This is the USS Republic, NCC-1371. This is the ship that Ensign James T. Kirk served aboard, and reported a certain Mr. Benjamin Finney for not closing a circuit properly that was open to the atomic matter piles.

This ship was launched in 2236 without much fanfare. Fifteen previous vessels had already been launched. The most notable aspect of her was the Communications System which now allowed Subspace Radio transmissions to reach the velocity of warp 20. What makes this vessel special is her refit. In 2250 she was the first Baton Rouge-class ship to incorporate the latest advances in warp propulsion, and defense. Previously her maximum cruising speed was warp 4.8. With her new engines she was able to reach a maximum cruise velocity of 5.7 with an emergency speed of warp 6.1. She also has more powerful laser banks than the original Baton Rouge-class vessels, and she has received a separate location for forward and aft firing torpedoes. She has also received more advanced sensor and deflector systems than earlier ships as well as newer bridge sensors.

She is the first ship to incorporate a botanical garden on board. This section has been placed in the aft section of the engineering hull, to give crew members a view of space, but with the comforts of an Earth-like planet.

The Build

I received this Baton Rouge kit as a gift from a friend who bought it on 'The Bay of Evil'. When he got it he did not know that 2 main pieces were missing; The Deflector Housing and the Dorsal (neck). I decided to use the Dorsal from the PL Enterprise kit, as well as a LEGO piece I happened to find (before I knew of the missing housing). With those parts in mind I began the build. Part way through the build I played with other 1/1000 scale nacelles and decided that I liked the look of the PL ones on the ship. So I decided to call it the Republic and give her a refit. This is the result.

I used some decals from Pike Era and slightly pre-Pike to show this ship is advanced, but still a bit behind Pike's version. I used the Pike-Era large deflector dish and the endcaps. So I felt that some of the other markings would fit in well.

I also added more windows than were offered with the kit (and added "glass" to them). I placed them where I thought they would make sense, given a ship of this size. I would also like to thank Robert Morgan for putting some ideas in my head regarding the torpedo launchers (bow and aft). I did my bow one similar to his design. The aft ones, I thought, didn't need to be too revealing/built up. But I appreciate his thoughts for his own build. They gave me a little insight into mine.

I hope you enjoy the pictures. I have totally enjoyed building this model.

Image: Starboard side view

Image: Bow view

Image: Stern view

Image: Dorsal view

Image: Ventral view

Image: Stern on

Image: Aft port quarter

Image: Bow section

Image: Stern section