quote:Originally posted by Mars Needs Women: Dukhat I'm doubtful that Miranda with the sensor pod appeared in that shot, despite Buckner's assertions. The Mirandas in that pick look like the standard rollbar model duplicated multiple times.
Really? I'm referring to the three ships above the Defiant, not the three below. Those three lower ships definitely have the rollbar and weapons pods, but I can't make out the same for the upper ships.
-------------------- "A film made in 2008 isn't going to look like a TV series from 1966 if it wants to make any money. As long as the characters act the same way, and the spirit of the story remains the same then it's "real" Star Trek. Everything else is window dressing." -StCoop
Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
Fabrux, I have photo albums online, so you guys can see all my crazy at picturetrail.com search for albums by "cojoker"
I never thought of a build up blog- good idea!
As to the Miranda with the triangulat pod up top- that is a 537th Reliant Ertl model with a 1000th scale Excelsior model's stand stuck on it.
I do however love that Miranda tanker idea- I had the same notion a long while back, but went with a more FASA inspired nacelle placment and a custom hull instead-
I'd consider making the nacelles-up version though- it was the original Reliant configuration, you know.
Registered: Aug 2002
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But yeah, if it were me, I would definitely change the configuration so that the nacelles are mounted on top...or on the bottom with the containers on top. Having them squashed together like that just seems like a bad idea.
...While I'm at it, I'd also change the impulse engines. Instead of one pair in that central cut-in, I'd have two pairs--one on each of those aft hull extensions. Then I'd build up the bridge substructure and extend it aft until it gets to where the impulse drive is now. I would then turn that structure into the shuttlebay.
WizArtist II
"How can you have a yellow alert in Spacedock? "
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posted
I concur with the "Engines Up" idea. Buried like they are would, in my mind, severely hamper their operation in building a warp field. My other suggestion would be to move the pods back to the halfway mark on the saucer. It seems to me to be smushed like that.
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Registered: Nov 2004
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Warp fields seem to be capable of being generated by a even a single nacelle, and the Galaxy's nacelles supposedly have two sets of warp coild per nacelles so...
From a design POV, I always liked FASA's unique habit of placing nacelles together with the hull providing cover from weapon's fire- the Reliant firing that torpedo that juuuuust misses the Enterprise's nacelle pylon is the sort of thing the FASA designs would guard against.
quote:Originally posted by Lee: How the hell do you make something that small?!
Lee, I'm convinced that the Iternet's secondary function is to deflate egos- look at this master craftsman do "tiny" subjects that boggle the mind! Buh.....just....I mean....how?!??
Yes, those Star Wars figures are in the eye of a needle.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
Sod the warp fields, having the nacelles that close to the containers is a bloody collision hazard. Remember what happened in 'Cause and Effect'? Those things are pretty volatile and one RCS thruster misfire during a docking manoeuvre with one of those huge pods and bang-crash-boom, bye-bye warp core containment.
posted
How moreso than the FJ design? That version would require loading the lone pod from te ventral and between the nacelles... Besides, the only time the pods woud detatch under non-emergency conditions would be at a starbase- that's pretty controlled circumstances and certainly no more dangerous to the ship than having them by the Impluse plant on a dorsal configuration...and far far safer than (for example) than designs with obvious dangers like the Miranda's firing torpedos right over the bridge!
Safety seems not to be the biggest factor in starship design.
I suppose it all depends on the cargo and mission profile- if it's a tanker for antimatter, this configuration wouks great for emergency ejection purposes- and if swapped for human transport pods, it would give a great cruise-ship view (I'd have a ton of windows, unlike the old FJ design).
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
And did I say I thought the FJ designs were better? Someone else making poor design choices isn't a terribly compelling defence for following suit.
posted
Yeah that design is kinda endearing to me as well- though I almost decided to make it practical instead of (sorta kinda) like the studio model.
I thought of making the central length of the hull (the thin part of the Excelsior's secondary hull from the side taht fighters would have to travel along in a through-deck cruiser)two or even three times as thick (which would accommodate even Runabouts)and making the forward egress more of a large box structure the width of the secondary hull. That would give shuttles/fighters a much greater opening than the oddly small Excelsior cargo bay pointy part (that's the exact technical term).
Also, possibly removing the now foraward-facing excelsior shuttlebay in the undercut of the secondary hull and placing a deflector in there.
Speaking of which, I was thinking that a ship's deflector could make an excellent fighter (and even torpedo) shield- both would have to attack from another vector than the front. That being the case, ships could supplement their shields by adding small, but powerful directional deflector emplacements like how a Phalanx System works on Naval ships.
But then, if you're going there, why not use the ship's transporter emitters to beam incoming weapons fire away? We know from TNG that phaser fire can be removed safely in-transit. this idea would just expand on that notion. I'd love to see a ship being fired upon only for the beams to dissipate before hitting the hull- or better yet visually, for the beams to bend around the ship's shield bubble. .
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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