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Well, the model on his ready room pedestal was simply decaled with whatever decals we had lying around from the ERTL kits, and while the ship config was supposed to be Stargazer, it was more like a testbed vehicle painted with warp-stress yellow indicator paint and given generic markings. The model was likely a gift from the Stargazer upgrade and maintenance teams to Picard.

Howzat for rationalizing?

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Originally posted by AndrewR:
What is in these uninhabitable decks!?! Conduit? What if you needed to get in there - EVA suit?

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Just look at what it says at the bottom of this pic.



-MMoM

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The flaws we find most objectionable in others are often those we recognize in ourselves.

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Mr. Sternbach,

I thoroughly enjoyed your latest technical article (the one on the Constellation-class) in Star Trek: The Magazine. I'm really liking what you're doing with stuff in this line. I have a few questions that came into my mind after reading it, though. I'd be most appreciative if you might take the time to answer them for me:

1.) Where did you get the U.S.S. Valkyrie NCC-2590 from? I am aware that this ship appeared as a model on display at Star Trek conventions some years ago. I believe it was even the actual studio model used on TNG, but I don't think it ever appeared labeled as the Valkyrie in any episode. So then, were aware of this model from fans or from some other source such as Mr. Mike Okuda or someone? How did it come to be included in your article?

2.) Do you really mean to imply that there were only eight Constellation-class ships ever commissioned? Or did you only list the first eight? (Personally, I don't really have a problem with there having been only eight, but I just find it a little surprising. I'd assumed there were more.)

3.) There is one passage in the article that reads: "When the Miranda and Soyuz classes also became major out growths of the [Constitution class] refit program, the production lines expanded, ultimately involving a total of three Starfleet yards." I interpreted this wording to imply that the Miranda and Soyuz designs evolved directly from the Constitution-refit design. But a friend of mine takes it to mean that the Miranda and Soyuz were previously existing ship classes of their own that Starfleet subsequently decided to refit along with the Constitution. Which one of these inferences is correct to your intention?

There are also a few, more general questions that I have:

4.) Does the magazine commission you to do these articles one by one, or have you agreed to do a certain number of them? (I hope you have plans to continue writing them.)

5.) Do you get to write on any subject you choose, or do they specifically request certain topics for particular issues? (I've got some great suggestions for articles I'd absolutely LOVE to see. Have you considered doing one on the Constitution-class? Or the Daedalus? Or the Akira? Or any of the somewhat obscure ships seen as wreckage at Wolf 359? If the latter suggestion appeals to you, there's a great little website run by Mr. Bernd Schneider at http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org . He and several others there have done a highly extensive and well researched write-up on the ships from the battle, all based on onscreen evidence from the show and some behind-the-scenes information gleaned from conversations with Mr. Mike Okuda. This would be great information to bring to official disclosure. Some of it seems to be right in your line.)

Anyway, I'll be glad to hear from you in response to my queries. Thank you for sparing your time to read my message. And, above all, keep up the good work!

-Kris Olinger
a.k.a "The Mighty Monkey of Mim"

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Well...

1. Yes, it was the display model. Why not have a little fun with the history? Not everything I write about is taken from actual episodes; if I had to stick to only what the show writers wrote, it wouldn't be terribly interesting. Got to think outside the box.
2. This was an article more about the Stargazer than the entire class; I'm sure there could have been more Constellation class ships built, but I limited the discussion to the first eight. Go ahead and speculate about what happened yourself; that's how everyone gets to talking and imagining.
3. I meant the former, that the three of them grew out of the Constitution refit program. After all, the Miranda and Soyuz studio models used the same molds in different ways, but the ancestor was the TMP Enterprise.
4. In the past, I've bugged the editors to let me write articles, and they graciously agreed. We've talked about topics, and then I write.
5. See above. The editors and I would work out topics, some I like, some they like better, depending on how much we actually "know" about a certain technology and how many bits of art are needed.
I've corresponded with Bernd and know EAS pretty well. The whole idea of writing about this stuff has been terrific, but it doesn't exactly support my family, so real jobs take priority. I don't know where the articles will go from here; we'll see.

All the best,

Rick

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So, looks like he *didn't* mean for the Miranda and Soyuz to be pre-Connie-refit classes.

-MMoM

P.S.

In retrospect, my message sounds slightly...gulp...fanboyish. Oh well, it was my first correspondence with Sternbach. I must have gotten a bit excited or some such thing.


*edit by the site admin: Due to being linked in Wikipedia, this topic is closed to prevent bumpage*

[ December 17, 2005, 05:30 AM: Message edited by: Charles Capps ]

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The flaws we find most objectionable in others are often those we recognize in ourselves.