It could use the same shaped tube as in the sideways movement, it would just have to be curved & tall enough. It would have to be a turbolift designated only for the ring. Then they wouldn't need to worry about the transition. Maybe 2 in each quarter of the ring. As far as thinking it through, not so much. I didn't study turbolift theory
Cool, that does look better. I don't know why the pods should be manned, though... all that's behind the deflector dishes is the the deflector hardware, right? They could use a workbee or something to go out and fix it. Speaking of which, where is the shuttlebay going?
Do the nacelles need to be so high up on the ring? You've placed them so that one could draw an X through the nacelles that would have right angles, but nacelles are usually a bit closer (vertically) to the primary hull. It'd be interesting to see a mock up with the nacelles resting a bit closer to the saucer. My idea here is that I wonder if this would make the profile a little less chunky or squarish and create a little visual sleekness giving that sense of forward movement. It's a cool idea - it would have been neat (and not out of place) to see a ship like this in TOS.
You might find the design comes together easier if you allow the saucer to be more Miranda-ish(though in this case it would need the raised back on the bottom as well as the top). Gives you room for the shuttlebays, some harder angles for the ring to connect to, etc.
Very cool design. You could actually do all sorts of "kitbashes" with this configuration.... 3 nacelles in a Y, 2 nacelles above + regular hull below, multiple nacelles across the top, skew the ring... In regards to the turbolift question, perhaps smaller dorsal "fins" to each 2ndary hull? Maybe some teardrop-shaped fairings where the pylon joins the hull, or something styled similarly to the "art-deco" ribbed sensor blocks that flank the deflector on the E?. Oh, and one question about the turbolift topic...can they actually go through a nacelle? (without getting cooked in the bussard-collector guts ?)
Here's a go at Miranda-ishness and some central struts to ease the fears of tipped-over/irradiated turbolift occupants. It also did allow me to lengthen it, it's a little less "squared-off" now.
Cool. I like the connecting dorsals, but I don't know about the extension of the saucer. Can't wait to see it finished.
These are all pretty cool. I am not sure you need the center strut (with this Miranda-style version - it's easy to imagine human-accessible engineering stuff being tucked away in the back of the saucer), but it's nice. Thanks for sharing the various iterations.
ty guys! Here's a revised addition to the saucer matching the styling of the pods, allowing even more lengthening as well...
Y'know I'm almost starting to see this as an early TOS-era prototype for the Constellation class. Definitely looks a part of that lineage now.
You know, Klaus, I was not a fan of this when you first posted it. However, it has truly grown on me. And the extended saucer makes perfect sense of support and the dorsal and ventral connectors allow for turbolift travel nicely. It's easy to envision this in the TOS era fleet. Nice work.
Here's a bit of texture, mostly from the one that came w/the parts... I'll have to add the nacelle numbers in post when I do real beauty shots lol. I still need to add shuttlebays and detailing to the aft part of the saucer, but here's a shot for now.