I just stuck some lights on in places where I planned on putting decals, but that will no doubt change as the build progresses. The changes were in the proportions and the removal of grilles, you'd need side by side comparisons to see they're thinner and flatter than before. Wingsley, the rollbar is pretty integral to the design and adds a bit of balance, particularly in the side view. Without it the ship looks a little odd and unbalanced. Didn't they hack the rollbar off and use it in TNG as a ship of the week? It looked pretty awful, called it something beginning with 'L' I think; Lancaster or something?
Yep, the Lantree did look silly without a rollbar. Although, I suspect if the Reliant didn't have one in Wrath of Khan, the Lantree would look just fine. Anyway, your intent is a fresh take on the Reliant design, so I don't see the point behind leaving such a prominent feature off.
I can only see 1 hull, Do you mean the lower saucer section is a secondary hull? It all seems entwined. I am liking this. Reminds me a lot from underneath of my Quantum class ship that you kindly textured a sketchup model for me. Thanks again for that! I don't think the hull looks sharp, it depends on the angle I suppose, but from underneath it looks a like the Norway class. I can't wait to see it textured to get a real idea of the scale . The nacelles are cool! They remind me of phaser rifles. Although this is a blatant nod to the Miranda class its still got a lot of freedom in the design than some generic reimaginings I have seen
You could have gone the same route I did with the Sparrow class, and designed her first without the equipment pack, and then integrate the equipment into the design like I did with the Falken class, but at this point, it is probably too late, and would pretty much require starting over (not that I mind the Sparrow family being unique in how I'm designing them). I don't think I need to say that the ship you were referring to was the Lantree. I thought that the sensor/phaser pods made her look odd, but otherwise, she looked okay without the equipment rollbar. Looks less like a Miranda refit, and more like a totally new vessel to me, akin to, and perhaps a competitor/supplement to the Merian class, and my own Sparrow/Falken class (speaking of which, I need to get back to work on). I agree with solarbaby on the hull looking akin to the Norway class. That was my first impression. Needless to say, the modeling is what we would all expect from you.