Hey look, another starship model based on one I built with Lego. And this time, it's got a ship seal. Yay?
I made a fair number of changes, because the ship was so small and I wanted to get away from the blocky look a little. I also put a little observation room in the forward upper deck.
I think when I put some more detail into the Hephaestus model, I'll make it a snazzy poster like this one. The Hephaestus poster is neat, but it looks kinda sloppy and not very official.

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SS Manhattan TCX - 3952
Manhattan-Class Experimental Vessel

Design: L5 Research Center
Construction: Luna Shipyard

Length: 262 metres
Beam: 150 metres
Draft: 35 metres
Decks: 7
Crew: 5 officers, 30 enlisted

Powerplant: Experimental M/A reactor, Class VI Superfusion reactor
Engines: Experimental Type-EXS VGI Slim-profile Spacefold FTL drive, 2x "Howler" fusion sublight engines
Defenses: 3x "Bulwark" Variable Configuration Energy Shield projectors
Armament: None

Onboard craft: 2x "Skipper" Sublight Personnel shuttle, 4x "Bumblebee" Repair/Salvage craft

The Manhattan-Class starship was developed with an aim to test two experimental technologies:
1. A barely-approved Matter/Antimatter reactor core, which if proven safe and cost-effective, could be retrofitted to replace aging and bulky Superfusion reactors.
2. A new type of slim-profile Spacefold drive pod developed by Virgin Galactic Inc. (VGI), that hopes to break the previous belief that an engine's power and 'speed' were directly proportional to its size. While the engine pods may seem oversized for this particular ship frame, the drive pods being tested theoretically have enough power to propel an ultra-dreadnaut at 'speeds' believed to be unachievable for ships above medium cruiser tonnage.
The Manhattan-Class was named after the pioneer experiments of the 1930's and 1940's in developing nuclear power and weapons in the former United States of America. The ship's development was thought to be in the same innovative vein as energy projects of the 20th and early 21st centuries.
While the ship has defensive shielding, it is unarmed. Its function is as an engine testbed, and is intended to be escorted by other, armed vessels.

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Manhattan Class, TCS (c) Philippe Mandin 2008
Lego (c) Lego?

Seals created with the Official Seal Generator.