------------------
Terry: "Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, ...."
Max: "And?"
Terry: "I forgot."
Max: "Come on, Clinton was the fun one, then came the boring one."
Terry: "They're all boring."

- Batman Beyond (aka: Batman of the Future)

Personally I perfer the model than the CGI, CGI makes the ships look cartoony, not in the way of Baabylon 5. Have you seen Voyager? I can tell that every shot that invloved a CGI. Some ships too looked even worst.

------------------
Predict the unpredictable, but how do you unpredict the unpredictable?

------------------
To know a thing well, know its limits. Only when pushed beyond its tolerances will true nature be seen.
The Amtal Rule (Dune)
---
Titan Fleet Yards - Harry Doddema's Star Trek Site

Basically, ILM built a 6-foot model that seperated. It was akward to use. Half way through season 3 (I think it was "The Enemy"), a new 4-foot model built by Greg Jein debuted. It was more detailed, but didn't seperate. Which didn't really bother TPTB, since they'd stopped using that over 2 seasons ago.

When BOBW part 2 was done, they hauled the old model out (for about 2 shots). They then went back to the 4 foot model for the remaining 4 years.

For Generations, ILM got the 6 foot model out, and spruced it up.

The 4-foot model was used as the Odessey, used in AGT, and (AFAIK), last seen as the USS Venture (Way of the Warrior), which still had the engine/phaser modifications from AGT.

Since then, we've only seen the CGI model first designed for Generations. I have no idea what the 4 and 6 foot models are doing nowadays.

And Nimrod: The Enterprise scared the Cardies away in Emmisary? Sorry, but that's exactly NOT what happened. Kira bluffed, and then the wormhole opened up. Gul Dukut's being carried along by a runabout took the wind out of their fight. The Enterprise turned up later. The Enterprise had turned up at the end of Emissary to scare away the Cardies would have been the worst thing they could have done.

Sorry, and I want to test Matrix: While I agree that sometimes CGI is really easy to spot, Trek is generally really good at it. I remember several people slagging off the "cheap looking" Valiant CGI model, before finding out that it was a physical model. Can you tell which ships in the final shot of A Call To Arms are CGI, and which are models? Or which shots of the Voyager title sequence use the model, and which use CGI?

Benjamin's quote: "With the arrival of the Enterprise, the cardassians have left the area."

I find it illogical to assume the cardassians guarded the station from the prophets, after seeing the wormhole, and was happy when the Enterprise arrived so that they could go home.

------------------
Don't kill me, I'm charming!

Its, as was mentioned the non-perfect look of models, their physicality and the way light interacts with the real surfaces that make the models more realistic.

I still think the MAJOR problem with CGI today is the way light interacts with the model - be it starship or dare I say it... Gun-Gun...

Also, the windows in Starships... when will 'fan modellers' realise that those windows aren't just white or black.

Also - as I mentioned somewhere about the NEW CGI for the spruced up TMP... I can't stand how on CGI models - textures are reused over and over and over so the pattern becomes noticeable on say the hull... or the nacelles... They are TRYING to make it look 'real' but things in real life don't repeat EXACTLY over and over again... If its because they take a small image map and tile it then stop taking the easy way out, and spend time creating each individual hull plate... also how light responds to each individual hull plate...

I mean look at those FAKE AS hull patterns on the Enterprise E... they try to do the hull plates, but the CGI makes it turn out to look... well plastic... and FAKE!

Another trek CGI problem is movement... these are BIG starships... they lumber along... they don't dip and dive like a fighter... only say the Defiant can do this. No those big ships... especially the scenes in Insurrection where it has the E-E strafing the Collector to beam out Picard... yeah right...

Remember, the Ent-E has about the same internal volume as the Ambassador class. Which is much less than in a Galaxy class. Add to that newer technology and two huge impulse engines and I think it'll get the job done.

Have you seen the turns that the Nebula and Ambassador make in DS9s pilot episode? Have you seen the turns that the Ent-D sometimes makes when it goes to warp?

------------------
Terry: "Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, ...."
Max: "And?"
Terry: "I forgot."
Max: "Come on, Clinton was the fun one, then came the boring one."
Terry: "They're all boring."

------------------
Signature for sale! For a mere price of $20 per letter you get this wonderful little space to say your own things. Get it now while there's still space!

The romulan warbirds in the DS9-ep with the bajoran blockade, and "IAEIL" were nice. Weren't they CGI?

One safe assumption is that CGI only will improve with time, so if you haven't liked it up until now, you'll see.

'Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges', possibly?

And the other one's 'Shadows And Symbols', IIRC.

CGI's only good for battle scenes. Everything else should/could be motion-controlled models.

Look at 'The Die Is Cast' and 'Defiant'
if you want really good examples of model and camera work.

------------------
At that point, McDonald fired his gun three times in the air to emphasize his point. The crowd, estimated at 350,000, loudly cheered the new candidate.

"Let me make this clear: I am the law! I am your ruler! And you will have fries with that, motherf*cker!"