Oberth Class Variants

NOTE:  You can click on most pictures to get a larger view of them.

Rewrites: May 2016 & September 2018

Oberth Class Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK

I have never been a big fan of this class of ship.  It seems like it was simply designed to be nothing more than cannon fodder, or if it was lucky, a personnel transport for a brief walk on appearance in an episode.  When you sit down and actually read the specifications on Memory Alpha and Memory Beta, it really isn't well suited to do any sort of deep space exploration unless it was part of a small fleet of more heavily armed vessels.  Although it is unique in it's looks, there are some design issues with the ship that have caused all sorts of fan confusion in regards to the secondary hull and what it is actually used for and whether it is manned or not.

I say all of that because, when you actually look at my collection of this type of ship, I apparently am a big enough fan to collect and built quite a few of it.

In this article, we WILL NOT be discussing the pre-built and pre-painted models from Eaglemoss, Furuta or MicroMachine.  If you want to see a more in depth discussion of those models, check out my review of the at THIS LINK.

I also shared at the end of my Cozmo Heavy Industries 1:2500 Oberth Support Vessels Review that I had acquired enough parts to build a third ship.  As a result, I imagined these three ships serving together as a mini fleet.


Here is thier story...

Tres Hermanas (The Three Sisters) Fleet

Oberth Class Variants

Owned & Operated by: Triple-D Enterprises

[1:2500 Cozmo Heavy Industries Kits]

Although Oberth class ships have served a unique purpose in Starfleet as well as the private sector, there is no denying that these types of ships are typically severally outgunned.  When most people think of Oberth class ships, they typically remember names of ill-fated ships like; USS Grissom, SS Tsiolkovsky, SS Vico, USS Yosemite and the USS Pegasus.

That didn't seem to stop groups from wanting to utilize these types of ships though. One such company, Triple-D Enterprises, commissioned three of these types of ships to serve as their own mini fleet for thier cargo hauling division.

SS Anaheim [1K to 5K Rating]
Tres Hermanas (The Three Sisters) Fleet
Oberth Class (Fisher SubClass) Cargo Hauler
1:2500 Cozmo Heavy Industries Kit

Hauler Ship

 

 

 

 

Cargo Hauling Mode

 

Hospital Ship Mode

 

The first of these ships, the SS Anaheim serves as the primary cargo hauler of the fleet. She was specially fitted to be able to easily handle a variety of modular containers. There are two types of cargo that she has been well known to carry; a cylindrical cargo container and she has also been known to haul a hospital module to serve in relief duties. Her primary hull and nacelles are slightly larger than her sister ships due to the need to be able to handle the big bulky cargo modules.

SS Serrano [10K to 25K Rating]
Tres Hermanas (The Three Sisters) Fleet
Oberth Class AEW&C and Science Vessel
1:2500 Cozmo Heavy Industries Kit

 

 

 

 

The second ship is known as the SS Serrano. She is more typical of your standard Oberth class starship. Her primary purpose in the fleet is to serve as an AWAC vessel, providing long range telemetry data to the fleet. However, during relief missions, she will also serve as a secondary science vessel. Unlike standard Oberth class ships, she is fitted with an overhead torpedo launcher to provide her with a little more offensive capabilities.

SS Rocoto [100K to 250K Rating]
Tres Hermanas (The Three Sisters) Fleet
Oberth Class (Jester SubClass) Missile Frigate
1:2500 Cozmo Heavy Industries Kit

 

 

 

 

Given the poor offensive capabilities of Oberth Class vessels, the third ship of this mini fleet was slimmed down and customized. The SS Rocoto serves as the fleet’s guard ship. Her over and under torpedo launchers, coupled with the side mounted phaser cannons gives this small ship quite a bite in combat situations, and has allowed the fleet to complete quite a few missions unhindered by would be assailants.

Real World Notes:

As I stated early on, I was not a fan of the Oberth Class starships. I find them to be slow and under-gunned. And quite frankly, 1:2500 scale versions of these ships are rather small for my collecting tastes.

However, I am a big fan of Jay’s work over at Cozmo Heavy Industries and follow him on his FaceBook page. When he advertised that he was working on a resin kit of this class, I followed along and even threw in my two cents on how a torpedo launcher for the ship would be a cool addition.

When he finally produced the kit and put it out on eBay, I figured I’d try building some variants. I was fortunate to be the first one to buy this kit from him. The kit itself comes with enough parts to build a traditional Oberth as well as a Hospital ship variant.

The Three Sisters fleet name is a tribute to my ex-cousin in-law’s now defunct brand of hot sauce. I always liked that name and it kind of fits.  The ship names are of the three brand of peppers one might find in various hot sauces.

I had also shared in the review of the C.H.I. kits, that I had been hired on to do a commission build.  Here are some pictures of that ship for the sake of grouping all the Oberth builds together under one post.

 USS Jeanette Isabelle (NCC-6199)

Oberth Class (Angueria SubClass) Medical Ship

1:2500 Cozmo Heavy Industries Kit

Commission Build for Nathan Kaiser

 

 

 

 

 

This was my very first commission build. It is also the second time I've ever done decals. Overall, I'm very happy with the finished product and from what I've read, the buyer is happy too, so I guess it's a win win. Also, the camera flash is playing tricks. the decals are not yellowed.

The next two ships are models that I built a few years after the Three Sisters Fleet.  I had always wanted to experiment with the Oberth Hulls and eventually acquired enough scrap parts to give it a try.

USS Deckard (NCC-170214)

Blade Runner Class High Speed Drop Ship Carrier

1:2500 Cozmo Heavy Industries Kitbash

 

 

 

 

The USS Deckard serves as a high speed troop transport for Starfleet's ground troop forces. She carries two Danube Class shuttles in her primary shuttle bay (located fore of the impulse engines) and several Type 17 shuttles which are stored in her drop bay hanger. Her dual impulse engines and aft stabilizer fins allow her to partially enter a planet's atmosphere to get closer to a drop zone and deliver her payload.

Real World Notes:

This build started out as my want to build something that resembled the Arklay Class Scout ship.  

As often happens with my kitbashes, my builds will sometimes take a different direction.  In this case, it was because I didn't have an extra Oberth secondary hull in my parts bin.  Once I fitted the new secondary hull, I realized that I needed to go the route of the drop ship.



The last of the model that I wish to share today started out as an attempt to build a Clarke Class Patrol Ship variant, however, I found that I had a serious lack of Oberth Class nacelles, so as with a lot of my kitbashes, things took a serious turn in a different direction and this model was born.

SS Hermes

Junker Class (Courier)

1:2500 Scale AMT/Cozmo Heavy Industries Kitbash

 

 

 

 

The SS Hermes started her life as a Clarke Sub-Class Rapid Transit Long Range Courier. The need to transport specialist personnel such as diplomatic envoys and engineering specialists was very high and this sub-class of Oberth vessel served those purposes well. During the Dominion war, these types of ships were even seconded into use as special operations delivery vessels. The SS Hermes was one such vessel that did serve during the Dominion War and near the end of that war, was severely damaged during a black-ops mission. She was deemed too expensive to repair and was decommissioned to a scrap yard, where her nacelles and warp core were cannibalized. Years later, the Triple-D Corporation salvaged the SS Hermes hull and fitted her with a Klingon warp core and nacelles. They inducted her into their cargo fleet where she now serves her purpose again as a high speed courier. Recognizing her weak offensive capabilities, Triple-D outfitted her with two forward facing, and one rear facing phaser turret.

And that is all I have to share for now on the Oberth Variants in my fleet. 

As always, I hope you found this article useful and informative.  If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to comment below.

So for now, "Live long and prosper!!!"



Additional Links To Photos Of My Collection:

Tres Hermanas (The Three Sisters) Fleet
Cargo Hauler     Science Vessel     Missile Frigate
WIP Pictures

USS Jeanette Isabelle (NCC-6199)
Model     WIP Pictures

USS Deckard (NCC-170214) - Blade Runner Class
Model     WIP Pictures

SS Hermes - Junker Class (Courier)
Model     WIP Pictures