Omni Scale Lyran Bobtail Gunboat Flotilla CVN

The Lyrans are human-sized cats that bore a distinct similarity to Terran lynxes in both appearance and temperament. Bitter enemies of the Kzintis (tigermen eight feet tall), the Lyrans were staunch allies of the Klingons and enemies of the Hydrans as well. Like Kzintis, Lyrans were carnivores known to eat their captives on rare occasions. The Federation assigned each Lyran ship-type a "reporting name" to keep them separate. Lyrans were organized as a feudal society. Twenty-one counties each had a squadron of ships lead by a heavy cruiser; four dukes had dreadnoughts to lead the four fleets, while the king-emperor commanded from the capital.

During the General War, when massive fleets could blow up an enemy cruiser with every volley, empires began using fighters as "attrition units" since they were too dangerous to ignore and too small to be worth a lot of firepower. By the end of the war, fighters had been replaced by advanced fighters, heavy fighters, then by gunboats. Gunboats were small starships, with a crew of about 30 on a hull that was less than 10% the size of a starship. Each gunboat had half of the firepower of a cruiser, but they operated in packs of six (four gunboats, a leader with extra systems, and a scout to find targets). A flotilla of six gunboats could wreck a cruiser in one battle pass and give a dreadnought a really bad day.

This gunboat is a Bobcat variant replacing the disruptors with phasers. This design was more efficient because the standard Bobcat could not adequately power two disruptors. Even so, the Bobtail lacked the punch of a disruptor and was effective primarily in an escort role.
  
The Lyran Democratic Republic also operated fast patrol ships of this design.

This tree of gunboats is available in a variety of materials. Ships are unpainted, use standard flight stands available from many sources, and, while designed for gaming, make fine display pieces.