of 61 when loaded with one pod, 100 with two pods, and23 empty.
Armament consists of a pair of phasers in the familiar chin position,and two other phaser pairs port and starboard. This correspondsto 2 beams, each with 2 arcs. Because the ship is nearly the sizeof a cruiser, and in the interests of making her a Fighting Shiprather than a pure Cargo lugger, A class beams seem appropriate.The later batches would first trade off a little of the 3 spareinternal cargo space for some anti-fighter defence, then more.
Thus we have:
Full Thrust Mk VI Tug/Transport
Recommended Models : Gamescience, Starline 2200
Mass 23
2 A 2-arc Beams
Shield 1
Cargo 3
Speed 6
Cost 183
Full Thrust Mk VIa Tug/Transport
Recommended Models : Gamescience, Starline 2200
Mass 23
2 A 2-arc Beams
Shield 1
PDAF 1
Cargo 2
Speed 6
Cost 186
Full Thrust Mk VIb Tug/Transport
Recommended Models : Gamescience, Starline 2200
Mass 23
2 A 2-arc Beams
Shield 1
PDAF 2
Cargo 1
Speed 6
Cost 189
+1 Pod, Mass 61, Speed 3, Cost +228
+2 Pods, Mass 100, Speed 2, Cost + 362
Note: only 2 Fire Control Channels
Note that again, pace Star Fleet Battles, there is no eveidencefor Double-sized Battle Pods, Carrier Pods, or any other armedPod.
'Federation' Class Dreadnought
NCC 2100-2119 were all authorised in 6066.
These have 10 phasers instead of Enterprise's 6, and a designedsafe cruise of Warp Factor 8, Emergency speed of Warp Factor 10.However, things never turn out right, and the Mk X is 'stillunder construction' according to the SFTM. The firing arcsof the phasers are difficult to model, too. However, 2 lots of3-arc and 2 lots of 2-arc seem about right. By decreasing the2-arc ones to B instead of A, or increasing tonnage slightly,room could be provided for anti-fighter defence without refitfor the first time.
Full Thrust Mk X Dreadnought as Originally Designed
Recommended Models : Gamescience, Starline 2200
Mass 52
2 A 3-arc Beams
2 A 2-arc Beams
1 Torpedo
Speed 8
Shield 3
Romulan Bird Of Prey Picard
Cost 708
Full Thrust Mk X Dreadnought (Conjectured Final Version)
Recommended Models : Gamescience, Starline 2200
Mass 58
2 A 3-arc Beams
2 A 2-arc Beams
1 Torpedo
PDAF 3
Speed 4
Shield 3
Cost 551
Klingons - 'Battlecruiser'
The SFTM is silent about all the other races. The only primarysource material are the Klingon Battlecruiser Blueprints, andthe TV series. In the TV series, Klingon ships are described asfiring 'disruptors' rather than phasers. The SpecialEffects emission of a disruptor looks remarkably like that ofa photon torpedo, though the effect is indistinguishable froma phaser. As for size, since the Klingon Battlecruiser is describedas just that - a Battlecruiser - it would be nice if it were aCapital ship. Alas, it is not to be. The models of Klingon Battlecruisersare barely larger than Federation Destroyers, and are significantlysmaller than the Enterprise. Worse, by making them 'smallCapitals' rather than Cruisers, they become very expensiveindeed - too much so, in fact. No, I'll let the Klingon propagandistsdescribe them as Battlecruisers, but they're actually Heavy Cruisers,and of average size for that class of vessel.
As for the Blueprints - I don't remember the tonnage given onthem ( 180,000? ) but three things stand out. Firstly, there arephasers absolutely everywhere, in every conceivable place. Withspectacularly terrible firing arcs, unless one is firing backwards.There are no less than 12 if memory serves. Secondly, there isa gratuitous missile system, which has never been hinted at inthe TV series, or for that matter, the movies. Finally, and mostimportantly, THERE WERE NO TOILETS. The old joke had it that thiswas the reason Klingons got REALLY mean after only a few monthsof a 5-year mission. 'Where's the next pit stop, Koloth,my back fangs are swimming!' 'Only a few more LightYears, Korax'.
OK, so we have 12 'Phasors'. 4 lots of 3-arc beams seemabout right. In the TV series, the disruptor effects always startat the head of the boom, so we'll make that lot a bit chunkierthan the rest - A class rather than B. Considering the dire effectsof the Enterprise's weaponry even from a single salvo,a level 1 screen seems about right. And let's say the Missilesin the blueprints are a PDAF and ADAF combination.
Let's see... 1 3-Arc A-Beam, 3 3-Arc B Beams, Screen-1, PDAF,ADAF, this is starting to look awfully familiar.... Yes, we havejust re-invented the Standard Heavy Cruiser, as appearing in Full Thrust.
Klingon K- or D7- Class Battlecruiser
Recommended Models : Gamescience, Starline 2200, Starline 2300,MicroMachines
Mass 32
1 A 3-arc Beam
3 B 2-arc Beams
ADAF
PDAF
Speed 4
Shield 1
Cost 238
Romulans
The Romulans appear with two different ship technologies: Firstly,a small Sub-Light vessel with a Cloaking Device, and a spectacularlypowerful 'Plasma Torpedo'. Secondly, and later on,with 'Lend-Lease' Klingon ships. The Klingon ships neverfire, but the Sub-Light vessel most certainly does, with awesomeeffect. So let's leave the Klingon ship nearly untouched - deletethe PDAF and ADAF, and add a cloak.
As for the Bird of Prey, again, the Primary sources consist onlyof the TV series, and a set of Blueprints.
Basically, the Blue prints take a Ginormous great weapon, builda small section on top for the crew (of 12!), then bolt on a fewwarp drives on the side, and you have it. The Romulan Bird ofPrey is a weapon with a ship built around it, rather than a shipwith a weapon installed. It is of Escort size.at best. Alas, thepresence of the Warp Drives directly contradicts the TV series,where the whole point about the Romulan was that it was Sub-Light.The fact that the story is basically the same as that of classicWW2 Submarine vs Destroyer battles is irrelevant.
The Plasma Torpedo of the TV series is undoubtedly best modelledby the Spinal Mount Nova Cannon - aka the Futtock Gun. Alas again,this is only available for Capital ships, and the TV ship is definitelyof escrort size.
A final complication occurs in that there are three very differentmodels available for the TOS Bird of Prey. The standard Starline2200 one, the same size as a Frigate, the Starline 2300, consistentwith the SFB WarEagle/WarBird, and a MUCH larger model, biggerthan the Enterprise.
Taking all of the above into account,. the best that I can comeup with is to have three different 'Birds of Prey'.A small one, with a 'Mini-Nova' or Wave Gun, a cruisersized one, and a large (Capital class) one with a full-blown NovaCannon. All fully comply with the rules, without modification,but none completely corresponds with the TV series, nor with theBlueprints. The Small one comes pretty close to the TV seriesthough, and is extremely effective.
Either have them as 3 different ship classes - System DefenceBoat, Cruiser, Battleship - within the same fleet, or pick theone you like best.
Full Thrust Bird of Prey (Small, Sub-Light)
Recommended Models : Starline 2200
Mass 16
Wave Gun
Cloak
Speed 2
STL
Cost 102
Full Thrust Bird of Prey ( Medium, FTL)
Recommended Models : Starline 2300
Mass 28
Wave Gun
Cloak
Speed 2
FTL
Cost 198
Full Thrust Bird of Prey (Large, FTL)
Recommended Models : MicroMachines
Mass 40
Nova Cannon
Cloak
Speed 2
Cost 330
Full Thrust Romulan Battlecruiser (Klingon Lend Lease)
Recommended Models : Gamescience, Starline 2200,Starline 2300,MicroMachines
Mass 32
1 A 3-arc Beam
3 B 2-arc Beams
Cloak
Speed 4
Shield 1
Cost 289
Tholians
The only Tholian ship that appears in the original series is a'Patrol Craft'. This is a small escort - probably smallerthan even the Starline 2200 miniature is appropriate for. FT hasno rules for Webs (which seem to be most effective against a shipalready stationary) and they don't fire. They are easily crippledthough.
I have therefore gone out a bit on a limb here. To me, the mostsignificant thing about a Tholian PC is that it can immobilisethings if it gets to short range. Given the size of the only availableminiatures, the best solution is to make a relatively fragileship, with Needles. These are short range, and quite capable oftaking out the manoeuvre drive of even a SuperDreadnought. Ithas to be an escort, and one of about size 12 to match the model.The resultant design is my 'best guess' at a Tholianwithout changing rules, which is consistent with the miniature.
Tholian Patrol Craft
Recommended Models : Starline 2200, Starline 2300
Romulan Bird Of Prey Size
Mass 12
3 Needle Beams (Fwd)
Speed 8
Orions
An Orion ship appears exactly once: as a very fast moving object,that attacks by 'ramming' repeatedly. It's appearanceis remarkably similar to the all-purpose Photon Torpedo effect,and when it fails, it spectacularly suicides. It's too fast tohit with normal phasers.
How the HECK does one model this? The answer is quite simple.What in FT a) Cannot be hit with normal Beams 2) Moves fast, andis incredibly manoueuverable 3) Has a limited number of attacks4) Has to get real close to the target.
Obviously it's a fighter. When you have no PDAF or ADAF, and noC beams, you just gotta sit there and take your lumps.
Gorns
The final race hostile to the Federation that makes an appearancein TOS are the Gorns. Gorns appear (in the episode Arena ), but their ships don't. So the primary source justisn't enough.
That covers all of the primary source material - the TV series,the Technical manual, and the Blueprints. But there's a host ofother ST models available, both for the Federation ( CL, CV, NCL,FF ) and other races. Not only the SFB-based ones, either. FASAalso produced a host of new models for the Star Trek RolePlaying Game (STRPG) and Star Trek Battle Simulator (STBS). Thesecan be converted using similar techniqes, but that is best coveredin another article.
The ship designs that came out of this process are all quite reasonable.The Klingon Battlecruiser turning out to be a standard FT HeavyCruiser is a piece of Serendipity, but the Federation stuff emphasisesthe Torpedo, but is otherwise quite conventional. And the SmallBird of Prey is an excellent Systems Defence Boat, while the largeone is pretty much an archetypical minimalist Nova ship. Noneof the designs would appear out-of-place against the standarddesigns in FT and MT. So dust off those Starline 2200 miniatures,and go for it!
All technical characteristics of the Federation vessels quotedabove are from the Star Fleet Technical Manual by Franz JosephDesigns.
Star Fleet Battles is copyrighted by the Amarillo Design Bureau,and published by Task Force Games.
Star Trek is coprighted by Paramount Television, a subsidiaryof Paramount Pictures Corporation
Full Thrust is copyrighted by J.M.Tuffley and Ground Zero Games
Andrew Probert (designed the Romulan Warbird):'I love even numbers, so the warbird is 4,440 feet long (= 1353m). The thing is, I provided this image to the producers purposely to suggest that the scene be filmed with the Enterprise in front, obviously closer to us, yet the warbird is still larger. Unfortunately the visual effects people reversed the shot and you really had no idea how much larger the Romulan ship was.' (Star Trek: The Next Generation 365, p. 132)
| design sketch by Andrew Probert |
I think the impression from TNG 'The Neutral Zone' is the only screencap in which you can realize the size.
| screenshot by trekcore.com (TNG 'The Neutral Zone') |
| screenshot by trekcore.com (DS9 'The Changing Face of Evil') |
| screenshot by trekcore.com (DS9 'The Changing Face of Evil') |