It's the S.S. Aurora from the hippy episode. It's a bit a strange ship, of course.
I suggest that it's a Tiburonian ship, probably built from surplus Tholians hulls bought via some unscrupulous merchant-race. Ferengi-ish. Perhaps somebody like the Nyberrite Alliance or the Mklexa.
I was rather suprised to learn that the *short* end is the front, which makes it look a bit less Tholian, but a whole lot more silly
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Well, it's a great treatment of a silly use of the model, at least.
But wasn't Tiburon a Federation member? That's been my understanding...
Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :
That's nice, Harry. I would only suggest to darken the shading on the edge of the triangular plane coming towards us. It's facing downward at an angle so shouldn't be lit. I also think there's some sort of texture to the read parts.
Open Question: What do you think the size of this thing is? I suspect that each of those arms/planes is at least 2 decks tall. Are you gonna take a leap into the unknown and add any scale clues, such as portholes and airlocks?
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
The gradients indeed still need some work.
As for size... according to a size chart I made months ago, it's 15m. That's probably based on the Tholian ship being ~15m (according to EAS, anyway).
That's a rather pathetically small "space cruiser" though, so I might have to make it larger.
Tiburon was indeed a Federation member. But Federation members can still have their own ships, like the Vulcan SS T'Pau and the Hekaran science vessels.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
Update:
Going by the ~2 deck width of a wing, the length is around 65 meters. There doesn't seem to be consensus about what size the Aurora or the web spinner actually were supposed to be, so I guess this is a pretty good guess.
And it now has a docking port Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Well, there were what? -- ten hippies seen on the show, at most? That might give a hint about the size of the ship.
On the other hand, there's the apparent urgency that Starfleet Command gave in ordering the Enterprise to pursue the Aurora, I'd speculate that it was a somewhat larger ship. After all, didn't one of the Oreo-men from "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" steal a Starfleet shuttlecraft, six months before the episode? I figure that the Aurora would have to be a bigger and somewhat more important ship -- not to mention privately owned, to boot.
The 65-meter length sounds good to me.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
he Tholians are gonna sure for copyright infringment for sure, but it's a really nice rendreing of a ship best forgoten.
I think, designwie, it'd be cool to have adocking port on the ship's nose: there should be just enough room there nad it would allow this ship o dock at a connie's neck or saucer port without landing in the shuttlebay.... if that would even fit in the bay at that scale, that is. Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Actually, Harry, why not make the docking port slightly larger, or with some more mechanical gizmos surrounding the circular hatchway itself? Jason's comment about docking to a Connie got me thinking. I'm seeing something similar to the docking ports on the NX-01, that have more complicated attachment mechanisms to create a safe connection. It looks like the single circular port is more appropriate for those dinky travel pods in TMP and TWOK, not for connecting with other starships or at a spacedock. (If that's what you want to have, at any rate.)
Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :
Maybe a schematic comparing Aurora with Enterprise would be helpful for gauging the size?
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
To be honest, the docking port I have now was supposed to be just for pods and shuttles to connect to. I guess you could have a 'proper' docking system in the nose.
Does the Constitution itself have any docking ports, though? Probably behind some retractable hull-plating again, I'd guess Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
You're a braver man than I Harry. If it were me I'd be alting the details of the design, trying to push it away from the Tholian look as muck as I could get away with. Posted by Timo (Member # 245) on :
Woof!
I'd buy two.
As for why the Enterprise was ordered to hunt her down, this might have more to do with who the owner was than with what sort of a ship he or she owned... It's not implausible that private warp yachts would still be less than commonplace in the 2260s.
Timo Saloniemi
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
That's cool, Rev, but the red part makes it look like a giant cockpit. Mabye you could ass some kind of texture or vent pattern there to break up the area...
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
Woo yay!
That's a very nice one. Perhaps you could turn it around and make it into some other TOS or Movie-era alien ship.
Posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim (Member # 646) on :
Harry, may I make a request?
As usual, I'd like very much to see also a "naked" version true to the original. Please?
(The one in your initial post is, as Masao said, missing the texture on the front panels and has a lighting error.)
-MMoM Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
Wow, my spelling is really bad.
quote:Woo yay!
That's a very nice one. Perhaps you could turn it around and make it into some other TOS or Movie-era alien ship.
(hint, hint, get it off my thread)
hehe
I wasn't putting that much thought into it, just modifying the lines enough to get shot of the Tholian influence as much as possible. I just find the idea of a backwards web spinner with strap on nacelles inescapably silly, but I suppose were stuck with it, being onscreen and all.
Great schematic as always though Harry. Posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim (Member # 646) on :
Oooh I forgot also: fore/aft/plan views?
Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :
Harry, after comparing your schematic to pictures at IDIC( http://members.aol.com/IDICPage/tholian.html) and other sites ( http://employees.csbsju.edu/rsorensen/modelcitizen/trekships/misc/tholian.html ) I've notice a few inaccuracies. 1. The nacelle has too many ribs, and the collar behind the bussard is too long. 2. The nacelle supports should be thicker; they seem to completely fill the gutter in the edge of the wing. 3. The planes of the wings and center pylon (out of which the wings come) continue onto the nose, but are angled in more sharply. 4. The end of the gutter ends in a Y shape.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
quote:Originally posted by Masao: The end of the gutter ends in a Y shape.
Seen hard times, huh? Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
It also looks like the central 'core' is actually perfectly horizontal compared to the nacelles, and not sloped down.. In fact, those Fact Files schematics are completely crap.
Here's an updated version. IMO, this is a lot closer to the actual model.
Now, I think I like this more than with the rather dominant red parts. But I guess those red glowy things were on-screen?
Confession: I've never actually seen the episode Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Believe me, you never really want to.
Posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim (Member # 646) on :
I think the redness was due to the lighting in the shots more than anything else. I do think it would be reasonable to add a glow to the bussard collectors, tho. And I truly would enjoy full views if you can manage, it seems your rendition is the most accurate and definitive version of this design thus far.
It's really too bad that you haven't seen the ep, Harry. It's a riot, especially the part where the space hippies and Spock have a jam session together! LOL!!! Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
That new color scheme definitely befits the ship a lot more, IMO.
I've only seen part of the episode myself. But watching a bunch of poorly-dressed wackos saying "Herbert" over and over again, and then Spock singing with them in the mess hall, really was more than enough for me. "The Way to Eden" is one of only two Trek episodes that I have ever turned off. (The other one is "Mudd's Women.")
Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :
That looks much better, Harry. I agree that the core should be horizontal.
1. I think the red color of the panels is just because of the ambient like reflected. The panels are more reflective than the west of the wings so throw off more color. 2. The Y at the end of the gutter is still a bit off. You seem to be showing a Y shaped border between the wing and the central core. Instead, the border is well behind the Y. It looks like a soft, sanded border that I have trouble making out. 3. I'm wonder, are you drawing the wings at 120 degree angles from each other? An equilateral triangle seems to make the most sense, but front views show that the hexagon at the tip is not equal on all sides, suggest that the bottom two wings are either at a different angle, or thicker, or something. 4. I think the ribs on the nacelles are more rounded. Also, the bussard should be deeper (longer from front to back) than the collar directly behind it. 5. The nose is still a bit off, but you'll fix it once you start on the front view.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
This is the front-view sketch I worked with to create the updated side view:
Three sides of the hexagon are a bit longer than the other three, but the wings are still at 120 degrees angles.
That Y-shape is difficult. It seemed to me like it *was* the connection between the wing and the core. The available photos never show that part of the ship in any detail.
Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :
Harry, everything is looking good. That is the first time that I have seen the ship with a pennant of "Union of Tiburan" and that logo as well as a docking port. That really adds to the ship in the design. Posted by WizArtist (Member # 1095) on :
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