285 Scale Federation F-4 Ground-Based Fighter MGL

At the start of the General War, the Federation had deployed two fighter types: the Naval F-8 and the ground-based F-4. (This was all about politics. Two incompatible designs better distributed the contracts among corporations and prevented the Fleet from “borrowing” the fighters that defended the planets. It was the politicians of the Federation Assembly who wrote the checks and they wanted to be sure their planets were always protected and their corporations always made a profit.) Despite this, Star Fleet tested a few F-4s on fleet carriers and found them plausibly functional but no better than the Naval F-8s and they were far inferior to the new F-18s. The F-4 carried a phaser-3, two type-I anti-ship drones, and two type-VI anti-fighter drones. The type-I drones could hurt a starship or obliterate almost any standard fighter; the type-VI drones could cripple most fighters but barely scar the paint on a starship. Either type of drone could intercept and destroy any ship-launched drone that was targeted on a population center (or on a profit center). The F-4 was no dogfighter and if forced into a dogfight with a Klingon Z-Y, would be in a world of trouble. When more modern fighter technology became available, Federation politicians restricted the new ground-based F-16 to anti-fighter weapons in order to preserve the production contracts for the F-4 another few years.

The ship 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.