"Crossbow-class" - a ship, for a change!

[Nero's Shadow]

Hi thanks ptrope for the advice sorry it's not 100% perfect I feel I've got the shape right and design may have some problems of moving the nacelles as I've fixed them in place now .? But I'm glad you like it.

Would it be possible when I've finished it doing some of my own stats for this ship as I think it will make it come to life. 1st thing what class would you like it to be heavy light crusier scout destroyer frigate ?

 

[Ptrope]

I haven't really thought about any of that stuff - I guess if I'd thought it would matter, I'd have put some effort into how it 'fits' into the grand scheme of Starfleet. I'll have to think about it, once I figure out the ship's rough dimensions and how they might affect its mission.

Like I said when I started all this, I rarely model ships, rarer still ships that are unique from the established designs. One thing I've noticed, though, is that it generally seems that when a design is modified from the established version, that spawns yet another new class. I hope you understand, then, that since this ship is of the Crossbow-class, but isn't Crossbow herself, my feeling is that the two ships should be as identical as possible, allowing for minor differences that might occur once ships go into service and modifications are made on the line (maybe the bridge is slightly different, or there are variations of the nacelles based on performance improvements, etc.). I'm flattered that someone wanted to build a model of the design, and yours looks great so far, but I'd prefer that a ship named Crossbow look as much like my design as possible - I hate to think I put so much effort into my work only to end up with my own design being the 'variant' .

 

[Ptrope]

Well, looking at the various ship types that seem to be accepted, I'd say the best fit is a "light cruiser" - the Crossbow-class has components that are similar in size to those of the Constitution - maybe a smidge smaller - and they're arranged for a more compact and theoretically more maneuverable ship. Not having placed the two ships together and to scale, all of this is just guesswork. Like I said - not really something I'd given any thought to, because I didn't really expect I'd have to .

As far as the real work, I've added phaser emplacements on the upper (3) and lower (2) saucer surfaces, and 7 RCS clusters around the rim of the saucer - these are all in a separate mesh, so it's optional whether to use them or not. I'll probably also create two sets of textures, one that integrates them more into the apparent substructure so they don't look added on, and one that is more TOS-smooth. I plan to get everything finished up over the holiday weekend, including rigging the hangar doors to open and close - if I get some free time and a lot of gumption, I might model a full hangar deck that will also 'plug in' (it has a rudimentary space there right now, but having UV-mapped the whole model, I don't want to mess with the mesh any more).

 

[Nero's Shadow]

Hi have u got any pictures of your latest improvements.? What type of phaser banks are they are they blocked type or the nipple type I've had to put a sensor strip on the aft section so to cover the holes I had in the secondary hull.

I like the idea of it been a light cruiser may be a patrol vessel.

 

[Ptrope]

Finally, it's just about finished - just a few tweaks to the textures left to do, and then rig it so the hangar doors open and close. Whew!

The latest WIP pix:







Once it's done and released, then I'll take some time to put together a 'stat sheet' for it. Until then, I'll just ask for patience .

 

[Nero's Shadow]

Finally, it's just about finished - just a few tweaks to the textures left to do, and then rig it so the hangar doors open and close. Whew!

The latest WIP pix:

Wow it's fantastic what a great job you have done. I'm still working on mine can't do the paint job yet as it's to cold to spray, but I can do some little bits to get it look like your WIP pics !!!

 

[Unicron]

I hope you won't mind me asking, Ptrope, because I've skimmed through the thread but I'm not sure if this was mentioned. But what are the two little doors/notches on the nacelle pylon? Not a bad design at all.

 

[Ptrope]

Thanks! Glad you like it (and that goes out to the rest of ya, too ). I know it's been asked before, maybe not in this thread but perhaps over on the DAZ forum, but I don't mind a bit - the truth is, I don't know! When I designed the 'wing,' I just felt there needed to be something there to break it up, so I gouged big-ass doors into it . I have 3 possibilities:

1. Really big weapons bays
2. Really small garages (I kind of like this idea, actually - I could probably fit my Dart model in there, depending on whether they're wide enough for its wingspan; at any rate, they could be bays for small support craft - 2-man jobs)
3. Engineering access doors - since a large part of the warp hardware is in the 'wing,' they may need to have large doors to be able to access or replace some VLCs (Very Large Components)

They could even be a mix of the above, but I doubt it.

 

[Unicron]

Maybe they're headlights?

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

Absolutely GORGEOUS work there, Ptrope!

 

[Kaiser]

Finally, it's just about finished - just a few tweaks to the textures left to do, and then rig it so the hangar doors open and close. Whew!

The latest WIP pix:







Once it's done and released, then I'll take some time to put together a 'stat sheet' for it. Until then, I'll just ask for patience .

freak'n awesome pics

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

Thanks! Glad you like it (and that goes out to the rest of ya, too ). I know it's been asked before, maybe not in this thread but perhaps over on the DAZ forum, but I don't mind a bit - the truth is, I don't know! When I designed the 'wing,' I just felt there needed to be something there to break it up, so I gouged big-ass doors into it . I have 3 possibilities:

1. Really big weapons bays
2. Really small garages (I kind of like this idea, actually - I could probably fit my Dart model in there, depending on whether they're wide enough for its wingspan; at any rate, they could be bays for small support craft - 2-man jobs)
3. Engineering access doors - since a large part of the warp hardware is in the 'wing,' they may need to have large doors to be able to access or replace some VLCs (Very Large Components)

They could even be a mix of the above, but I doubt it.

How about some sort of exchangable module system - on a smaller scale than say, the Miranda or Nebula, but those two doors would have two module slots in them, and they could be sensor arrays, probe bays, or whatever is needed for a specific mission, I suppose.

Would that be nifty, or kind of lame?

 

[Captain]

All I can say is ...Magnificent!!

Nice work and great thinking here!!

 

[Starship]

I know I´m a bit late in the party, but I would like to suggest two torp launchers to be placed where the neck join the "wings".

 

[Kaiser]

I know I´m a bit late in the party, but I would like to suggest two torp launchers to be placed where the neck join the "wings".

i support this idea

 

[Ptrope]

Since we've discussed modeling the Crossbow-class, I decided to play a bit with it myself - in this case, what it might look like on the shelf in the captain's quarters (Pike's quarters, in fact ... )


(Click above for full-size image)

Still haven't decided on those doors ...

 

[chardman]

You know I love that ship, but f**K that, I want the bridge-kitbashed-model-stand!!!

 

[Redfern]

...I want the bridge-kitbashed-model-stand!!!

Ptrope does offer the mesh at ShareCG (in case you were not aware).

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Ptrope]

You know, I have a friend who was talking about getting a 3D printer - it wouldn't be a far stretch to take one wedge of the mesh and print it, assemble 10 of them into a master and cast it, then cast the supports and rails, and sell an actual resin base kit for real models ... .

 

[chardman]

This friend anyone I'd know as well?