Jean just posted that due to icy road conditions in Amarillo, ADB is closed today, so this month's Shape-Ways uploads have been pushed back to Monday.
This month's batch of uploads features, among other things, the initial wave of first-generation X-ships to be offered on the Shapeways storefront - not least of which being the Federation Vincennes-class advanced technology command cruiser. The nacelles on the Shapeways CX model are similar to those shown on the cover art for Star Fleet Battles Module X1R, representing the next technology level from those to be found on the Constitution-class heavy cruiser. (in GURPS Prime Directive terms, the Federation CA is Tech Level 12, while the CX is TL 13.) For anyone so interested, there is an excellent background article in Captain's Log #52 which explains the evolutionary history of Star Fleet's "saucer and nacelle" heavy cruisers, from the Republic-class ships of the Early Years (GPD TL 11) through to the Vincennes and her X-technology stablemates.
You may notice a pair of short little fins, called strakes, just aft of the bridge bubble. If you do the 3D view and rotate the ship, you'll see another pair on the bottom of the saucer, and four more on the secondary hull. These strakes were hotly debated over on the SFB board. ADB / Steve Cole wanted some sort of distinctive feature to denote the model is an X-Tech ship. The plan is for all X-Tech ships of every empire to have strakes of some sort. Each empire will have slightly different designs, but the basic concept is the same. The initial Fed CX draft had really tall strakes, which looked like a tacked-on after thought. After some discussion and a few changes, the final version made them shorter and subtle, which look more integral / organic to the overall ship.
Jean Sexton - now Jean Sexton Beddow - just posted that this month's uploads to Shapeways will be delayed to Monday, 6 July 2020, so that people may enjoy the Fourth Of July weekend without distraction.
Link? That would not be an ADB model. They can only do Star Fleet Battles ships, which are based off TOS/TAS.
A trio of first-generation X-ships warped in earlier this week: a Vincennes-class Federation CX, a Klingon DX, and an Andromedan Conquistador-X. All three are in Smooth Fine Detail Plastic, and in 3125 scale. The CX I consider to be NCC-1776 USS Bunker Hill, and the DX to be the Kumerian: the flagships for their respective empires' Operation Unity task forces. Not sure what name to assign to the Conquistador-X, though.
The TOS BSG City of Light needs done in that plastic. Space Daily reported glass prints—perfect for Tholians and such
I know this is kind of off topic but does anyone know if the x ships are in any other games besides starfleet battles?
Agreed. If you're talking about the TMP designs v. the name, FASA had them as well, Like all of the FASA Connies, there wasn't enough metal in the pylons to hold the engines up for long. There are also a ton of people selling them on Shapeways.
Aside from Star Fleet Battles itself, where first-generation X-ships are covered mainly in Module X1 and Module X1R, there is a set of preview X-ship rules and Ship Cards for Federation Commander in Captain's Log #53, which will be expanded upon in the planned X-Ships Attack module. Also, the Advanced Operations module for Federation and Empire includes rules and counters enabling X-ships to be deployed at the grand strategic level handled by that game system.
I could never get my FASA Constitution mini's nacelles/pylons to stay attached to the secondary hull. X-Ships? Fantastic!
My solution for both the TOS and TMP versions of FASA's Enterprises involved a drill - XActo knife - Super glue - and bits of paper clips... 1: Cut the leading edge of the TOS E's struts back a little. 2: Drill a shallow hole in the engine and secondary hull. 3: Cut a piece of paper clip just a bit longer than the visible part of the strut. 4: Super glue that to the leading edge of the strut inserted into the engine. 5: Super glue the whole thing to the secondary hull and keep it steady until the glue sets. Optional: Use a file to slightly flatten the wire so that it better matches the strut. For the TMP version - basically the same except I cut out a section just behind the leading edge. Basically where the line of panel details on the filming miniature would be. Took a slightly longer piece of wire and a bit of filing. After that, finish assembly and paint to suit. https://imgur.com/SzLtFy6 https://imgur.com/R12HbUp https://imgur.com/xvWCelH https://imgur.com/wP0O60a Even after repeated moves (and never really completely finishing them) the engines are still straight.
Back in the day when the FASA games were in print the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum bought a bunch of D7s and Enterprises. Apparently they never caught on, and during one of my visits there was a whole bin on them on sale for $1 each. I cleared them out, more than 25 of each. Wish I still had those
Rumor has it ShapeWays is doing "something" for Cyber Monday. Not sure what exactly. In the past, it's been something like 15% discount or free shipping. We shall see.
I got the e-mail last night at Midnight, right at the start of the discount window. They have such a great marketing team. So, they're giving us a ten-percent (10%) discount with a minimum order of fifty dollars ($50).