posted
To take a break from writin' and researchin' I pulled out the old sketchpad and worked on some ideas for a post-Daedalus heavy cruiser, which was probably a failure and may not have actually entered service. This ship follows my own Starfleet Museum continuity, so forget, if you can, that Series V (ie, Enterprise) exists.
Daedalus is in-scale and about 100 m long. The name, registry, and nacelles are placeholders. Comments are welcome and appreciated.
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Shik
Starship database: completed; History of Starfleet: done; website: probably never
Member # 343
posted
INteresting. Large. Not too keen on the double-pylon assemblies, but I understand the need for them.
Yeah..I might compact the tail into the main bulb some. Not a lot, but enough to dispose of the connecting rod.
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posted
I wanted the ship to look different and retro, so I added double pylons, to make you think of a biplane. The double pylons also emphasize how ridiculously large the nacelles are (or will be).
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Daniel Butler
I'm a Singapore where is my boat
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posted
I don't know if I like the saucer section. It sort of seems like an egg. It's just a personal aesthetic but I don't like fat ellipsoids.
Also, what about that black paint rectangle on the nose? It doesn't seem very Starfleety.
Overall I like it; I like the double pylons (something I've doodled myself more than once ) and the sort of insectoid secondary hull - the pinch into a fore and aft section.
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posted
You have to keep in mind that this is very old-school Starfleety predating TOS by a century and as disimilar from a Constitution class ship as a Brewster Buffalo is from an F-16. The flattened oblate primary hull is part of the transition from spheres to true discs.
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posted
I concur on the saucer-thingy. While a transition idea is good, those of us like Butler and I who get some sort of brain itch when we see the flattened spheroid have been lucky so far.
The Moskva and Gagarin, for instance, both feature interesting transition designs without quite looking like the sketch spheroid.
I like the idea of it never being used . . . perhaps it could be thought of as a *very* early iteration of Hyperion, which is almost as large. Did Monarch make Hyperion? I don't see any reference in the text. It shares lines with Daedalus (or perhaps more correctly, Comet).
Perhaps it was a Monarch "Skunk Works"-esque dreadnaught idea that was batted around (a la the fantastical post-WW2 Cold War designs) around the end of the war, but it wasn't until Hyperion that the idea . . . with extensive modernization . . . got realized.
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posted
I might refine the primary hull a bit, but it will stay fairly fat because I like it!
In most fleets, there are admirals who support the building of the biggest, most powerful ships. It's an ego/manhood thing, I guess. They'll try to get these things built even if doing so might be strategically idiotic or mechanically impractical. I think that Starfleet is no exception.This thing is way bigger than any other cruiser for the next 40 years but it was overgunned and underpowered.
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Daniel Butler
I'm a Singapore where is my boat
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posted
I like the Kestrel from that chart.
What's that unlabelled ship to the left of the Daedalus?
Interesting take on the nav deflector - sort of hanging out the bottom instead of flush with the secondary hull.
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Shik
Starship database: completed; History of Starfleet: done; website: probably never
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Aha. So basically this is your version of a cross twixt the Kirov-class battlecruisers & the Yamato-class battleships. I dig.
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posted
I like the idea of a conceptual failure, not something you often see in fandom and something I tried to lean towards with the Korolev. As for the design I have a couple suggestions. First thing I'd do is extend the neck structure so it runs the length of the ship like a spine, with either a shuttle/cargo bay or some kind of docking umbilical at the end...or just round it off like it is now. Second I'd move the forward pylons so they attach through the new spine and thirdly I'd add a deck space between the two hemispheres of the primary hull, just to blunt the edge a bit and from a practical standpoint, give you somewhere to put the windows. Like so.
posted
The secondary hull is an interesting concept: simple and plausible. My problem goes to the neck and the primary hull. Either consider Reverend's suggestion or give it a minimal non-horizontal tilt as on Moskva/Gagarin. The midpart of the secondary hull could be some sort of anchor point.
Regarding the primary hull I have just one suggestion, make the top part and bottom part asymetric. I'm thinking of something similar as Gagarin/Hyperion.
Other than that: it's good to see some development in the SFM (aka the better 2150s).
posted
Ooh, I like this a lot! Here's my take on this:
There was a lot of technological advancement that continued after the end of the Romulan War, but almost all of Starfleet's emphasis was on the small cruisers like Daedalus and Comet. Starfleet kept a handful of the old heavy UESN warships (Conquerors and Yorktowns) in active reserve in case of renewed hostilities with the Romulans.
However, by 2170 these ships would be relatively behind the times technologically. Certain aggressively-minded admirals in Starfleet, who had risen to their ranks in the war, feared that the Federation was becoming complacent. And so the study for a modern Starfleet battlecruiser was developed. This ship should incorporate certain elements from Vulcan and Andorian designs. On paper, it would make perfect sense to design a new heavy warship using Starfleet's latest technology.
Of course, the end result was a ship that was out of its time, extremely expensive for its purpose, and completely unnecessary. The Romulans were in complete isolation with not a single contact made; and the Klingons hadn't been encountered yet. I could see one or two ships being built, but the entire program would've been quashed by the Federation Council after that. (I'd refer to the Paris article, like how Starfleet had problems getting approval for their "little stick" light cruisers.) And any ships that were built certainly never saw any action.
quote:so forget, if you can, that Series V (ie, Enterprise) exists.
Man, I've been trying to do that for the last seven years.
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) and the sort of insectoid secondary hull - the pinch into a fore and aft section.
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