Is the NX 01 one of the better ships (aesthetically)?

[LobsterAfternoon]

I really like the NX-01's look. While it definitely represents a different time/purpose than something like the Ent-D, I think aesthetically it just looks better. Certainly D is supposed to be a more comfortable ship with civilians on board, but I don't think the design is good, particularly the interiors.

[Skywalker]

BillJ wrote:

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Always wished they had went with this one for the NX-01...

Way too similar to later designs, IMO. Then again, I would have preferred something closer to the Conestoga design we saw in "Terra Nova," but obviously TPTB that be wanted a design that was at least evoked the typical Star Trek saucer-and-nacelles look.

[Melakon]

Regarding the earlier replies of Drexler's what-if refit, here's a consolation prize from the blog.

Dominic Keating blows a take while having some delicious prime rib (with recipe).

http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/...tains-table-2/

[BillJ]

If I had to rank the designs, I'm not sure where I would place the NX-01...

NCC-1701 (TOS)
NCC-1701-D (TNG)
NX-2000 (Excelsior, STIII)
NCC-1701-C (Yesterday's Enterprise, TNG)
NCC-1701 Refit (TOS Movies)

The NX-01 would definitely come in behind those.

[C.E. Evans]

I think the NX-class is one of the best detailed Trek ships, but personally I thought there was always something "kitbashy" about the design--as if some parts had been directly lifted from a previous design with other parts slapped on. I've felt that way about a couple of non-hero Trek ships in the past.

[USS Einstein]

My favorite design will always be the original Constitution, followed by Constitution-refit.

In that sense, I like the NX-01's nacelles, and the ratio of saucer-to-nacelle.

I quite like the design now, but originally didn't think much.

[nightwind1]

BillJ wrote:

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Yeah, I saw the proposed refit and thought it looked pretty bad. Like they slapped on a secondary hull and neck with no regards as to how it looked.

Whereas I thought it looked really nice, and made a good transitional design between NX-01 and NCC-1701.

[USS Firefly]

The details of the akiraprise were nice but I preferred less like the Akira and more a Daedalus class

[NeedsOfTheMany]

I liked the design of the ship, it's very simplistic and functional which is what they were going for on that voyage. I was more impressed with how they were able to maintain the details each episode especially the damage.

[ArcherNX01]

I was never a fan of the proposed refit, I have seen the drawings but they ever say what the technical reasons for having a secondary hull would be? More space, more power etc?

[Christopher]

ArcherNX01 wrote:

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I was never a fan of the proposed refit, I have seen the drawings but they ever say what the technical reasons for having a secondary hull would be? More space, more power etc?

It's explained in the centerfold of the Ships of the Line 2011 Calendar. It was said to be primarily about making room for a larger, more powerful warp reactor. It also let them add a larger deflector dish to supplement the "inadequate" one on the front of the saucer.

[Glacial]

I started off not liking the NX-01 at all, but it's become tied for my favorite with the TMP 1701, especially reading Drexler's blog and seeing all the obvious love, detail, and care he put into the design, and the fights he had with the producers and other departments over its look.

When you see it before all the VFX-department-demanded aztec'ing on the hull, I think the basic beauty of its design really comes through.

[at Quark's]

hmmm, come to think of it, I think it is actually one of the nicer designs of the lot. Never cared much for the E, looks too sleek and 'mean' to me. As a teenager, I loved the D, but it is quite top-heavy. I don't particularly like the original enterprise, but I don't know how much I would have liked it if had had the same level of detail the ships of the newer series had.

The only 'complaint' I have is that the NX-01 looks too 'beatiful' for its era. It's the 2150's -- in-universe, I would expect something more crude, like a deadalus- class design -- but of course, had Archer's enterprise been of such a design, the tv-series wouldn't have sold well ...

[Timelord_Victorious]

I think it did a reasonable job at looking like something NASA would build if there had to be a saucer and nacelles, with the possible exception of the twin hull extensions to engines.

[Christopher]

at Quark's wrote:

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The only 'complaint' I have is that the NX-01 looks too 'beatiful' for its era. It's the 2150's -- in-universe, I would expect something more crude, like a deadalus- class design -- but of course, had Archer's enterprise been of such a design, the tv-series wouldn't have sold well ...

I doubt very much that a starship design from 140 years in our future would look at all "crude" to modern eyes. NX-01 does indeed look less refined in a lot of ways -- I mentioned the details like the handholds in case of gravity failure and the cooling fans on the consoles, and there are lots of other details that evoke a NASA-style feel, something closer to the present day than the designs from "later" (i.e. earlier) series that seem more minimalist and fanciful, more removed from present-day designs. But there's no reason something closer to the present has to look crude and clunky. There's plenty of elegance in modern aerospace designs. After all, it's not the 1950s anymore.

Besides, form doesn't always reflect function. Some of it is simple aesthetics. Modern smartphones and tablets and the like look a lot simpler than designs from 2-3 decades ago -- just these solid black slabs with little or nothing in the way of visible buttons, status lights, antennae, ports, or what-have-you. Things like stereos and DVD players today have very simple, minimalist displays that convey a lot less information than the VCRs and CD players I had 20 years ago. So sometimes it's the later designs that look more simplified and basic.