AMT/Ertl kits 8617 (USS Enterprise-A) and 8766 (USS Reliant)
Model Specifications:
Scale = ~1/48
Length = 31 cm
Width = 22 cm
Height = 7.5 cm
A Starfleet review of the incident at Nimbus III which resulted in the hijacking of the
Enterprise-A by a dissident faction revealed the somewhat limited capabilities of Federation starships with respect to planetary surface operations. Following this review, the
"Buccaneer" Tactical Assault Shuttle was quickly
developed in order to provide Starfleet with a small, versatile craft that would be able to support starships and starbases with atmospheric and
sub-orbital tactical support. It would also be able to promote
and protect Federation interests and provide a Starfleet presence in areas where a starship would obviously not be able to operate.
The first of these shuttles were assigned to "honor guard" duties and orbital/sub-orbital patrols during the Khitomer Conference.
After I built my USS Katana, I had a lot of leftover parts from my Enterprise-A and Reliant models, so decided to use them to produce something totally original. The idea was based on a present day comparison concept that if starships were the equivalent to aircraft carriers, battleships and destroyers, then this model would be the equivalent of a single-seat fighter aircraft.
The use of styrene supplemented my
"kit bash" construction. The leading edge is the remains of Reliant's saucer.
The nacelles are chopped from those of Enterprise-A.
The sides of the cockpit/engineering area (where the "42" is located) are the dorsal pieces from Enterprise-A. The "wings" and "canards" are the nacelle pylons from Enterprise-A. The cockpit window is a
600 mL cola bottle.
The
plaque is for the "Buccaneer" type Assault
Shuttle. The quote is from R. L. Stevenson's 'Treasure island'.
