'Cause Shelby was assigned to come up with anti-Borg tactics. Doesn't mean SFT was the agency overseeing the whole Dominion War years later.
Top view of the Claymore as-built: http://www.inpayne.com/portfolio/claymoresheet1.jpg I also redid the Grand Alliance top view to match this new format: http://www.inpayne.com/portfolio/alliance_top_view.jpg Both will print on 17x22 at 150 dpi and should come out at 1/1400 scale (same size as the models).
Tiburon in progress. This little sucker turns out to be torture to draw! So many complex curves, and the model is only about 6" long, so it's killing my eyes trying to measure the little bits. I only have the side done, but I thought I'd pop it up (in tech manual form) here to show I'm still working.
Here's the mostly-complete writeup page. The idea I got when kitbashing the Exass Gundam, because it looked so klingony, was that this was a joint design venture with our post-Dominion War Klingon allies.
The thing that blew my tiny little mind was, once I put the profile into my comparison chart: http://www.inpayne.com/models/kitbash/xlvar.html (near the end) ... I realized this is a pretty big ship. I'm used to looking at the little 6"-ish model, but I forget I made it to 1/2500 scale! And hey! The only bash missing from that chart now is the Edmund Fitzgerald! I'm getting there!
Me neither! I've finished all the ships that I can use bits and pieces of other drawings for, now I have to actually measure the models and draw stuff from scratch. Must. Overcome. Laziness!
You probably wouldn't be able to give an easier answer; but how on earth do you design these ships Forbin? I've been a massive admirer of these for ages (especially Terrell Class).
Well, mind you, the kitbashed models come first, and then I draw the blueprints after the models. The models come about in many different ways. Sometimes I just happen to notice that parts will look interesting shuffled around this way or that. Sometimes I start out with an idea and struggle to make the ship fit the idea. Sometimes I'll look at something that's not even close and consider it a challenge to make a starship out of it (See the Val'Walo!). It's very rarely planned out in advance, mostly just thrown together as I go. You're right, it's not easy to answer.