Scale: 1/1000
Star Trek lore: The Essex-class was originally laid down as carriers, resurrecting a design type that fell out of favor after the Romulan War. The Essex-class excelled as system control ships and later reclassified as thru-deck cruisers or operational mobility platforms. Though other ships of the class were retired from Starfleet, the Essex was transferred to the Starfleet Spacecraft and Armament Experimental Establishment (SSAEE) and was used in the testing of new types of shuttlecraft and fighters. This model depicts the USS Essex as the testing platform at SSAEE for the Type-F shuttle.
The USS Essex is a totally imagined bit of the Star Trek universe, likely post-Captain Archer and pre-Captain April. The kitbash includes hangar bays merged into a primary hull and bridge from Polar Lights 1/1000 scale Enterprise kits. The sensor array is cobbled from a 1/2500 scale AMT Enterprise kit. The main body itself is a combination of sheet styrene, part of a ping-pong ball, and some strays from my spare parts tub. Then engines, pylons, turbo phasers, and shuttle craft are all in-scale parts from Modular Models in Ronkonkoma, NY.
