Who was Ay’Arr?
A Very Long Time Ago
Ay’Arr was the leader of the resistance against the unknown invaders, the K’Zarks, who had taken over his planet, Kronos. He had lost his family, his friends, and his home in the brutal war that had lasted for five years. He had only one goal left: to free his people from the tyranny of the enemy.
Ay’Arr gathered his remaining forces, a ragtag group of soldiers, rebels, and civilians, and planned a daring attack on the enemy’s headquarters. He knew it was a suicide mission, but he had no choice. Regardless, he had to strike at the heart of the enemy or die trying. The attack was fierce and bloody. Although tired, Ay’Arr and his men fought their way through the enemy’s defenses, facing phasers, drones, and cyborgs. Many of his comrades fell along the way, but he did not stop. At length, he reached the main control room, where he faced the enemy’s leader, a cold and ruthless alien named Kraz.
The Battle
Ay’Arr and Kraz engaged in a fierce duel, exchanging blows and insults. Ay’Arr, wounded and exhausted, almost losing a hand, did not give up. He managed to land a fatal blow on Kraz, stabbing him in the chest with his knife. As Kraz fell to the ground, Ay’Arr activated the self-destruct sequence of the enemy’s base, hoping to destroy their entire operation. As a result, he barely escaped the explosion, along with a few survivors. He looked at the sky and saw the enemy’s ships retreating. At long last, he had done it. He had saved his planet from total subjugation, if not, annihilation. He smiled, and collapsed on the ground, feeling a mix of relief and pain, he found the strength to laugh! Finally, the Klingon empire had regained its honor! He closed his eyes, and whispered, “Qapla Qo’noS!”
After his rehabilitation, he was promoted to General of the Imperial Army.
As well as the time when the Klingons looked like humans during the time of Captain James T. Kirk, no one ever talks about the humiliating period in Klingon history known as the Great Oppression. A history they will soon forget, yet the Klingon empire honors that great hero who saved them.
The Advanced Experimental Prototype Bird-of-Prey
The IKS Ay’Arr is an experimental Bird-of-Prey from the 23rd century named after General Ay’Arr of the House of Roto’Rihk who led the charge against the K’Zarkian occupational force who found its way to Kronos (Qo’noS) from the delta quadrant. The ship includes heavy armaments, forward primary, secondary and tertiary disruptor cannons. Moreover, twin mounted disruptor cannons aft on the wings. An added propulsion thruster on the bottom of the neck for quicker reaction time for lift and evasion. In addition to what made this ship special was its stasis field generator that disabled all field and warp functions of enemy ships, by using very little energy. This technology was once used on a bigger battle cruiser, but its weakness, the massive energy drain, was exploited by the captain and its crew of the USS Enterprise.
The physical characteristics are similar to that of the regular Bird-of-Prey, save for its “plumes,” which mimic an actual Bird-of-Prey, the Ket’Zahl, on the planet Kronos, and the gold markings around the ship to denote high-ranking official use. This once caried an obscure Chancellor of the Klingon High-Council.
- Classification: Ay’Arr class
- Constructed: Ay’Arr Shipyards, Q’kr’ton
- Launched: 2270
- Destroyed: Disappeared investigating a wormhole
- Length: 161 meters
- Crew complement: 50
- Weaponry: 4 sets of disruptors, (3 sets forward, 1 set at rear that rotated 90 degrees), forward and aft photon torpedoes, stasis field generator, cloaking device, propulsion thruster at base of neck
- Performance: Warp 10
- Commanding Officer: Chancellor Ar’Tuu House of Roto’Rihk
Ar’Tuu: Last Commander of the Ay’Arr
On one of its missions in 2270, under the command of Chancellor Ar’Tuu, it vanished! Rumor has it that it was transported to the delta quadrant.
Chancellor Ar’Tuu was a proud leader of the Klingons, a race of fierce warriors who ruled over a vast empire in the alpha quadrant. He had conquered many worlds and defeated many enemies, earning the respect and fear of his people. He was also ambitious and curious, always seeking new challenges and discoveries.
Unknown Message Received
One day, he received a message from a mysterious source, claiming to have found a hidden portal to another quadrant of the galaxy, where unknown wonders and dangers awaited. The message also offered a map and coordinates to the portal, along with a warning: only the bravest and the strongest could enter and survive.
Ar’Tuu was intrigued by this offer. To investigate the portal, he decided to take his flagship, the IKS Ay’Arr, and a small fleet of escorts. General Zor, his second-in-command, was left behind to oversee the empire in his absence. He also kept the message and the map a secret, not wanting to share his potential glory with anyone else. Following the coordinates to a remote and barren system, he found a large, swirling vortex of energy, surrounded by a ring of ancient and alien devices.
The Wormhole
Chancellor Ar’Tuu recognized the portal as a wormhole, a rare and unstable phenomenon that could connect distant regions of space. He also sensed a powerful force emanating from the portal, as if it was calling him to enter. However, he ordered his fleet to stay behind and guard the entrance, while he took his flagship into the wormhole. He was confident that he could handle whatever awaited him on the other side, and that he would return with new trophies and tales of his adventure.
The Chancellor was wrong. As soon as he entered the wormhole, he felt a surge of pain and disorientation. His ship’s systems went haywire, and he lost contact with his fleet. He saw flashes of strange and distorted images, as if he was traveling through multiple realities at once.
Q?
He heard a voice in his head, laughing and taunting him. “Welcome, Chancellor Ar’Tuu, to the delta quadrant. You have fallen into my trap. I am the one who sent you the message and the map. I am the one who controls this portal. And I am the one who will destroy you and your empire. I am Q, and you are my new toy.”
Before Ar’Tuu could react, he felt a final jolt of energy, and then everything went black.
He woke up to find himself and his ship in a completely different and hostile environment. “Who in Gre’thor is Q?”
In the Delta Quadrant
Ar’Tuu was surrounded by unfamiliar stars and planets, and by hostile alien ships that opened fire on him. His weapons and shields damaged and ineffective, he tried to fight back. Attempting to escape, his engines and warp drive became disabled and erratic. He tried to call for help, but his communications and sensors were jammed and distorted.
Realizing that he was trapped, alone, and doomed, he cursed Q and his fate, as he prepared to face his end with dignity and defiance. He never saw his home or his people again.
His fleet, waiting at the entrance of the wormhole, saw his ship vanish and never return. They tried to follow him, but the portal was closed and locked. They tried to contact him but received no answer. There were failed attempts to find him but had no clue where he went. They assumed that he was dead, or worse.
They returned to their empire, and reported his disappearance to General Zor, who declared himself the new chancellor. He also declared war on the unknown enemy who had taken Ar’Tuu, and vowed to avenge him and his honor. He did not know that he was playing into Q’s plan, and that he was leading his people to their doom.
The Klingon empire soon collapsed, torn apart by internal strife and external threats. The alpha quadrant was plunged into chaos and war, as new and old powers fought for supremacy and survival. And Q watched and laughed, as he moved on to his next game.
To date, no one knows the fate of Chancellor Ar’Tuu and the IKS Ay’Arr.
The Kits Used
I bought two Bird-of-Preys, one which was released in 1991,
and the most current one which will be the IKS Rotarran. that build will be on another post.
Among the few references I used for building and coloring the two kits. Click on the following images to get a closer look!
What comes in the old kit. Clear plastic for impulse engines and photon torpedoes not shown but are included.
The Plumes on the Klingon Bird-of-Prey Prototype
I began customizing the BOP by adding “plumes” to the top to both port and starboard wings. I used my computer by tracing over a photo of the wings I took and then sized it to 1:1. Measuring the actual wing then cropping the image on the computer to fit the actual size by inputting the image size to that of the wing size. I, then, cut pieces of styrene with the pasted-on images of the plumes one by one.
Wings completed to my liking. I cannibalized parts from the newer kit to add to this one, like the disruptor cannons to make turrets on the aft part of the wings. (Shown in next batch of photos). And also added wiring it light it up.
A well-placed PE will cover that annoying mis-fit. This kit did not have many of those, but using some putty or my other remedy will do the trick.
Priming and Painting
Afterwards, I primed it with American Accents Primer Grey and then painted on the base coat with Testors Model Masters Light Earth.
I’ve used American Accents primer on my models before, but it seems that this batch is a bad one. I bought two and both gave me a sticky result after letting it dry in primo conditions. I did not want to strip the thing, so, I painted over it with the Light Earth color. The result was a little better, but the paint felt soft after it dried. We’ll see how that goes.
The masking was tedious, as usual, but necessary for it to look the way I want it. A dignified Klingon Bird-of-Prey.
More lighting attached…the final result you will see afterwards.
Painting over the somewhat tacky primer resulted in a soft base coat. It caught every ding when it was being detailed with other colors and PE I appropriated from other kits, flipping it to one side and on to the other. That resulted in a somewhat weathered, scratch-ding battle scar type of look. Some scratches were hand painted over to give it a maintenance look by the “tiny Klingons” that are on board. They must keep up appearances with the Chancellor around.
The IKS Ay’Arr, Klingon Bird-of-Prey Prototype Before Massive Weathering
This section has images of the ship without the heavy weathering, and lighting both on and off.
And now: IKS Ay’Arr, Klingon Bird-of-Prey Prototype Complete
I hope you enjoy the following photos and please click on them to see the details of each image. To weather them, I used a mix of Testors Graphite Metallic enamel and thinned it down with enamel thinner to make it appear as oil, soot and metal pieces.
Click on the video to see the two-minute video of its detail without the weathering.
Started build on 01JAN24, completed 19FEB24.
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Feature Model Kit of the Week
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Polar Lights 1/1000 Star Trek USS Grissom NCC-638 Twin Pack
This set of 2 kits enables you to build both the U.S.S. Grissom and the Klingon bird of prey as seen in “Star Trek: the search for Spock”! Based on CAD design, these kits do not require glue for assembly! The U.S.S. Grissom will be approx 12cm long and the bird of prey will be approx 16cm long when completed. The bird of prey includes two pairs of wing and baffle parts so it can be built in either attack mode or cruise mode. A base is included for display.
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Star Trek, Klingon Bird-of-Prey TM of Paramount Pictures.
Ay’Arr and Ar’Tuu ©2024 Abraham Rodriguez
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