Matt Jefferies TOS and Phase II Sketches

[TIN_MAN]

I recall seeing a picture from a 40's or 50's sci fi movie that had a small craft with nacelles exactly like the tos enterprise and left no doubt where MJ got his inspiration from, but of course I don't remember where I saw it or what movie it was, maybe Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers???

Define "exactly", please. Did it have the indention, or the scooped back? How close do you think it was? Just curious.

Well, as I recall it consisted of a domed front end cap with a smaller dome or nipple where the spires on the pilot version of the big 'E' were. Then it had loovers just behind that, then it tappered to the back-can't remember if it had intercoolers, but I don't think so-then it had the corrugated cowling at the end. These 'necelles' were on the bottom of a full scale mockup of a small skiff-like craft and were inverted from the way they appear on the big 'E', mostly painted black or very dark grey, and I don't think the 'inner sides' could be seen, so I don't know about the indentations, or lack thereof?
It seems to me the picture may have been in an old Starlog magazine from the 80's maybe? It was either a picture from an old serial or it could have been from something made after Trek, I just don't remember for sure? But if it was from before Trek then it had to have inspired Matt Jefferies cause the similarity is obvious. Also, just a thought, does anybody know for sure whether the Big 'E's nacelles were made from scratch? Because the more I think about it the more I suspect that given the scale of the thing I saw, the nacelles would have been about the size of those on the eleven foot model, again, if memory serves? My thinking is that maybe Jefferies or Dayton or somebody used surplus parts from this old movie, the similarity is that close!

 

[Maurice]

Well, as I recall it consisted of a domed front end cap with a smaller dome or nipple where the spires on the pilot version of the big 'E' were. Then it had loovers just behind that, then it tappered to the back-can't remember if it had intercoolers, but I don't think so-then it had the corrugated cowling at the end. These 'necelles' were on the bottom of a full scale mockup of a small skiff-like craft and were inverted from the way they appear on the big 'E', mostly painted black or very dark grey, and I don't think the 'inner sides' could be seen, so I don't know about the indentations, or lack thereof?
It seems to me the picture may have been in an old Starlog magazine from the 80's maybe? It was either a picture from an old serial or it could have been from something made after Trek, I just don't remember for sure? But if it was from before Trek then it had to have inspired Matt Jefferies cause the similarity is obvious. Also, just a thought, does anybody know for sure whether the Big 'E's nacelles were made from scratch? Because the more I think about it the more I suspect that given the scale of the thing I saw, the nacelles would have been about the size of those on the eleven foot model, again, if memory serves? My thinking is that maybe Jefferies or Dayton or somebody used surplus parts from this old movie, the similarity is that close!

Given that the 1701 was initially built as a 33" proof of concept and then as the 11' model, the idea that the engines were found objects doesn't hold up.

Given that the nacelles developed over a number of Jefferies sketches, if the nacelles you saw looked at lot like those on the show, I'd say it seems more likely that the show inspired the drawing than vice-versa, unless you can find something that clearly indicates the design mentioned precedes 1964.

 

[TIN_MAN]

This wasn't a drawing, it was a picture of a full scale mockup with people in the picture. But yeah, the chances are slim that the eleven footer used anything surplus, it was just a thought. And as I said, my recallection is fuzzy at best, so I'm not swearin by anything, it just seems like this picture was from an old serial, but I could definatly be wrong.