posted
Too late, Shik. That Trek XI horrified me so much I'm going to go with enlarged Daedalus-style nacelles with absolutely straight sides. Thanks a lot, man!
-------------------- When you're in the Sol system, come visit the Starfleet Museum
Registered: Oct 1999
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Shik
Starship database: completed; History of Starfleet: done; website: probably never
Member # 343
posted
Story of my life, man. Jobs, women, starship design...never fails.
-------------------- "The French have a saying: 'mise en place'—keep everything in its fucking place!"
Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
Can you explain your rationale behind the split secondary hull? It's very interesting, and such a distinct combination of shapes leads me to think you have something in mind.
As for the flow with your other designs, it strikes as a possible mid ground between the Comet/Daedalus and Wasp. It's the Wasp design that makes me think this one looks a bit too convoluted, though. I find it hard to imagine such a simple and beautiful composition as Wasp following so closely on the heels of this monster, though anything's possible.
Anyhow, your thought provoking work provoked some thoughts, and before I knew it I was tinkering with the design. But without any sense of how you wanted the ship to work I went purely by eye, trying to strike that mid ground as well as find some pleasing proportions. I hope you don't mind -- it started with tinkering and ended with a bigger overhaul, mainly because I tried to keep the secondary hull assembly much closer to a cylindrical design. It just seemed more primitive that way, and yet was also used on the later Wasp.
posted
Looks less like the hulking monster of a ship it was before, and since it was an idea that failed, I see no reason why it must look very similar to it's predessors, or decendants. Perhaps it failed because of the radical design, so the designers went back to a more conditional design, like the Wasp.
-------------------- "Kosh, I'd like to introduce you to our Resident schmuck and his side kick Kick Me."-Ritten
"Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity". -George Carlin
Registered: Jul 2007
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posted
Right, since the ship didn't establish a lineage, it would make sense if they tried some ideas that didn't end up working out.
For example, separating the reactor core from the rest of the secondary hull would allow some additional strengthening of the ship's structural frame. Especially since the reactor is probably a lot bigger and heavier than most of the ones in smaller ships.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
And possibly a lot less stable, so it might have been a good idea for core to be in a place separate from the rest of the ship. Maybe that part is ejectable, or ventable, or at least has extra radiation shielding to protect the rest of the ship.
-------------------- "Kosh, I'd like to introduce you to our Resident schmuck and his side kick Kick Me."-Ritten
"Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity". -George Carlin
Registered: Jul 2007
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posted
I don't think the core could be ejectable or even disconnected... for one thing, with the dual pylons, the system would be pretty complicated for an emergency scenario like that. But the reactor itself wouldn't necessarily be unsafe; after all, plenty of big(ger) ones were used in the heavy cruisers during the war. I think it's just that this core wasn't efficient enough for a ship of its size. Design compromises, and all that.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
This ship is intended as a dead end evolving from Daedalus. The designers of this ship (not me!) developed existing technologies to their limits, but the technologies weren't good enough. Sort of like adding more pison engines to a plane in an attempt to make it faster than jets or building a very large coal-fired steam locomotive. However, some of the new equipment it introduced were used successfully in later ships, although this ship was a failure overall.
As I mentioned before, I want this ship to look brutish, a Daedalus on steroids. I wanted it too look like an overbuilt prewar tank (with multiple turrets or with the main gun in the hull ). I didn't want it took too sleek (sorry, Aridas! But the coke-bottle shape is very elegant.). The navigation deflector was specifically moved from the primary hull to allow it to be longer, which, for some reason, was necessary at the time to give it greater range and power. The secondary hull was then extended downward to accomadate it. This ship is a missile carrier, which is one reason the primary hull is flattened; missles are carried in the outboard parts of the primary hull.
The reactor is in the stern of the ship. This is an arrangement that was used in some of my later ships, such as Moskva. The reactor was not ejectable, but the rear of the ship could be broken off, like the tail of a skink. This occurs through the engineer's best friend: explosive bolts! The nacelles would also be broken off (or maybe the nacelles could also be powered with a fusion reactor in the "thorax" part of the ship).
-------------------- When you're in the Sol system, come visit the Starfleet Museum
Registered: Oct 1999
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posted
Lookin' nice! I like the idea of making it a missile cruiser, with those honkin' big doors in the front.
My one big critique is the nacelles... Though I wholeheartedly empathize with your desire for simple, straight nacelles, I think they need to have SOME kind of features to them. Even if it's simple ribbing like aridas', it'll add some features. As it is, the simple nacelles contrast too much with the complex secondary hull.
My next issue is more of a personal preference. But I think that the neck needs to be lowered a bit, so that the aft end is flush with the top of the secondary hull. The whole thing looks too unstable as it currently sits.
Finally, don't forget to add impulse engines somewhere!
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
The secondary hull looks kind of excelsior-ish from the front. I agree MM, the nacells need ribbing or something. Maybe fins toward the aft ends to make them look like missiles or something. The end of the "neck" would be a great place to put a shuttlebay. It is a huge ship, so another secondayr bay somewhere wouldn't hurt. Maybe Nx class ( I know, wrong continuity) style launch bay...
Wait, is that one on the forward thorax?
-------------------- "Kosh, I'd like to introduce you to our Resident schmuck and his side kick Kick Me."-Ritten
"Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity". -George Carlin
Registered: Jul 2007
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