Worst TOS kitbashes?

[Dukhat]

When it comes to other people's designs, whether it be renders, model kit bashes, or just drawings on paper, I always have good things to say. Because it takes time and effort to make these things, and I don't think anyone intentionally tries to make a bad design. I myself am in the process of kitbashing the Millennium Falcon-prise model from the movie Zapped!, and it's surprisingly not easy.

Now with that said, the absolute worst kitbashes I have ever seen were some of the old FASA designs. Most of them consisted of a Constitution class saucer and nacelles, but with all manner of hand-drawn weird-looking secondary hulls. I remember one ship had a hull so high that there would have been no way it could enter the Spacedock doors without shearing off the saucer and nacelles.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Ah! You must be referring to the old Keith-class Scout.


Yeah, that's one ungainly bastard.

 

[QuinnTV]

^ I don't think that one is gonna fit into Spacedock!

 

[Dukhat]

Ah! You must be referring to the old Keith-class Scout.
View attachment 8175

Yeah, that's one ungainly bastard.

Yep.

I'll also point out that many of those FASA hand-drawn secondary hulls did not exactly match up between top, side, and front views.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Yeah, I feel sorry for those poor aspiring CG artists who tried to build 3D meshes of some of those things, only to find the orthos couldn't be reconciled spatially using conventional Euclidean geometry.

 

[Acenos]

Yeah, I feel sorry for those poor aspiring CG artists who tried to build 3D meshes of some of those things, only to find the orthos couldn't be reconciled spatially using conventional Euclidean geometry.

that's what you get when you let cthulhu design and build your starships.

 

[aridas sofia]

I’ve designed so many over so many years that at least a few must qualify as utter crap. I’m thinking of Nordenskjold for example, which meets the rubric of moving a few things around, changing a proportion here and there, and voilà, suckiness. At least its original pedigree was Sternbach, which accounts for whatever redeeming virtues it may have.

https://stevepugh.net/fleet/images/nordenskjold.gif

 

[Masao]

I’ve designed so many over so many years that at least a few must qualify as utter crap. I’m thinking of Nordenskjold for example...

That's not nearly as bad as FASA (and it's only a silhouette). You're not randomly changing the scale of hulls and nacelles. You have to criticize yourself worse than that!!!

 

[Kaiser]

I recently realized I haven't done a kitbash in about 5 years! Crap, I gotta get cracking!

Better hurry before CBS puts all the garage/custom kit conversions out of business and puts a no kitbashing legal thing in every kit box

 

[Acenos]

Better hurry before CBS puts all the garage/custom kit conversions out of business and puts a no kitbashing legal thing in every kit box

Why are people making jokes of CBS performing artistic censorship on the Star Trek Fandom?

 

[137th Gebirg]

Because sometimes humor helps to lessen the blow from the trauma that CBS really actually is shutting down fan efforts that have existed unmolested for years under good faith and Fair Use laws. I’ve been counting the days until I get my C&D for my website.

The heat has been turned up since Alec Peters acquired millions of dollars in crowdfunding for a fan film that never happened. He was selling coffee, t-shirts, models, DVD’s and Blu-rays and other memorabilia with the Star Trek logo to make a pure profit and clear a nice salary for himself and his cronies off of CBS’ IP. CBS sued him, settled, and now in the tradition of all large corporate entertainment entities treating all things the same in true cookie cutter fashion, all fan sites are being scrutinized by their legal droids. Only a matter of time.

If I get the directive to shut down, I will. I have neither the inclination, nor energy, nor disposable income to remind them what “fair use” means. If they want to alienate their fandom, the people who put money in their pockets by paying for licensed stuff and CBS All Access online streaming, that’s entirely within their purview to do so.

So, as you can see, making jokes is really all we can do in the face of imminent destruction.

 

[Forbin]

Now THAT would be a sad day in Trekdom.

 

[Forbin]

Actually, that's also why I haven't tried to expand sales of my book past Lulu. They have the option to get an ISBN and branch out to Amazon, but after UGH! Models got a C&D for selling original (Admiral Buck) starship designs, I think I'll keep a low profile for a while.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Now THAT would be a sad day in Trekdom.

It would indeed. But after 21 years of generally uninterrupted operation, it's been a good run. If I had to pack it in, I think I would be okay with it.

Actually, that's also why I haven't tried to expand sales of my book past Lulu. They have the option to get an ISBN and branch out to Amazon, but after UGH! Models got a C&D for selling original (Admiral Buck) starship designs, I think I'll keep a low profile for a while.

I'm just glad I got your book when I did. It's excellent, BTW. Very professional looking product. Which, sadly, is what CBS is going after, so laying low is probably a good idea at present.

It's definitely a pendulum. Things are really brewing hot right now. In a few years, Peters will likely be forgotten and the CBS suits will probably calm down. Of course, all that could change again if the Viacom/CBS/Paramount merger happens, in either direction. You could at least probably take advantage of that time, as the lawyers will be more focused on merging the companies than looking for unlicensed sellers. Who knows, anymore? They may have automated AI-ladened bots looking for the stuff these days and just giving them a quick email to check out selected targets.

 

[Acenos]

It would indeed. But after 21 years of generally uninterrupted operation, it's been a good run. If I had to pack it in, I think I would be okay with it.

I'm just glad I got your book when I did. It's excellent, BTW. Very professional looking product. Which, sadly, is what CBS is going after, so laying low is probably a good idea at present.

It's definitely a pendulum. Things are really brewing hot right now. In a few years, Peters will likely be forgotten and the CBS suits will probably calm down. Of course, all that could change again if the Viacom/CBS/Paramount merger happens, in either direction. You could at least probably take advantage of that time, as the lawyers will be more focused on merging the companies than looking for unlicensed sellers. Who knows, anymore? They may have automated AI-ladened bots looking for the stuff these days and just giving them a quick email to check out selected targets.

How long before they start suing and shutting down transformative works such as fanart and fanfiction and stuff? How long before they start coming after sites like deviantart and other content sharing sites?

It's like they are not just alienating the fandom but forcing them to be the consumer and the consumer only and not the artist. forcing us to accept the garbage they call "Star Trek Discovery" and such

When they have no fandom, they will struggle

 

[137th Gebirg]

Don't know. They're not giving us their calendars. They will come when they will come, like the Borg - an interminable force of nature.

 

[Acenos]

Don't know. They're not giving us their calendars. They will come when they will come, like the Borg - an interminable force of nature.

i hope they are not insane enough to come after fan works that are not made for profit.

They are killing their own golden geese and cash cows by alienating and killing off the fandom

 

[137th Gebirg]

They already have.

 

[Acenos]

They already have.

How are they expected to survive without a fandom then?

If you try to appeal to everyone you'll end up appealing to no one.

 

[Redfern]

It may just be a flawed perception, but it seems the IP owners (CBS, Paramount, whomever) tend to crack down when they have an active product (more so TV series than movies). When the times are "lean", that is, when they are not actively recording a series, then they tend to present a "blind eye". Remember how several licenses were reevaluated by the time Next Generation got a second season? DC (not exactly small potatoes) was told to drop certain characters they created like Bearclaw and Konom and focus strictly upon the original live action characters.

Once "Enterprise" ceased production, it seemed Paramount was a bit more "relaxed" about outside endeavors. Of course there was the shift of ownership with CBS getting involved, but things remained rather quiet until they finally geared up to create "Discovery". Yes, Peters' actions brought down the hammer, but I wonder if CBS would have been as adamant if they were not putting together their own official piece.

Basically, I wonder if the unspoken policy is, "If we (CBS) are not producing anything, meh, let the fans do some 'free advertising' for us (within reason). But when we are producing a series, we can't let them produce anything that might 'compete' with our official product."

Obviously, this is mere supposition derived from looking for the vaguest of "patterns", but still, I wonder.

OFF topic...

Whenever I see this thread title, I keep imagining a YouTube styled clip of a AMT plastic model box resting upon a table or workbench. A hand gripping a hammer slowly slides into shot and then starts to violently pummel and "bash" the "kit".