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Description

Ported to OBJ from the SketchUp model created by JAFisher. Based on the original design created by Forest Brown and Dana Knutson for FASA Corporation's various Franchise licensed Trek gaming products back in the day. This model is currently available from JAFisher's account at Google's 3D Warehouse, although I will warn you in advance that it's a real bitch to port.   If you want to try anyway, then here's the link:

3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model…

Continent was the TMP era assault ship that the Starfleet Marines wanted in the first place. It had the largest troop capacity of any Starfleet Marine starship class in the TMP era, being able to carry up to three fully equipped battalions along with all of their support personnel (about 3,200 total) and all required ground vehicles (16 heavy + 50 light), all required assault shuttles and combat shuttle support craft, and so on. It also had an excellent weapons battery for pummeling intended targets, along with twelve 22-man transporters and 8 cargo transporters that allowed it to beam down its entire contingent of Marines along with all of their field gear (but no vehicles) within a half-hour. Its one drawback was that it had only one very large shuttlebay with one very large rear-mounted hatch for small craft operations, as did the earlier and oft-criticized Makin, instead of the multiple smaller bays of Chandley which the Marines felt were more versatile and better suited for their needs. This was offset somewhat during the first major refit for the class (near the end of the TMP era) by cutting out the forward part of the hangar deck in the secondary hull in order to add a second large shuttle bay hatch for shuttlecarrier style through-deck operations (launch in the front, land in the rear). This same refit also beefed up the weapons battery somewhat and added drone racks (for a minimal heavy weapons capability) to reflect both operational experience and the heightened tensions of the times. The end result was a refitted Continent even more to the liking of the Marines than it had been in its original form. Continent quickly took over for Makin as the lead assault ship class of the Starfleet Marines after it made its debut early in the mid-TMP era, and would become its lead assault ship class starting near the end of the TMP era (refitted version) and continuing well into the post-TMP era. Together with its refitted Chandleys, the not-so-well-liked but still useful Makins, and the later Brownwoods, Continent headed up a good variety of Class I starships built or refitted specifically for the needs of the Starfleet Marines during the TMP era.

God, but I though I would never get this model to port! (chuckle) I finally did, although it's an imperfect port as you can see in the preview piccy. All the same, it's a good enough port for entry purposes IMHO, and I'm finally glad to be able to add it to the online editon of Mandel's. I just wish I would have had this back in the day when I wrote up Continent for my own Federation Fleet Review (FFR).

This is semi-canon, as it comes from the FASA gaming continuity.

Live long and prosper.

ASIDES
     Continent's internal hangar and shuttle bay hatches are big enough to handle and routinely operate the largest of Starfleet runabouts and Marine heavy assault craft that are available in the TMP era, as well as its smaller patrol craft classes (!). It is the only Federation starship class outside of the Marines' own Makin (which has a limited one) and Starfleet super shuttlecarrier classes that has this capability. In gaming terms that means you can use Continent as a fast patrol ship (PF) carrier if you'd rather not use it for what it is, for whatever reaason.

     In my thread of the Trek multiverse, a similar through-deck conversion for Makin was considered at one point, but the Starfleet Marines went with the TMP era Chandley upgrade program instead because they considered Chandley to be more versatile than a converted Makin, given Makin's other known issues. If you want to do a similar through-deck refit conversion for Makin in your own threads of the Trek multiverse, then more power to you.
      For those of you having trouble getting a grip on Continent, think of the U.S. Navy's Tarawa, Wasp, or America class amphibious assault ships (or comparable classes in other contemporary navies) but done Star Trek style. XD

Description

Ported to OBJ from the SketchUp model created by JAFisher. Based on the original design created by Forest Brown and Dana Knutson for FASA Corporation's various Franchise licensed Trek gaming products back in the day. This model is currently available from JAFisher's account at Google's 3D Warehouse, although I will warn you in advance that it's a real bitch to port.   If you want to try anyway, then here's the link:

3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model…

Continent was the TMP era assault ship that the Starfleet Marines wanted in the first place. It had the largest troop capacity of any Starfleet Marine starship class in the TMP era, being able to carry up to three fully equipped battalions along with all of their support personnel (about 3,200 total) and all required ground vehicles (16 heavy + 50 light), all required assault shuttles and combat shuttle support craft, and so on. It also had an excellent weapons battery for pummeling intended targets, along with twelve 22-man transporters and 8 cargo transporters that allowed it to beam down its entire contingent of Marines along with all of their field gear (but no vehicles) within a half-hour. Its one drawback was that it had only one very large shuttlebay with one very large rear-mounted hatch for small craft operations, as did the earlier and oft-criticized Makin, instead of the multiple smaller bays of Chandley which the Marines felt were more versatile and better suited for their needs. This was offset somewhat during the first major refit for the class (near the end of the TMP era) by cutting out the forward part of the hangar deck in the secondary hull in order to add a second large shuttle bay hatch for shuttlecarrier style through-deck operations (launch in the front, land in the rear). This same refit also beefed up the weapons battery somewhat and added drone racks (for a minimal heavy weapons capability) to reflect both operational experience and the heightened tensions of the times. The end result was a refitted Continent even more to the liking of the Marines than it had been in its original form. Continent quickly took over for Makin as the lead assault ship class of the Starfleet Marines after it made its debut early in the mid-TMP era, and would become its lead assault ship class starting near the end of the TMP era (refitted version) and continuing well into the post-TMP era. Together with its refitted Chandleys, the not-so-well-liked but still useful Makins, and the later Brownwoods, Continent headed up a good variety of Class I starships built or refitted specifically for the needs of the Starfleet Marines during the TMP era.

God, but I though I would never get this model to port! (chuckle) I finally did, although it's an imperfect port as you can see in the preview piccy. All the same, it's a good enough port for entry purposes IMHO, and I'm finally glad to be able to add it to the online editon of Mandel's. I just wish I would have had this back in the day when I wrote up Continent for my own Federation Fleet Review (FFR).

This is semi-canon, as it comes from the FASA gaming continuity.

Live long and prosper.

ASIDES
     Continent's internal hangar and shuttle bay hatches are big enough to handle and routinely operate the largest of Starfleet runabouts and Marine heavy assault craft that are available in the TMP era, as well as its smaller patrol craft classes (!). It is the only Federation starship class outside of the Marines' own Makin (which has a limited one) and Starfleet super shuttlecarrier classes that has this capability. In gaming terms that means you can use Continent as a fast patrol ship (PF) carrier if you'd rather not use it for what it is, for whatever reaason.

     In my thread of the Trek multiverse, a similar through-deck conversion for Makin was considered at one point, but the Starfleet Marines went with the TMP era Chandley upgrade program instead because they considered Chandley to be more versatile than a converted Makin, given Makin's other known issues. If you want to do a similar through-deck refit conversion for Makin in your own threads of the Trek multiverse, then more power to you.
      For those of you having trouble getting a grip on Continent, think of the U.S. Navy's Tarawa, Wasp, or America class amphibious assault ships (or comparable classes in other contemporary navies) but done Star Trek style. XD