Background

Perimeter Action Group Starships were conceived and built as an early warning and intercept spacecraft upon the conclusion of the "4 Years War" with the Klingons in the late 2200's. The Akyazi class, with the class vessel depicted here, was the first ship constructed to fulfill this new role. The PAG Starships have successfully patrolled the borders of the Federation for nearly a century when the Dominion War hostilies began.

In a nod to the long duration, minimal communication nature of PAG assignments, PAG ship CO's are permitted to deviate from the stricter interpretations of Starfleet color schemes to boost crew morale. In the case of the USS Akayzi, the prototype checkerboards on the aft warp nacelles first worn when the registration number started with "NX" have been re-applied in a salute its class ship history (nee legacy).

The USS Akyazi has been involved in several confrontations with the Dominion. In one operation, the USS Akyazi detected two Cardassian Galor's entering Federation space, and with a salvo of photorp strikes from a short duration Warp 16 pass, damaged both vessels sufficiently to cause them to retreat from Federation space, one at sublight normal speed and the other in tow. The USS Akyazi routinely monitors Dominion communication streams in locations where larger Starfleet vessels would be easily detected.

Construction Details

The model is a 100% scratchbuild at 1/535 scale, with no unmodified kit parts. The saucer section is a lamination (bottom to top) of .040 sheets, Enterprise-A saucer section upper, Enterprise-A saucer section lower (and blended in), and a bridge composed, in part, from a fishing bobber. The warp nacelles are composed of Evergreen rod and heavily modified the Enterprise-A warp nacelle pieces, cut from the kit parts and shaped with sheet styrene, and filler. The warp nacelle support has an interior frame, for shape, with laminations of Evergreen sheet for its exterior curve.

The aztec panel detail is completely original due to the Akyazi's deflector grid and hull shape deviating from the Consitution pattern. After the major color details were applied, Model Master Acryl paints were applied as a wash to highlight the deflector grid and other greeblies. Web Games Generic Decal Sheet was used for the insignia, snuggled down using a thinned white-glue setting solution.