Shame we never got a Daedalus, the one ship class from the era we were shown beforehand. The Pacific 201 fan film had an excellent reimagining of it:
I always wanted to tie all the different ships of this era from different media together, like the ships from the Chronology, the ships from the TV show, the Franklin, the SPADS fighters from "The Beginning," and the ships from the Starfleet Museum. Have Starfleet, MACO, UESPA, and UESN all working together. Jonathan Archer hanging out with Hiro Matsura, Tiberius Chase, and Balthazar Edison.
I've always kinda liked the Valiant from the Chronology. I definitely look at it as the inspiration for the Conestoga. I've read the script, but I don't remember there ever being much of a description of those things, beyond single seat or twin. I can't say I really cared much for that aspect of the story. Seemed like it was trying very hard to be a mix of Pearl Harbor and Top Gun. That, and I've never much cared for the idea of small fighters in Trek. I know those things are beloved by some fans, but I never understood it. I've always found them incredibly ugly. Plus, they don't really fit with the design lineage that we've sseen. At least in my opinion.
I've always had a liking for the Valiant. When I read STARFLEET YEAR ONE, and it described the ships as like flasks, my mind went to the Valiant. Personally, I like my interpretation of a Daedalus: Link.
I like that. Gives it an aggressive stance. Could even be a sub-class of the Daedalus. This is another "Enterprised" interpretation of the Daedalus that I like. *credit to the artist.
Back to ships seen in the series, here are two of my favourites...... The E.C.S. Fortunate And the E.C.S. Horizon I love the look of the Earth Cargo Ships. They remind me of semi-trucks and I've always loved the idea of Space Truckers. Regular Joe's in space. Not for the grandeur of exploration, but simply to make a buck. And it becomes a lifestyle for them.
I've always thought that the "tractor unit" of the freighters would make a decent starting point for a short-range patrol vessel or attack ship during the era.
You know I’ve just realized. Where are Fortunates nacelles? Can’t be the Stubbers on the head, no glow. Is it internal?
How about some love for the good ol' Starfleet Shuttlepod. I loved these little guys from the minute I saw one. They're small and primitive looking. Exactly what I'd expect of the era.
Enterprise had some great ships, specifically the Xindi Reptilian, Insectoid, the Vulcan Ships and the Andorian Ships. I also appreciated the variety, even though I remember the whole controversy about Enterprise being an Akira Class ship before the series started. I guess they made up for it with all the variety in Ship designs, and bringing back the old original Romulan style ship for Minefield.
Yeah, I really liked the design of the 22nd century Bird of Prey. Shame we only saw it the one time. I remember some people at the time had an issue with it. Saying it looked too advanced compared to the one seen in TOS or even SNW. But then I think of automotive design and remember that this....... Is older than this.... And suddenly, the older BoP looking all curvy and advanced makes perfect sense.
Loved the shuttlepod. Thought it was the best ship design in ENT. Hated the BoP. Actually I would have liked it, had it been designed as a Romulan ship post-Dominion War (those nacelles just scream Jem’ Hadar fighter.) It looked completely anachronistic for ENT.
For all we know, they were advanced prototypes. I'll agree that the nacelles kinda stand out, but I can live with it.
One interesting idea I've heard about the 22nd century Bird of Prey is that its warp nacelles are purely of Romulan design, while the later Birds of Prey that we see are using stolen Federation designs. It goes pretty well with the old Balance of Terror script that mentioned that Romulans were copying Federation designs. Can't remember if the line was filmed, but I remember that the BoP was designed to resemble a Starfleet ship. It does help explan how we go from what we saw in Minefield, to what we later see with Romulan ships. Using the Picard/SNW Bird of Prey as an example... Those are very Starfleet looking nacelles.
Not to mention that could have come from the future, anywhere between the 2380s and the 29th century. Who says that the Federation are the only ones to deal with temporal anomalies. Or use time travel tricks like slingshotting around the sun? Considering how time travel was so tied to the show, I’d surprised that they just didn’t explain away its appearance like that.