By the way, I've started releasing models on Thingiverse! Find me as Norsehound_Actual and that will bring you to where I'm starting to collect them. Mostly small ships and shuttles at the moment.
2270-2290s Gaming Minis (Including obscure designs!)
- Thread starter Norsehound
- Start date
Looking around my references it suddenly hit me that there is another Romulan ship I could add to the playable roster.
Notable as it's one of the few FASA miniatures to appear on their product page in color. I had a magazine for Trek 5 when I was a kid, and this advertisement was in it. I experimented with two of FOaS' engines before I figured I'd remake the original. All three look pretty interesting.
My take: As the Romulans began creating sophisticated warp drives of their own (rather than copy stolen Federation plans or lend-lease technologies from the Klingons), a renaissance of space vehicles peaked in the Empire around the 2270s. Combined with a growing economy, soon Warp-powered vessels were found everywhere in the Empire, many at the beck and call of high officials of state and others. Of these, the Graceful Flyer was the most numerous and most economical.
Though a great many served within the interior borders of the Empire, a few were sequestered into service with the Star Navy and fitted with cloaking devices to serve as espionage and special operations vehicles. Their innocuous role as diplomatic couriers helped sneak Romulan agents into the Federation on more than one occasion. While hardly armed, their speed and stealth capabilities were nearly unmatched during the 2270s.
Notable as it's one of the few FASA miniatures to appear on their product page in color. I had a magazine for Trek 5 when I was a kid, and this advertisement was in it. I experimented with two of FOaS' engines before I figured I'd remake the original. All three look pretty interesting.
My take: As the Romulans began creating sophisticated warp drives of their own (rather than copy stolen Federation plans or lend-lease technologies from the Klingons), a renaissance of space vehicles peaked in the Empire around the 2270s. Combined with a growing economy, soon Warp-powered vessels were found everywhere in the Empire, many at the beck and call of high officials of state and others. Of these, the Graceful Flyer was the most numerous and most economical.
Though a great many served within the interior borders of the Empire, a few were sequestered into service with the Star Navy and fitted with cloaking devices to serve as espionage and special operations vehicles. Their innocuous role as diplomatic couriers helped sneak Romulan agents into the Federation on more than one occasion. While hardly armed, their speed and stealth capabilities were nearly unmatched during the 2270s.
I've got a treat for you guys.
I confess, part of the reason I wanted to build this game was to role-play out alternate 2280s scenarios (perhaps one where V'ger came several years later, and the Enterprise launched under Decker's command for a successful career). Part of this alternate-universe exploration was postulating the existence of alternate Enterprise successors, ones where the A was an entirely different design worthy of improving on her immediate successor.
Originally I was going to stat this out as a Constellation class, but then I chanced upon a pair of designs I like a lot better.
On left is Brian Pimenta's NCX-2701, made in 1987 when the fate of the Enterprise was unknown at the end of Trek III. On right is Michael Alexander's NX-1701-A made some years later, two blueprints of this design are up on Cygnus.
Constitution III - Brian Pimenta
My take: With the Enterprise reaching over 40 years of continuous active service, Starfleet was eager to retire the ship. This was as much out of a desire to preserve the historic vessel as Admiral Morrow's iconoclastic desire to make sure there were no heroes in starfleet. He was, however, persuaded to allow a new Enterprise to be commissioned and stand at the forefront of new technology. One of the proposed plans was dubbed the Constitution-III. and Enterprise would take the opened penant number NCC-2701.
The C-IIIs were intended to capitalize on the developments of Transwarp and new computer advancements becoming evident in the Excelsior. As problems began to arise with the Excelsior the C-III plan was continually revised, continually staying ahead of anticipated problems with the Excelsior. In the post-action analysis of Excelsior's failure to engage the transwarp drive, designers instituted a host of changes to the Consitution-III to address all the problems with the drive. However, the PR blowback was too late, as Excelsior failed her Transwarp tests and the escape of the Enterprise ultimately closed any further experiments into Transwarp drive.
The irony, postulated by engineers of future generations, was had C-III been advanced it may have been likely Transwarp drive would work. Excelsior's excessive bulk, weapons systems, and redundant shields (in an effort to make her a dreadnought in addition to a test ship) ultimately hampered the Transwarp engine. C-III, cut-down and with greater consessions to the drive, had great potential to actually attain Transwarp. In the end, C-III was a paper ship. Rumor has it that one ship has been spotted in remote Federation ports, either a cross-dimensional orphan or some lone unit operated by Section 31.
Constitution-IV - Michael Alexander
My take: The Great Experiment was fairly divisive among Starfleet ship designers in the 2270s. While Transwarp attracted many innovative thinkers, pioneers, and iconoclasts, the faction that instead coveted the Enterprise's 2270 refit were oddly resistant to innovation. Their greatest triumph of the era, the Constellation-class, was in many ways barely indistinguishable from other high-end cruisers of the 2290s. However, the other competitor to the Enterprise's successor was the only example of a non-transwarp prototype that showed remarkable innovation.
Solaris Corporation was a fairly young company but also fairly advanced by the early 2280s, producing small designs and assisting other projects in the area of advanced construction sciences (Success with components for the Oberth brought them to Starfleet's attention). They too had stayed abreast of Transwarp developments and initially made a design to use the technology. While Starfleet's engineers doubled down on Transwarp, Solaris pivoted at the first sign of trouble with Transwarp and instead placed their faith in fifth-generation warp technology. Additionally Solaris implemented many other technologies used in the Excelsior into their project, which was quickly becoming known as the Constitution-IV.
As Transwarp crashed and burned it seemed more and more evident that the Constitution-IV would win the contest. With the unfortunate loss of the Enterprise, Starfleet wanted to celebrate Admiral Kirk's triumph of saving the Earth with a craft worthy of the name Enterprise. Constitution-IV was set to become the next Enterprise-A until Starfleet's budget was considered. Repairs to Spacedock, Excelsior, the disabled vessels across Federation space were all combined with the Federation Council screaming for additional defenses for Earth and more precautions against the Klingons taking advantage of the situation.
Budget cutbacks after budget cutbacks ultimately forced Constitution-IV to be postponed. Kirk was to be handed the Excelsior, but disagreement among the admirals resulted in Kirk getting a renamed Enterprise-class cruiser (The Ti-Ho or Yorktown, records are unclear). Excelsior spent the next few years getting a tear-down and rebuild for conventional warp drive, and Constitution-IV was put on the backburner. The only thing that saved the design from complete obscurity was that it attracted the attention of Legendary Captain Scott, who offered his feedback to improve on the design.
Constitution-IV would have her day in the early 2300s. While the Excelsior and Constellation classes were proving satisfactory, they weren't designs that inspired or challenged the technological edge. Constitution-IV, coming into being as NCC-5001 Solaris, would be one of the classes that pressed this edge (along with the Kusangi-class cruisers). They served for a number of decades before passing the torch to the Olympia-class cruisers (nicknamed Constitution-Vs in the early development cycle)- one of which would be the Enterprise-C.
--------
Now that all that's out of the way... I hesitate to put these up at first because I see that both artists have copyright notices. Do you guys think they'd mind if I made them available for print? If it were me, I'd be thrilled to see other artists pick up my work and run with it like this.
I confess, part of the reason I wanted to build this game was to role-play out alternate 2280s scenarios (perhaps one where V'ger came several years later, and the Enterprise launched under Decker's command for a successful career). Part of this alternate-universe exploration was postulating the existence of alternate Enterprise successors, ones where the A was an entirely different design worthy of improving on her immediate successor.
Originally I was going to stat this out as a Constellation class, but then I chanced upon a pair of designs I like a lot better.
On left is Brian Pimenta's NCX-2701, made in 1987 when the fate of the Enterprise was unknown at the end of Trek III. On right is Michael Alexander's NX-1701-A made some years later, two blueprints of this design are up on Cygnus.
Constitution III - Brian Pimenta
My take: With the Enterprise reaching over 40 years of continuous active service, Starfleet was eager to retire the ship. This was as much out of a desire to preserve the historic vessel as Admiral Morrow's iconoclastic desire to make sure there were no heroes in starfleet. He was, however, persuaded to allow a new Enterprise to be commissioned and stand at the forefront of new technology. One of the proposed plans was dubbed the Constitution-III. and Enterprise would take the opened penant number NCC-2701.
The C-IIIs were intended to capitalize on the developments of Transwarp and new computer advancements becoming evident in the Excelsior. As problems began to arise with the Excelsior the C-III plan was continually revised, continually staying ahead of anticipated problems with the Excelsior. In the post-action analysis of Excelsior's failure to engage the transwarp drive, designers instituted a host of changes to the Consitution-III to address all the problems with the drive. However, the PR blowback was too late, as Excelsior failed her Transwarp tests and the escape of the Enterprise ultimately closed any further experiments into Transwarp drive.
The irony, postulated by engineers of future generations, was had C-III been advanced it may have been likely Transwarp drive would work. Excelsior's excessive bulk, weapons systems, and redundant shields (in an effort to make her a dreadnought in addition to a test ship) ultimately hampered the Transwarp engine. C-III, cut-down and with greater consessions to the drive, had great potential to actually attain Transwarp. In the end, C-III was a paper ship. Rumor has it that one ship has been spotted in remote Federation ports, either a cross-dimensional orphan or some lone unit operated by Section 31.
Constitution-IV - Michael Alexander
My take: The Great Experiment was fairly divisive among Starfleet ship designers in the 2270s. While Transwarp attracted many innovative thinkers, pioneers, and iconoclasts, the faction that instead coveted the Enterprise's 2270 refit were oddly resistant to innovation. Their greatest triumph of the era, the Constellation-class, was in many ways barely indistinguishable from other high-end cruisers of the 2290s. However, the other competitor to the Enterprise's successor was the only example of a non-transwarp prototype that showed remarkable innovation.
Solaris Corporation was a fairly young company but also fairly advanced by the early 2280s, producing small designs and assisting other projects in the area of advanced construction sciences (Success with components for the Oberth brought them to Starfleet's attention). They too had stayed abreast of Transwarp developments and initially made a design to use the technology. While Starfleet's engineers doubled down on Transwarp, Solaris pivoted at the first sign of trouble with Transwarp and instead placed their faith in fifth-generation warp technology. Additionally Solaris implemented many other technologies used in the Excelsior into their project, which was quickly becoming known as the Constitution-IV.
As Transwarp crashed and burned it seemed more and more evident that the Constitution-IV would win the contest. With the unfortunate loss of the Enterprise, Starfleet wanted to celebrate Admiral Kirk's triumph of saving the Earth with a craft worthy of the name Enterprise. Constitution-IV was set to become the next Enterprise-A until Starfleet's budget was considered. Repairs to Spacedock, Excelsior, the disabled vessels across Federation space were all combined with the Federation Council screaming for additional defenses for Earth and more precautions against the Klingons taking advantage of the situation.
Budget cutbacks after budget cutbacks ultimately forced Constitution-IV to be postponed. Kirk was to be handed the Excelsior, but disagreement among the admirals resulted in Kirk getting a renamed Enterprise-class cruiser (The Ti-Ho or Yorktown, records are unclear). Excelsior spent the next few years getting a tear-down and rebuild for conventional warp drive, and Constitution-IV was put on the backburner. The only thing that saved the design from complete obscurity was that it attracted the attention of Legendary Captain Scott, who offered his feedback to improve on the design.
Constitution-IV would have her day in the early 2300s. While the Excelsior and Constellation classes were proving satisfactory, they weren't designs that inspired or challenged the technological edge. Constitution-IV, coming into being as NCC-5001 Solaris, would be one of the classes that pressed this edge (along with the Kusangi-class cruisers). They served for a number of decades before passing the torch to the Olympia-class cruisers (nicknamed Constitution-Vs in the early development cycle)- one of which would be the Enterprise-C.
--------
Now that all that's out of the way... I hesitate to put these up at first because I see that both artists have copyright notices. Do you guys think they'd mind if I made them available for print? If it were me, I'd be thrilled to see other artists pick up my work and run with it like this.
Last edited:
Why not reach out and ask?
The problem is in figuring out how to contact them :T though I did notice a site out there was offering minis models of Brian Pimenta's Constitution III? Multi-Verse Models was offering the Constiution-III and variants based on the design for a while. Either they got permission or they didn't bother asking...
Welp, unless someone can point me in the direction of how to contact Brian and Michael, I won't be posting those for printing. I have printed my own copies though, and I'll be painting them at some point.
In the meantime, I've been uploading my craft to Thingiverse. I got clearance from FoAS to share his models, so the three basics (Enterprise, Miranda, Oberth) have been added for printing.
In terms of the game I posted a sort-of playthrough on my Twitter. It's rife with errors and a few misspellings, but it goes into basically what players do on their turn. That play-through exposed a few critical errors with the game and right now it's undergoing a rebuild to streamline things. Someday... someday you'll be able to do more with these things than just admire them on a shelf (or use them to replace the trash minis from Attack Wing).
In the meantime, I've been uploading my craft to Thingiverse. I got clearance from FoAS to share his models, so the three basics (Enterprise, Miranda, Oberth) have been added for printing.
In terms of the game I posted a sort-of playthrough on my Twitter. It's rife with errors and a few misspellings, but it goes into basically what players do on their turn. That play-through exposed a few critical errors with the game and right now it's undergoing a rebuild to streamline things. Someday... someday you'll be able to do more with these things than just admire them on a shelf (or use them to replace the trash minis from Attack Wing).
Last edited:
Can you show me your Thingiverse account, please?
I've included a link above!
What link?
Check the highlighted text, Jordan. Do you not see the links?
Started the Akyazi idly during a stream. Decided to finish it. It competes with the Ranger for the smallest ship in the inventory (apart from shuttles).
She'll sit in that subclass of ships that might be incapable of competing as actual starships, probably useful as NPCs for, well, lower player count games or for games where a player wants to captain a space station.
My take: One of the many lighter starfleet classes pushed into service during the boom of the late 2270s, the Akyazi and assorted subclasses were intended as stock patrol ships to shore up the Federation border security. They came into service on the back of the revolutionary technologies input into the Enterprise, and served sufficiently into the 2280s. However, as tensions with the Klingons began increasing the Akyazi class was deemed insufficient to stop an involved Klingon push if it came to it, and the Akyazis started to see deployments along with the Okinawa-class Frigates and Akula destroyers. Following the praxis explosion and the Khitomer peace conference, Akyazis were re-deployed internally for police duties. They were phased out in the 2340s.
Started the Akyazi idly during a stream. Decided to finish it. It competes with the Ranger for the smallest ship in the inventory (apart from shuttles).
She'll sit in that subclass of ships that might be incapable of competing as actual starships, probably useful as NPCs for, well, lower player count games or for games where a player wants to captain a space station.
My take: One of the many lighter starfleet classes pushed into service during the boom of the late 2270s, the Akyazi and assorted subclasses were intended as stock patrol ships to shore up the Federation border security. They came into service on the back of the revolutionary technologies input into the Enterprise, and served sufficiently into the 2280s. However, as tensions with the Klingons began increasing the Akyazi class was deemed insufficient to stop an involved Klingon push if it came to it, and the Akyazis started to see deployments along with the Okinawa-class Frigates and Akula destroyers. Following the praxis explosion and the Khitomer peace conference, Akyazis were re-deployed internally for police duties. They were phased out in the 2340s.
Yeah eventually I'll be putting up most of the fleet, just spacing it out 
The Regula might need a bit of a touch up because it didn't print as cleanly as I expected it would have from Shapeways. Now that these are getting squirted out of a PLA printer, some things... come out differently.
Just put the Akyazi up since it seems it's desired :P There are some slight changes from the plans... the wings are not as curved up and the impulse crystal is circular, rather than an oval. Because she's comparatively small I didn't sweat all the details.
The Regula might need a bit of a touch up because it didn't print as cleanly as I expected it would have from Shapeways. Now that these are getting squirted out of a PLA printer, some things... come out differently.Just put the Akyazi up since it seems it's desired :P There are some slight changes from the plans... the wings are not as curved up and the impulse crystal is circular, rather than an oval. Because she's comparatively small I didn't sweat all the details.
Got another one for you guys before I turn in, the Pleiades from.... Jackill? No, Don Corson. Thanks 137th!
It occurred to me I didn't have a lot of science vessels, so here she is. Something a little more robust and faster than the Oberths, but lacks the massive sensor (and whatever it does). Decent cargo capacity as well.
My Take: On account of their unique physiology, the Medusans often operated their own vessels to suit their own needs and specifications. Their vessel of choice in the 2280s was the Pleiades- a decently sized exploration cruiser which ran light on weaponry but had a sophisticated drive and sensor suite. The design seemed successful enough that starfleet versions were crafted to serve more diverse corporeal crews. While they lacked the supreme navigation ability of the Medusans to take advantage of the ship's sheer speed, they were adequate vessels used by Starfleet Sciences across the 80s and 90s. Remarkably, they continued to serve nearly a hundred years later after extensive refits. The Medusan navigation equipment was revealed to be much more advanced than starfleet standards, a fact the Starfleet Cetacean Circle took to their advantage when they acquired these ships second hand and used them (after refitting) for a new wave of exploration outside of Starfleet charters.
It occurred to me I didn't have a lot of science vessels, so here she is. Something a little more robust and faster than the Oberths, but lacks the massive sensor (and whatever it does). Decent cargo capacity as well.
My Take: On account of their unique physiology, the Medusans often operated their own vessels to suit their own needs and specifications. Their vessel of choice in the 2280s was the Pleiades- a decently sized exploration cruiser which ran light on weaponry but had a sophisticated drive and sensor suite. The design seemed successful enough that starfleet versions were crafted to serve more diverse corporeal crews. While they lacked the supreme navigation ability of the Medusans to take advantage of the ship's sheer speed, they were adequate vessels used by Starfleet Sciences across the 80s and 90s. Remarkably, they continued to serve nearly a hundred years later after extensive refits. The Medusan navigation equipment was revealed to be much more advanced than starfleet standards, a fact the Starfleet Cetacean Circle took to their advantage when they acquired these ships second hand and used them (after refitting) for a new wave of exploration outside of Starfleet charters.
Last edited:
The TOS-era version of the Pleiades came from Warp Factor One Fanzine, by Don Corson (1976). That is the earliest origin point I could find of this design. The TMP-era refit version first appeared (as far as I could ascertain) in the Star Trek 20th Anniversary Tribute magazine, by Hal Schuster (1986). Jackill did include his own refit version of this vessel in one of his books, but he was a relative latecomer to the design, IIRC.
Welp, had a personal request for the Andor today. Decided to take it on, even if I don't want to feature it in the game (as a one-trick war pony it couldn't do anything other than attacking enemy ships well).
My Take: Andorian pride came to a resurgence in the 2270s, as enough andorian-only crews gave rise to "the blue fleet"- a term given to the Andorian sector of Federation politics and military command. Always on the lookout to provide the best, most potent military starships during heightened tensions with the Klingons, Andorian commanders were always succinct in their tactical assessments. The Andor missile cruiser was the conclusion to the obvious question of arming warships with quantities of the Federations' standard heavy weapon. The Andor when launched traded the photon-to-phaser ratio of the Enterprise class.
This starship could have only been constructed with backing from the Andorian Blue Fleet. However, some concessions had to be made in order to construct it, and one of those concessions was adopting the LN-64X warp nacelles. The Elongated nacelles had been produced for a variant of the Ulysses class Dreadnoughts, before they were re-ordered with PL-12s. The Andorians had wished on their own compact warp nacelles, but were forced to use the longer LN-64Xs to support the bulk of the ship, making it nearly as long as the experimental Excelsior.
Ultimately the Andors were never used for the confrontation they were designed for, and all were laid up in ordinary (due to their perceived usefulness, in addition to Andorian resistance). They were reactivated for the Cardassian conflict, where their heavy firepower focus over matched contemporary Federation ships of the era, which was a cruel surprise for Cardassian units. Even a hundred years on, Andor cruisers continue to hold up the legacy of the Blue Fleet.
My Take: Andorian pride came to a resurgence in the 2270s, as enough andorian-only crews gave rise to "the blue fleet"- a term given to the Andorian sector of Federation politics and military command. Always on the lookout to provide the best, most potent military starships during heightened tensions with the Klingons, Andorian commanders were always succinct in their tactical assessments. The Andor missile cruiser was the conclusion to the obvious question of arming warships with quantities of the Federations' standard heavy weapon. The Andor when launched traded the photon-to-phaser ratio of the Enterprise class.
This starship could have only been constructed with backing from the Andorian Blue Fleet. However, some concessions had to be made in order to construct it, and one of those concessions was adopting the LN-64X warp nacelles. The Elongated nacelles had been produced for a variant of the Ulysses class Dreadnoughts, before they were re-ordered with PL-12s. The Andorians had wished on their own compact warp nacelles, but were forced to use the longer LN-64Xs to support the bulk of the ship, making it nearly as long as the experimental Excelsior.
Ultimately the Andors were never used for the confrontation they were designed for, and all were laid up in ordinary (due to their perceived usefulness, in addition to Andorian resistance). They were reactivated for the Cardassian conflict, where their heavy firepower focus over matched contemporary Federation ships of the era, which was a cruel surprise for Cardassian units. Even a hundred years on, Andor cruisers continue to hold up the legacy of the Blue Fleet.
All right, I'm gonna get a little indulgent.
I don't think anyone caught the blurb in the Constitution-III about the Enterprise-C being an Olympia, rather than the canonical Ambassador. In venturing out a little beyond the 2290s, I wanted to indulge in this idea that there's a divergent timeline where the Federation isn't so distait. The Andromedan invasion from SFB happens around the 2300s, keeping Starfleet on a patrol footing and abandoning a lot of the esoteric technologies that blossomed into TNG's tech-base (Holograms, touch-screen displays).
Enterprise-B in this universe is a standard Excelsior, rather than the Lakota variant. Similarly, Enterprise-C is a "Constitution-V", though official documents call it the Olympia class.
I drew the Olympia over a decade ago, and I'm happy to actually model her. The Enterprise herself has differences from the Olympia (permutations she shares with the Scheherazade, another unique ship in this headcanon), to make her more reminiscent of Kirk's latest command, though there are few functional differences.
In this branch, in Yesterday's Enterprise the Olympia-class also shows up. Somehow Picard has to choose which one to send back.
My Take: Come the 2310s, Starfleet had been coasting comfortably on the Excelsior, Constellation, and other classes as the backbone of the Federation fleet. The time was approaching where a new generation would have to begin design concepts, as the Romulans retreated behind their borders in isolation and the Klingons- not on amicable terms in spite of the Khitomer treaty- were still moving forward with more practical warship designs. Lessons learned from the violent Andromeda invasion were fresh on the minds of Starfleet, as well as the emergence of the Cardassian union on Federation borders. What Starfleet desired was a stable, long-lasting cruiser design that would be the next Constitution-class of the modern era. Under the guidance of Admiral Shared, the Constitution-V program took twice the normal development time in the design stage in order to find the optimally balanced cruiser. The Olympic class was released in the 2120s to great fanfare- pioneering the Gorn-engineered Leedings XR-series warp nacelles that would go on to define the generation.
Many knew the next Enterprise would be an Olympia once she hit the public imagination. 1701-B had not been replaced since her heroic sacrifice at Deneva, partly out of respect for the lives lost. 1701-C was commissioned in 2340 during a time when the generation of cadets trained by Henry Morrow came into maturity: Starfleet had no heroes, only the Service. Enterprise, and her appointed Captain Garrett, were the most flamboyant statements that could be made in the period. Enterprise and her new captain were quick to make a mark on history.
Her most prestigious event was the rescue of Narendra III. This Klingon outpost was in the true target zone of Praetor Carvex' expansion effort in the 2340s. Enterprise, receiving the distress call, violated the Neutral zone to assist the beleaguered defenders. The power of the Federation cruiser and her sensor suite defeated Romulan cloaking and held off the attackers long enough for Klingon reinforcements to arrive and save the battered Enterprise before she was destroyed. Garrett was only spared a court marshal by receiving a personal summons from the Klingon Emperor. Since then, it's a tradition of every Enterprise inagural assignment to receive a young, typically controversial, captain to follow Garrett's lead.
(The Miranda pictured on the fighter peg is how I intend on constructing the TNG version of the Trek game: All the ships would be re-scaled so that the Enterprise-D isn't much bigger than the Excelsior is presently)
I don't think anyone caught the blurb in the Constitution-III about the Enterprise-C being an Olympia, rather than the canonical Ambassador. In venturing out a little beyond the 2290s, I wanted to indulge in this idea that there's a divergent timeline where the Federation isn't so distait. The Andromedan invasion from SFB happens around the 2300s, keeping Starfleet on a patrol footing and abandoning a lot of the esoteric technologies that blossomed into TNG's tech-base (Holograms, touch-screen displays).
Enterprise-B in this universe is a standard Excelsior, rather than the Lakota variant. Similarly, Enterprise-C is a "Constitution-V", though official documents call it the Olympia class.
I drew the Olympia over a decade ago, and I'm happy to actually model her. The Enterprise herself has differences from the Olympia (permutations she shares with the Scheherazade, another unique ship in this headcanon), to make her more reminiscent of Kirk's latest command, though there are few functional differences.
In this branch, in Yesterday's Enterprise the Olympia-class also shows up. Somehow Picard has to choose which one to send back.
My Take: Come the 2310s, Starfleet had been coasting comfortably on the Excelsior, Constellation, and other classes as the backbone of the Federation fleet. The time was approaching where a new generation would have to begin design concepts, as the Romulans retreated behind their borders in isolation and the Klingons- not on amicable terms in spite of the Khitomer treaty- were still moving forward with more practical warship designs. Lessons learned from the violent Andromeda invasion were fresh on the minds of Starfleet, as well as the emergence of the Cardassian union on Federation borders. What Starfleet desired was a stable, long-lasting cruiser design that would be the next Constitution-class of the modern era. Under the guidance of Admiral Shared, the Constitution-V program took twice the normal development time in the design stage in order to find the optimally balanced cruiser. The Olympic class was released in the 2120s to great fanfare- pioneering the Gorn-engineered Leedings XR-series warp nacelles that would go on to define the generation.
Many knew the next Enterprise would be an Olympia once she hit the public imagination. 1701-B had not been replaced since her heroic sacrifice at Deneva, partly out of respect for the lives lost. 1701-C was commissioned in 2340 during a time when the generation of cadets trained by Henry Morrow came into maturity: Starfleet had no heroes, only the Service. Enterprise, and her appointed Captain Garrett, were the most flamboyant statements that could be made in the period. Enterprise and her new captain were quick to make a mark on history.
Her most prestigious event was the rescue of Narendra III. This Klingon outpost was in the true target zone of Praetor Carvex' expansion effort in the 2340s. Enterprise, receiving the distress call, violated the Neutral zone to assist the beleaguered defenders. The power of the Federation cruiser and her sensor suite defeated Romulan cloaking and held off the attackers long enough for Klingon reinforcements to arrive and save the battered Enterprise before she was destroyed. Garrett was only spared a court marshal by receiving a personal summons from the Klingon Emperor. Since then, it's a tradition of every Enterprise inagural assignment to receive a young, typically controversial, captain to follow Garrett's lead.
(The Miranda pictured on the fighter peg is how I intend on constructing the TNG version of the Trek game: All the ships would be re-scaled so that the Enterprise-D isn't much bigger than the Excelsior is presently)
There are two versions of the TOS-era Pleiades. The version you cite In Warp Factor Issue One was followed by a slightly revised version is Warp Factor Issue Two - the shuttle bay moves from the side to the front of the ship, and he added the turbolift bulge to the bridge. The TNG version also appeared in Warp Factor Issue 3 date "Fall 1984" before it appeared in Shuster's publication
Last edited:
I came to the TMP Pleiades from Jackill's Starfleet Recognition charts from Cygnus... publication 1994?. Seemed like an interesting profile (in a fleet of many many ships that are cut+paste Enterprise parts) and I decided to mock it up.
