Andrew Probert's ST:TNG Federation Fighter Concept Unveiled!

[GodThingFormerly]

http://www.probertdesigns.com/Folder_STORE/Folder_CONCEPT-KITS/F-Fighter_KIT.html

Andrew, would it be at all possible for you to give us a brief production backgrounder on this baby?

TGT

 

[FredH]

Noting the K-Fighter design elsewhere on that directory, and the attached article about Yorktown II. Damn, but I wish I could track that movie down somewhere; I've wanted to see it for twenty years!

 

[Data Holmes]

Re: Andrew Probert's ST:TNG Federation Fighter Concept Unvei

FredH said:
Noting the K-Fighter design elsewhere on that directory, and the attached article about Yorktown II. Damn, but I wish I could track that movie down somewhere; I've wanted to see it for twenty years!

I know, why has this not made it's way onto the web by now!!!

 

[Starlock]

Star Fleet's got Batwings...?

Most Excellent.

Two Phaser strips on the upper surface. Embedded impulse engines (with thrust directors and reversers?). I'm guessing that there might be torpedo tubes in the forward pods. The back section reminds me of "Sky One" from UFO.

The cockpit seems a bit cramped when seen in the top and forward views - it might do to widen it (or at least the canopy) a bit and also give that pilot a pressuresuit with a less visible color scheme.

 

[blaXXer]

Re: Andrew Probert's ST:TNG Federation Fighter Concept Unvei

Oh, Starfleet's got their own TIEs now.

The Empire is victorious on all fronts!

 

[B.J.]

Re: Andrew Probert's ST:TNG Federation Fighter Concept Unvei

Starlock said:The cockpit seems a bit cramped when seen in the top and forward views - it might do to widen it (or at least the canopy) a bit....

It doesn't look any more narrow than modern fighter jets.

 

[Griffworks]

T.I.E. Fighter? I don't think so. Looks more like a Cylon Raider from TNS BSG than a T.I.E. Fighter.

Not sure if I like it or not just yet, but it doesn't look fugly nor offend my delicate sensibilities.

FredH said:
Noting the K-Fighter design elsewhere on that directory, and the attached article about Yorktown II. Damn, but I wish I could track that movie down somewhere; I've wanted to see it for twenty years!

I didn't learn about it 'til around five years ago, but I've been wanting to see it ever since, as well. I had even gone so far as to send an email to Mr. Takei's site, but never got a response back. I'll bet the reason it most likely will never show up is due to legal reasons. Someone prolly gave those poor folks a C&D.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I like it actually. Wished we could have seen these babies in action during TNG. A ship as big as the Enterprise-D could have carried a small squadron of six onboard, IMO...

 

[Trekker4747]

Kind of looks like the nose-bridge on a pair of glasses.

 

[Data Holmes]

Re: Andrew Probert's ST:TNG Federation Fighter Concept Unvei

C.E. Evans said:
I like it actually. Wished we could have seen these babies in action during TNG. A ship as big as the Enterprise-D could have carried a small squadron of six onboard, IMO...

Six... Six... A Galaxy class could have carried a hundred or so in the main shuttle bay. :thumbsup:

 

[ancient]

Re: Andrew Probert's ST:TNG Federation Fighter Concept Unvei

It certainly has the TNG design ethic.

 

[Captain Robert April]

Re: Andrew Probert's ST:TNG Federation Fighter Concept Unvei

It reminds me of a Go'auld flyer. Or maybe half a Starfury.

 

[SonicRanger]

Re: Andrew Probert's ST:TNG Federation Fighter Concept Unvei

ancient said:
It certainly has the TNG design ethic.

More like the "TNG that was designed but never built" design ethic -- like the Sphinx work pod... Of course, there's reason for that.

 

[Sec31Mike]

Re: Andrew Probert's ST:TNG Federation Fighter Concept Unvei

Sorry to say, but, I'm not liking this design. Seems too easy to damage/destroy. Plus the pilot doesn't seem very well protected.

 

[Timo]

Re: Andrew Probert's ST:TNG Federation Fighter Concept Unvei

I rather like the exposed pilot, because this makes dramatic sense - the same way SCUBA gear with giant masks is good for photography even though not necessarily so for actual SCUBA work. That is, we can see the pilot even in exterior view, and get "Viper-style" shots of visual punch.

That is, we would get those if the VFX technology allowed for it. Back in the TNG days, it would have been more or less impossible to film these things in action, without making the full-size prop very static, or the subscale model devoid of pilot movement. And, as said, the full-scale prop would be prohibitively expensive anyway (at least if the Type 7 shuttle was considered such).

My objection to this design is that it does not feature sufficiently identifiable Treknology. I do appreciate the idea of novel weaponry such as the E-D strip phasers, but I would wish for this fighter to feature that novel weaponry, and not something completely different again.

Probert's art on the Captain's Yacht displays a more appealing collection of identifiably TNG-ish tech details, IMHO.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[aridas sofia]

Re: Andrew Probert's ST:TNG Federation Fighter Concept Unvei

I like it. It looks modular -- as if the central cockpit is a "bee" type module that one can imagine being applied to other uses.

I imagined something similar for another of Andrew's creations from TMP -- the workbee. My first calls to him over 25 years ago were about my desire to use it as part of the "killer bee" assault vehicle, and to get his ideas.

I can recall his laughing about the name, and suggesting that I might also want to come up with an ambigen variant and call it "queen bee".

Maybe this is a 24th century "killer bee".

If so, maybe we'll yet see its more-flamboyant cousin.

 

[FredH]

Re: Andrew Probert's ST:TNG Federation Fighter Concept Unvei

Truthfully, and with no disrespect towards this particular design (which looks oddly like a nBSG Cylon Raider... oh snap, so *that's* why Roddenberry humans are so perfect!), I'm not sure why TNG-era capital ships would need fighters: for the most part, they maneuver like fighters themselves (at least in DS9), so there's no real need for combat air patrols and the like.

OTOH, I could see them being dumped off at some outpost or flashpoint the Admiralty sees as (a) needing mobile firepower, but (b) not being worth tying down the resources of a starship for.

Now, back in TWOK, the Reliant and Enterprise--lumbering around like that--would have found fighters quite useful. Oh well.

 

[Captain Robert April]

Re: Andrew Probert's ST:TNG Federation Fighter Concept Unvei

Now, I rather like the Killer Bee idea. I might do something different with the design itself, but conceptually, I think it's brilliant. After all, the workbee itself is just a multipurpose cockpit that you stick things onto for various jobs, why not as a fighter?

 

[C.E. Evans]

Re: Andrew Probert's ST:TNG Federation Fighter Concept Unvei

hutt359 said:

C.E. Evans said:
I like it actually. Wished we could have seen these babies in action during TNG. A ship as big as the Enterprise-D could have carried a small squadron of six onboard, IMO...

Six... Six... A Galaxy class could have carried a hundred or so in the main shuttle bay. :thumbsup:

Maybe...maybe not. Depending on what tech manual you subscribe to, the Enterprise-D carries roughly forty shuttlecraft of various types and sizes scattered across its three shuttlebays. But the main shuttlebay isn't quite that large really, IMO, so something would have to give.

Perhaps if these fighters were partially disassembled or had segements that could be folded up to allow them to be packed in there like sardines...

 

[ancient]

Re: Andrew Probert's ST:TNG Federation Fighter Concept Unvei

SonicRanger said:

ancient said:
It certainly has the TNG design ethic.

More like the "TNG that was designed but never built" design ethic -- like the Sphinx work pod... Of course, there's reason for that.

Hey, they built it. The first TNG shuttle, that one that looked like an egg-carton, was built in this extremely curvy, earthy way.

Of course, making a physical 1:1 scale prop was next to impossible, so it ended up only being used when there was no need for a 1:1 prop.

I'd say the season 1 bridge was also in the curvy, earthy style. The wood on the walls an captain's chair really sets it apart.

But yeah, most of the early TNG design ethic was never used.