Thanks for your comments guys! Much appreciated.
I'm in the process of creating some marvellous HD footage of the vessel leaving spacedock and accelerating to warp, exciting stuff.
Looks can be very deceiving.... Especially in civil and aeronautical engineering.
Some of the strongest root-structures and load bearing centrebodies on ships, aircraft and vehicles
completely baffle 'observers' as to how they perform. It is the quintessential trait of good design, combining aesthetics and good engineering.
Look at an oil tanker's rudder, or the axle rods of a F1 racing car, or the outer section of a 777's wing - all
appear to look fragile in comparison to achieving what they were
designed for... this is what you have to take into consideration.