posted
Say at Amazon I noticed they had old Franz Joseph's tech manual for sale. I'm deciding whether or not to buy it even though its non-cannon. Anybody here have it? Is it a good buy? How good is the starship content?
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
The starship content accounts for only a tiny percentage of the book. I got it, and at the time I wasn't displeased with it because it sated my curiosity, but don't expect it to be all THAT interesting.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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Boy, you are opening up a WHOLE big kettle of fish.
At the time it was published, everything with the Star Trek name on it was considered part of the Trek universe, even those atrocious Gold Key comics. FJ went to the extent of seeking Gene's blessing/approval before publishing, which is kind of unfortunate, as getting Gene's appraisal of anything technical was a waste of time. He was far more concerned with the Story. Hence, the totally BS stardate explanation he pulled out of his ass at a convention, rather than just say the episodes were shown out of order.
After seeing the Booklet of General Plans and the Technical Manual, Gene asked FJ to work for/with him on his upcoming projects, designing props and the like. FJ never understood the Hollywood System, and it never occurred to Gene that he didn't. This led to some miscommunications, bad feelings, and a professional breakup, culminating in Gene declaring FJ's work unofficial (even though it was official).
So for a good decade, FJ's Tech Manual was considered definitive, by fans and moviemakers alike. Material from the TM was used in the first three Trek movies and formed the basis for Treknical Fandom for some time. Todd Guenther, David Schmidt, and others not so famous based a lot of their work on the foundations FJ illustrated in the TM.
Downside #1 is that Mike Okuda came to work for Paramount on Star Trek IV, and he was (and I think still is) a total Trekkie "Gene Roddenberry can do no wrong and His Word is Law" dork. He latched immediately onto the party line when Gene told him to ignore FJ's work, and adopted Gene's "Roddenberry's Rules of Starship Design", which of course were meant solely to invalidate the new designs FJ had put in his TM.
Downside #2 is that FJ had no real idea what he was doing. He readily admitted he wasn't a fan and didn't watch the show. Most of his raw material came from the few episodes he did happen to catch, slides and stills from Lincoln Enterprises, and second-hand info from his daughter and her other Trekkie friends. He never sought out Matt Jeffries, the guy who designed the Enterprise, many of the sets and props, and came up with the original half-formed registry system.
I have a 1st Printing, myself. I find it's excellent for material to fill in gaps, where it isn't contradicted by aired material, and where aired material gives no explanation.
--Jonah
-------------------- "That's what I like about these high school girls, I keep getting older, they stay the same age."
--David "Woody" Wooderson, Dazed and Confused
Registered: Feb 2001
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Hmm...fascinating. Well thanks for the feedback especially Peregrinus for the backstory. I'm now considering those Starfleet Battles miniatures since I may be tempted to actually paint a couple.
Well I guess I won't be buying the tech manual but I liked to know of any books that deal with starships predominately.
Registered: Feb 2005
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Yes skimpy on the variety of starships (and I don't know what was going on with the (very intricate) station and cargo plans, but it did have a fair amount of stuff from TOS including props, uniforms panel breakouts and deckplans. As a draftsman, I find it fascinating to see something so intricate done by hand. Impressive in that regard if nothing else...
Registered: Sep 2000
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He actually DID meet Matt Jefferies. January 4, 1974. While working on the Technical Manual, and during a meeting with GR, Bob Justman, and Bill Theiss to go over problems with GR's new pilot (and to discuss the Booklet of General Plans they all had already seen).
posted
I like the FJ Dreadnaught, but generally hate all his other stuff- particularly the Saladin. I'm not real fond of the tug, but it sorta serves a purpose...thaough I loathe all the incredibly lame-ass alternate containers (hangar/fighter bays, luxury liners, gaint containers carrying unassembled but pre-built starships, etc) that the fan community has thrown together.
Prahaps GR and FJ are at each other's throats for all eternity like those black and white guys from TOS were...with cheesy music playing in the background.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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What bugs me the most is how the cover promises alien ship specifications, but they are nowhere to be found in the book.
Registered: Mar 1999
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quote:Originally posted by aridas: He actually DID meet Matt Jefferies. January 4, 1974. While working on the Technical Manual, and during a meeting with GR, Bob Justman, and Bill Theiss to go over problems with GR's new pilot (and to discuss the Booklet of General Plans they all had already seen).
Hot damn, aridas, it's good to see you back here!
Huh... I knew he met with Gene frequently. I knew he met with Bill regarding the uniforms and insignia. But I didn't think he met with anyone else involved with Trek's production. Time to revise my world-view. Love to know the substance of that meeting, though. Most likely discussing the BGP, and his new ship designs. Heck, I'd love to know why Matt didn't point out all the errors in the BGP.
And Mars...? Star Fleet Battles is a nice ship combat system. FASA's minis were better, but are harder to find these days than the Venus de Milo's arms. Just make sure you don't get sucked into the SFB chronology. It gets pretty wacky/stupid/overblown. And the TM is worth picking up. You might surprise yourself with how often you end up pulling it off the shelf to check on something.
And Jason, I think the Saladin, Hermes, and Ptolemy were good working designs. They just needed some more work before I would have called them finished. I personally think the definitive version of the Federation is what we saw in the "Starship Design" magazine that Star Station Aurora put out oh so long ago.
--Jonah
-------------------- "That's what I like about these high school girls, I keep getting older, they stay the same age."
--David "Woody" Wooderson, Dazed and Confused
Registered: Feb 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Peregrinus: Heck, I'd love to know why Matt didn't point out all the errors in the BGP.
Uh...because they weren't errors? The plans represented the prototype vessel of the starship class to which the Enterprise belonged, not the Enterprise herself. It was never intended that they should be an exact representation of the ship we saw on the television show.
-------------------- The flaws we find most objectionable in others are often those we recognize in ourselves.
Registered: Jun 2001
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Dont sway I never gave you anything: Resin recasts of the FASA minis plus new sculpts too.
Or you can just take the real plunge and build real models like me- a lot of the FASA designs are being made as 2500th sclae models now- I just got an incredible Winged Defender (with movable wings for fuck's sake!) last week! I alos gots a Grim Reaper, Chandley, Whitewind, Loknar and Larson- all in scale, baby!
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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Great. Where are the 1400s? Y'know, to match the rest of my fleet? Several Galaxys and Nebulas of various configs, Sovereign, Sabre, Akira, New Orleans, St(r)eamrunner, Constitution, Enterprise, Excelsior -- original and extra-crispy, Ambassadors of both stripes, a squadron of Defiants, Intrepid, Cheyenne, and a bunch of conversions underway. Alas, I don't have my Prometheus yet.
--Jonah
-------------------- "That's what I like about these high school girls, I keep getting older, they stay the same age."
--David "Woody" Wooderson, Dazed and Confused
Registered: Feb 2001
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I rather like my copy . . . I've got a strangely-bound hardcover from '74 if memory serves. Bought it off eBay a year or two ago.
Despite the total lack of canonicity in the modern era, I bought it anyway for nostalgia's sake . . . I remember flipping through an 90's version in a bookstore as a teenager.
If you've never had the pleasure, buy it anyway . . . it provides a very nice glimpse into the origins of a lot of fandom speculation from pre-TNG eras, and is just pretty nifty in its own right . . . even if the innards of equipment are nothing more than wires and screws less advanced-seeming than your computer's innards.
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