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...They Almost Built a Life Sized Enterprise-A in Las Vegas

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Admiral
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/54805

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:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

  • WHY.
  • THE.
  • FUCK.
  • DID.
  • THIS.
  • NOT.
  • HAPPEN?
 
I don't think that would have ever been approved by the city. It'd have a better chance being built in a less urban location...like Riverside, Iowa.
:angel:
 
I'm just... I'm seriously in such awe at the idea, and rage that it was 99% almost a done deal only to be nixed at the last second.

I wonder if it would have been a hotel as well as an attraction? If the rooms would have been modeled off of Kirk and Spock's cabins from ST6?

I'm also sure this would have been built on the outskirts of the city, rather than in the middle of it. But as far as size... it's not as big as you think, it would have been no more or less than most other large casinos/hotels.
 
Sounds cool in theory, but just like those bridge recreations we've all seen that were horribly inaccurate, you just know the final product would have been a severely dumbed down version of the ship, with a smaller saucer or nacelles that were too short or something. And they wouldn't be able to resist making it more colorful and "glitzy" somehow.

And if it wasn't 100% faithful to the movie ship, fans would have lost interest fast.
 
Well, if you're going to go all the way with realistic scale there's no point to skimp on the details. The accuracy would be the whole attraction.
 
How would you even build that?

Getting the thing to support the weight of the saucer section would take some major structural engineering.

Would it be built like a ship or a building? (There is a difference - ships are a lot stronger than buildings. Buildings have the ground to hold all their parts in place)
 
So what?
Since the thing will be grounded anyway, turn it into a residential complex that has support struts keeping it in place.

Making it 'true' to Trek at large would be good too. The engineering section could be used as a boiler room or section that provides power in general to the overall complex.
They could also implement recycling technologies into the thing as well to make it more efficient for residents.

Although, I would rather they made Voyager.
:D
Heck... they can make one ship per city. :D
 
How would you even build that?

Getting the thing to support the weight of the saucer section would take some major structural engineering.

Would it be built like a ship or a building? (There is a difference - ships are a lot stronger than buildings. Buildings have the ground to hold all their parts in place)
It would have, ironically, been much like how the nuEnterprise was on the ground, with the ship supported by several girders.
 
The nacelle struts of my old ERTL Enterprise-A snapped off at the slightest bump. I'm afraid I can't imagine an accurately-scaled Enterprise-A standing up to a strong breeze.

That said, if they built it and did a good job I'd gladly live in a small house underneath, forever and ever and ever. Imagine a Riverside shipyard recreation....
 
Shocked everyone isn't drooling over this sadly missed moment of awesomness and the scale looks right in the pics too!

BTW they could never have done this with any of the Fugly Next Genie designs as even Vegas has standards with respect to terrificly ugly buildings, Luxor is Frank Llyod Wright compared to the aesthetics of Voyager or the Ent C & D
 
So what?
Since the thing will be grounded anyway, turn it into a residential complex that has support struts keeping it in place.

Making it 'true' to Trek at large would be good too. The engineering section could be used as a boiler room or section that provides power in general to the overall complex.
They could also implement recycling technologies into the thing as well to make it more efficient for residents.

Or a brewery...
 
If I had only won Megamillions last week.
I could live in the VIP cabin. Got to have a suite for visiting admirals.
 
When I first read about this, I thought it had to be a slightly belated April Fool’s piece. But it was the real deal.

Link

  • WHY.
  • THE.
  • FUCK.
  • DID.
  • THIS.
  • NOT.
  • HAPPEN?
Because of the shortsightedness of one man, Paramount CEO Stanley Jaffe.

that is 100 percent insane
But good insane.

I don't think that would have ever been approved by the city.
Au contraire, mon ami. The project had the full backing of the Las Vegas Downtown Redevelopment Committee, as well as Paramount’s licensing division and the studio’s then-president Sherry Lansing.

I'm also sure this would have been built on the outskirts of the city, rather than in the middle of it.
The plan was to build it smack in the middle of downtown Las Vegas, to help revitalize the downtown area and draw tourists away from the flashy hotels and casinos of The Strip.

From an engineering standpoint, obviously the concept of a free-standing, full-size Enterprise as shown in the presentation art would be impossible. There would have to have been some sort of external bracing or scaffolding to support the saucer and nacelles.
 
From an engineering standpoint, obviously the concept of a free-standing, full-size Enterprise as shown in the presentation art would be impossible. There would have to have been some sort of external bracing or scaffolding to support the saucer and nacelles.

They could have built it in a dry dock that served as support while still looking like part of the exhibit
 
As mentioned, the accuracy would be the main attraction for the fans. The exterior, I can perhaps see them getting it correct. The interior is a whole 'nuther thing.

I don't believe they'd make the interior "accurate". They'd use all the space for some real-life purpose (gift shops, restaurants, hotel rooms) rather than recreations of every corridor and cabin and cargo bay and turbolift shaft and hangar deck, etc.

Would that make a difference? If only a handful of "Star Trek" locations were really inside the ship, would it matter? Or would fans only accept an authentic deck-by-deck structure, including fictional machinery spaces and life support and deflector units and such?

For fans, wouldn't a large part of the appeal be the opportunity to freely roam the corridors and explore areas of the ship, rather than bop between the bridge, sickbay, and Kirk's cabin and that's it?

All that being said, an actual real-life honest-to-goodness full-size starship Enterprise is just about the most amazing thing that could ever happen in a ST fan's lifetime.
 
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