Colonial Defender

from "Battlestar Galactica" (2003-2009)

Scale: 1/3700
Initial Release: 2008
Medium: Resin
Kit Rarity: 4
Length: 10.0"

About the Design

The "Defender" is an escort cruiser whose mission is to provide a "shield" for larger vessels, such as battlestars.  Designed primarily for short-range missions, Defenders are prone to more rapid-than-normal crew rotations due to their high pressure environments. 

There is one surviving "Defender" known to exist in the "Galactica's" so-called Rag-Tag Fleet -- although its operational status remains the subject of some debate.

The history of the "Defender" design is one of the most unusual and convoluted in sci-fi lore.  The ship was created by BSG fan Todd Boyce in 2001 as part of a "Galactica"-themed table-top starship combat game based on "Babylon 5 Wars."  Steve Wilson then created a 3-D model for the "Colonial Fleets" on-line community.  A freelance effects artists for the Sci-Fi Channel's new "Battlestar Galactica" series subsequently  took Wilson's on-line model and threw it in with a batch of other designs he had done for the show as an "in-joke" reference to the original series.  The "Defender" ultimately showed up in both the new BSG and as a "Reever" ship in the "Firefly" spin-off movie, "Serenity" (2006).

About the Kit

This 1:3700 Colonial Defender was produced with permission of designer Todd Boyce.  Patterned by Alfred Wong and cast by BLAP! Models, it was released in August 2008.  The kit consisted of 18 solid-cast pieces and was in scale with Fantastic Plastic's other large-scale BSG ships, including the "Pegasus" and "Valkyrie."