Length of the D7

Discussion in 'Trek Tech' started by James Wright, Apr 20, 2021.

  1. James Wright

    James Wright Commodore Commodore

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    I've been thinking about the length of the Klingon D7 battle cruiser, exactly who established the length at 228 meters?

    James Wright
     
  2. Timo

    Timo Fleet Admiral Admiral

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  3. Boris Skrbic

    Boris Skrbic Commodore Commodore

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    The earliest source in which I’ve seen the specific figure of 228 meters is the original (1994) edition of The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future, by Michael Okuda, Denise Okuda and Debbie Mirek.
     
  4. James Wright

    James Wright Commodore Commodore

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    What I can't figure out is, when Matt Jefferies made a rough sketch of the ship he gave it a length of between 620' and 680'. I've only seen the sketch once and now I can't find it.
    How did the length increase to 747'? (200' shorter than the Enterprise)


    James
     
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2021
  5. Timo

    Timo Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Again, I'd think the graphic is to blame. It is the first application of scale to the model, and "feet" wouldn't play a role there. Rather, "How does this look right next to the hero ship?" would be a question directly answered by drawing the Klingon ship next to the Enterprise so that it looks sufficiently menacing.

    Timo Saloniemi
     
  6. Boris Skrbic

    Boris Skrbic Commodore Commodore

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    You’re probably thinking of the plans included here, but unfortunately their resolution is just low enough to make them illegible.
     
  7. James Wright

    James Wright Commodore Commodore

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    Using the drawings and scale provided in the book "The Making of Star Trek" I got 2 different measurements for the D7, the first using the side view was 680', the second using the top view was 725'.

    James
     
  8. Boris Skrbic

    Boris Skrbic Commodore Commodore

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    We know it’s in that ballpark, but sizes aren’t usually settled until someone comes up with a convincing layout based on production and onscreen sources. Given his Phase II cutaway, how would Matt Jefferies have laid out the deck lines, and what would be the size that works with deck plans?
     
  9. James Wright

    James Wright Commodore Commodore

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    I've never seen the Phase II cutaway! Since he designed both TOS Enterprise and the TOS D7, I wonder why didn't he develop one official length scale that could be used for both ships? Going back to the Phase II cutaway plans,(Just speculating here) wouldn't he have to developed the height of each deck depending on each decks use?

    James
     
  10. Boris Skrbic

    Boris Skrbic Commodore Commodore

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    I meant this Phase II Enterprise cross-section as a potential reference for Jefferies’ deck spacing, but I don’t think he went as far as drawing deck lines for the battlecruiser, or we would’ve seen some evidence of that by now.
     
  11. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

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    I forgot about that cut-away
     
  12. AresB

    AresB Commander Red Shirt

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    Matt Jefferies originally established the size in his drawings. They can be found on the D7 model page at Memory Alpha.
    Edit: I tried to copy them here, but didn't seem to work.
     
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2021
  13. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

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  14. James Wright

    James Wright Commodore Commodore

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    Thanks for posting those links!:techman: The book about Klingon military power is a fine piece until you get to the D7, I don't agree with the length given for the ship.
    I can open the second site you listed and read the text but I can't view any of the images.

    James
     
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  15. James Wright

    James Wright Commodore Commodore

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    I know that my original question was about the length of the D7 but I have a question about the D7 and K't'inga. Even though the length of both ships is different, do the D7 and K't'inga share the same width and height?

    James
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2021
  16. StarCruiser

    StarCruiser Commodore Commodore

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    According to the "Official" blueprints (the old TMP set from '79), the K'Tinga was:

    Length - 214.3 meters
    Beam - 152.4 meters
    Draft - 57.3 meters

    According to Mark McMaster's blueprints of the D7:

    Length - 216.408 meters (?!?)
    Beam - 152.4 meters
    Draft - 55.28 meters

    Anyway you want to cut it, the two are not just variants. The K'Tinga is certainly supposed to be based on the older design but, I would expect that they would be two distinct production designs. When you dig into FASA's Star Trek the Role Playing Game's background material, the K'Tinga is treated as a later production version of the D7 family, and NOT as a distinct class.

    There is absolutely NO consistency in fandom, or canon; let alone between the two...
     
  17. scotpens

    scotpens Professional Geek Premium Member

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    FWIW, those length and beam measurements are metric conversions of 708 ft. and 500 ft., respectively.

    Oh, and it's Michael McMaster.
     
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  18. F. King Daniel

    F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Why 503 metres long. Hasn't anyone watched Discovery?:p
     
  19. Boris Skrbic

    Boris Skrbic Commodore Commodore

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    Precisely 710 feet, actually, presumably in line with this poster.
     
  20. scotpens

    scotpens Professional Geek Premium Member

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    Yes, that's correct.

    It's 708 Klingon feet. :)
     
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