Star Ships Here are a few designs I've been doodling. They are set in the early 23rd century. Everything is based on ideas I had sketched out that formed the unseen foundation of my publications, including the Federation Reference Series, and my contributions to the Ships of the Star Fleet books. Because of that they don't take ENT into account, and are pretty much an early fan's view of how the universe of TOS starships might have come about, The first one is from about 2210. Taking a cue from Greg Jein I've labeled this an "interstellar cruiser". The nacelles harken to those on TAS's Bonaventure and are to the original Enterprise nacelles as those are to the refits -- a step before. http://home.comcast.net/~aridas/Kearsarge-final.jpg Next is the Valiant from "A Taste of Armageddon". About 2215-20. The nacelles are evolving to a more familiar form, as is the overall configuration of the ship. This one is also an "interstellar cruiser" but pulls greater tonnage. Its one of the first "heavy cruisers". Much of the detailing here is rooted in lines pulled from early developmental sketches of the original Enterprise. http://home.comcast.net/~aridas/Valiant-2220-final.jpg The America is my stab at the 540 foot starship of the original series' description for TOS. It came in a little above that length, but the idea is there. It is further evolved from the Valiant and is from about ten years later. This one is now categorized, by virtue of the Jein scheme, as a "star cruiser" -- presumably a more advanced starship type. http://home.comcast.net/~aridas/America.jpg Finally, this is my take on Constellation from "The Doomsday Machine," as she might have looked when launched. This is very closely based on the 1966 AMT model, with alterations made that reflect some of the detailing Matt Jefferies' originally had, but removed, from the construction plans for the 11 foot model built for TOS. it is from around 2230 and is supposed to have used the secondary hull and much mass left from an earlier Constellation, thus explaining the low NCC number. Like the Valiant, this is a heavy interstellar cruiser. http://home.comcast.net/~aridas/Constellation-final.jpg I should make a pre-emptive comment about the "baby bottle" fronts on the secondary hulls of these ships. This is a detail comon to all of Jefferies' takes on the Enterprise up to and including the construction plans. It was deleted from those plans in an edit that resulted in the dish we know. Presumably, Jefferies intended the dish to be behind a "nose" like the navigational dish on an aircraft -- http://www.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/980226-F-9085B-001.jpg From a functional perspective I'm trying to link them to those little dome-ish sensors that eventually surround the TMP deflector dish, and that I used in a large form on the Kiaga. From an homage perspective, I'm using this original Jefferies plan for how the front of the secondary hull would look. In universe, I think it's the same kind of idea Jefferies might have used -- there is some rationale for why these ships are "warp dynamic" and the nose plays into it. If a ship is deployed such that it needs extreme sensing ability, it takes a speed hit and sheds the cover for a bigger sensor mount. By the time of TMP the things are so small the can be mounted in tiny little domes and used in multiples that interact. Of course, the idea here is also that the deflector part of this apparatus is what is behind the dish, and that it can function through the cover as easily as it does through the dish.
Tip of the hat to you, Aridas. I enjoy your adaptations of the "old" MJ concept sketches. You did a great job of incorporating them into an "evolution of the Starfleet cruiser" concept. I tinkered around with pencil drawings about 15 years ago, trying to do something similar. One of these days, I'll have to dig them out and dust them off.
Awsome is all i can say to someone who has severaly influenced Fandom ship designs for the last 20 years
Thanks everyone. I'm glad you like these glimpses into what's up in my little corner of the Trek universe. John, you have no idea how good that made me feel. Thanks. I'll try to post more in a few days.
Very, very nice ... I've been a big fan of some of your handywork for some time; glad to see you're still at it. You wouldn't have any objections If someone, like myself, tried his hand at modeling a few of these for Starfleet Command:EAW/OP, would you? I've had the modeling bug lately, and pre-TOS is sorta my thing ... JM.
Thanks for sharing these images with us Aridas - it's always good to see the forerunners of the TOS design.
Thanks, Jimini! And PlanetMudd, it is good to see both you and Schtupp drop in from Atra's ark. Feel free to develop these as 3D models. In fact, I was hoping someone would get the bug -- I'm always interested to see if they look the same once modeled as they do in my mind! Just let me know if there is any other information you need. You can email me at aridas@comcast.net. This week I'm working on the heavy partner to the Kearsarge. Sort of a Valiant predecessor. More on that later.
I approve of your doodling! Some random comments: - What is this Greg Jein system? Is that the one from his article introducing the magical NCC numbering scheme? - The America is so cute. 540 ft. (164.5m) is really small for a ship in this configuration. - The Constellation was originally a Horizon, IIRC. This is as launched after its major restructuring? Or do you suppose she was already constructed in the 'starship configuration'?
In Greg Jein's original 'John Doe' starship, he had sorted ships that were in the 1600 and 1800 range as different types of starship. (I forget exactly what the types were). This scheme would, of course, be dropped pretty much the moment that Okuda adopted his registries as 'new canon', where all the registry numbers are utterly chosen at random - or to deliberately interfere with other works.
You stole all my best ideas... even before I had them! And here I thought you were my friend. Oh, and you did a great job on these! Keep up the great work! :thumbsup:
Very cool! I've been toying around with my own interpretation of what is usually known as the Ranger-Class (the upside down Connie that appears in Jefferies early Enterprise sketches) and used Bonaventure style Nacelles on it as well, to try and show a connection. Its nice to see that the idea wasn't totally crazy
Thank you, everyone. And for you EliyahuQeoni, here is my take on Ranger. From the same period as Kearsarge, Pytheas is a small-format destroyer. In my little corner of the universe, Earth (and later Federation) destroyers were one third of the "star ship triad" that included carriers and cruisers. Destroyers were very small, with small crews and short range/duration. With the expansion of the Federation beginning in the 2220s, the trend towards large cruisers carried over to destroyers, resulting in Saladin and a capacity to move beyond the support of task forces and system defense roles. Cruisers were thus relieved of convoy escort duties, and freed to engage in patrol, defense and exploration along the frontier. Pytheas: http://home.comcast.net/~aridas/Pytheas.jpg An experimental small cruiser from about 2200 -- Eagle: http://home.comcast.net/~aridas/Eagle.jpg And a comparison between these ships and a Baton Rouge-like carrier from about 2210, Nordenskjold: http://home.comcast.net/~aridas/Pytheas-Nord-Eagle.jpg
I like the Pytheas a lot! The problem I've had with some of the "Ranger-Class" designs I've seen is that they're literally just rearrangements of the Connie components. I like that you've actually made it look like a different, though related, ship design. To my mind having the Ranger looking too much like its built from the same components as the Connie makes the Constitution/Starship class seem less "special." Nicely done! If I get up the nerve I'll have to post some of my ship doodles, though I have to say its a little intimidating in present company
I much prefer the second batch of ships due to their variety -- all Connie seems less "special" if it was preceded by a series of ships like have the same basic outline.
Yes, that's the one. After the major restructuring. At some point I might show what she looked like before whatever catastrophe or decision left her without her primary hull .