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Omni Scale Federation Thunderbolt Gunboats WEM 3d printed Three of the eight gunboats (Smooth Fine Detail Plastic) painted by a fan. Stand not included.

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Three of the eight gunboats (Smooth Fine Detail Plastic) painted by a fan. Stand not included.
Omni Scale Federation Thunderbolt Gunboats WEM 3d printed Three of the eight gunboats (Smooth Fine Detail Plastic) painted by a fan. Stand not included.
Omni Scale Federation Thunderbolt Gunboats WEM 3d printed Three of the eight gunboats (Smooth Fine Detail Plastic) painted by a fan. Stand not included.

DIGITAL PREVIEW
Not a Photo

Omni Scale Federation Thunderbolt Gunboats WEM 3d printed
Omni Scale Federation Thunderbolt Gunboats WEM 3d printed

DIGITAL PREVIEW
Not a Photo

Omni Scale Federation Thunderbolt Gunboats WEM

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Product Description
During the General War, when massive fleets could blow up an enemy cruiser with every volley, empires began using fighters as "attrition units" since they were too dangerous to ignore and too small to be worth a lot of firepower. By the end of the war, fighters had been replaced by advanced fighters, heavy fighters, then by gunboats. Gunboats were small starships, with a crew of about 30 on a hull that was less than 10% the size of a starship. Each gunboat had half of the firepower of a cruiser, but they operated in packs of six (four gunboats, a leader with extra systems, and a scout to find targets). A flotilla of six gunboats could wreck a cruiser in one battle pass and give a dreadnought a really bad day.

Gunboats were easy to build and cheap, but their one disadvantage was range. This made them defensive units, protecting planets and bases, turning the "front lines" of open space into trench warfare. Then the empires figured out how to carry six gunboats on a cruiser-sized mothership, and brought packs of these vicious killers into offensive battles.

The Federation never built the fast patrol ships of the other empires such as the Klingon G1 and the Romulan Centurion. They found it somehow more noble to risk two officers in a heavy fighter than 30 crewmen in a gunboat. That doesn't mean that the Federation did not design and test their own gunboat, and this miniature represents what they would have built had the Martian Fighter Mafia not convinced Star Fleet to take another path.

This tree of gunboats 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.

      
Details
What's in the box:
Omni Scale Federation Thunderbolt Gunboats WEM
Dimensions:
5.91 x 2.01 x 2.02 cm
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2.33 x 0.79 x 0.8 inches
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Rating:
Mature audiences only.
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