Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Kelvar Garth's USS Xenophon

With the release of the 20+ minute "supertrailer" on the upcoming film "Axanar", I decided to post some piccies of a conversion of the USS Xenophon, a Marklin-class destroyer, commanded by Captain Kelvar Garth, hero of Axanar.



Captain Garth was also James T. Kirk's hero, and his exploits were required reading at the Star Fleet Academy, as we learn in the classic Star Trek original series episode "Whom Gods Destroy".  The introduction of a mad captain, cleverer than Kirk, is a masterstroke, especially when seen through a lens that's nearly a half-century old. At every turn of the plot, Garth is ahead of Kirk, until a timely intervention by Kirk's First Officer.


To give Garth depth, the FASA Star Trek role-playing game introduced the concept of the Four Years War, between the Klingons and the Federation, about 20 years prior to Kirk's five year mission as captain of the Enterprise. Garth was a war hero, and his greatest victory  was at the Battle of Axanar.


The model was based on a FASA USS Baker scout hull, with the nacelles from a frigate attached, and a thin card wedge glued onto the primary hull.  From the RPG fluff, Marklins were scrappy ships, which makes it a pity that there were only about twenty built, with the design being unsuitable for extensive upgrading.


Now that the Star Trek Wargaming bug has bitten me again, I'll try to arrange a few games and post some pictures soon....Ω

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