posted
I think the lighted squares on the upper saucer surface are positioned differently, and smaller in size, in the filming miniature. I believe the detail atop the impulse engine on the saucer is different, too (the L shapes are differently proportioned). Minor stuff like that. And then there's of course the eternal debate about the deflector grid lines...
I take it the Endeavour Vektor is planning on making will be the oddly nacelled thing from "Ships of the Star Fleet"? It's certainly one of the least-known study models / sketches of the NCC-1701 - I'm still not quite sure where it comes from.
"...do they take a 2d schem and start from there or just add different cylinders together etc... and push and pull them!?!"
Basically, yeah. There are usually a few more complicated shapes in there, too.
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posted
My heavy 3D modeling days are behind me, but i still have nightmares about the way it was.. hours sitting in the dark getting a pale green monitor tan, transforming faces, polygons, deleting vertices... i couldnt think or talk to people in the real world for a while after modeling.. nobody else made sense.. only shapes did.. *shudders* i would literally stay up all night.. theres no way to desribe the way you think after an experience like that..
-------------------- "Are you worried that your thoughts are not quite.. clear?"
Registered: Sep 2001
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posted
My only regret about that beautiful model is that there's no lighting in the deflector area to complement the liberties he took with the warp engines.
Generally, on TOS, one would see the deflector area of the ship well-lit. But, when the Enterprise was shown on DS9, that area was poorly lit, and just came off looking like it was really dirty.
Alas, several of the amazing render-jobs also show that "dirty" look to the deflector area.
Some sort of gentle blue lighting would really make that area of the ship glow . . . no pun intended.
-------------------- . . . ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.
posted
I too think there is something missing in his deflector area - it needs more detail for a start - considering the rest of the ship got a muted Aztec finish! The dish looks the most fake part at the moment.
A subtle blue glow from behind the dish? A ring of blue at the FRONT of the dish glowing... a very thin ring.
-------------------- "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)
posted
Another thing that makes that area look dirty is the additional copper- or rust-colored area. There's an extra ring of it behind the usual navigational deflector, interrupted by the three blocky things that jut forward from the edges of the secondary hull. The filming model did not have such a detail.
Alas, without Franz Joseph's 1701 blueprints handy, I can't say whether his includes that or not (the FJ work being what Vektor's Constitution is based on).
Also, in reference to the blue glow in the deflector region, I've taken the liberty of using one of Vektor's older images to show what that might look like:
I think I'll be "that guy" and show these to Vektor, to see what he thinks . . . yeah, that's kinda like your average Christian telling God how to do his job, but hey, you never know.
-------------------- . . . ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.
Those modified renders look pretty interesting with the blue glow behind the deflector, but to be honest I don't really care for the effect. I don't care much for the bright blue glow on the nacelles of the NX-01 either. I much prefer the subtler, almost violet hue of the refit Enterprise, which I have tried to duplicate on the Constitution. Bright blue is just too garish for my taste, especially in combination with bright red and orange. That's the main reason I dislike most of the ship designs from the TNG era on; they look more like Christmas tree ornaments than starships.
You're not the first person to suggest this idea. At least five or six others commented during the making of this model that it could benefit from the backlit dish effect used on the NX-01. If I do anything like that at all, it will be something very subtle.
I think, however, that the backlit approach is the wrong way to go for those like yourself who think the deflector area is too dark. One thing I've discovered about this ship is that it's a bitch to light without creating all kinds of ugly shadows. The deflector area, for whatever reason, never seems to get as much light as it really needs. Backlighting would do little to improve the situation since it wouldn't really light the deflector itself. Someone else suggested a beauty light shining down on it from the lower sensor dome, which I have tinkered with a little bit, but it sort of sticks out like a sore thumb that way.
So, I'm not sure what the solution is. I think it's mainly a matter of setting up the lighting in just the right way. The lighting scheme that came into use with Voyager, in which the key light is behind the model rather than behind the camera, is just about the worst possible scheme for this model from most angles. There are variations, though, that manage to show it off pretty well.
I plan to post some more artistic renderings some time fairly soon. Perhaps you'll be more satisfied with those.
And thanks for the comments!
Vektor
-------------------- . . . ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.
posted
You know what I'd like to see... a saucer sep - a la Andy Proberts storyboard sketches as seen in the Art of Star Trek.
That's where I reckon the auxillary control room is - on top of the 'neck' - and when connected imbedded in the saucer section - which would put it close or if not on Deck 6 - Engineering. (or one of them).
It would then eventually evolve into what we see with the Battle Bridge in TNG. I think there was a comic that depicted this scenario - I have it somewhere - I'll have to scan it in (not that I have many comics - I bought a few one day to read).
Andrew
-------------------- "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)
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