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This is based on something I doodled up before "Enterprise" came on the air, shortly after it was announced it was a prequel series. This is just one of my ideas on how a much older ship would look. You can see evidence of current technology as well as future technology in it, including a bit from the DY-100, namely the bridge. Behind the bridge are clamshell doors like on the space shuttle. The nacelles are taken directly from my other ship that I posted a while ago. I may tweek that later, when I update the ship itself with more details and better fills.
posted
Neat! But I think you need to beef up the framework connecting the two halves of the ship. Perhaps you could string fuel tanks along the spine.
Registered: Mar 1999
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I like that design, too! The long boom reminds me of the Discovery from "2001: A Space Odyssey."
I agree with the points above, especially making the boom a little "stronger" looking. I'd also suggest beefing up the primary hull area, making it even blockier, though not necessarily with sharp corners. Just less streamlined. The deflector dish area is a good place to start.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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Here's the update. I'll see how this is received before I try to do a top view. I did put in a box beam type of spine, although personally I like the truss structure. The nacelles are now based loosely on the Phoenix's. Added lots of small details, including overhauling the sub-light engine and the deflector housing.
MM: After your Discovery comment, I seriously considered putting in an AE35 unit along the spine! I may yet go back and see how that looks...
There are quite a few new ideas in the design. I like the redesign better, but maybe you can try to add something like tanks or other structures to the connecting dorsal. Just an idea. I think it shouldn't stay naked.
-------------------- Bernd Schneider
Registered: Mar 1999
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I like the original lattice connecting section too.
Nice nacelles.
A lil bit more detail on the hull (the white parts)'d be nice. Maybe more like lines or maybe even just little doo-hickies that were located about the TOS Enterprise?
I love the cone at the back
And MAYBE the nacelles could be closer to the hull a la the Fortunate!?!
Oh, also the lattice-structure could be longer... maybe emphasising the 'fantastic energies' that are being generated by the nacelles and that part of the ship!?! And the whole M/AM hazard!?! Maybe the injection system has to be longer or something?
Oh and is the little yellow square towards the aft section something like the plaque found on the Pioneer probes!?!
Nice.
Andrew
-------------------- "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)
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posted
That redesign rates highly on my SleekOMeter. But, I think the connecting dorsal's a bit too stretched out. It looks rather fragile... maybe if you added some objects this'd be less noticable. Simply cutting the thing in half might also work (drastic alternative, I know).
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted
Thanks for the comments! I agree that I need to do something to the big gray areas on the main hull, so I'll get around to that eventually.
Andrew: The yellow plate is actually a feature swiped from the aft fuselage of the space shuttle. I think that it's where you can get access to some subsystems and/or refueling port, but I'm not sure, but that's what it's doing on my design.
As for the spine, unless I (or someone else) can come up with something that would look really good, I'll just leave it blank.
posted
This will depend on what kind of purpose you intend for this design of yours, BJ_O. But I dug up a few examples from B5 ships, which occasionally sported something similar to the boom.
This design was basically a long boom with lots of equipment mounted along it. Someone already mentioned some small deuterium tanks -- wouldn't it make sense for early ships to have ejectable tanks in case of emergency? (Although you've already got the big engine nozzles.)
Then there's the gunboat design, where there were some relatively heavy cannons mounted. I wouldn't recommend anything nearly so extreme, of course -- Trek has never been big on external weaponry anyway. But maybe mounting a couple defensive plasma cannons or something would be an idea to fill some space.
And finally, I also agree with the suggestion that you lengthen the boom a bit. For one thing, it would be a neat homage to "2001" if you had a ship with similar proportions -- though obviously not the same shapes at either end.
And speaking of "2001," I like your idea of putting a satellite dish on the boom... that would look neat, and also give a "retro" look to the design.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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Okay, here's another major update to this design, plus a top view.
As you can see, I added the AE35 unit, and it looks pretty good to me. Some might say that there's a line of sight problem with the warp nacelles, but I figure it can extend to be above the nacelles if need be. Besides, it doesn't look as good on the bottom. Also added lots of details and gridlines.
As for this thing's function, I figure it's early enough in Earth's warp history to merely be a solar system explorer at around warp 1.3 or so. The AE35 unit could probably be an off-axis comm system plus some other planetary senors. The clamshell doors would be too small for a contemporary planetfall shuttle, so the bay would be filled with probes and maybe a space-only transport. Comments?
My preference is for the first type of 'neck-scaffolding'... the middle bit... the see-through version with a conduit down the middle... you know the one.
Anyway! GREAT SHIP!
One more small nit/suggestion - the deflector dish underneath... maybe you could make it more... 'low tech'?? Less TOS-ish, a bit more 'raw' like the other things on the ship...
And, I can't remember did the Phoenix have a blue glow on it's nacelles? (ignoring the Akiraprise I think that the glowy stuff is more TMP-> tech)
Really do like it though.
I reckon, indeed it is a solar-system explorer and maybe even a few attempts at reaching a few closer stars or even the oort cloud and just beyond.
NICE!
I wonder where it would have been built... maybe off the ISS?
-------------------- "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)
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I may yet go back and see how that looks...
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