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Description

Ported to OBJ from the fan-created low poly model made for the Starfleet Command (SFC) series of video games. Based on the original Constitution class derived design first proposed by Franz Joseph Schnaubelt in his Franchise licensed and hoary olde Star Fleet Technical Manual (SFTM) from back in the day, and as later expounded upon by both Trek uber-fans Todd Guenther and Aridas Sofia in their various later Trek fan tech efforts (Federation Reference Series, Ships of the Star Fleet Volume 1, et al.). Achernar is also mentioned (although not illustrated) in the excellent Jackill's series of TMP era Federation Starfleet reference manuals by Eric "Jackill" Kristiansen and pops up in other major Trek fan tech works, such as Timo Salionemi's Guide to the UFP Starfleet series and both my own Federation Spaceflight Chronology (FSC) and Mandel's Fighting Starships Volume 1: Federation Fleet Review 2300-01 (FFR). Preview picture posed in XNALara XPS. NO MODEL DOWNLOAD ... HOWEVER ... however ...

Famed Trek CG fan artist Dave Metlesitis has done one of his usual excellent jobs on what he calls the "Franz Joseph Enterprise" (the SFTM version) that you could use for a late TOS/TAS era Achernar and also for the TMP era with a suitable hull name and registry number change, along with the appropriate TMP-era minor additional mods as required (such as a TMP era style red or blue inset main deflector instead of the TOS/TAS era deflector dish). Here's the link:

Gawd, but I think that was the longest opening paragraph for one of these I've yet written. XD Anyway, I'll try to keep the rest brief for your sakes, but no promises.

Achernar was the final production block of Constitution class starships made for the Federation Starfleet during the TOS/TAS era. They came at its tail end, with 90 hulls originally authorized by the Federation Council in the largest Class I starship procurement order of the era (thanks to fears of the growing Klingon threat), but this later got cut back to 68 due to political wrangling. Only 13 would ever be built, with the rest of the orders cancelled while the 13th and last was under construction due to the debut of the TMP era, marked by both the success of the LN-64 warp engine testbed Decatur and the subsequent performance of the uprated Enterprise during the Vejur Crisis. Both made the entire Achenar class immediately obsolete along with the rest of Starfleet's existing TOS/TAS era Class I fleet; hence the cancellations of the bulk of the original Achenar order. The approval was given to go ahead and finish the last as it was, and since these were the newest Constitution type heavy cruisers in Starfleet they were used to cover for older ships of their type as they were pulled from service and given their respective TMP era upgrades. Understandably this took a long time and Starfleet had pretty much run out of money by the time it came Achernar's turn, so they wound up with nothing but the short end of the stick for having been made to wait so long. They remained as they were save for selected systems and weapons upgrades and such that would work with them without major rebuilding, and because of this Achernar became the last full class of original TOS/TAS era Constitution type heavy cruisers to ever see service with Starfleet. Since they had been rendered obsolete in their own time they were largely relegated to second and sometimes even third tier assignments once their "covering" duties were done, and they continued to be used this way by Starfleet until they were finally decommissioned. All of them were removed from service shortly before the end of the TMP era and sent to various Starfleet-sanctioned boneyards for scrapping. No effort was made to save them, as the only original Constitution class starship that was still in her TOS/TAS era form (the former Academy training vessel Potemkin) had already been slated to be saved as a museum ship. Thus the Achernars disappeared from Starfleet service almost as quietly as they had entered it, having served for less than three decades for the oldest -- although the salvaged and recycled components of some of them would continue to be used in various ways almost to the start of the TNG/DS9/VOY era.

Achernar is semi-canon as it was part of the original SFTM, although later fannish musings on it (including my own) are fanon to be blunt. Many fans accord these semi-canon status anyway given Achernar's semi-canon status, but I'm just being honest until the Franchise makes an official move on the matter. What you do with Achernar is in the end up to you.

Live long and prosper!

NOTE - In the Gunther/Sofia thread of the Trek multiverse and Timo's later musings, Starfleet somehow finds the money for four Achernars to be converted to the Endeavor linear warp standard (LN-52 based, see my separate entry on Endeavor/Truxton) as a possible basis for converting the entire class as it was, since this upgrade path could be followed without significantly altering each ship and was thus the least expensive given Starfleet's financial woes. This plan eventually fell through for various reasons (including additional funding) and the remaining seven ended their service lives still in their original TOS/TAS era forms. Your call on whether or not you want to include this wrinkle or build your own thing on it in your own Trek multiverse threads. Also and per both FRS and SOSF1 as well as Timo and my own FSC, class members Astrad and Xanthii played key roles in the various efforts by Starfleet to stem and eventually turn back the Kzin tide during the TMP era's Kzinti Incursion. All in all Achernar did quite well all told for its entire service history per the record despite being such an "old design," so there you go (See FRS s.v. "Class I Mk IX/03 Achernar Class;" SOSF1 "Achernar Class" p. 114-117; FSC Volume 11, s.v. "The Kzinti Strike Back," pp. 44-45; Timo's Guide to the UFP Starfleet, Part Ia, pp. 277-279).

Description

Ported to OBJ from the fan-created low poly model made for the Starfleet Command (SFC) series of video games. Based on the original Constitution class derived design first proposed by Franz Joseph Schnaubelt in his Franchise licensed and hoary olde Star Fleet Technical Manual (SFTM) from back in the day, and as later expounded upon by both Trek uber-fans Todd Guenther and Aridas Sofia in their various later Trek fan tech efforts (Federation Reference Series, Ships of the Star Fleet Volume 1, et al.). Achernar is also mentioned (although not illustrated) in the excellent Jackill's series of TMP era Federation Starfleet reference manuals by Eric "Jackill" Kristiansen and pops up in other major Trek fan tech works, such as Timo Salionemi's Guide to the UFP Starfleet series and both my own Federation Spaceflight Chronology (FSC) and Mandel's Fighting Starships Volume 1: Federation Fleet Review 2300-01 (FFR). Preview picture posed in XNALara XPS. NO MODEL DOWNLOAD ... HOWEVER ... however ...

Famed Trek CG fan artist Dave Metlesitis has done one of his usual excellent jobs on what he calls the "Franz Joseph Enterprise" (the SFTM version) that you could use for a late TOS/TAS era Achernar and also for the TMP era with a suitable hull name and registry number change, along with the appropriate TMP-era minor additional mods as required (such as a TMP era style red or blue inset main deflector instead of the TOS/TAS era deflector dish). Here's the link:

Gawd, but I think that was the longest opening paragraph for one of these I've yet written. XD Anyway, I'll try to keep the rest brief for your sakes, but no promises.

Achernar was the final production block of Constitution class starships made for the Federation Starfleet during the TOS/TAS era. They came at its tail end, with 90 hulls originally authorized by the Federation Council in the largest Class I starship procurement order of the era (thanks to fears of the growing Klingon threat), but this later got cut back to 68 due to political wrangling. Only 13 would ever be built, with the rest of the orders cancelled while the 13th and last was under construction due to the debut of the TMP era, marked by both the success of the LN-64 warp engine testbed Decatur and the subsequent performance of the uprated Enterprise during the Vejur Crisis. Both made the entire Achenar class immediately obsolete along with the rest of Starfleet's existing TOS/TAS era Class I fleet; hence the cancellations of the bulk of the original Achenar order. The approval was given to go ahead and finish the last as it was, and since these were the newest Constitution type heavy cruisers in Starfleet they were used to cover for older ships of their type as they were pulled from service and given their respective TMP era upgrades. Understandably this took a long time and Starfleet had pretty much run out of money by the time it came Achernar's turn, so they wound up with nothing but the short end of the stick for having been made to wait so long. They remained as they were save for selected systems and weapons upgrades and such that would work with them without major rebuilding, and because of this Achernar became the last full class of original TOS/TAS era Constitution type heavy cruisers to ever see service with Starfleet. Since they had been rendered obsolete in their own time they were largely relegated to second and sometimes even third tier assignments once their "covering" duties were done, and they continued to be used this way by Starfleet until they were finally decommissioned. All of them were removed from service shortly before the end of the TMP era and sent to various Starfleet-sanctioned boneyards for scrapping. No effort was made to save them, as the only original Constitution class starship that was still in her TOS/TAS era form (the former Academy training vessel Potemkin) had already been slated to be saved as a museum ship. Thus the Achernars disappeared from Starfleet service almost as quietly as they had entered it, having served for less than three decades for the oldest -- although the salvaged and recycled components of some of them would continue to be used in various ways almost to the start of the TNG/DS9/VOY era.

Achernar is semi-canon as it was part of the original SFTM, although later fannish musings on it (including my own) are fanon to be blunt. Many fans accord these semi-canon status anyway given Achernar's semi-canon status, but I'm just being honest until the Franchise makes an official move on the matter. What you do with Achernar is in the end up to you.

Live long and prosper!

NOTE - In the Gunther/Sofia thread of the Trek multiverse and Timo's later musings, Starfleet somehow finds the money for four Achernars to be converted to the Endeavor linear warp standard (LN-52 based, see my separate entry on Endeavor/Truxton) as a possible basis for converting the entire class as it was, since this upgrade path could be followed without significantly altering each ship and was thus the least expensive given Starfleet's financial woes. This plan eventually fell through for various reasons (including additional funding) and the remaining seven ended their service lives still in their original TOS/TAS era forms. Your call on whether or not you want to include this wrinkle or build your own thing on it in your own Trek multiverse threads. Also and per both FRS and SOSF1 as well as Timo and my own FSC, class members Astrad and Xanthii played key roles in the various efforts by Starfleet to stem and eventually turn back the Kzin tide during the TMP era's Kzinti Incursion. All in all Achernar did quite well all told for its entire service history per the record despite being such an "old design," so there you go (See FRS s.v. "Class I Mk IX/03 Achernar Class;" SOSF1 "Achernar Class" p. 114-117; FSC Volume 11, s.v. "The Kzinti Strike Back," pp. 44-45; Timo's Guide to the UFP Starfleet, Part Ia, pp. 277-279).