Would this suggest that the nearly identical details on top of the bridge and on top of the shuttle deck have the same function?
I don't believe a dingus ever existed in the position it now occupies, either. Or are we suggesting that this isn't a retcon and that the dingus was on the physical model? (Myself, I've always been comfortable, and rather charmed with the idea of no visible emitter for the phasers. And by "always" I probably mean "since 1992".)
It's just another thing for intensive debate. Move over, Rotated bridge debate! There's a new debate in town. The 'toe' of the Enterprise...
I don't care for the no visible emiters for phasers idea. That idea is based on the concept of a material that can be harmlessly permeated by the beams. I know the phasers are supposed to be some kind of "phased energy", far more sophisticated than a laser or particle beam, but it's still a beam of energy that burns through stuff. I think the idea that there's a material that such energy could pass through harmlessly just seems silly- but, in the 23rd century, who knows? I prefer the TMP/refit solution- twin ball turrets placed strategically around the hull. Of course, this might be too big a change on the original Enterprise, but I think they could have put one in place of that hanging digleberry. Though didn't the ship usually fire twin beams?
Unfortunately I'm not keeping track of the many threads on many boards, but someone somewhere did produce a photo showing that it WAS on the model.
^ I saw such a photo, but it was a closeup view, with no indication of what stage of evolution the model was at when the little thingie was present. As for it intending to be the phaser emitter, well, here's one of those cases where it was best that those initial intentions were discarded. It seems to me that the animators seemed to focus in more, as best as they could at the time, on the ring surrounding the lower dome (certainly makes it easier to do twin phaser beams, rather than trying to connect them up to an invisible surface detail and deal with fan letters asking why the phasers seem to fire from several feet below the saucer).
I would prefer the twin emiters be on the ring- that way they could swivel around. I guess there could be a door for the torpedoes there too. But, I guess now the dingleberry is canon!
The fact that it exists is canon, but since it's purpose was never stated on-screen it has no official function. And I think it's just a retractable scanning antenna.
Upon further review, the dingleberry is coming back out. Elsewhere, it has been pointed out that, in fact, the entire lower sensor dome lit up... ... so, during regular production at least, there was no opaque little nipple with a skinny little willie hangin' in the interstellar breeze. So, any guesses as to when in the timeline it was present?
As I suspected, it appears that the dingleberry only appears while the model was at this stage of development... ...and promptly disappeared before regular production began.
Upon additional review, it looks like the dingleberry is back in. First off, thanks to the fine folks at Trekcore.com for giving us such pics as this... Second, it looks like, yes, that little whatsit is there, but the whole thing lights up, making it virtually undetectable under brighter lighting conditions. So, no castration for the Enterprise after all.
Taking a short break from the latest crisis... That aft briefing room will most likely go, if only to provide access to that ladder, but this is essentially the final cross section for the primary hull.
If I may bring up the dingleberry again (I see you put it in your deckplans)... Was it my imagination, or did the phasers, in the enhanced episodes, still not come from any specific point? The "proximity phasers" in Balance of Terror didn't seem to come from the dingleberry.
I really like the idea that this dingleberry represents the infamous "ion pod". It explains why the feature disappears. In the episode, the Ion Pod is jettisoned, and we can argue that SF simply didn't see fit to reinstall a new one. Perhaps it wasn't seen as vital to the ship's operation. Perhaps it was updated to a newer ion pod that looked completely different, or was located in another part ofthe hull (that lower sensor dome being too vulnerable a spot for whatever reasons. Perhaps radiation from the main sensor/deflector dish interfered with getting correct readings from the ion pod located there, so they moved it). just some ideas.
That's funny- I have always wondered where and what that ion pod could be, and yesterday looking at these deck plans and the little service pods, I wondered again about the ion pod. It never occured to me, but you're right- that might make sense. Now, if only we could figure out what the pod is, why it would need a man in it, and why it would need to be jettisoned. I always thought maybe it was the little nub at the end of the navigational deflector dish- a little sensor room where one could take direct readings from the particles being focussed in via the deflector dish. Eventually it overloads and needs to be jettisoned. That's my theory, but I bet the nub isn't big enough to fit a man- is it?