I’ve been curious to see how the refit E would have looked prre-Trumbull modifications. In my mind, that was the “pure” pro err TMP we never got to see in action.
I never liked the bridge superstructure on the model prior to the Trumbull-era rework. It just looked lumpy. The pinstripes were nice, and it would have been cool that the text decals in the pennants been placed where they were intended (just above the separation line on the dorsal). The self-illumination is a big part of the ship's look in TMP, and it looks better with than without it IMO.
I don’t recall with certainty off the top of my head, but I believe I remember Yuricich jobbed some of that work out to Rocco Gioffre.
Great progress. I'm with @cardinal biggles - I love the bare alloy look on these renders. Makes it look fresh from the shop!
The XL-sized refit model distributed by Eaglemoss was actually of this version of the filming miniature for some weird reason. Pissed a lot of us off, actually. We were hoping for the final version.
Ok maybe this is splitting hairs, it I don’t count the new bridge superstructure as part of the Trumbull modifications. IIRC was necessitated because the original was damaged by water, and the differences reflect more of a refinement to the original design than an addition of more “stuff” to add detail. And the running lights are more of a lighting technique than a change to the model. So I would take the new superstructure and the running lights, but I would enjoy seeing the ship with the original sensor dome. Seems more “TMP” to me. Save the newer sensor dome assembly for TWOK - that seems to fit its aesthetic better.
Wow, Donny. Just checking the thread again after a while and seeing all the bridge work. They look fantastic. It made me smile to see you even got the patchy rubber matting look down. The Grissom bridge is revelatory for me. I knew it was an oval and had seen depictions of it before, but your version really sells me on it. It looks very credible and I find that I really like the overall design. The oval, the scale, the flattened decks, etc. It's very cool. Once you get over your bridge fatigue, might I recommend (just for fun) doing a version of the TMP bridge that mimics the series bridge more closely? I'm thinking rearranging the sections to put a single turbolift door to Kirk's left, moving Spock and Uhura's stations more in line to where they used to be, replacing standing stations with the wide, sit-down style, removing the tactical bump-out, changing the upholstery to black, and painting everything in series colors. I think a lot of fans would get a kick out see something like that. If you went further, you could even lower the railings, etc. Just a thought!
It probably wouldn't have been so bad if Eaglemoss had committed to doing the full Robert Abel version, instead of that hodgepodge of details from the two versions.
I thought the same thing when I first heard about that, but the bridge was damaged after filming started. I know the replacement was supposed to be more detailed, but the differences are, apparently, pretty subtle. We know the damaged bridge was the "new" design, because design work on the new bridge was in early 1979, but the accident that damaged the bridge wasn't until July, and the replacement part was made quickly by the model-making team, so there wouldn't be any paper trail for changes introduced to the design at that point. As to your main point, it might be backwards. From the January date on Probert's concept art for a new bridge, it looks like the idea, if not necessarily the execution, of gussying up the bridge module predated Trumbull, who began work in February.
If I recall correctly the Abel firing wasn't all at once. At first the miniatures and matte work was going to go to Trumbull and Co. and the rest (various opticals) were going to stay with Abel, but then the decision was made the boot Abel entirely. As such, there's a period before the firing when Trumbull was on the film at the same time. This would seem to correspond with the bridge redesign. I can ask Andy about it next time I get him on the phone or FaceTime. The new superstructure is a lot more Probert-y than the one the preceded it, and a lot nicer looking.
No time for the temporary textures tonight, but here's the primary hull as it stands after a productive weekend:
Nice! One thing no one ever models because, I think, perhaps the details were painted on instead of actually modeled? is how the maneuvering thruster openings are supposed to be shaped inside. Each thruster emplacement on the saucer has three openings, of course, and each one fires in a different direction. Take the one on the forward port side top edge. The circular opening fires up, and of the two rectangular openings one fire forward and the other to port. All the openings point towards a common center (in my example, directly below the circular opening. There's this old Probert sketch (link) which shows in which direction each thruster nozzle fires on the bulk of the ship (not including the saucer). You can infer from those in which directions the interior walls of each thruster "throat" would point, if one modeled such a thing. I should ask Andy if they were supposed to actually be openings or if they were "meshed" over.