3788 Scale Federation Frigate Coll. with Corvettes

This sprue of six ships includes the Battle Frigate, Scout Frigate, two Burke-class Frigates, and two Corvettes.

The competition for the contract that led to the Federation War Destroyer included the Federation Battle Frigate (FFB), which was a heavily modified frigate with some added systems and a third engine. (The war destroyer was an entirely new hull.) The battle frigate design was almost selected because it was easy to build from existing frigate components and even easier to convert existing frigates to this design. After a fly-off, however, it was decided that the battle frigate was at the maximum limit of what the frigate hull could do, and that it would be better to build a new design with growth potential. Even while losing the competition, the battle frigate lived on. Three more were ordered to compensate the shipyard for the cost of the design (this was part of the original contract) and these were used as frigate squadron leaders because they used the same spare parts. That would have been the end of the battle frigate, but the ease of conversion meant that every battle-damaged frigate that arrived in the repair yard left as a more powerful battle frigate. This allowed frigate variants (scout, commando, carrier, escort) to be upgraded to the more powerful design. While other empires saw their frigates becoming increasingly useless in the more intense combat of the late General War, the Federation could convert their frigates into something that was nearly a war destroyer and give them a new lease on life.

The Federation Scout Frigate (FFS) was ultimately an unsuccessful scout version as the scout frigate was too small to survive in fleet battles but sometimes it was used in secondary theaters. Those forced into front-line combat by temporary shortages of scout platforms were quickly smashed by concentrated enemy fire.

The Burke-class Frigate (FFG) was a contemporary of the classic heavy cruiser and destroyer designs. As with other fleets, it was a “small ship for small missions” including screens, escorts, and peacetime missions. Unlike the frigates of other empires, the ship was actually useful in fleet battles as the unique nature of the photon torpedoes meant that the ship could contribute to long-range bombardments. Known also as the FFG Frigate, the Burke-class Frigate (named for “31-knot” Arleigh Burke), it is arguably the best frigate in the Star Fleet Universe. The “G” indicates it had been refitted with better shields, more weapons, and more power.

The Corvette, smaller than a frigate, dates from the beginnings of Star Fleet. The smallest regular Navy ship in the fleet, the Flower-class corvettes were the ultimate small ship for a small mission. They became increasingly obsolete over time. Long before the General War, the last of these had been sent to serve as convoy escorts, police ships, local security, and for other missions. Ships of the Class: Astilbe, Bluebell, Clover, Dahlia, Echinacea, Forsythia, Gardenia, Heather, Impatiens, Jasmine, Kalanchoe, Lantana, Mimosa, Nasturtium, Orchid, Peony, Quince, Rose, Snapdragon, Trillium, Ulex, Violet, Wisteria, Xique, Yarrow, and Zinnia.

This sprue of ships 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.