posted
I kitbashed a transport some years back using extra pieces/parts from the SciFi Spaceship Miniatures "Survey Conversions" kit. I call it the Roxanne, which is a civilian modified version. I also have plans to build a "stock" version of what I call the Tantive IV (yeah, blatant Star Wars reference) that's still in service with StarFleet. One day I'll get around to it....
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I agree, there should defiantly be some huge freighter in the Federation and I find Bernd's Java-Class quite satisfying in this regard. Of course they can't be too big because that will present problems with security, maintenance and safety.
For the most part though I'm inclined to think that the smaller freighters and container hauling tugs are by far more common type of ship in use.
GRIFF: You may be a good modeler, but you have lousy taste in names. I only hope your wife names the kids. (j/k) Seriously though, I'd drop the "IV" and just call it Tantive-Class, still a tip-of-the-hat but not quite so blatant.
quote: I think the only large-ish design I've seen was in one of the few Enterprise episodes I've seen, where the Nausicaans keep pissing off some slow freighter on a route to Earth.
That be the Y-Class E.C.S. Fortunate and I quite liked it too...but then I've always perfered the bulky utilitarian looking ships to the super sleek battle cruisers (spot the oxymoron there) that fans seam to be drooling over all the time.
If you download the Enterprise episode called "Horizon" you'll get to see the old J-Class, which is smaller but still quite interesting. It's interesting to note that this is supposedly the same class as Harry Mudd's ship, in (TOS "Mudd's Women"). They did a good job designing it and it really looks like it could hold up next to the 1701.
posted
Very well done, but I'm still concerned about four nacelles. I think it looks a bit overpowered for such a small ship. Perhaps two Cheyenne-style nacelles placed below centerline...
posted
Think of the ship as a tractor trailer, Harry. Those things, if emptied of all their load but with the trailer still attached, can still go pretty darn fast, even on an incline. But if they've got a full cargo, then they're going to just be poking along.
It's the same principle. You've got to have the extra nacelles to get around the bulky cargo containers or whatever.
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Registered: Nov 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Reverend: >SNIKT!< For the most part though I'm inclined to think that the smaller freighters and container hauling tugs are by far more common type of ship in use.
I agree there. My thinking w/the Tantive IV class is that they're a long-haul ship, made for going out to the frontier worlds to resupply those which would likely need at least an annual "growth factor" of supplies and equipment that the smaller ships would be incapable of carrying. The SF registry ships would likely do this job, as well as resupply those ships on extended range missions beyond even the frontier, likely meeting those vessels at some halfway point and returning back to UFP space - thus the hard points for weapons. There likely wouldn't be nearly as many of these ships in civilian hands, and I'd think that the bulk of those would belong to the larger corporations.
quote: GRIFF: You may be a good modeler, but you have lousy taste in names. I only hope your wife names the kids. (j/k) Seriously though, I'd drop the "IV" and just call it Tantive-Class, still a tip-of-the-hat but not quite so blatant.
Oh, sure. Pick on the name I chose for my ship just 'cause it's related to a song about a 'ho'....
Well, in my defense, the name Roxanne wasn't totally chosen at random. It's named for a 1990 Pontiac Sunbird LE I used to drive, which was, in turn, named by one of my brothers girlfriends. She got the name from the license plate, which was RXN-316. Once I decided that this was going to be a civilian ship, I wanted a definite non-StarFleet sounding name and Miranda was taken, so....
And Wife and I named our kids just fine: Alison Blair and Daniel Logan. Nothing quite as "loud" as Roxanne for my little girl!
Anyhow, I'm going to leave the class name as Tantive IV, as I don't like re-thinking things "just 'cause". Plus, I really do like Star Wars and figure this is a good way to pay homage to it. When I get around to doing the StarFleet registered vessel, I hope to have a more fitting name for it along the lines of what I figure a StarFleet long-range freighter would have. Still haven't figured out what registry Roxanne will have, but I'll keep it similar to the civilian vessels we've seen in TNG. Something dull and boring, like Berman or Braga, maybe?
And for your information, I suck as a modeler....
Registered: Apr 2003
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Seriously, though, I really like this design; as for hge bulk carriers, I think colony support and interstellar transport of materials (especially relatively low value ones, eg. ore) would be most logical functions. Imagine how expensive it must be (at least in societies that still use money- ) to transport stuff over interstellar distances, so the more of it you can take, the better.
-------------------- "I am an almost extinct breed, an old-fashioned gentleman, which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-bitch when it suits me." --Jubal Harshaw
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Just a quick tidbit. This is the design for the phaser turret I intend to use on the Deneva.
It's based roughly on the phaser emitter seen on the wingtips of the smaller Maquis fighter in "Premptive Strike". It's probably just a low-powered Type-IV or Type-V, enough to deal with the less well funded pirate groups and hijackers but by no means a match for a military craft.
Bear in mind that this is just the basic armament and that ship can be upgraded with more substancial weaponary as their mission and theatre of operation requires.
posted
The Deneva really looks great: it looks to me like the kind of workhorse that would have a regular trading route between adjoining starsystems. Ideal for journeys of a couple of weeks to transport comerce.
I think the larger freighters would be more for colony establishing and transport of vital materials into rescourse poor or extremely distant regions of the Federation.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
Another technical tidbit while you're waiting for the aft view.
It's a diagram of the modular spine segment, sans the cargo pods. Just to give a slightly better idea of the arrangment and scale of the ship. Mind you I should probably increase the width of the central corridor by about two thirds, as it stands moving cargo down there would be a little tricky, there certainly isn't enough room for two way traffic.
posted
It wasn't mention in the episode as far as I know. It just seamed like a logical choice for such a relatively small ship, based on the Erewhon/Danube family.
Besides that I really like ships with moving parts, it somehow makes them seam more real. The fact that it makes life difficult for any 3D artist who might try to build it is just a bonus.
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Hi Newbie here saw this thread and thought I'd throw in my two cents.In one of the novels set in TOS time frame,An enormus colony evacuation vehicle was tested.The technology turned out to be alien stuff,anymore on that would be a spoiler.Anyhow the ship was so large that it could transport medium size vessels directly into an enormus holding area.Travel inside the ship was by transporter. I'll see if I can find out the name of that novel.
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I was concerned about the number of nacelles, but your explanation convinces me But now I wonder if those nacelles are perhaps a little short for a stormtr... er, to do their job
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Registered: Jan 2003
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