New name, same great work. Guess you can't just add licence plate illumination like on cars for the registry I think? (and yeah, I know, that probably would look hiddious.. )
Don't the Franz Joseph blueprints show forward phasers on the front ventral saucer, port and starboard phasers on the dorsal saucer, and after phasers above the shuttlebay? (My set are packed away in a box in storage because I just moved house, so I can't check.) I think the only real weapons blind spot the Constitution-class had was no aft-firing torpedoes, which is a less significant issue when the torpedoes are self-guided.
Yeah I have FJ's blueprints but they don't match up on onscreen dialogue or FX so I didn't include those locations in my reply. FJ's plans lack the midship and aft weapons and puts the torp launchers in the teardrop instead of the ventral saucer.
To be fair, from the efforts I've seen around TrekBBS and elsewhere, making an entirely screen-accurate blueprints of the Enterprise based purely on what we seen on screen is impossible...
Yeah in order for an actual accurate build you would need the blueprints, studio model, and everything said in the show to match up exactly. So really it's a choice between which source to use haha
That does look similar to what I might do, we'll see. Here a second texture test, closer, but not quite there yet: And yes, I changed my username to match the other sites I'm on
Really diggin' the "little" details you're putting on the hull (but in this context, "little" details are the size of my condo). Why not? It's exactly what the model makers did for the starships in the 2009 movie. Personally, I prefer the array of smaller lights used to light up the Kelvin and Enterprise registries; it somehow seems more realistic than the broad conical beams of light used to illuminate the refit Enterprise in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. (But having said that, I am practically VIBRATING with anticipation for the 4K HDR release of TMP on Tuesday! Squeeeee!!!)
I think I recall one episode where aft phasers were used, but I just can't remember the exact episode.
The "Enterprise" Mirror Universe episode "In a Mirror Darkly" showed that on the TOS Defiant. As it was escaping from the dry docks at least, maybe once more? But that's years after TOS, which never showed rear phasers in use, but you CAN hear a background line in the bridge status chatter saying "aft phaser to bridge"! That's heard in many TOS episodes.
We see the Defiant firing aft phasers from two emitters on either side of the dome above its shuttlebay as it escapes the Tholian dry dock... We also see it firing aft photon torpedoes from a similar position, possibly the dome itself... Later, it destroys an NX-class ship with the aft phasers...
I'm sure that's been labelled on some interpretations of the Constitution-class, but it's definitely not the case with the Defiant.
The FX artist behind the model said that such was his intention, but they made a mistake in the rendering.
All this talk of phasers and torpedos reminded me that I still have to add the phasers and some more torpedo launchers, I thought I was done dammit! As far as lighting goes, here's another possibility. Having the glow just as outlines looks a lot better. As far as the tech, the paint could be bioluminescent:
I almost forgot, because texturing is kicking my butt, I'll be taking a short break from this project. I'll be doing more concepts and sketches for a while. I had to make up this wallpaper with the current state of the model just for fun until I get back to it: