Quantum Threshold
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"Species 5618, human. Warp-capable, origin grid 325, physiology inefficient, below average cranium capacity, minimum redundant systems, limited regenerative abilities."
Ex Astris Scientia
After waiting about 10 minutes and only getting a little bit of the image I closed the window. You might want to check what's up with your server Bernd.
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Sisko: "We run alright, run right at them."
Smiley: "Ah, Pattern Suicide."
Federation Starship Datalink - New and improved Starship Database!
[This message has been edited by Hobbes (edited June 19, 2000).]
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"How many Libraries of Congress per second can your software handle?"
-Avery Brooks, IBM commercial
Back to topic, that ship looks really cool! Though, I don't think is seys NCC-2000. That model is still intact as far as I know.
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"How's your 13th chromosome? Missing a couple of base pairs in gene 178?"--Captain Janeway to Mortimer Harren
The web page is not completed yet, but come by and check it out.
Quantum Threshold
[This message has been edited by Black Knight (edited June 19, 2000).]
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"The things hollow--it goes on forever--and--oh my God!--it's full of stars!" -David Bowman's last transmission back to Earth, 2001: A Space Odyssey
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"Why can't we be friends?'--Smash Mouth
The web page is not completed yet, but come by and check it out. :)
Quantum Threshold
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Captain Tenille: "Oh, Simpson, you're like the son I never had."
Homer: "And you're like the father I never visit."
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Klingons never do anything small, eh Worf? -Commander Riker,
Star Trek: Insurrection
http://www.huntel.net/massa/StarTrek/index.html
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Jupiter Station , Starfleet Research & Development
Since Mike said "originally", the name might have been altered later on. In any case, Bernd has convincingly argued that this was probably one of the first Excelsior study models to be built, since it uses the pre-existing Constitution-refit saucer and not the more customized designs seen on the other two known study models. The model with the lenticular hull and traditional secondary hull apparently is the final version before the "production model", while the flat variant might come in between. Interestingly, the four-naceller and the flat ship have the correct saucertop detail while the saucertop of the lenticular-hull ship seems smooth. So the final design really is the best of both worlds...
No, I don't think the coffee cup is an integral part of the ship design (unless it's a tanker of some sort) . But note that nor are the dark diagonal lines on the saucer - that's just the metal wire used to hang the model from the Art Dept office ceiling. This sort of makes the saucer look confusingly like the Miranda class one in the bow-view photo...
Timo Saloniemi
There appears to be three primary families of starships in Star Fleet, that are at least known: the Galaxy, the Constitution, and the Excelsior.
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takeoffs are optional; landings are mandatory
The model reminds me of THIS fan-made model.
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"Do you want to be President?"
"Yes."
"Put you hand on the book and say 'I do'."
"I do."
"Good, done. Let's eat!"
- G'kar and Sheridan, Babylon 5.
[This message has been edited by Altair (edited June 20, 2000).]
The server seems to have some difficulties lately, maybe the university is not used to so much traffic
I'm probably moving to a professional provider soon.
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"Species 5618, human. Warp-capable, origin grid 325, physiology inefficient, below average cranium capacity, minimum redundant systems, limited regenerative abilities."
Ex Astris Scientia
Nice model
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"Do you want to be President?"
"Yes."
"Put you hand on the book and say 'I do'."
"I do."
"Good, done. Let's eat!"
- G'kar and Sheridan, Babylon 5.
[This message has been edited by Altair (edited June 20, 2000).]
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I'm not an atheist, I'm a maybeist�
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"The Starships of the Federation are the physical, tangible manifestations of Humanity�s stubborn insistence that life does indeed mean something."
Spock to Leonard McCoy in "Final Frontier"
[This message has been edited by pIn'a' Sov (edited June 20, 2000).]
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"When you realized that your website is your business and your software can't handle the traffic, that was an epiphany."
-Avery Brooks, IBM commercial
And here it is with a shortened body
I also took the liberty of extending the nacelles just a tad.
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"Why can't we be friends?'--Smash Mouth
The web page is not completed yet, but come by and check it out.
Quantum Threshold
[This message has been edited by Black Knight (edited June 20, 2000).]
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Ready for the action now, Dangerboy
Ready if I'm ready for you, Dangerboy
Ready if I want it now, Dangerboy?
How dare you, dare you, Dangerboy?
How dare you, Dangerboy?
I dare you, dare you, Dangerboy...
�on Flux, "Thanatophobia"
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It doesn't matter if you don't know what you're doing as long as you look good doing it.
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"The things hollow--it goes on forever--and--oh my God!--it's full of stars!" -David Bowman's last transmission back to Earth, 2001: A Space Odyssey
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It's not my birthday
It's not today
It's not my birthday so why do you lunge out at me?
--
They Might Be Giants
****
Read chapter one of "Dirk Tungsten in...The Disappearing Planet"! I'll give you a cookie.
But the model shows an almost square configuration.
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"Do you want to be President?"
"Yes."
"Put you hand on the book and say 'I do'."
"I do."
"Good, done. Let's eat!"
- G'kar and Sheridan, Babylon 5.
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"Alpha Centauri is a beautiful place to visit, you ought to see it" - Kirk to 1969 USAF officer Fellini, "Tomorrow is Yesterday" (TOS)
Seriously, I think the arrangement is still square for the picture on the left - the ship is simply seen from an angle that distorts the image. Note how confusingly the port side of the saucer lurks in the shadows - it's difficult to even tell where the bow is pointing.
As for the picture on the right... Hands up, those who can as much as SEE the lower pylon pair! There's no question, though, that the model is the same, even if we don't see much of it.
And the ship is probably the same, too... Qualor II could be the final resting place of the Wolf 359 ships. At least the proto-Nebula is identical (two ships could not have received identical battle damage, now could they?). We know that Qualor II is near the Romulan Neutral Zone and Galorndon Core - and we also have reason to believe that the RNZ is relatively close to Earth, and thus to Wolf 359. Perhaps it was chosen as a surplus depot back in the days of the Romulan war, close to the front lines, and has been accumulating ships ever since.
Timo Saloniemi
I think its a pretty ship. I don't think its a warship but rather an exploration ship... long term
Oh and AT LAST another ship that has Oberthesque nacelles!
I could just see a beauty pass of this ship as you first see the the saucer and then as it passes over you in front of a beautiful cobalt blue nebula... its neck and then its nacelles... WOOSH!
*looks around*
huh hmmmmm 
Anyway thanks Bernd thanks Mike.
Andrew
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"chocolate cherries allamanda" - Datura, Tori Amos
But there could be further variable geometry built into the model as well. Just look how the pylons are mounted to the aft hull - lots of open space as if to allow for movement. Perhaps the nacelle pairs can move closer to each other from that perfect cruciform arrangement in certain flight modes?
In fact, the nacelle shape suggests that perhaps the upper ones were intended to fit perfectly against the lower ones, creating a hemispherical forward end where now there are 1/8-spherical endcaps. The mounting of the pylons on the nacelles does not exactly support this kind of extreme variable geometry, since there are no cutouts in the inner walls for fully horizontal pylons - but perhaps BG intended to introduce them to the final version, were it to be built to these specs.
I must ask Okuda if he can perform a little experimentation with the ship. And when it is ruined beyond repair, you can all come and stab me if you can find your way to Finl... I mean, Madagaskar. I just recently moved. Boy, it's hot in Tananarive.
If this ship really is variable-geometry, then it probably was not intended for operational use at all. Perhaps it was a simple VG experiment predating Intrepid, or perhaps an early transwarp testbed that paved the way for the real NX-2000...
Timo Saloniemi
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It's not my birthday
It's not today
It's not my birthday so why do you lunge out at me?
--
They Might Be Giants
****
Read chapter one of "Dirk Tungsten in...The Disappearing Planet"! I'll give you a cookie.
Speaking of which, Okuda agrees in the latest reply that the model seems as if it could telescope, but apparently this feature was never really built into the study model. Nor do the pylons actually swing in the current model. An actual photographic model, if built to these specs, would probably have had a fully telescoping body and swinging, articulated nacelles.
Interestingly enough, the nacelles have broken off and been re-glued to a different position several times. The most recent accident was after the filming of "BoBW", so it seems safe to assume that the nacelles were arranged differently during that episode, just as the screencaps show.
Timo Saloniemi