T O P I C ��� R E V I E W
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Michael Dracon
Member # 4
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posted
I thought I'd better turn THIS discussion into a new thread.Short version: There appearantly is a new refit in the Miranda family. This is probably mentioned before, but here it is nonetheless: LOOK! FOUR impulse engines! The pictures are from 'Sacrifice of Angels'. ------------------ "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 26, 2000).]
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Fabrux
Member # 71
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posted
Blast me eyes. All I can see is a rather blurry type I Miranda.------------------ "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
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Michael Dracon
Member # 4
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posted
There are two extra impulse engines in the back of the torpedo launchers. They are even bigger than the original two engines found on the type I Miranda.------------------ "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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Aban Rune
Member # 226
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posted
Ehhhh, without seeing the ep again, I couldn't really say. With the quality of the photos, it could just be the glow from the aft torp launchers.Having impulse engines on the roll bar would be a physically stupid thing to do. Regardless of weightlessness, the impulse engines still have to overcome the inertia of the ship to get it moving. So, if there were imp. engines on that rollbar, the connections where the bar meets the main hull would essentially have to bear the mass and inertia of the entire ship as it accelerated (if the other engines weren't being used.) Not very smart. ------------------ "A gathering of Angels appeared above my head. They sang to me this song of hope, and this is what they said..." -Styx Aban's Illustration www.thespeakeasy.com/alanfore
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Michael Dracon
Member # 4
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posted
If it is the torpedo's then why only the back end. And why only on the Miranda class?------------------ "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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Trip Tucker
Member # 297
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posted
Methinks it could just be some random refit Starfleet's done. They could've found a way to cram impulse engines AND forward torpedo launchers into the roll bar. Just think of it as "Type 1 with more impulse engines" ------------------ It is offensive. Fortunately, taste is irrelevant. -Seven of Nine
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Delta Vega
Member # 283
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posted
Possibly used to chase down ships of the Dominion. ------------------ Klingons never do anything small, eh Worf? -Commander Riker, Star Trek: Insurrection http://www.huntel.net/massa/StarTrek/index.html
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D-S
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posted
Isn't there a variant with a navigational deflector on the roll bar or is that something I've seen of the ST creator CD thing?
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Sol System
Member # 30
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posted
The torpedo assembly doesn't look quite large enough to contain the launcher, its magazine, and an impulse engine. I suppose it could be using a much smaller engine, but if these smaller engines exist, why not retrofit the ships' main impulse engines to this new smaller design?Or, along a different line, is the acceleration boost from another engine worth giving up aft torpedo coverage? ------------------ But the dead only quickly decay. They don't go about being born and reborn and rising and falling like souffle. The dead only quickly decay. -- Gothic Archies **** Read chapter one of "Dirk Tungsten in...The Disappearing Planet"! For the love of God, Montressor!
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Michael Dracon
Member # 4
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posted
To be faster or to be able to fire backwards. Good question!On another note: The Galaxy Class ships in 'Sacrifice of Angels' are running on three impulse engines instead of just one. So it seems that they were also going for extra speed on the Galaxy's. ------------------ "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 27, 2000).]
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Timo
Member # 245
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posted
It might be that impulse maneuverability was the biggest weak point of Federation ships early in the war (c.f. the Odyssey against the three fighterlike Jem'Hadar ships). While modern medium ships had sufficient maneuverability, modern heavyweights needed more oomph so Galaxies began using all three engines. (I also speculate Akiras used to fly with two engines previously, and activated the boom engines only when Galaxies began using the saucer engines...) Perhaps the older de-mothballed Mirandas were hopelessly impulse-deficient, so it was either give them more impulse capability or not reactivate them at all. So Starfleet decided to install the extra impulse engines and get a hundred semi-battleworthy ships, rather than spend the bucks on improving the more modern ships and have to make do with a hundred ships less.It's not impossible IMHO to have impulse engines up there. There's already antimatter feed for the torps and conduitry for the phasers, so why not fuel leads as well? And the torp launchers must be very compact if the pod originally had four. And none of the blueprints I have seen have depicted the Constitution or Miranda impulse assemblies as larger than the externally distinguishable "engine block" including the nozzles and the blue crystal. As for the pylons not being capable of taking the loads... The warp nacelle pylons of a Constitution are just as (if not more) spindly, and have to take major loads as well since nacelles supposedly make up a major portion of the ship mass. Timo Saloniemi
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Constellation of One
Member # 332
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posted
Weird. I'd sure like to see the rest of that clip to confirm that there isn't any impulse glow from the rear of the primary hull. Having said that, it looks to me as if there isn't any based upon what's being shown. Do you think the special effects guys were tired when they made this ep, or was this (assuming the rollbar glow is an impulse engine) an intentional modification? ------------------ Everything in life I ever needed to know I learned from The Simpsons.
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Constellation of One
Member # 332
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posted
Never mind, I can see the glow from the usual impulse vent locations. Temporary brain lock.------------------ Everything in life I ever needed to know I learned from The Simpsons.
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nx001a
Member # 291
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posted
This miranda variant does the ship have a name (ie is it visible)? Most likely to give the miranda class a bit more speed when attacking the maneverable dominion ships.------------------ "We set sail on this new sea because their is new knowledge to be gained and new rights to be won" John F Kennedy members.aol.com/mfwan/index.htm
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Michael Dracon
Member # 4
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posted
The Seatak and the Majestic have the same impulse engine upgrade!!In fact: All Miranda's of which the rear was visible had 4 impulse engines. ------------------ "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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Mikey T
Member # 144
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posted
Ah...couldn't this be another mistake by the special effects people?------------------ Cigar Girl- "Would you like to check my figures?" James Bond- "I'm sure that they are very well rounded..." The World is Not Enough
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Michael Dracon
Member # 4
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posted
Very good change. They also introduced the second CGI Jem'Hadar battle cruiser in this episode. Also the full version of the new CGI Galaxy Class made it's debute here (it was used in earlier episodes of the same season, but the hull coloring wasn't right. It was purple on some regions). It wouldn't surprise my that several other CGI meshes were also new ones.------------------ "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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Spike
Member # 322
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posted
Maybe these red lights are activated photon torpedo tubes, like the tube of the Kronos One in ST6.------------------ "No matter where you go, there you are."
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Yakaspat The Trekker
Member # 355
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posted
Actually, I am *certain* it actually *is* impulse engine glow we see here. I remember watching this onscreen, and I said aloud to my other Trekker buddies, "hey, look at the Miranda's engines"...since we had this on tape, we rewinded and watched it over and over. Sure enough, the Miranda's in that seen, about three of them if I recall correctly, have modified impulse engines. So, I think I am pretty certain those are not torpedoes shooting and it isn't a reflection. I'll go with Timo on them being modified to catch up with Dommie ships.------------------ TheTrekker's Officer's Bible: A Concise Review of the Starfleet http://thetrekker.homestead.com
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Michael Dracon
Member # 4
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posted
I agree on that theory, and I also mentioned the triple Galaxy engines as being the same theory.Now here is an addition: Could the reason for the lack of Ambassador and Nebula (at least until the end) be that they aren't fast enough at impulse? Fact is that they are among the largest and therefore heaviest ships in Starfleet. ------------------ "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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Timo
Member # 245
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posted
And the poor Nebulas also seem to lack impulse engines altogether! Perhaps that's what kept them grounded. The original models had these teeny weeny grilles just below the saucer rim, at the places where a Galaxy would have had big and prominent saucer-edge nozzles. They never glowed red or anything AFAIK. But the CGI model seems to omit even these. And while the rest of the saucer suddenly has all the Galaxy features, windows and lifepods, it doesn't gain Galaxy-style impulse nozzles. It hardly seems possible that the Nebula would be designed for warp-only operations. But if it were, it would be quite incapable of combat... Timo Saloniemi
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Michael Dracon
Member # 4
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posted
IIRC the Nebula seen in the DS9 pilot had a Galaxy type single impulse engine.------------------ "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 29, 2000).]
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Timo
Member # 245
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posted
Went and checked "Emissary pt I". I can't see any engine glow on the Bellerophon at all, whereas the red glow from the Ambassador ship beside her (supposedly the Yamagochi)is clearly visible. And the Bellerophon model doesn't have the twin saucer-rim nozzles of a Galaxy, either (but I can't tell whether the under-rim grilles are there or not). The Prometheus from "Second Sight" is a different matter. I'm only 98% sure she didn't have impulse glow, so I'll go and check when I can. I think she was identical to the Bellerophon, though. And the Farragut from "Generations" didn't have impulse glow, and did have the small grilles. Timo Saloniemi * PS. Boy, the Bellerophon and the Yamagochi moved FAST at impulse. So much for the theory that they were too clumsy against the Dominion without impulse boosting. I guess DS9 battles were all filmed at slow motion or something.
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