This is in fact Reverend's proposal for a possible Apollo candidate in the ASDB. I liked it, so built it, but the design is creditted to him. It's a kind of Ambassador variant, and predesessor of the Nebula.
Posted by Red BWC (Member # 818) on :
That is actually one of my favorite, if not the favorite fan design, ever.
Posted by The Red Admiral (Member # 602) on :
Tell Reverend that as well, he'll be thrilled...
Posted by Red BWC (Member # 818) on :
I think it would be better if the pod was taken off. Not too fond of ships with a pod.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Yeah, I reckon ditch the pod. Also no windows on the underside? Small 'round white thing' on the underneath. What is the blue glowy thing behind the bridge?
Re the pod - you could make it smaller and make it connect Miranda style?
Posted by The Red Admiral (Member # 602) on :
There were originally windows on the underside, but I removed them as per Reverend's request - he didn't like them. All other technical queries should be aimed more at him. The pod though is a key component of this ship. It's a tactical frigate.
Posted by Dukhat (Member # 341) on :
Interesting. According to some internet rumors I've read, the actual model for the U.S.S. Gage consisted of a "Nebularized" version of the Ambassador class. Of course, unless Rob Legato can confirm this, It's still just a rumor.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
quote: That is actually one of my favorite, if not the favorite fan design, ever.
Ta very much.
quote: Yeah, I reckon ditch the pod. Re the pod - you could make it smaller and make it connect Miranda style?
The good Admiral is correct; the pod is a key component and the ship would loose it's character without the pod. As for attaching it Miranda style...I don't see how that would work without drastically altering the saucer.
The design is by no means complete; in fact the mesh is more complete than the original schematics.
quote: Also no windows on the underside?
There will be small portholes on the ventral bulge whenever Mark has the time and inclination to continue work on the mesh. What I had him remove was a load of windows that wrapped around the rim of the saucer, it was innovative to be sure but just didn't sit right with me.
quote: Small 'round white thing' on the underneath.
That would be a sensor dome, like the one on the Ambassador.
quote: What is the blue glowy thing behind the bridge?
The Arboretum.
quote: Interesting. According to some internet rumors I've read, the actual model for the U.S.S. Gage consisted of a "Nebularized" version of the Ambassador class. Of course, unless Rob Legato can confirm this, It's still just a rumor.
I heard the same rumor, thats partly why I drew up the schematics in the first place. I wanted to see what it would look like Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Whoa! Those schematics rock! Excellent technique. And I actually like the way the ship looks better in the schematics than in 3-D... I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I can see how the pod is attached and I like it.
Posted by Edipissed Wrecks (Member # 510) on :
i have a couple spare enterprise c ertl models, and i keep meaning on making a physical model along those lines. great, great, great ship design.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Oh re the sensor dome - I meant it looked smaller than it's Ambassador counterpart.
Posted by Woodside Kid (Member # 699) on :
Nifty design, although I'm a little leery of the mounting point for the pod. Seems to me that having it directly above the shuttlebay would limit the amount of support and structural bracing you could use.
Still, I love the idea of giving the Nebula body plan a design history of its own, instead of it simply being a Galaxy kitbash (although, if the registry number theory is correct, wouldn't that make the Galaxy a Nebula kitbash?). A couple of years back I had a bit of inspiration along the same line, except that my version was based on the TMP Enterprise. It's pen and ink, though, and sorry, no scanner, so I can't post an image. I sent a copy of the ship via snail mail to Jim Stevenson over at shipschematics.net, but I can't tell you when he'll post it (or even if he got it).
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
quote: Nifty design, although I'm a little leery of the mounting point for the pod. Seems to me that having it directly above the shuttlebay would limit the amount of support and structural bracing you could use.
If the Nebula-Class can get away with it, then so can the Apollo.
quote: Still, I love the idea of giving the Nebula body plan a design history of its own, instead of it simply being a Galaxy kitbash (although, if the registry number theory is correct, wouldn't that make the Galaxy a Nebula kitbash?).
I generally think that the Nebula was designed in parallel to the Galaxy and was launched earlier to test out alot of the technologies that had been developed. It's a theory that I also apply to the W359, mini Galaxy family (New Orleans, Challenger etc). It would also apply with this design, which is why I changed a few of the details from the Ambassador template, to show that some systems that were tested didn't quite make it or were altered to suit the standard Jefferies configuration.
Posted by The Red Admiral (Member # 602) on :
I'm right with you on that, Reverend. In fact, it's quite possible that the Springfield is the oldest of the ships in the Galaxy family, maybe 15 years older than the Galaxy. If the TNG Tech Manual is correct the Galaxy program took 20 years to run its course, so the Galaxy's design styles go back quite a way and would've quite feasibly have been used on simpler, smaller ships, long before the Galaxy prototype herself saw the stars.
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
Wow. I really like that. That is an excellent render. And the design itself is really excellent. This is definitely one of my favorite fan designs now.
I like the pod a lot. With this, you can see a neat progression of pod designs going from the disc here to the oval bulge of the Phoenix to the triangular disc of the Sutherland. I bet that you could fit enough structural bracing in there to support the pod assembly since it looks like the nacelle pylons hook into the ship at the same point.
I also really like the small details like the like gridwork on the pylons and secondary hull. It looks really good, as does the hull work on the upper saucer. I'm also getting this really cool Excelsioresque vibe from it thanks to the bussard ramscoops, the secondary hull's pattern near the ventral side, and that blue ring around the ventral saucer.
And, for some reason, I kinda like it without the windows on the ventral saucer.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
It is cool. Although I've always considered the Nebula to be to the Galaxy what the Miranda is to the Constitution. Anyone ever done a Nebularised Excelsior, to make the family complete?
One small thing though. Isn't the registy a little low?
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
I reckon the Centaur is a (ignoring a possible ship-bash status) Mirandarised/Nebularised Excelsior family variant.
Speaking about Families... If the Springfield is the first of the Galaxy family... what would have been the first of the Ambassador family? I have a guess here - maybe it was the Renaissance Class... considering it was the first (I think the DS9 Tech Manual said) to have Escape Pods (or was that visible escape pods). How do the Ambassador registries/Renaissance registries match up?
Actually does anyone have a numbered list of Fed ships (canon) from lowest to highest registry? It might help in slotting in 'unseen' classes. Although yes yes, there are some 'new' batches of Oberths and Mirandas and Excelsiors that appear through the 3#####'s and the 4#####
Posted by The Red Admiral (Member # 602) on :
Thanks everyone, I'm glad (speaking for Reverend too) that this design and model seem popular. We've both actually had a fair amount of resistance to it at the ASDB when presenting our cases that this is a plausible design for the Apollo.
Psy, the registry's right, this is the USS Gage, NCC 11672.
AndrewR, the Renaissance is a lot later than the Apollo. Her known registries are in the NCC 45*** region, putting her launch date probably somewhere in the 2340's bracket.
For anyone interested there's more pictures and info on the Apollo Page Posted by Treknophyle (Member # 509) on :
Agreement on the lack of windows on the saucer. One thing I always hated about the Galaxy was all the damn windows. In some sections (such as the interconnecting pylon) the damn hull is almost 50% transparent aluminum. That's a lot of faith in a 20th century product (transparent aluminum), and ahs to substantially weaken the overall hull integrity.
Posted by Prismatic Faye Valentine Fanboy (Member # 510) on :
quote:the damn hull is almost 50% transparent aluminum
50% is a bit of an exageration. keep in mind that the structural integrity field is going to give the ship lots of strength, regardless of what material it is made of.
Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :
Treknophyle: That's assuming that starships are of monocoque construction (no rude comments, please) rather than having most of the stress borne by an internal skeleton. I've always tended to favor the later, but most blueprints, going back to Franz Joseph's, don't show any internal framework, so maybe ships are monocoque.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
I think the TNG tech manual implies that the habital volume of the ship is just sort of draped along an internal support structure, though, doesn't it?
Posted by Prismatic Faye Valentine Fanboy (Member # 510) on :
quote:Originally posted by Masao: Treknophyle: That's assuming that starships are of monocoque construction (no rude comments, please) rather than having most of the stress borne by an internal skeleton. I've always tended to favor the later, but most blueprints, going back to Franz Joseph's, don't show any internal framework, so maybe ships are monocoque.
there is no way that a large ship would be monocoque. isn' a galaxy class skeleton visible in the utopia planitia scene in voyager?
Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :
The drafting room holoprogram in "Booby Trap" shows the Enterprise with a (seemingly) complete stardrive and a saucer that's just framework.
Posted by Nim Pim Pim (Member # 205) on :
Looks really great!
Though the pattern on the pylons are kind of ugly, the pylon end phaser strip could be lowered a bit, and the whole pylons should be angled so the bottom portion stretches a bit backwards.
Posted by Matrix (Member # 376) on :
To me that design is too Nebula-like. While I understand the design is supposed to be a Ambassador type Nebula, it could have a design of it's own. I mean The Constitution class has the Miranda class which is different from the Nebula and the Centuar class. I would think the design would have to be different in it's own little way.
Other than that, the schematic and the pics are great.
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