Franz Joseph Blueprints Revisited

[ZapBrannigan]

The Enterprise blueprints by Franz Joseph have some nice touches that only a fan can pick up on. "There are fourteen science labs aboard this ship!" Count 'em. "I'm in your Deck 6 Briefing Room." And it's there. But I would add a couple of things.

I wish he had included the Emergency Manual Monitor that overlooks the engine room. That's an obvious item and its absence is annoying.

And this thing with the Bridge being offset 36 degrees, that isn't necessary. If I'm not mistaken, FJ overestimated the size of the Bridge floorplan. If you correct for that, you'd have more room in the saucer's exterior structure that houses the Bridge. I think the elevator would then fit over on port side where you'd expect it, and the captain's chair can face forward instead of 36 degrees off.

The supposed elevator housing seen on the ship's exterior could be something else entirely.

[Warped9]

When FJ's blueprints were released it was exciting and fascinating. I still have my originals. Yet it didn't take long to realize bit by bit that what he had drawn was not the ship I had seen onscreen despite it being advertised as such. Yeah, where was the Emergency Manual Monitor and Auxiliary Control for example?

But the style and professionalism of his work was inspiring and set a lot of fans on a path of emulating him and building on what he did. A lot of 3D modelling in Trek today can trace its roots right back to FJ's Booklet of General Plans and Star Fleet Technical Manual.

It wasn't FJ's accuracy or authenticity that was inspirational. It was the style and professionalism applied to a subject matter often dismissed as not worth the effort.

[blssdwlf]

Warped9 wrote:

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When FJ's blueprints were released it was exciting and fascinating. I still have my originals. Yet it didn't take long to realize bit by bit that what he had drawn was not the ship I had seen onscreen despite it being advertised as such. Yeah, where was the Emergency Manual Monitor and Auxiliary Control for example?

But the style and professionalism of his work was inspiring and set a lot of fans on a path of emulating him and building on what he did. A lot of 3D modelling in Trek today can trace its roots right back to FJ's Booklet of General Plans and Star Fleet Technical Manual.

It wasn't FJ's accuracy or authenticity that was inspirational. It was the style and professionalism applied to a subject matter often dismissed as not worth the effort.

Well said.

[SchwEnt]

^^^ IIRC, FJ plans were for the Constitution class, not specifically the Enterprise as seen under Kirk's mission. I think there was also a disclaimer in the notes about vessels in the class having variations and changes not reflected in the General Plans.

I'd say this gives some leeway in the differences, such as the missing Emergency Manual Monitor.

I still love the FJ stuff, some of the best ST work ever.

[Warped9]

SchwEnt wrote:

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^^^ IIRC, FJ plans were for the Constitution class, not specifically the Enterprise as seen under Kirk's mission. I think there was also a disclaimer in the notes about vessels in the class having variations and changes not reflected in the General Plans.

I'd say this gives some leeway in the differences, such as the missing Emergency Manual Monitor.

I still love the FJ stuff, some of the best ST work ever.

Yeah, but as a fan I wanted drawings of the ship I saw and loved onscreen and not some generic unknown. And it would years more before we started to see more faithful drawings begin circulating.

That said FJ's work did add to much of the world building we saw/heard onscreen, the references that suggested so much more "beyond the bulkhead."


Now I have to say that FJ's influence encouraged me to have a similar style when doing my own 2D schematics.

[CorporalCaptain]

blssdwlf wrote:

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Well said.

Yes.

[ZapBrannigan]

Warped9 wrote:

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Yeah, but as a fan I wanted drawings of the ship I saw and loved onscreen and not some generic unknown. And it would years more before we started to see more faithful drawings begin circulating.

That said FJ's work did add to much of the world building we saw/heard onscreen, the references that suggested so much more "beyond the bulkhead."


Now I have to say that FJ's influence encouraged me to have a similar style when doing my own 2D schematics.

That's great work, Warped9. Very cool.

Another fine draftsman inspired by FJ was Michael McMaster, whose Klingon Battlecruiser and Enterprise Bridge plans are well-known.

[Forbin]

I'd say that while FJ started me on the road, I was even more inspired by Jackill and Ships of the Star Fleet. Only I wanted MY diagrams to be in color!
http://www.inpayne.com/portfolio/datasheets.html

[King Daniel]

I love FJ's old blueprints. They set the standard and spawned a million imitations (most of which can be found on www.cygnus-x1.net)

Were they 100% screen accurate? No, but they were close enough for a make-believe world and fired the imagination. A few of the ideas are odd, a few of the assumptions differ from those of Matt Jefferies and some parts of it don't fit the modern view of the Trekverse (most notably the location of engineering and lack of a warp core), but it was all approved by Gene Rodenberry at the time.

And they're where we learned that NCC stands for Naval Construction Contract!

Here's a neat 3D flyby someone made, which does a lot to show the sheer size and complexity of the Enterprise:

[publiusr]

Well, FJs ship lives on as Achernar now.

[RAMA]

That STTMP music during the video gets me every time...

[TREK_GOD_1]

Warped9 wrote:

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But the style and professionalism of his work was inspiring and set a lot of fans on a path of emulating him and building on what he did. A lot of 3D modelling in Trek today can trace its roots right back to FJ's Booklet of General Plans and Star Fleet Technical Manual.

It wasn't FJ's accuracy or authenticity that was inspirational. It was the style and professionalism applied to a subject matter often dismissed as not worth the effort.

From an entertainment industry / ancillary market standpoint, FJ's work was revolutionary (like many TOS market releases). Today, sci-fi schematics are commonplace, with many thinking Star Wars was the production to make that a popular piece of merchandising, but FJ's work on TOS tech broke ground on so many levels, it is little wonder the Technical Manual and fold out blueprints were runaway bestsellers in the mid 1970s.

At the time, I too realized FJ's Phaser, Tricorder, Enterprise pylons and other details were not screen accurate, but it was such a massive look into the world only hinted at in The Making of Star Trek (1701 & Klingon illustrations), that accuracy took a back seat to the joy of seeing an expanded TOS Starfleet.

I still rate it as one of the most important, must-have books for TOS fans and historians.

[Warped9]

TREK_GOD_1 wrote:

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I still rate it as one of the most important, must-have books for TOS fans and historians.

Agreed.

[ZapBrannigan]

TREK_GOD_1 wrote:

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From an entertainment industry / ancillary market standpoint, FJ's work was revolutionary (like many TOS market releases). Today, sci-fi schematics are commonplace, with many thinking Star Wars was the production to make that a popular piece of merchandising, but FJ's work on TOS tech broke ground on so many levels, it is little wonder the Technical Manual and fold out blueprints were runaway bestsellers in the mid 1970s.

At the time, I too realized FJ's Phaser, Tricorder, Enterprise pylons and other details were not screen accurate, but it was such a massive look into the world only hinted at in The Making of Star Trek (1701 & Klingon illustrations), that accuracy took a back seat to the joy of seeing an expanded TOS Starfleet.

I still rate it as one of the most important, must-have books for TOS fans and historians.

I heartily agree with all the praise. Regarding what was inaccurate, you can add the size, shape, and weight of the communicator. But what was wrong with his pylons?

[Forbin]

I loved that his internals on the tricorder showed 1960s electronic components, and his bridge station cross-sections showed the CRT scan angles for screens. Even back then I thought that was all about a week from becoming archaic.