Jayru (JSnaith's) 3D Trek
- Thread starter JSnaith
- Start date
The different bridge modules might reflect evolution of the class as time passes. Early builds get the TMP bridge, later ones (and refits) the other one.
THat makes perfect sense, and agrees with onscreen evidence for the Excelsior Class.
Aridas beat me to it, but that's exactly what I was thinking. Although I dislike the idea of such a major structural change during a refit, Excelsiors are used over such a long period of time little details ought to change between Kirk-era ships and Sisko-era ships. I just think the differences would be in new builds, not refits.
An yet, the Excelsior herself underwent such a transformation.
The Excelsior model used for filming changed, yes.
You yourself are willing to redefine things such as the bridge size in order to produce a ship you find more plausible than what was filmed. For myself, I choose to redefine things such that U.S.S. Excelsior's external bridge features remained unchanged.
I often think of the various shows as in-universe dramatizations of the events. Seen through this lens, the various ships that in reality were depicted as models instead become Starfleet ships that were used for the filming, much like Top Gun used real aircraft carriers and aircraft. Thus, in my headcanon, the Excelsior seen in TSFS is a different "real" ship than the one seen in TUC. (I adopted this stance to rationalise the different filming models for Big E in TOS, but it works just as well here.)
We all draw the line between "exactly match every single detail committed to film" and "idealised version that matches our personal interpretation" in a different place. This is your house; if you like the idea that Excelsior had one bridge structure at one point and then the same ship had a different bridge structure a few years later, I'm not going to say "you're wrong!" It's just not where I'd land on the scree-vs-idealised spectrum.
One of the things that is overlooked is that there is quite a gap in terms of years between TSFS and TUC in-universe. Therefore, it's likely the Excelsior underwent a minor refit of some kind - much as the TOS Enterprise did. It's not an unreasonable idea.
And for sure, we know the bridge was substantially changed between those films; and the TNG technical manual makes clear that they swap the whole bridge module when they do that
The Tech Manual is a post-facto justification for changes to the models. It provides a solid foundation for those who choose to accept that the external structures are changed so extensively on the same ship, but isn't particularly binding on those of us who choose different interpretations.
And certainly minor refits between TSFS and TUC are probable; I was simply offering my personal view on how much an idealised interpretation of the filming models would (or wouldn't) change between those two stories.
I think the rationale was to try and explain the differences between how the Excelsior looked from Trek III-V with how it looked in Trek VI. The idea that the ship would get a minor refit before actual commissioning is not to far fetched; we see that in the real world. My issue with what they did was that the bridge module they put on the studio model was the wrong scale, meaning either the Execlsior is bigger than listed, or that wasn't the bridge, but something else.
I remember very early on, when I was building the Ingrams, I played around with various bridge module ideas, including a proper to-scale Trek VI one.
And of course we all have different ideas :-) IDIC
Updates:
I've never liked the cargo bay thingy on the Excelsior Class, so I'm running with what I think is a better idea that allows for a proper cargo hold:
I did something similar on my original build, and I think it works better and gives the ship more storage space. Provision has been made to see inside the bay, and given I have all the things I need to fill it (thanks to the Oberth project), I will have some fun.
Anyway, comments welcome, more soon.
PS: The cargo bay is 3 decks high, it's big enough, and wouldn't be the only one.
I've never liked the cargo bay thingy on the Excelsior Class, so I'm running with what I think is a better idea that allows for a proper cargo hold:
I did something similar on my original build, and I think it works better and gives the ship more storage space. Provision has been made to see inside the bay, and given I have all the things I need to fill it (thanks to the Oberth project), I will have some fun.
Anyway, comments welcome, more soon.
PS: The cargo bay is 3 decks high, it's big enough, and wouldn't be the only one.
What, you're not going to include the cargo grappler in case Starfleet needs to capture a Rebel Blockade Runner? 
In all fairness, though, the original had something similar under there.
Nope.What, you're not going to include the cargo grappler in case Starfleet needs to capture a Rebel Blockade Runner?
Of course!And judging by the underside of the nacelle pylon, it looks as though it's got a really strong wi-fi signal!
And on the top of the pylon as well ;-)
Updates - undercut is finished:
Comments welcome, more soon
Looks beautiful! Out of curiosity, are you using the original ILM version or the Gregg Jein "Flashback" version as the basis of the spaceframe? Difficult to tell from certain angles.
Simple answer: Both, plus some things I feel should be different, rather than a screen-accurate version.
Updates:
92 rooms added behind the windows. More details yet to do - but she is close. Thinking ahead to what I do next. This was on my list of ships to work on, so I can tick it off. But I have the hankering to try something else after...
Anyways, more soon.
92 rooms added behind the windows. More details yet to do - but she is close. Thinking ahead to what I do next. This was on my list of ships to work on, so I can tick it off. But I have the hankering to try something else after...
Anyways, more soon.
Love how you’re adding room interiors instead of plain white frosted windows. Takes the whole thing to the next level and is a great way to increase perceived scale.
