Tritium-Class Starship

from "Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology" (1980)

Scale: 1:1000
Initial Release: 2004
Medium: Resin
Kit Rarity: 3

About the Design

On the heels of the December 1979 release of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," Wallaby Books, a division of Pocket Books, published the "Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology," a fanciful "look back" at the evolution of manned spacecraft from the 1960s to the 23rd Century. Written by Stan and Fred Goldstein and lavishly illustrated by "Star Trek" conceptual artist Rick Sternbach, the book included dozens of "non-canon" spacecraft designs, including the "Tritium," which was supposed to be Starfleet's first attempt to build a starship with three warp nacelles. In service from 2148 to 2155, the craft suffered from all manner of technical and operational problems, purportedly earning it the dubious reputation of being "the worst ship ever built by the UFP."

About the Kit

This resin kit was produced by Lauren Oliver and gave the builder the option of using brass nacelle pylons in place of the conventional resin. The deflector dish is from the Polar Lights 1:1000 U.S.S. Enterprise kit; although not part of the original Rick Sternbach design, such a deflector is in keeping with Starfleet technology in this period between the NX-01 and TOS Enterprise.

The kit was built from an original issue.  Markings are a mix of Polar Lights and custom-made decals