Building a life-size Enterprise

[AlboOfBorg]

I had the craziest idea the other day. Would it be possible to build a life-size replica Enterprise (you pick which version)? How much would such a thing cost? I'm not talking about an actual "starship" that flies between planets. I'm talking about basically a large mock-up with all of the hallways and such as taken from the blueprints from the actual movies and such. It could be built... er... "docked" somewhere that land is cheap, like out near the desert near Las Vegas or out on some converted farm land. The ship wouldn't need to be reproduced internally 100% as there are areas (such as deuterium storage tanks) that probably even the crew never sees.

I'd definitely do it if I won the lottery. I'd love to do the Enterprise-D. It would probably cost at least $100 million I'm guessing. Hell, I'd charge tours of the place and even rent out the ship's quarters as apartments (it would be known as the world's most sought-after address)!

Yes, I'm crazy, so you don't need to let me know that.

 

[137th Gebirg]

I think there actually was someone who posted here a LONG time ago (I mean like 2000 or 2001) who was talking about building a refit Connie - for real - land-based, of course, and was recruiting contractors and the like. Not surprisingly, never heard about any updates.

 

[cardinal biggles]

^You're thinking about tri, an amusing troll from days of yore. He was hopelessly in love with the Enterprise-B. (The thread title was "serious proposel concerning ship")

 

[BigC]

The only problem would getting copyright permission. That and a LOT of money. For a Hundred Million a exact replica of the interior would be a more reasonable notion. Most of it underground. The hotel/apartment idea would be interesting if you wanted to make "some" of your money back. In Vegas where the tourists are, plan on more than a Hundred Million.

 

[Carpe Occasio]

When you think how it costs a billion dollars or more to build our largest skyscapers, or an aircraft carrier, or a nuclear submarine, you can soon realize how much even a mock-up of a full size starship would cost.

 

[AlboOfBorg]

When you think how it costs a billion dollars or more to build our largest skyscapers, or an aircraft carrier, or a nuclear submarine, you can soon realize how much even a mock-up of a full size starship would cost.

Yeah I'm thinking the $100 million mark may be a little low. Probably at least $500 million.

 

[erastus25]

When you think how it costs a billion dollars or more to build our largest skyscapers, or an aircraft carrier, or a nuclear submarine, you can soon realize how much even a mock-up of a full size starship would cost.

Yeah I'm thinking the $100 million mark may be a little low. Probably at least $500 million.

But wouldn't building a Constitution replica require significantly less material than a skyscraper? Although it seems the labor needed to meticulously replicate the interior would require a lot more time and money than the interior design of a skyscraper.

 

[BigC]

When you think how it costs a billion dollars or more to build our largest skyscapers, or an aircraft carrier, or a nuclear submarine, you can soon realize how much even a mock-up of a full size starship would cost.

Yeah I'm thinking the $100 million mark may be a little low. Probably at least $500 million.

But wouldn't building a Constitution replica require significantly less material than a skyscraper? Although it seems the labor needed to meticulously replicate the interior would require a lot more time and money than the interior design of a skyscraper.

Not to mention all those displays need to actually do something. And the elevators mimicking a turbolift. Plus the A/C required and the physical plant that would entail. It would drive the Chinese spy satellites crazy for a while though.

 

[Carpe Occasio]

Yeah I'm thinking the $100 million mark may be a little low. Probably at least $500 million.

But wouldn't building a Constitution replica require significantly less material than a skyscraper? Although it seems the labor needed to meticulously replicate the interior would require a lot more time and money than the interior design of a skyscraper.

Not to mention all those displays need to actually do something. And the elevators mimicking a turbolift. Plus the A/C required and the physical plant that would entail. It would drive the Chinese spy satellites crazy for a while though.

Don't forget the reinforced construction that would be required to build and support something of such an odd shape on the ground, under a gravity load.

 

[blaXXer]

I had the craziest idea the other day. Would it be possible to build a life-size replica Enterprise (you pick which version)? How much would such a thing cost? I'm not talking about an actual "starship" that flies between planets. I'm talking about basically a large mock-up with all of the hallways and such as taken from the blueprints from the actual movies and such. It could be built... er... "docked" somewhere that land is cheap, like out near the desert near Las Vegas or out on some converted farm land. The ship wouldn't need to be reproduced internally 100% as there are areas (such as deuterium storage tanks) that probably even the crew never sees.

I'd definitely do it if I won the lottery. I'd love to do the Enterprise-D. It would probably cost at least $100 million I'm guessing. Hell, I'd charge tours of the place and even rent out the ship's quarters as apartments (it would be known as the world's most sought-after address)!

Yes, I'm crazy, so you don't need to let me know that.

Yeah, crazy alright...

 

[Deckerd]

^You're thinking about tri, an amusing troll from days of yore. He was hopelessly in love with the Enterprise-B. (The thread title was "serious proposel concerning ship")

Oh I remember that! It was long before I joined. It was a board classic.

 

[BigC]

But wouldn't building a Constitution replica require significantly less material than a skyscraper? Although it seems the labor needed to meticulously replicate the interior would require a lot more time and money than the interior design of a skyscraper.

Not to mention all those displays need to actually do something. And the elevators mimicking a turbolift. Plus the A/C required and the physical plant that would entail. It would drive the Chinese spy satellites crazy for a while though.

Don't forget the reinforced construction that would be required to build and support something of such an odd shape on the ground, under a gravity load.

Then you have to factor in the wind like is done for buildings. Wouldn't want to lose a nacelle in a wind storm. I can though easily see a full scale Intrepid class though. Be cheaper also. Plus you could build it almost anywhere, like down town Vegas.

 

[dougkeenan]

Bet we can get a good price for the slightly used one on Gideon.

 

[RobertScorpio]

I like the idea, as a hotel...you build a hote around it. The 'hotel' would look like the docking platforms. The rooms in the docking platform would be for normal people, like us...there would be 400 or so rooms available on the actual ship as well, for a higher price of course...you know, $1000 a night..

And the big daddy? Kirks quarters, made more lavishy though. It would be the Penthouse..I say, a cool $10000 a night..

I like it...But Trump would probably build it and call it the USS TRUMPERPRISE...

Rob
Scorpio

 

[137th Gebirg]

^You're thinking about tri, an amusing troll from days of yore. He was hopelessly in love with the Enterprise-B. (The thread title was "serious proposel concerning ship")

That's right! Thank you for reminding me - I do remember that thread title now. I'm glad others remember him. I was afraid the dementia was kicking in full blast now. Well...maybe it is, but at least I didn't imagine it.

I wonder if he ever got it going?

 

[M'Sharak]

^You're thinking about tri, an amusing troll from days of yore. He was hopelessly in love with the Enterprise-B. (The thread title was "serious proposel concerning ship")

That's right! Thank you for reminding me - I do remember that thread title now. I'm glad others remember him. I was afraid the dementia was kicking in full blast now. Well...maybe it is, but at least I didn't imagine it.

Nope. Definitely part of TrekBBS folklore.

I wonder if he ever got it going?

Naah. I seem to recall him getting into promoting dodgy medical projects and other stuff verging on tinfoil-hat territory, but I could be mistaken.

 

[Carpe Occasio]

^You're thinking about tri, an amusing troll from days of yore. He was hopelessly in love with the Enterprise-B. (The thread title was "serious proposel concerning ship")

That's right! Thank you for reminding me - I do remember that thread title now. I'm glad others remember him. I was afraid the dementia was kicking in full blast now. Well...maybe it is, but at least I didn't imagine it.

Nope. Definitely part of TrekBBS folklore.

I wonder if he ever got it going?

Naah. I seem to recall him getting into promoting dodgy medical projects and other stuff verging on tinfoil-hat territory, but I could be mistaken.

What's wrong with my tin foil hat? It keeps the aliens from stealing my thoughts and posting in my name on the boards.

 

[Kemaiku]

For a minute there I thought "Kenny" from the StarTrek.Com forums had made his way over here, the guy was seriously spamming the board and being repeatedly banned for his campaign to build a real, complete, 2266 Constitution Class and wouldn't believe anyone when they said it couldn't be done, shouting them down and calling them some vulgar names

 

[Carpe Occasio]

 

[Meredith]

Build most of it underground with the saucer and nacelles underground, either that or build it inside of a huge building-like drydock so you could support it with scaffolding and such. You would probably be building something that would dwarf NASA's Vehicle assembly building which is the largest such building. Better yet build it on the KSC and make the "enterprise" section be offices and such for NASA staff and the rest of the internal space could be used for putting together real rockets, if you were a billionaire with billions to spend I don't think NASA would mind a new cool building to work in. Heck make the bridge be mission control for real missions, heh.



That would actually be quite awesome....


If I built it for my own selfish reasons, (a cool mansion type place to live in) I would power the damned thing with this: http://nextenergynews.com/news1/next-energy-news-toshiba-micro-nuclear-12.17b.html