As promised, I've started puttering around with another small ship here. An interceptor fighter for the Akira Class since everyone complains the Peregrine is too big.
Big shout out to Masao, whose Starfleet Gray I've filched (do you mind Masao?) and used in this design. It looks awesome
This is definitely a WIP still, but later on I hope to modify the finished design to a fighter-bomber design so the Akira can carry a bomber squadron as well.
C&C welcome
WIP Version 1
WIP Version 2
WIP Version 3
Weapons so far consist of the wingtip phasers.. but later on I'm going to add in underslung Pulse Phaser cannons, not big ones though. something proportional to the ship itself
Ahkileez
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Hmmm... it's nice. I like where you're going. I'm going to need to see a side view, though Posted by Bernd (Member # 6) on :
Wow!
Somehow I have the impression that the side view will reveal some sort of "pyramid" just like the Delta Flyer.
Posted by SoundEffect (Member # 926) on :
That a neat stealthy design. From the looks of the cockpit area though, it looks as long or longer than the Peregrine Class Fighter. The Peregrine at only about 12m long is only about half the length of either the Delta Flyer or the Runabout. Unless the Starfleet Fighter is intended to be a scaled up version of the ship used by the Maquis. On-screen evidence points to 12m for the Maquis version.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Shades of Testors/Italeri's old "F-19 Steath Fighter" model from the late 80s.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Looks nice!
I dunno, I think that the curves around the edges are a little strange, though. I might suggest making the a little bit "pointier," though still smooth. Might add a bit of a sharp, mean-looking feel to the design.
And I want a side view! Posted by Ahkileez (Member # 734) on :
Thanks for the kind words as always guys
Aban Rune: Yeah... uhm... the side view will be coming whenever I get this view done. LOL This things tend to move really slowly for me.
Bernd: It probably will. A little smoother than the DF, but with that same pyramidal, back-heavy look most Star Trek small craft have. But she's supposed to be low and narrow (to fit through the doors that people say the Peregrine can't fit though). The bomber version will be larger.
SoundEffect: I'm not really sure how big this baby is yet. The cockpit is a placeholder really. (you can see how unfinished it looks, ). However, even the most casual bit of research will show you that modern fightercraft are much larger than you think at first. Since a modern Nimitz Carrier can carry a quite a few fighters and still carry 5000 crew, I figure if I keep this thing narrow, I should still be able to fit a fair number of them in the Akira. Bonus: Her wings fold up for storage, to save space
Shik: Give the man a cigar... you are indeed right Though I didn't know it when I was designing it, a friend of mine told me last night that it looks a lot like the F-19 "Ghostrider" stealth fighters from the 80s. The project that was scrapped when the F117 and her kin came out.
MinutiaMan: Everybody wants a side view, sheesh. There's no pleasing you people I see what you mean about the smoothness of some of the curves. I am considering 'hardening' them up a bit. I'm not sure though. Still thinking about it.
Ahkileez
Posted by Sarvek (Member # 910) on :
Cool looking fighter. I can not wait to see the other views. You might want to sharpen the edges of the wings, she looks stealthy or based off of the F-19 Stealth Fighter. Have you seen the Argo from Nemesis? It has sharp wings.
Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :
Please use the Starfleet Grey! I've been encouraging others to use it, but most people have avoided doing so (too "muddy"!?!?!). The RGB was matched by modeler Thomas7g from color chips suggested at CultTVman's site (http://www.culttvman.com/what_color_is_the_classic_ente.html) and the Star Trek Communicator article by William McCullars (of the IDIC page). I thought at first that it looked a bit dark, but that was because I always draw on white backgrounds.
Posted by Ahkileez (Member # 734) on :
Here's a more complete top-view of the new fighter. Still hemming and hawing on the class name.
I'm not completely happy with the cockpit though. Do any of you other designers have any suggestions? Most importantly is trying to figure out if I should have a smooth/curved cockpit like a normal fighter, or the current geometric-type cockpit most ST ships have.
Sarvek: Definitely considering sharpening the wings. I'll decide on that before I draw the underside. Not sure..
Masao: I really love your gray, Masao. I think I'm going to use this from now on
-Ahkileez
Posted by CaptainMike (Member # 709) on :
U.S.S. Scimitar! Har!
Black outline around the yellow Fleet deltas would help..
BTW, i could see lotsa custom paint jobs possible here.. thats the fun part (see Masao's site)
Posted by Ahkileez (Member # 734) on :
CaptainMike: Funny story behind the USS Scimitar thing It's from the Star Trek: A Call to Duty RPG, one of our Akiras. ACTD was once part of Paramount, They licensed us to do the game and signed contracts with all the GMs in the game and what not. They were responsible for approving the ships in the game when we were still a part of PDE. Among the early ships, was the USS Scimitar. Later on, in I think the Starfleet Command game, there appeared a USS Scimitar (Akira Class). Lo and behold, we found a few other ships that matched shipname and class throughout that game. So we guess that somewhere, Paramount still had a list of the names they'd approved for ACTD's use
So this ship here is tied to the USS Scimitar, which has been in operation like five years now. It has nothing to do with Nemesis
Is the delta supposed to have an outline? I wasn't sure, but I agree it could probably do with one, yeah. I'll fix that in the next update I do
Also, I did invision paint schemes for them, squadron specific really. Maybe after this is done, I'll put in one or two of them and see Or maybe Masao can help? (hint hint Masao? ).
Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :
I steal most of my markings from the US Navy and Air Force from the 1950s to 1970s.
Posted by CaptainMike (Member # 709) on :
im waiting to see a side view to see if painting sharks teeth on the front is applicable
Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :
Yes! All ships, including big starships, should have shark's teeth!
Posted by Fleet-Admiral Michael T. Colorge (Member # 144) on :
Yes, I can imagine the Enterprise-E with a shark teeth painted on it during Nemesis...
Posted by Proteus (Member # 212) on :
Very nice. Make use of the Akira's fly-through shuttle bay.
Posted by Ahkileez (Member # 734) on :
Sorry guys, no side view yet.. but something just as good I think?
-Ahkileez
Posted by Warbadden Hawkins (Member # 905) on :
Thats sweet, did you make any specs pages for it?
Posted by Sarvek (Member # 910) on :
Totally awesome. I can not wait to see your side view. I bet that it will be awesome to. Your fighter would make for a good story line. I have a character who started out as a starfighter pilot then Starfleet took him out to command a starship. Their reasoning was that they needed more starship commanders versus squadron commanders. The name of the ship that he took command of is The U.S.S. Nova, Nova Class Science Vessel. What do you think of that?
Posted by leuckinc (Member # 729) on :
Just wondering... What good does a fighter do? How would they be usefull? They would have to be able to out manuver (sp? sorry...) the capital ships (because not enough juice in the shilds to hold up to a blast from one of them) and they would have to be able to do something usefull... Their weapons would have to be able to be usefull against the capitol ships...
Is there a thread somewhere that allready talks about this?
Posted by Trimm (Member # 865) on :
I really like the look of this so far, tho it is starting to look a little cluttered. Looking foreward to a side view.
Posted by CaptainMike (Member # 709) on :
quote:Originally posted by leuckinc: Just wondering... What good does a fighter do? How would they be usefull? They would have to be able to out manuver (sp? sorry...) the capital ships (because not enough juice in the shilds to hold up to a blast from one of them) and they would have to be able to do something usefull... Their weapons would have to be able to be usefull against the capitol ships...
Is there a thread somewhere that allready talks about this?
How would fighers be useful? Well, they fly around and fight things. The thread is called the Star Wars Trilogy. its been debated before what relevance it has to the Trek universe, but i'd like to think they would need the fighters sometimes.
Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :
Okay, phew.... finally got the time to work on the side view of the Shuriken Starfighter/Interceptor. Took some doing too Here you go guys, enjoy.
P.S. Small treat in there for you guys that asked to see it.
-Ahkileez
[ January 04, 2003, 11:53: Message edited by: Ahkileez ]
Posted by Ahkileez (Member # 734) on :
Fixed! Posted by Dr. Jonas Bashir (Member # 481) on :
At last! A side view... I can say I was mostly surprised because I wasn't expecting that outline at all. The shark teeth look VERY nice BTW.
Anyone doing a cutaway for this baby? Posted by Sarvek (Member # 910) on :
Now that is a fighter. What are her specs? That is one fighter that I would want on my ship. Awesome Job. Posted by Ahkileez (Member # 734) on :
For those of you that asked, here are a short set of specs for her, based on the way we wrote specs for ships over at the ACTD TechSpecs website.
SHURIKEN STARFIGHTER/INTERCEPTOR General Overview: In an era of conflicts and a return to Starfleet's defense-oriented roots, the need for more task-specific materiel has grown. New policies in deployment and fleet configuration have given rise to new tactics and resurrection of old ones. In this growing need and shrinking time, the Shuriken Starfighter/Interceptor was developed to fill a niche. Deployment and development of fighters was never a large undertaking with Starfleet, most fighters sharing their design history with other small, multi-purpose vehicles. While these proved effective, the limitations of sharing tasks became apparent over time and a call for a more streamlined, purpose-built spaceframe was proposed and approved with development turned over to the Advanced Starship Design Bureau and subsidiaries.
Development of the Shuriken Starfighter/Interceptor began in 2371 under the hands of Colonel C.T. Joseph. Colonel Joseph headed up the ASDB's Pandora Program, specializing in unusual projects and technology proofing. From the beginning, the Shuriken was to be a departure from the hand-me-down philosophy that pervaded Starfleet small craft design. While several new 'small' technologies had recently been developed and were utilized in the Shuriken, her main body was built from the ground up, keeping careful eye on the purpose of the craft. It's secondary role as a support and escort fighter mounted it with heavier weaponry than is normally found on a craft of its size. Experimentalists developed a parasitic energy feedback system that allowed the Shuriken to mount Pulse Phaser Cannons for heavy blows. Other fighters were designed to carry out similar roles from sublight speeds and were already in development and construction, so the Pandora team concentrated on fitting the fighter with a workable and defensible warp drive system that wouldn't require the heavy radiation shielding and weight involved with internal-mount nacelles, nor have the additional drag and vulnerabilities of pylon-mounted nacelles. Missile and Torpedo systems developed for other craft and ground-based defense armament were modified and redesigned to be carried aboard mid-sized fighter craft.
The Shuriken's role as an interceptor brought about a durable mixed-fuel reactor that services both the high-speed impulse drives and the warp drive. This multi-ringed reactor produces more power per kilogram of weight than a reactor twice its size. The result is ample power for the ship's engines and weapons systems. This power level, however, comes with a price in fuel efficiency and limits the ship's range. Extreme long-distance runs are simply out of the ship's realm of performance, and require a carrier of some sort. With the redevelopment of the Akira Class underway elsewhere in ASDB's complexes, the Shuriken used the Akira Class as a model for carrier-configuration and the Akira still serves as the Shuriken's primary carrier even though other vessels and stations have been modified for their use.
Under fifteen meters long and less than ten wide, the Shuriken is easily carried aboard most cruisers. A single pilot is assigned to each Starfighter, with a sophisticated cockpit display and HUD system arming him or her with all the information available to the craft and a tactile force-controlled yoke. Compact sensor packs forward of the cockpit provide primary targeting, augmented by the fighter's deflector/emitter dish located directly below the cockpit on the underside of the craft. Additional sensors, communications palettes, and shield emitter grids are spread out around the craft's superstructure. Aft of the cockpit lies the compressed computer core and life support system developed for use aboard the Type-11 Long Range Shuttlecraft and utilizing the Danube's more robust core architecture. The majority of the remaining aft space is taken up by the dual reactors, high-compression impulse drives, M/ARA and shield generators. The Shuriken's internal drop bays extend a meter and a half internally, allowing for heavy-weapons payloads or even additional fuel pods for longer-range flights to be carried.
The Shuriken Starfighter/Interceptor is built to out fly, outrun, and out gun anything in it's class, purpose built to extend the available strengths of it's carrier or base.
Note: Optional configurations include two additional WHAM Torpedoes on external hard points in place of Missiles, or four Quicksilver missiles in drop bays in place of torpedoes.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
quote:Originally posted by Ahkileez: a return to Starfleet's defense-oriented roots
Buh?
quote:a parasitic energy feedback system
Buh�?
quote:4 - Type-XIX-A Quicksilver Photon Missiles
"Meet my little buddy, the Gland..." Effective circumvention of the Treaty of Algeron to allow Federation cloaking?
quote:2 - Type XXVII Perseus Warp-sustainable High-yield Attack Munition (WHAM) Torpedoes in drop bays.
There's something delightfully gleeful in the idea of packing Andrew Ridgeley into a weapons casing...
Posted by Ahkileez (Member # 734) on :
Shik: Wow, I wish I knew what you were talking about, heh. Uhm... I'll try to address your comments as I understand them.
First off.. uhm... TNG perpetuated an idea of Starfleet's defense role being a dirty little secret no-one acknowledged. Since most fans of the modern era were brought up on TNG, I'm just making a clarification.
Uhm, parasitic energy feedback system. You'd think it was self-evident, but I don't know what the hell it means either Any tech-heads wanna figure out what it means?
Don't have a clue what you're talking about cloaking. It's a regular old missile
??????
-Ahkileez
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Must I explain everything? :::sighs:::
Starfleet's early days were SO not about being "defense-oriented." That rankles me.
Ever see the Sci-Fi Channel series "The Invisible Man?" He became invisible due to a little gland they installed into him, the Quicksilver Gland.
Andrew Ridgeley. C'mon. He & George Michael had this little group called Wham.
Team Obscure Reference strikes again!
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
You really were'nt very obscure. I guess there's not many Dennis Miller fans on thses boards either.... Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Shik's right though. Comparing the NCC-1701 to the Enterprise-D, Kirk's ship did a lot more exploring than patrolling, whereas Picard rarely seemed to leave the Federation border.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Cool design though.
Was the F-19 design thought up by Microprose? Or did they just borrow it?
Posted by E. Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Neither and both, depending on which source you trust. Officially, the F-19 designation isn't assigned to any fighter aircraft, nor was it ever carried by one. AFAIK, Microprose's rendition is essentially a heavily modified F-117 (still classified when the game was designed).
[ January 05, 2003, 10:46: Message edited by: E. Cartman ]
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
quote:Originally posted by Shik: Starfleet's early days were SO not about being "defense-oriented." That rankles me.
Although "Enterprise" may change this to some respect, it's generally been accepted (as far as I could tell, anyway) that part of the Federation Starfleet's purpose was to provide collective defense against the Romulans.
Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
That sir, is bullshit.
Posted by Snay (Member # 411) on :
Perhaps in the specific, but I don't find it hard to believe that one purpose (and probably a large one, at that) of Starfleet was to provide a unified military for the common defense of the Federation's member worlds and holdings.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
quote:Originally posted by Snay: Perhaps in the specific, but I don't find it hard to believe that one purpose (and probably a large one, at that) of Starfleet was to provide a unified military for the common defense of the Federation's member worlds and holdings.
Exactly. With the speculation in the Encyclopedia (admittedly based on uncertain dates in some points) that the Federation was formed partially in response to the Romulan War, then it makes sense that the Federation's Starfleet (not the same as ENT's Earth Starfleet at all... grr...) was formed partially for collective defense.
Bullshit? Perhaps... but only as much as 90% of all the other Trek-related topics discussed on this board.
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Though I didn't know it when I was designing it, a friend of mine told me last night that it looks a lot like the F-19 "Ghostrider" stealth fighters from the 80s. The project that was scrapped when the F117 and her kin came out.![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
I see what you mean about the smoothness of some of the curves. I am considering 'hardening' them up a bit. I'm not sure though. Still thinking about it. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
I can not wait to see your side view. I bet that it will be awesome to. Your fighter would make for a good story line. I have a character who started out as a starfighter pilot then Starfleet took him out to command a starship. Their reasoning was that they needed more starship commanders versus squadron commanders. The name of the ship that he took command of is The U.S.S. Nova, Nova Class Science Vessel. What do you think of that?
![[Embarrassed]](redface.gif)