posted
I don't like the idea of a shuttle and/or cargo bay without doors. I'd call it an "expansion slot" where they can add mission-specific equipment. You know, a wireless modem, digital camera, and whatnot.
posted
For that matter, are the two additions to the primary hull on the E-B shuttlebays or auxiliary impulse engines? The MSD from "Generations" says they are shuttlebays, but other publications have called them impulse decks.
If they are secondary impulse engines, they don't make much sense to me. If you use them when the ship is in one piece, they're going to fire exhaust gases right into the warp nacelles. Not smart. And if they're meant for use after saucer separation, then they're waaaaayy too big for the job. They're bigger than the saucer engines on a Galaxy-class ship, for pity's sake!
-------------------- The difference between genius and idiocy? Genius has its limits.
quote:You mean Bill George? I doubt even he knew - I figure he put it there and filled it with random greeblies to account to make it look interesting.
Like I said, one way to find out...
But it does look like some sort of docking bay.
As for the E-B, those are definatly impulse engines (coz they glow red) as for the apparent shuttlebay in the saucer, the doors could be just under the original (and very small) impulse engines at the back of the saucer.
Shik
Starship database: completed; History of Starfleet: done; website: probably never
Member # 343
posted
Timo & I went through this about a year ago on RAST. We came to the conclusion that the cavity structure could very well be a shuttle bay. There ARE doors there, as evidenced by the AMT model.
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Registered: Jun 2000
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Jb
Ex-Member
posted
The Ent-B variation's shuttlebays have been pretty much defined as the red housings on the primary hull...which do look much like impulse units. Of course, an Excelsior class ship wouldn't need that much inpule power, would it? After all, the original design lasts for ninety years...with no additional units. As for the underside cavity, a tractor beam housing makes sense, perhaps a powerful towing unit? I dunno. Regards
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capped
I WAS IN THE FUTURE, IT WAS TOO LATE TO RSVP
Member # 709
posted
I dont see why anyone could say that the E-B's impulse engines are shuttlebays.. probably because they look so much like impulse engines.
The MSD shows a cutaway of the ship at the CENTERLINE. The red impulse decks are NOT ON THE CENTERLINE. There is one to port and one to starboard.
There could of course be a shuttlebay between them... (and the Khan award for two-dimensional thinking goes to..)
Youre right about the exhaust though..
In the DC vol.1 TOS comics, that is where the HMS Bounty docked when Kirk brought it along when he took command of Excelsior (he kept it cloaked too!).. the front of the BOP fit right in it. (and when Mirror-Kirk took over the ship, Kirk used the Bounty's prefix code to access its weapons and have it gut the Excelsiors engine room from within the shields. Yay! I realize this has nothing to do with anything. I just thought it was cool. There was this bad guy in engineering and he fell down the warp core. He was on fire.
[ November 12, 2001: Message edited by: CaptainMike ]
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Registered: Sep 2001
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posted
Yes. But I've seen that. Whereas I only got the first part of the DC Mirror Universe story. I do remember that it seemed to have been drawn by the same people who did He-Man. Lots of variation. Obviously.
And also Saavik was being drawn like Kirsty Alley, for some reason. There was a good episode of Cheers on tonight. Rebecca had to look after a dog. Farce ensued. There was laughter.
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
posted
Among things that we "never get to see in action" could be a big auxiliary vessel. Not a poshy captain's yacht in this case, since what is usually stuffed into that hole is an unholy cluttering of boxes and girders and other spare parts. Perhaps rather a huge dropship for planetary assaults? The thing in there could unfold into something from "Aliens". Or then a portable spacedock for deep-space self-repairs.
My pet theory is that there was this hugely important piece of transwarp machinery there at first. When that one became unnecessary, the engineers simply shoved the leftover bits from all the upgrades and modifications there - cooling pipes, exhausts, rows and rows of booster cards for the computers - until the cavity was filled to capacity. In other ships, they were forced to package such stuff more neatly.
posted
"The MSD shows a cutaway of the ship at the CENTERLINE. The red impulse decks are NOT ON THE CENTERLINE. There is one to port and one to starboard."
You might want to take another look at the MSD. The display clearly says "Main Shuttlebay P/S", and the area it points to matches the contours of the pods pretty damn closely.
Considering the size of the auxiliary engines on the E-D saucer, I can't see any reason why a corresponding set of engines on the E-B would need to be so much larger. Unless, of course, they're burning rocket fuel.
-------------------- The difference between genius and idiocy? Genius has its limits.
capped
I WAS IN THE FUTURE, IT WAS TOO LATE TO RSVP
Member # 709
posted
Yeah they're impulse engines. Any MSD that says otherwise to the design intenetions is what is at fault here, because the graphics boys dont seem to know what the design boys were thinking sometimes
They glowed red and flared brighter in a close up when the ship was maneuvering, for chrissakes
posted
The Enterprise-B MSD had plenty of other mistakes too, so I wouldn't trust it worth a crap.
-------------------- "Lotta people go through life doing things badly. Racing's important to men who do it well. When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting."
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Registered: Mar 1999
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After all, the original design lasts for ninety years...with no additional units.
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