Star Trek Classic Full Thrust v 1.

1
V1.1 of this document adds a list of miniatures, the Upgraded Enterprise, Tholia
ns, an excuse for not having Orions and Gorns, and another Romulan Bird of Prey,
(one that corresponds to the most available miniature).
Yet another adaptation of Star Trek (ST) for Full Thrust (FT)? Yes, there have b
een quite a few. But all have been based on secondary or tertiary sources, most
notably Task Force Games (TFG) Star Fleet Battles (SFB). I'm ancient enough to r
emember Gamescience/Lou Zocchi's Alien Space, the first Star Trek miniatures rul
es. Gamescience still produces a limited range of starships, but no rules, while
the stands on the Starline 2200 series still show the 4-quarter arcs for those
rules, over 20 years later. So I prefer going back to original source materiel,
when adapting ST for FT. (In passing, the Starline 2200 and Starline 2300 miniat
ures are at a scale of 1/3788 ). Therefore, firstly we have a quick definition o
f the Primary Sources.
The basic source for ST(Classic)FT - also known as The Old Star Trek or The Old
Series (TOS) is the Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual (SFTM) by Franz Joseph
Designs, published by Ballantine in November, 1975. This is the same prime sour
ce used by the Amarillo Design Bureau (ADB), as mentioned in A1.3 of the Command
er's Edition of SFB. In addition, the Klingon Battlecruiser and Romulan Warbird
Blueprints (or at least, what I can remember of them!) have been used, as mentio
ned in SFB Z.2. Finally of course, the TV series. Additional "Primary" sources a
re 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
resultant designs should be compatible with comparable existing FT ships, and co
nform strictly to the rules without exception. They must also be representable b
y existing models.
Star Trek Models
There are several sources of 1/3788 models in production or still available as a
t the time of writing. These are, in approximate order:
* - 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-piece casting)
Task Force Games Starline 2200 ** (out of production) all intended for Star Flee
t 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-1
0 Battleship (SuperDreadnought),F-5 Frigate(actually smaller)
Romulan TOS Bird of Prey/Warbird (System Defence Boat), Condor Dreadnought, Spar
rowhawk 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 ra
nge below, but are not believed to currently be in production. Other SFB models,
sch as the Romulan Seahawk, Kzinti Tug and so on are only available in the Limi
ted Edition range.
FASA (out of production)
Federation Enterprise (pre-refit), Enterprise(post-refit), Reliant, Destroyer (s
ize of a Cruiser at least!), Tsiolkovsky, Excelsior
Klingon B-12(?) Dreadnought/Carrier?, D7 Battlecruiser (stripped-down version, a
s 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 somewhat slimmer than pr
evious models), NCL
Romulan TOS Bird of Prey (Cruiser size, larger model than the 2200 one)
Klingon Battlecruiser (1-piece model, different nose to previous version)
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 FASA one, but quite OK
), Botany Bay
Klingon Battlecruiser (5% larger than the others), Vor'Cha attack Cruiser
Out of scale models
The MicroMachines also include a number of ships significantly too big/small for
inclusion, except as different classes of vessel from 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-documented class
is that of the NCC-1701 USS Enterprise. Therefore, when the conversion to FT is
performed, this class will be done first, and the rest of the Federation Fleet (
and others) shoehorned into using the resultant conversion methods.
The Starship Enterprise and her sisters
Paragraph 1, Article 53 of the United Federation of Planets Articles of Federati
on, Stardate 0965
1. Initial expenditure is granted under these articles of Federation for the des
ign, procurement, and operation of fourteen (14) Heavy Cruiser type of Starships
to provide the nucleus of Star Fleet's Peace-Keeping Armed Forces. These cruise
rs shall be capable of extended duration patrol of intra-galactic range, with we
aponry appropriate to such class of starships. They shall be provided with fire-
power superior to that now employed by any member of the United Federation, and
appropriate to the tasks expected of them.
Original Construction - Mk IX "Constitution" Class
The following ships of the Mk-IX class were authorised by the original 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 (BonHomme Richard or 'Bonny D
ick' class) Starships were authorised by the Star Fleet Appropriation Bill of St
ardate 3220.
Naval Construction Contracts 1728-1731 for Mk IX a Starships to replace the loss
es Constellation, Farragut, Intrepid and Valiant, were authorised by the Star Fl
eet Appropriations of Stardate 4444.
Batch III "Achernar" Class
Naval Construction Contracts 1732-1788 for Mk IX b (Achernar class) Starships we
re authorised by the Star Fleet Appropriations of 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 Destroyers weighed in at 95,0
00 t, the Mk VII Hermes class Scouts at 94,500, the Mk VI Ptolemy class Tugs at
126,500, and the Mk X Federation class Dreadnought at 285,000 t. More on these l
ater.
Full Thrust Conversion Rationale
Size
The Enterprise is described as a Heavy Cruiser, in both SFB and the Articles of
Federation. It would therefore be aesthetically pleasing to keep her as a (Heavy
) Cruiser in FT. This means a size of 36 or less. All other FT interpretations o
f the Enterprise that I've seen are based on a very literal transciption of the
SFB StarShip Designs (SSDs), and result in large, Capital ships. Similarly, ST D
estroyers should be FT Destroyer sized, and the ST Dreadnought an FT Capital shi
p, rather than a Supership.
Given a deadweight tonnage of 190,000, dividing it by 5500 gives 35.45 - call it
36. A Very Heavy Cruiser, but a Cruiser. OK so far, but how does this compare w
ith the others?
Destroyers - 95,000 t - 17.27, call it 18. A large Escort, but an Escort nonethe
less.
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 Dreadnought sized (lar
ge Battleship/Small Battledreadnought) Capital ship.
Systems
In the TV series, we only ever see 2 phaser beams, and single torpedos being use
d. This is a good thing, because there's no way to fit 6 beams of any reasonable
size and two torpedo systems onto a Cruiser Hull! The firing arcs of each batte
ry, pace SFB, appear to be mutually exclusive: what one twin battery can 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 nothin
g affair - we never have the port phasers knocked out, either the phaser banks (
plural) are OK, or not.
So 3 banks of twin phasers firing in mutually exclusive directions can plausibly
be interpreted as two beams, each with a port-fore-stbd firing arc.
Similarly, the twin photon torpedos need to be interpreted as a single torpedo s
ystem 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 not under-armed in compari
son with other FT cruisers. The Torpedo system gives a small advantage against t
he heaviest screens, compared with its equivalent mass in beams, but not that mu
ch. 2 A class and a Torpedo seems quite reasonable, even a touch on the light si
de.
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, as we have no point defence (PDAF)
or area defence (ADAF) yet. Add one PDAF and one ADAF and we've used up the whol
e of the budget. Alternatively, we could add a PDAF and beef up the screens to l
evel 2. Finally, the Enterprise, if no other of her class, should have an extra
Damage Control Party (DCP) if using More Thrust .
Given that fighters play no part in the TV series, and that the Enterprise is pr
imarily a research vessel often used for transporting high-value urgent cargoes,
it is plausible that the basic Class IX Constitution Class has either 4 spare s
pace, or the extra shields and one spare space. Considering the difficulty the E
nterprise had with an Orion highly-manoeuverable small craft (fighter?) and the
larger Tholian patrol craft (a small target), it is also more probable than not
that the original class IX had no anti-fighter defences whatsoever. Yet her shie
lds seem rather better even than the later NCC-1701A - they certainly are able t
o be raised faster than appears on "The Wrath of Khan". In the TV series she tak
es quite a lot of Disruptor fire with only minor damage. Given that two addition
al batches - the Mk IX a "BonHomme Richard" and Mk IX b "Achernar" appeared afte
rwards, I have interpreted them as differing mainly in the anti-fighter armament
. Mk IX has Shield 2, and one spare space (used for research). Mk IX a has shiel
d 2 and a PDAF. Mk IX b has Shield 1, a PDAF and an ADAF. These are probably not
additional beams or missiles as such, but are additional fire control equipment
and batteries to allow the unused phaser banks to fire low-energy pulses at sma
ll targets.
Parenthetically, the ADB came up with remarkably similar reasoning and armament
when it added the "+" refits (SFB R2.70) and Command Cruiser. Oh yes, and Enterp
rise may have received an upgrade to IX a standard during the TV series, when th
e uniforms changed, 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 eve
ry few years in any event.
Speed
The Enterprise is renowned for its high speed. I originally gave it aspeed of 6,
more in keeping with a Light Cruiser than a heavy one, but as the Destroyers an
d Scouts have an identical Warp Speed according to the Technical Manual, it's no
t unreasonable. However, I've been pursauded that 4 is more appropriate, at leas
t for the rest of the class. After all, there's only one Scotty.
Full Thrust Class IX Heavy Cruiser
Recommended Models : Gamescience, Starline 2200, FASA, Starline 2300, MicroModel
s
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
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 the first movie do pro
vide a base for further adaptation to later eras. Various sources make a good ar
gument for the Enterprise having received a refit to BonHomme Richard standard d
uring the TV series - the Uniforms changed, for one thing. The major refit that
ocurred though - corresponding exactly to the widespread practice of doing a reb
uild of a ship called the "mid-life refit" , was to add an additional 6 individu
al phasers, and to lighten her by 15,000 tonnes. This can be best simulated by a
variant of the Achenar - shrink her by mass 2, and replace the ADAF with a 3-ar
c B Beam. The PDAF and B-Beam represents the dual-role abilities of the addition
al single phasers rather than the co-ordinated specialised anti-ship punch of th
e phaser banks, according to PSB 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 Planets Articles of Federati
on, Stardate 0965
2. Expenditure is also granted under these articles of Federation for the procur
ement or construction of such lesser classes of space forces as shall be require
d to support Star Fleet operations and the Heavy Cruiser class of Starships. The
se may be, but not neccessarily limited to, types such as Scouts, Destroyers, Tr
ansports, Re-Supply, Shuttlecraft, and Survey Ships.
"Saladin" Class Destroyers
NCC 500-519 of the Mk VIII Saladin class were authorised by the original Article
s of Federation in 0965. Another batch, NCC 520-529 of the Mk VIIIa Siva class w
ere authorised in 3030, and the final batch, NCC 530-555 of the Mk VIIIb Cochise
class in 4699.
There is a difficulty with Federation Destroyers. According to the SFTM, they ha
ve an identical armament to the Heavy Cruisers, differing only in their physical
dimensions, and range (9 years instead of 18). How to deal with this?
Firstly, we'll downgrade the A class beams to B class. Due to lack of power, or
lesser Fire Control. Then we'll delete the shields. FT escorts rarely have shiel
ds in any event, and the power has to come from somewhere! In Star Trek, every s
hip, even merchants, have some minimal shielding. We'll just count this as "shie
ld level zero", and leave our destroyer as a classic "eggshell armed with a hamm
er".
Given the complete lack of anti-fighter armament of the original design, it woul
d be reasonable to suppose that the later versions would remedy this. The Mk VII
Ia deletes some of the phasers for a fighter self-defence capability, the Mk VII
Ib the torpedos as well 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 resulted in a class of ship
that was defensively good, but unable to make full use of the torpedos it carri
ed. The ADB also formulated no less than three different anti-fighter-armed vari
ants, the DE, DDL, and DDG. The intent of this article was to get away from the
entirely SFB-based FT conversions, but the basic sources are the same, so the re
sults will be similar. The VIIIb corresponds to 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 authorised under the original Articl
es of Federation in 0965. Batch II, NCC 601-616 of the Mk VIIa Monoceros class w
ere authorised in 3669. The final batch, NCC 617-625 of the Mk VIIb Cygnus class
differed from the others in being specially outfitted as command and diplomatic
couriers.
The armament of the lowly Scout is confined to a single double-bank of phasers,
capable of firing only in the forward arc, a cut-down version of the very simila
r Destroyer. Add Supeior Sensors and an Area ECM fit, and it fits neatly.
By cutting down the phasers (but improving the Fire Control) we can add a minima
l fighter defence, and get an improved Mk VIIa class. Finally, with the courier
version we can increase speed and add a Cloak, at the expense of adding some car
go space and deleting 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 plast
ic 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/Transports were authorised by the o
riginal Articles of Federation in 0965. In 3640, NCC 3816-3830 of the Mk VIa Kep
pler class were authorised. Finally, in a truly massive shipbuilding programme,
NCC 3831-3933 of the Mk VIb Doppler class were authorised in 4990.
These Tugs are used in conjunction with the Mk I NCC-1000 series Liquid, Mk II N
CC-2000 series Dry Bulk, Mk III NCC 3000 series Refrigerated Goods, NCC 5000 ser
ies Mk V Products and NCC 4000 series Mk IV Starliner pods, the last self-propel
led at sublight velocity in case of emergency. In passing, the standard ST Shutt
lecraft is designated as Mk XIIb. Mk XI does not appear to be mentioned anywhere
. The Mk VI also, by its "Tug/Transport" designation, appears to have some stand
-alone cargo capacity. It is also designated as a "Class I Starship", so is to f
ull military rather than commercial standards (ie it is not a merchant). The tug
itself is 126,500 t. Mk I, II and V pods are each of 121,566 t, the Mk III is 1
00,000 t, and the Mk IV 80,000t deadweight, that is, empty. Cargo load of the bu
lk pods is about 100,000 t. This corresponds to a size of 61 when loaded with on
e pod, 100 with two pods, and 23 empty.
Armament consists of a pair of phasers in the familiar chin position, and two ot
her phaser pairs port and starboard. This corresponds to 2 beams, each with 2 ar
cs. Because the ship is nearly the size of a cruiser, and in the interests of ma
king her a Fighting Ship rather than a pure Cargo lugger, A class beams seem app
ropriate. The later batches would first trade off a little of the 3 spare intern
al 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 eveidence for Double-sized
Battle Pods, Carrier Pods, or any other armed Pod.
"Federation" Class Dreadnought
NCC 2100-2119 were all authorised in 6066.
These have 10 phasers instead of Enterprise's 6, and a designed safe cruise of W
arp Factor 8, Emergency speed of Warp Factor 10. However, things never turn out
right, and the Mk X is "still under construction" according to the SFTM. The fir
ing arcs of the phasers are difficult to model, too. However, 2 lots of 3-arc an
d 2 lots of 2-arc seem about right. By decreasing the 2-arc ones to B instead of
A, or increasing tonnage slightly, room could be provided for anti-fighter defe
nce without refit for 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
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 primary source material a
re the Klingon Battlecruiser Blueprints, and the TV series. In the TV series, Kl
ingon ships are described as firing "disruptors" rather than phasers. The Specia
l Effects emission of a disruptor looks remarkably like that of a photon torpedo
, though the effect is indistinguishable from a phaser. As for size, since the K
lingon Battlecruiser is described as just that - a Battlecruiser - it would be n
ice if it were a Capital ship. Alas, it is not to be. The models of Klingon Batt
lecruisers are barely larger than Federation Destroyers, and are significantly s
maller than the Enterprise. Worse, by making them "small Capitals" rather than C
ruisers, they become very expensive indeed - too much so, in fact. No, I'll let
the Klingon propagandists describe 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 on them ( 180,000? )
but three things stand out. Firstly, there are phasers absolutely everywhere, in
every conceivable place. With spectacularly terrible firing arcs, unless one is
firing backwards. There are no less than 12 if memory serves. Secondly, there i
s a gratuitous missile system, which has never been hinted at in the TV series,
or for that matter, the movies. Finally, and most importantly, THERE WERE NO TOI
LETS. The old joke had it that this was the reason Klingons got REALLY mean afte
r only a few months of a 5-year mission. "Where's the next pit stop, Koloth, my
back fangs are swimming!" "Only a few more Light Years, Korax".
OK, so we have 12 "Phasors". 4 lots of 3-arc beams seem about right. In the TV s
eries, the disruptor effects always start at the head of the boom, so we'll make
that lot a bit chunkier than the rest - A class rather than B. Considering the
dire effects of the Enterprise's weaponry even from a single salvo, a level 1 sc
reen seems about right. And let's say the Missiles in 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 star
ting to look awfully familiar.... Yes, we have just re-invented the Standard Hea
vy 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-L
ight vessel with a Cloaking Device, and a spectacularly powerful "Plasma Torpedo
". Secondly, and later on, with "Lend-Lease" Klingon ships. The Klingon ships ne
ver fire, but the Sub-Light vessel most certainly does, with awesome effect. So
let's leave the Klingon ship nearly untouched - delete the PDAF and ADAF, and ad
d a cloak.
As for the Bird of Prey, again, the Primary sources consist only of the TV serie
s, and a set of Blueprints.
Basically, the Blue prints take a Ginormous great weapon, build a small section
on top for the crew (of 12!), then bolt on a few warp drives on the side, and yo
u have it. The Romulan Bird of Prey is a weapon with a ship built around it, rat
her than a ship with a weapon installed. It is of Escort size.at best. Alas, the
presence 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 b
asically the same as that of classic WW2 Submarine vs Destroyer battles is irrel
evant.
The Plasma Torpedo of the TV series is undoubtedly best modelled by the Spinal M
ount Nova Cannon - aka the Futtock Gun. Alas again, this is only available for C
apital ships, and the TV ship is definitely of escrort size.
A final complication occurs in that there are three very different models availa
ble for the TOS Bird of Prey. The standard Starline 2200 one, the same size as a
Frigate, the Starline 2300, consistent with the SFB WarEagle/WarBird, and a MUC
H larger model, bigger than the Enterprise.
Taking all of the above into account,. the best that I can come up with is to ha
ve three different "Birds of Prey". A small one, with a "Mini-Nova" or Wave Gun,
a cruiser sized one, and a large (Capital class) one with a full-blown Nova Can
non. All fully comply with the rules, without modification, but none completely
corresponds with the TV series, nor with the Blueprints. The Small one comes pre
tty close to the TV series though, and is extremely effective.
Either have them as 3 different ship classes - System Defence Boat, Cruiser, Bat
tleship - within the same fleet, or pick the one 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". T
his is a small escort - probably smaller than even the Starline 2200 miniature i
s appropriate for. FT has no rules for Webs (which seem to be most effective aga
inst a ship already stationary) and they don't fire. They are easily crippled th
ough.
I have therefore gone out a bit on a limb here. To me, the most significant thin
g about a Tholian PC is that it can immobilise things if it gets to short range.
Given the size of the only available miniatures, the best solution is to make a
relatively fragile ship, with Needles. These are short range, and quite capable
of taking out the manoeuvre drive of even a SuperDreadnought. It has to be an e
scort, and one of about size 12 to match the model. The resultant design is my "
best guess" at a Tholian without changing rules, which is consistent with the mi
niature.
Tholian Patrol Craft
Recommended Models : Starline 2200, Starline 2300
Mass 12
3 Needle Beams (Fwd)
Speed 8
Orions
An Orion ship appears exactly once: as a very fast moving object, that attacks b
y "ramming" repeatedly. It's appearance is remarkably similar to the all-purpose
Photon Torpedo effect, and when it fails, it spectacularly suicides. It's too f
ast to hit with normal phasers.
How the HECK does one model this? The answer is quite simple. What in FT a) Cann
ot be hit with normal Beams 2) Moves fast, and is incredibly manoueuverable 3) H
as a limited number of attacks 4) Has to get real close to the target.
Obviously it's a fighter. When you have no PDAF or ADAF, and no C beams, you jus
t gotta sit there and take your lumps.
Gorns
The final race hostile to the Federation that makes an appearance in TOS are the
Gorns. Gorns appear (in the episode Arena ), but their ships don't. So the prim
ary source just isn't enough.
Summary
That covers all of the primary source material - the TV series, the Technical ma
nual, and the Blueprints. But there's a host of other ST models available, both
for the Federation ( CL, CV, NCL, FF ) and other races. Not only the SFB-based o
nes, either. FASA also produced a host of new models for the Star Trek Role Play
ing Game (STRPG) and Star Trek Battle Simulator (STBS). These can be converted u
sing similar techniqes, but that is best covered in another article.
The ship designs that came out of this process are all quite reasonable. The Kli
ngon Battlecruiser turning out to be a standard FT Heavy Cruiser is a piece of S
erendipity, but the Federation stuff emphasises the Torpedo, but is otherwise qu
ite conventional. And the Small Bird of Prey is an excellent Systems Defence Boa
t, while the large one is pretty much an archetypical minimalist Nova ship. None
of the designs would appear out-of-place against the standard designs in FT and
MT. So dust off those Starline 2200 miniatures, and go for it!
Credits
All technical characteristics of the Federation vessels quoted above are from th
e Star Fleet Technical Manual by Franz Joseph Designs.
Star Fleet Battles is copyrighted by the Amarillo Design Bureau, and published b
y Task Force Games.
Star Trek is coprighted by Paramount Television, a subsidiary of Paramount Pictu
res Corporation
Full Thrust is copyrighted by J.M.Tuffley and Ground Zero Games --------------C1
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