Good point, but I wasn't thinking of racking them a dozen to a tube or anything like that, probably no more than two.
Sorry, Vektor -- and with the greatest respect, but the latest Enterprise is the most cluttered design yet. I've got the toy right here in front of me, and the junk all over the nacelles (especially on the cowling) is staggering. Much more so than the refit, and even more than 1701-E. And while the primary and secondary hulls aren't as cluttered, they still have more than 1701-A. Maybe even the D. I guess the worst offender was the NX-01, but I'll forgive them that since a cluttered look suited a more primitive vessel.
I don't totally understand the 'complaints' with a cluttered look. Now I could understand if you were referring to an ST ship looking like the ones in the Alien movies and Halo games (different universes and cultures built those ships so they fit with what they were goign for) But I still see ST ships as more military/scientific than anything else. And modern ships of the seas sure have a lot of 'flair' on them.
I don't think that's what he's doing. The "toy" has all the MAJOR components and details, but is actually quite a bit less detailed, overall, than the CGI model (and it's fair to point out that it's probably not "the model" but a series of different-resolution model versions, and even a few "partial builds of the model" just like you'd have in real-model work... each set up for slightly different purposes, and potentially having a few details subtly different). Still, the toy is the best reference we currently have. It's pretty accurate (I'm sure that they had access to the one of the CGI models when they made it... it would be silly not to have given them that, after all.) It IS pretty "cluttered" in terms of big, bold, structurally-pointless curvy- blobby shapes, particularly in the dorsal and nacelle areas. The dorsal area is just STUPIDLY constructed, frankly... a smooth shape, rather than the "tiered" construction, would be orders of magnitude stronger, no matter what magic-construction-materials you use. The engine pylons are covered with "graphic art geometry" as are the nacelles... the ship is just covered with stuff there just for "visual interest" (as it's usually described) without it seeming to serve any functional purpose. Hell, even the hangar doors show this... instead of a simple rotational system, the shape they have requires the door panels to perform a "warping/bending" action as they withdraw into the ship... you can see this very clearly in the shuttle-launch sequence. The new ship isn't designed as a functional, 3D mechanism, it's designed as a piece of 2D graphic art, with all the trademark foibles that go along with that... and that includes the "big bold curvy-shape high-lights for visual interest" one.
No, Star War's Stardestroyer is 'cluttered'. What you see here as clutter is actually surface detail. As for the surface details on the pylons... don't they look very much like those on the Refit's pylons? And I've never heard anyone refer to those as 'clutter'.
Guys, you're starting to get off topic here, this thread is for discussion about and display of Vektor's model of the U.S.S. Grandeur, not to kvetch about the new Enterprise. Everyone has different design preferences, I understand this, but unless they're related to the Grandeur, there are other places to discuss them.
I don't want to see a movie with a boringly functional space ship, if we went for pure function over visually interesting, we woudn't be drooling over Vectors work here !!
Actually, that's why so many people like his work so much... though it's done with a clear eye to "style," it's also done with a clear eye to practicality (or rather, "fictional practicality" I 'spose). Virtually every detail added is there or a reason. All of them are FICTIONAL reasons, but they're still reasons nevertheless. His work looks like a machine... but a well-designed, artistically-styled machine. Seeing that... a proper fusion of "style" and "substance"... is what I, and lots of other folks, like. I just don't get that from the ST'09 design. I see lots of style for its own sake, but very little real thought behind it. Vektor's 1701, by contrast, has both. As does his Grandeur.
I have to agree with earlier posts, those guns in the front of the saucer section seem clumsy. They look a bit like buck teeth. Maybe if you made them more flush with the saucer's edge?