Star Trek: Starships Model/Magazine Subscription

[137th Gebirg]

In Probert's defense, when he designed it TVs were square so he had the same amount of vertical space to play with as he did horizontal.

TV’s were never entirely square. I’m assuming you’re referring to NTSC (standard definition) commonly used during TNG’s run, which had an aspect ratio of 4:3. Less wide-screen than today’s HD TV’s, yes, but never square. I believe Probert himself even said that it had to be redesigned because TV’s were wider than tall, even back then, and you’d never see it entirely on-screen otherwise.

 

[Tosk]

C'mon, you know what I meant. But yeah, it was 1:33 to 1.
But whether an actual square or not, it doesn't mean you couldn't somehow fit a tall object on it...you just pull out a tiny bit.

Or maybe that's why Tiny Ron didn't get to play Nog.

 

[thribs]

C'mon, you know what I meant.

Should have said a nearly even rectangle.

 

[dantini]

According to Memory Alpha the Federation Holoship concept is also under consideration... But I wonder which one? I really like the one with the more traditional saucer section because it reminds me of the Sovereign class. The other one not so much.

 

[Tosk]

That reminds me, I'm generally not one for concept ships or non-canon stuff (with some exceptions!) but I kind of wish we could see the chunky-monkey USS Typhon from the old Invasion Playstation game. It (very mildly) reminds me of the holoship but with angled nacelles like the concept above.

 

[saddestmoon]

Ben also said that he's confident they'll do the Kelvin background ships and revisit doing the Kelvin A!

Now that's what I like to hear!!!! Fingers crossed!!!!

 

[Markonian]

For the Enterprise-A, they were waiting for more news on the 4th Kelvin movie before going ahead, but the movie has since been cancelled. There might be another movie (the Tarantino one) that might be in the Kelvin universe at least in part, but with the merger anything can happen and it's all up in the air.

In a post from last year, Ben said that Bad Robots did not or could not provide the CG model of the E-A, and that the files of the ‘09 ships are lost.

 

[BorgMan]

According to Memory Alpha the Federation Holoship concept is also under consideration... But I wonder which one? I really like the one with the more traditional saucer section because it reminds me of the Sovereign class. The other one not so much.

I really hope the saucer one. That thick... thing really doesn't strike my fancy.

 

[137th Gebirg]

In a post from last year, Ben said that Bad Robots did not or could not provide the CG model of the E-A, and that the files of the ‘09 ships are lost.

Oh FFS! Haven’t those people ever heard of making backups?? One good thing in favor of practical real-world model building is that they can’t be corrupted or accidentally erased. This same story keeps popping up again an again. When will people learn?

 

[jaime]

Enough with the concept ships. Those should be a separate line, and the shuttles mainline. We are at full barrel scraping mode now. It’s annoying to me as a subscriber.

I get it. These things aren’t numbered collections anymore. They are just funding and advertising for all the other merch being sold in the store.

But at least be honest about it.

 

[137th Gebirg]

There are lots more things that annoy me more about being a subscriber, like skipped issues (and having to wait a year and a half to get them, if ever) or having to wait for models that have been available on the online store for 3-5 months, or every time I call or email about these issues only to be answered with inevitable pre-canned “it’s currently out of stock and will be shipped as soon as we get it” responses, yet fore-mentioned missing items being readily available on the fore-mentioned online store.

Honestly, the concepts don’t bother me. The shoddy logistics and customer support is far more troublesome in every quantifiable way.

 

[jaime]

There are lots more things that annoy me more about being a subscriber, like skipped issues (and having to wait a year and a half to get them, if ever) or having to wait for models that have been available on the online store for 3-5 months, or every time I call or email about these issues only to be answered with inevitable pre-canned “it’s currently out of stock and will be shipped as soon as we get it” responses, yet fore-mentioned missing items being readily available on the fore-mentioned online store.

Honestly, the concepts don’t bother me. The shoddy logistics and customer support is far more troublesome in every quantifiable way.

My sub is usually on time. Bit annoying when they spring another special on you...and tbh I should probably check how often they charge me.
I did order replacements for two ships...they had been...played with. (It’s not actually my collection, it’s my seven year olds. Three when he started.) it took nearly two years to get a defiant I had ordered if memory serves.

 

[F. King Daniel]

In a post from last year, Ben said that Bad Robots did not or could not provide the CG model of the E-A, and that the files of the ‘09 ships are lost.

How do huge companies like ILM just lose files for ships like these? Have they not heard of backups??

 

[Dukhat]

According to Memory Alpha the Federation Holoship concept is also under consideration... But I wonder which one? I really like the one with the more traditional saucer section because it reminds me of the Sovereign class. The other one not so much.

Would love it if that top holoship concept turned up in Star Trek: Picard as one of Picard’s armada ships. It’s one of the few John Eaves designs that I actually like. He does have a penchant for reusing old designs (it already looks like a two-nacelled 24th century version of the Europa from DSC.)

How do huge companies like ILM just lose files for ships like these? Have they not heard of backups??

Well, the Norway class starship CGI model from FC was lost too. But yeah, no backups is just silly.

 

[Rahul]

Enough with the concept ships. Those should be a separate line, and the shuttles mainline. We are at full barrel scraping mode now. It’s annoying to me as a subscriber.

I get it. These things aren’t numbered collections anymore. They are just funding and advertising for all the other merch being sold in the store.

But at least be honest about it.

Obvious explanation: Money.
People really like and buy Federation starships. Every Federation guest ship of an episode has more fans than any generic alien ship of the week. And they're out of Federation starships. They already issued every single variant of the Miranda. That's why they go for concept ships. Note that they mainly do Federation concepts ships. Not so much alien concepts - except for the reeeeeeealllly popular alien ships, like the Romulan Warbird.

 

[David cgc]

One good thing in favor of practical real-world model building is that they can’t be corrupted or accidentally erased.

Oh, really? So where's the Romulan Bird of Prey?

How do huge companies like ILM just lose files for ships like these? Have they not heard of backups??

It's a lot to back up working files for movie-grade VFX. And I have a suspicion that in some of these cases, "The files were lost" is a simplified version of "they're only accessible with older software we don't have installed or don't have the computers to run it on," or "nobody in a position to pull them out of the archive cares to return our calls," and there can either be a long odyssey to track down the files, get them open, and restore them to a suitable condition to use for magazine renders and sculpting reference, or you can just move them to the bottom of the list and, if you decide you want them then, pay Fabio Passaro or Ed Giddings to remake it from scratch.

And then there are the cases where they really were lost, in the early days of CG, or because the companies went out of business, and their backups were sold as hardware with no one giving a damn what data was on them.

 

[jaime]

Obvious explanation: Money.
People really like and buy Federation starships. Every Federation guest ship of an episode has more fans than any generic alien ship of the week. And they're out of Federation starships. They already issued every single variant of the Miranda. That's why they go for concept ships. Note that they mainly do Federation concepts ships. Not so much alien concepts - except for the reeeeeeealllly popular alien ships, like the Romulan Warbird.

Yup.
So they can sell them for money in their web store.
They can finish the numbered subscriber line, so those of us who were doing that can say ‘that’s finished’ and be happy, and maybe buy other bits in the shop if we fancy. If they really wanted to keep the subscription line going they should have kept DSC in the line. Then they would keep going till doomsday, but at least it would make sense.
This is just at the point it’s taking me for a ride, but since I want little one to have the set (as promised so long ago) I won’t be likely to stop. (This is not true...am well on the way to telling em where to shove their subscription...)

At this point things like the ‘subscriber exclusive gifts’ have become tasters for ranges (the ship plaques) or not exactly as advertised (the Borg cube) or better if you are in a different country (Borg cube again, the shuttles) and including the specials as a subscription was pointless, because there’s specials, and then the ‘special’ specials, and comocon exclusives...so...what was the benefit of signing up before they even got the enterprise D out the door? And sticking around after the good ships were done? Or sticking after some of them were just...shite (refit enterprise)

They are somewhat blowing their customer base.

 

[Rahul]

To be honest - as a non-subscriber I really don't want the collection to end.
At least not until every single starship that has ever graced the screen got a model. I'm still waiting for some important stuff, like Degra's ship, or a standard edition of the Son'a or the T'plana Hath, or various other Bajoran/Delta quadrant/ENT era ships. I want them all to be produced at some point. Even though I'll be buying only very select few of them.

 

[jaime]

To be honest - as a non-subscriber I really don't want the collection to end.
At least not until every single starship that has ever graced the screen got a model. I'm still waiting for some important stuff, like Degra's ship, or a standard edition of the Son'a or the T'plana Hath, or various other Bajoran/Delta quadrant/ENT era ships. I want them all to be produced at some point. Even though I'll be buying only very select few of them.

As a subscriber from when it was a magazine and model collection, back before it was so successful, I would like to stop being a base figure for them to base their projections on, and would like better treatment as I was one of the ton of people who seems to have funded their expansion. I suspect they only keep the sub going because if they didn’t, qmx or diamond will want to know how they got shafted.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Oh, really? So where's the Romulan Bird of Prey?

Yeah there is that one, but that’s more the exception than the rule. Then again, making a studio model out of such a temporary material like plaster of Paris is asking for trouble, much like not running backups of valuable production meshes and storing said backups at on off-site location.

But, I guess when people are operating under extremely tight deadlines, continuity of operations is not likely to be high on the priority list.