As a kitbash model builder, I draw my inspiration from all over the place. Sometime though, imitation is just to darned irresistible. That was the case when I was searching the web for kitbash ideas and stumbled across some very cool DeviantArt.
The creator had put a lot of love and attention into his artwork and I reached out and got permission to build his ship in physical format.
Parts Used: AMT Round 2 Enterprise B
DeviantArt has some awesome artists on THAT SITE. This is especially true if you are a kitbasher looking for a design idea. For some reason, this ship by a guy named Thomas Raube (screen name = Euderion) caught my eye and I wanted to kitbash it.
THIS LINK and THIS LINK were the first two that caught my eye and hooked me on this design.
Photo Credit: Thomas Raube (AKA Euderion)
This is my "refit" variation of his design. The trickiest part for me was trying to extend the roll-bars from the weapons pods out to the nacelles. I ended up cutting up the leftover secondary hull cover from the Enterprise-B to make them. The two other additions that I made up, were the nacelle pylons from the Enterprise kit (to hold the nacelles in place while I tried to figure out the extended roll bars).
I also added the sensor pods hanging off the bottom (landing gear from a Star Blazers model, which were really meant to cover over the neck holes on the underside of the saucer section).
All in all, besides my low level glue and painting skills, I REALLY like the end result. She's small, fast and packs a heck of a punch.
One last thing that I did, was renamed the ship's classification from Thunderchild to Euderion Class.
The designer never created an actual website about his ship, and all of the following information was cobbled together by going through his numerous pictures on DeviantArt and scraping together the various tidbits he shared across the numerous pieces of art.
USS Thunderchild (NCC-26604)
and USS Savoy (NCC-2311)
Euderion Class and Euderion Class Refit
Federation Fast Cruiser, Scout & Light Frigate
1:2500 Scale AMT Kitbash
Length: 331 m
Width: 229 m
Height: 79.4 m
Decks: 17
Crew: 115, Max: 450
Drive System:
2 M/AMR Warp Nacelles
Max Warp 9.55
4 Impulse Drive engines
Weapons:
8 Torpedo Launchers
2 Heavy Phaser Canons Type X
16 Phaseremitter Type VIII
The Excelsior class superstructure allowed for several different sub classes to be built.
Built in the early to mid 24th century (DS9 Era), the ship was designed to be an alpha strike frigate with strong forward armament. Similar to the Centaur class, the Euderion class was built with a bit more aggressive footprint in mind. Unfortunately, she was designed to strike fast, strike hard, and then retreat. Euderion class ships are not meant for long term battle conditions.
The USS Thunderchild (NCC-26604) was commissioned by Starfleet in 2325 and immediately used as a fast ship, engaging in disputes with other races. Although, she lacks the stamina of other ships of this time, she makes up for it with her clout. The ship was designed to achieve a quick victory.
The ship was also equipped with a small shuttle bay.
Euderion class starships served in time alongside the Ambassador class cruisers. The ship is designed as a small scout and first strike cruiser who can still dish out damage properly.
In 2360, 11 of the surviving Euderion class starships, were refurbished, refit, and equipped with modern systems. The remaining ship, the prototype USS Thunderchild was transferred to the Fleet Museum and decommissioned, in order to free up the ship name for the soon to be completed Akira class starship called USS Thunderchild.
Photo Credit: Thomas Raube (AKA Euderion)
By the time the Domion War occurred, besides the retired USS Thunderchild, only three other ships of this class still existed, however, all three of them were in a decommissioned state. USS Savoy (NCC-2311) was one of these three ships. The war forced Starfleet to bring those three ships out of retirement and they soon found themselves in the thick of battle again. Surprisingly, thier smaller footprint allowed them to be rather agile and they were able to stand toe to toe with Dominion fighters. In an even more surprising turn of events, by the end of the war, those three starships were still in operating condition. And then they were promptly put back into retirement.
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:
Euderion (AMT Kitbash)
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