Omni Scale General Small Ship Collection 1 WEM

This sprue of small ships includes ships used generally by every empire. It includes a Free Trader, Prime Trader, Prime Corvette, Armed Cutter, Armed Priority Transport, and Federation Express Courier.

 The Free Trader was one of the most common starships of all times, used by individuals, corporations, nd governments for all sorts of tasks. A merchant could travel from planet to planet, taking advantage of bargain items on one planet that could be sold at a premium on another. Free Traders could land on or dock with almost anything, so they were also used for exploration or as a naval auxiliary.

While often associated with Prime Teams, the Prime Trader is in fact simply a deluxe version of the civilian Free Trader. The Prime Trader, designed for wealthier operators or more dangerous areas, has several improvements over the Free Trader. Larger, military-grade engines allow for improved maneuvering. An extra weapon helps defend the ship. Commonly the forward cargo bay is used for more crew quarters and expanded life support, while the upper cargo bays are converted into labs (portside) and batteries (starboard side). It also has a second shuttlecraft and room for more people. In a civilian-owned Prime Trader, these would be passengers. In a government-owned Prime Trader, these could constitute personnel assigned, temporarily or permanently, to the ship for its mission

A variant of the Prime Trader version of the Free Trader, the Prime Corvette was an effort to create a small combatant out of the ship.

The Armed Priority Transport was a very common short-range cargo ship. While it has a small cargo hold, it is also much faster than the typical freighter.

A variant of the Armed Priority Transport, Armed Cutters may have appeared when Armed Priority Transports were in squadron service. Living conditions aboard were extremely cramped, and overwork was a constant problem. More crew were needed, but there simply was not enough room to put more personnel aboard for extended patrol periods. These ships were most often used as a local defense unit (where the crew could get relief from the stress of the cramped conditions fairly easily), often with two or more duplicate crews so they could be rotated. They were also found as escorts for convoys, particularly when regular police ships were over tasked. When used in this role, it was not unusual for additional accommodations to be made on the escorted ships for the crews of the cutters.

The Federation Express Courier was operated by the Federation Express Company, a civilan company. The ships hurtled through space at high speeds, carrying priority cargo, personnel, letters, small packages, live lobsters, game rulebook manuscripts, diplomatic pouches, and trade representatives. More reliable than government transportation, ships of this type provided a valuable service. Federation Express operated routes across the Federation and later expanded to include Gorn and Kzinti territory. Incredibly, one route (on a closely maintained schedule and flight path) regularly served the Tholian capital starting in Y179, after the failure of Operation Nutcracker. During times of peace, ships of this type operated limited routes in Klingon and Romulan space. These ships almost always operate alone, but could be in the company of a local convoy or warship in danger areas. In one case, a Federation Express returning from Klinshai during peacetime was protected from pirates by a Klingon Internal Security Forces warship and briefly traveled with a Klingon convoy.

The sprue 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.