Hi Lora, Echoing the sentiments of everyone else. Thank you for participating in the group. I am also the proud owner of Worlds of the Federation and Mr.Scott's Guide to the Enterprise. I also poured over those and still pull them out from time to time to enjoy. I have thoroughly enjoyed your work over the years, and wanted to voice my appreciation as well.
Here's something you may get a kick out of, Lora. When building the officer's lounge, I ran into some problems fitting your schematic within the shape of the hull. Given the shape of the exterior bulkhead, there isn't enough room on either side of the privacy lounge walls to access the sunken VIP lounge area without having to "duck" to get there. So I employed a drop-down wall to give access to the area instead. I can't take credit for the idea, as I'd seen another 3D artist do it a couple years before. Anyway, check it out. Note: I gave the area a nice "TWOK" facelift as well, changing the color scheme to fit the ship's more nautical appearance in that movie, given that all my Refit Enterprise interiors reflect the ship in that timeframe. [yt] [/yt]
Actually, for the revised version of Mr Scott's Guide, my intention was to change the officer's lounge so that the viewscreen wall stood opposite the big viewports, on the forward wall of the room. It was something I wanted to do originally, but I was overriden. Everything fits better that way, with no need for ducking. Basically, if the camera shooting the lounge scene in TMP had swung around 180 degrees, it would have revealed the viewports and the aft area of the room. Lora
That's brilliant! I will accept no other explanation from now on! Lora, glad to have you back. I love that book and was so disappointed when the update was shelved. From the excerpts you posted back in the day I was amazed at what a terrific grasp you had for the different looks of TMP and TFF/TUC and how you communicated that just in the style of the schematics. Lovely work.
Thank you. I was disappointed too, but the timing was poor. With the cancellation of Enterprise, few at that point thought Star Trek had a future. No more shows, no more movies, no more books like mine being published. Maybe another time will come...here's hoping! Lora
This thread got my to look back through my own copy of MSGttE, and then I started to thumb through the rest of my Shane Johnson collection. This stuff was a huge influence on me growing up. This brand of technical fiction (along with the Franz Joseph Technical Manual and the Sternbach/Okuda stuff) played a major role in crafting my take on even the whole world around me. Taking on-screen snippets of fictional worlds and reverse engineering a whole fleshed out reality has fueled my imagination ever since and now I'm making a serious effort to pursue sci-fi/fantasy writing myself. And it really started here. My Uncle Rick gave me a copy of Mister Scott's Guide to the Enterprise when I was twelve or so (you can see how well worn and taped back together it is today) and I still reference it now, more than twenty-five years later. My uncle passed away a few years ago, but our shared interest in Trek tech will always stick with me. I just wanted you know that your work has really meant a lot. I hope you can get the opportunity to do more in the future. --Alex
I'm honored that my work has played a role not only in your life path but in contributing to your warm relationship with your uncle. I'm touched...thank you Lora
I have your Ship's Information Booklet for Cruiser C-57D, which is a wonderful thing. Very clever how you hid external weapons in the saucer. What sort of research were you able to do for this - studio blueprints?
I found it on eBay some years ago - I'd been looking for it at conventions for ages. IIRC, it used to be advertised for sale in Starlog classified ads, possibly by one of those dealers like New Eye Studios.
Yes...studio drawings, photos in magazines and books and whatever video references I could find. Thank you. They mentioned in the film that the ship had external weapons ("Blaster men, activate your scopes!"), so I had to figure out a way to include those. Lora
I believe that Maurice had to remind me of that line when we were looking over the blueprints; I'd seen the movie so many times I was mildly embarrassed not to have thought of it.
This has been said too many times for Lora to keep responding to, but I love my Mr. Scott's. The artwork is so fine. Lora, did you study drafting/technical drawing in college? Also if you can recall, at what point, or on what project, did you first create technical drawings on a computer?
I learned technical drawing from my father, who was an architect, and I worked as a draftsperson for Tandy for a while in the early 1980s. I think the first computer drawings I did involved the Eagle from Space:1999. Lora
@Lora4October, just popped in to say I love your work. I still have my dog-eared "Starfleet Uniform Recognition Manual" somewhere. I must've poured over that a million times.
Lora, I just found this thread, and I have to echo those who have come before in my fondness (as well as frequent reading!) of Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise! It's a book that I will look through often, just like the Franz Joseph Technical Manual. On another note, I followed your link to some other non-Trek work you have done. The Alamo, being a place I've never been and always want to visit, makes me feel like I'm looking at actual photos! Beautiful work! Thank you for sharing those on here, and being accessible to speak with everyone! BTW, although I didn't follow it completely, I also learned forms of drawing from my father, who was also an architect.