The Pocket Galaxy and her big sister

The Tashkent, an Orion class, rendezvous with the Enterprise, a Galaxy class, in 2365.

In 2361, following the successful trials of the Galaxy class, Starfleet made a concerted effort to capture the awe of the class as a more affordable cruiser, a ship that would evoke the Galaxy's grandeur but be a viable replacement for the aging New Orleans class. The Orion class was devised. Conceived as a 'pocket' Galaxy at just 22 decks, the design was fairly successful and was a decent enough performer over the New Orleans that it was pushed into production. By 2379, with a short production run of just eighteen years, several wars and a severe paradigm shift in Starfleet design, the Orion Class was replaced with the Luna Class. 

Credits:
Orion Class - DJ Curtis (special thanks to jetfreak-7!)
Enterprise D - David Metlesits (conversion by mattymanx)

Borrowed a brief bit of the class' history from jetfreak-7.

I really do love the pocket-galaxy. It has the 'bulldog' look of the 4 ft. model of the Galaxy from the show and I love it. 

Rendered in DAZ Studio 4.10 with iRay.