The Great Awakening begins: The Baton Rouge class

Discussion in 'Fan Art' started by Lord Other, May 8, 2017.

  1. Lord Other

    Lord Other Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Preface: This version of the Baton Rouge class, its history, development, features, capabilities, and its place in Starfleet are subjective, and drawn from my observations, ideas, and assumptions I've made over the years. The design is based upon Rick Sternbach's original work that appears in the Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology, and indeed the basic lines and dimensions are generally the same. I have incorporated many elements into the design that are based upon insights and ideas gleaned from a number of different individuals, and in due course I offer them a sincere and heartfelt thanks for their contributions over the years (many of which are cited in the title block). That being said you will find that my work makes no mention of "plasma cannons" or photon torpedoes being part of the Baton Rouge prototype's armament. This omission is intentional and not accidental as I do not consider the events and history of Earth, UESPA, and Federation as depicted in Enterprise to be cogent with much of what had been established in TOS and TNG. While this may seem heretical or arrogant to some, I believe that placing Enterprise in the Kelvin-verse and forgoing the headache of retconning huge swaths of history makes for a less time consuming and more enjoyable process, for me at least.

    So some notes..
    In my work hull numbers from UESPA do not correspond to hull numbers from the Federation Starfleet. Its my considered opinion that Starfleet as an organization (before the time of Kirk and Spock) may have operated in much the fashion that UN Security/Peace Keeping forces do today in that each member nation may contribute units under nominal control of the UN, but that those units still are the property of those member nations. In this regard, the hull number of the Baton Rouge shown here, XCA-670 indicates that this vessel is an experimental cruiser, and it is the 670th cruiser unit of UESPA.

    Finally, you may note that the dimensions of the vessel would differ slightly from what is provided from the printed source materials- the figure is solely based upon the original length and then recalculating the figures after putting the design together. So there you go. I hope you enjoy my work, and I look forward to your feedback.

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    Last edited: Nov 16, 2018
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  2. Captain of the USS Averof

    Captain of the USS Averof Commodore Commodore

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    That's incredible work! The Baton Rouge class has never looked so good!
     
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  3. Cyfa

    Cyfa Commodore Commodore

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    While I'm not a fan of the actual starship class, your design work is very impressive, and makes the Baton Rouge seem very practical. I particularly like the General Plans layout that you've produced - complete with yellowing, fold lines, etc. And I've never seen (that I can remember, or have taken note of) Star Trek ship plans labelled with "forecastle" - very maritime!
     
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  4. Bernard Guignard

    Bernard Guignard Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Well done :biggrin::techman:
     
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  5. Lord Other

    Lord Other Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Thanks Cyfa- I'm a big fan of "form follows function" and while I like for things to be aesthetically pleasing, I'm very much interested in the practical mechanical aspects of design as well. To be honest this is the fifth iteration of the Baton Rouge I have designed/put together. Of the previous four, three I scratch-built as models During the early 80s using bits and pieces of plastic from other models and cardboard I had on hand. None of them were as detailed as what you see in these plans, but they had the general look of the design you see here. I had a fascination for the Spaceflight Chronology when I was a kid, and even though my father wouldn't buy me a copy of my own, whenever I saw one I would make notes and then go to work, so that's also part of the reason for my interest in the Baton Rouge. In regards to the "forecastle" citation- I know I'm drawing from another blueprint artist who did some work on a Klingon design. His callout for the forecastle was to bridge/command structure on D-7 battlecruiser, and it struck me as fitting nomenclature, so I have adopted it and used it where appropriate ever since.
    The look of the plans is a direct reference to the Star Trek TMP Blueprints by David Kimble- I adjusted the size based on the contest, and look of the paper is scanned and altered from actual vintage sheets (the backside) of the same blueprint set, I just overlaid my artwork over them.:hugegrin:

    Thank you Bernard.. much appreciated! I hope to get over to your site and post them over there today as well.:techman: And thank you Captain as well for your kind words! I'm glad you like the design.
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2017
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  6. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

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  7. Kaiser

    Kaiser Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Very awesome :)
     
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  8. Lord Other

    Lord Other Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Here's a little logo I've done up for the BR Class Development Project.. Aridas I thought I would go ahead and tag you and get your opinion since I hadn't heard from you in awhile, I hope you don't mind. Enjoy.

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    Last edited: Nov 16, 2018
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  9. Cyfa

    Cyfa Commodore Commodore

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    Wow! For a "little" logo, it's very impressive. Wonderful details.
     
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  10. Shamrock Holmes

    Shamrock Holmes Commodore Commodore

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    Way better than my modest efforts.
     
  11. Albertese

    Albertese Commodore Commodore

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    So it predates the Enterprise by just 24 years? I guess I would have imagined a larger gap, but I admit that I have absolutely no reason to have such an assumption.

    --Alex
     
  12. Bernard Guignard

    Bernard Guignard Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Damn that is nice great work :techman:
     
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  13. Lord Other

    Lord Other Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Thank you Cyfa.. I like getting all the little details just right, if possible. Its the perfectionist in me I guess. Lol. I may have some more posts coming out over the weekend for you to check out. :)

    Well thank you, sincerely, I appreciate the accolade but _never give up_, I started in crayon as you can see on the first post.

    The figure is based off of the date given in the original publication the Baton Rouge appeared in, the Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology. Taking the original launch and service dates and modifying them accordingly to be roughly cogent to the time frame given for the service period of the Constitution class in canon.

    Thanks Bernard! I'm glad you like it.
     
  14. Kaiser

    Kaiser Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Awesome Logo :)
     
  15. Tallguy

    Tallguy Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Like others have said, I'm not a huge fan of the ship, but your presentation is so good it makes me dizzy! At first I thought this was a set of plans I was unfamiliar with and you were going to star any work on this project based on those.

    Bloody well done!
     
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  16. aridas sofia

    aridas sofia Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Wow, that is a beautiful logo. And I think you've done quite a good job fleshing out Sternbach's two views. There are things about his design that I like and things I really dislike, but when you give it a full, first class presentation like you've done, and clean up some of the rough edges, it puts it in a much more favorable light.
     
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  17. Lord Other

    Lord Other Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Thank you Tallguy- your enthusiasm for my work is much appreciated good sir! I'm going to have some more pieces coming out on here shortly in this thread, and over on Treknographics as well- I hope you enjoy them as well. :)

    Thank you Aridas, sincerely, that's very high praise- I'm glad you like it. I'm thinking of doing a "Ships of the Star Fleet"-like presentation for the Baton Rouge (BR groups 1 & 2), Nordenskjöld, and Anton classes, and I would love to hear your input on the finished project. Of course I might pick your brain if you're amenable before that. ;)
     
    Last edited: Nov 24, 2017
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  18. Lord Other

    Lord Other Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Okay, the hiatus is over. Time to dust off the thread and saunter on. To wit, here's a sketch of a warp nacelle for a ship I'm hoping to finish up this weekend. Some of you may recognize some of the design elements incorporated into the design, again from the Spaceflight Chronology, but let me know what you think. [​IMG]

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    Last edited: Nov 16, 2018
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  19. Cyfa

    Cyfa Commodore Commodore

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    Well, the pointy back end appears very similar to the rear of the Mann-class nacelles, but over all, I'm getting a modern-day booster rocket vibe from it. Looking forward to seeing more.
     
  20. Lord Other

    Lord Other Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Danke Cyfa- and yes, you correctly surmised the inspiration for the nacelle in part. The upper construction is the M/AM reactor assembly and the lower section (akin to the rocket booster) is where the coil assembly is located. Just to whet your appetite, here's a sketch really of some of the thoughts I'm bandying around my head. I hope you enjoy. :techman:

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    Last edited: Nov 18, 2018
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