Mind I'm far from the 'authority' many other members here are but may I suggest a thought regarding placement-alignment of the navigational deflector assembly ?
Perhaps if said object were mounted on the connecting pylon, midway above-below the warp nacelle and saucer section but in a somewhat unique fashion. If the deflector assembly (dish) were parallel to the ship's central axis than the 'standard' orientation of perpendicular, best envisioned as an AWAC-style antenna array with the now flat disc having an 'embedded' appearance at said pylon's front edge.
Mind such positioning does suggest a piece of lesser-known Federation technology, the lateral focus deflector, opposed to the more frequently applied longitudinal deflector seen on most Starfleet vessels.
Again, a bit of a random and somewhat radical thought but one never knows what research projects ended up in mothballed and quietly packed away.
Perhaps if said object were mounted on the connecting pylon, midway above-below the warp nacelle and saucer section but in a somewhat unique fashion. If the deflector assembly (dish) were parallel to the ship's central axis than the 'standard' orientation of perpendicular, best envisioned as an AWAC-style antenna array with the now flat disc having an 'embedded' appearance at said pylon's front edge.
Mind such positioning does suggest a piece of lesser-known Federation technology, the lateral focus deflector, opposed to the more frequently applied longitudinal deflector seen on most Starfleet vessels.
Again, a bit of a random and somewhat radical thought but one never knows what research projects ended up in mothballed and quietly packed away.