For the sake of comparison, it might be worth taking a look at the 3D models which Will McCammon drew up both for
the "Franz Joseph" dreadnought, and for the "ADB"
guided weapons dreadnought, for use back on
the old Shapeways 1.0 storefront for Amarillo Design Bureau.
While not the same as post-1979 Franchise canon, the
Star Fleet Universe leans more heavily into the legacy left by the
Star Fleet Technical Manual. Even so, while the Shapeways 1.0 minis marked as "FJ" were drawn up to match the original blueprints as closely as possible, the "ADB" iteration minis were set to match the weapon and system loadouts shown on the Ship System Displays in
Star Fleet Battles, or the Squadron Scale Ship Cards of
Federation Commander.
For example: in the case of the "FJ" DN, the photon torpedo mounts on the saucer are shown as the same kind of "bumps" as used for the phasers. However, on the "ADB" DNG, the photons are shown as recessed tubes - in this case, housed in a "gun deck" below the bridge section facing forward. (Most Fed ships in the SFU which
have secondary hulls do not install photon "gun decks" on them, though there are a handful of exceptions.)
Furthermore, the DNG - which, in the SFU, is two rounds of refits removed from the "Middle Years" DN - both deletes the aft dish on the secondary hull and moves the shuttle bay to that location. Also, certain weapons which are used by Federation ships in the SFU, such as drone racks, are marked, though they cannot be seen from the viewing angle shown in the link above.
The DNG also "flattens" the port and starboard nacelle struts.
As an aside, the rules in
SFB permit both the DN and the later DNG to separate their saucers while retaining the use of their respective centre warp engines. This is done only in emergencies, however; the saucer and the secondary hull typically require the use of a shipyard in order to be put back together.
There are a few Fed ships in the SFU which have "tunnel decks" in their secondary hulls; these tend to be used as carrier variants. An example of this is the heavy cruiser-sized strike carrier,
as shown here. (Speaking of carriers, the secondary hull of the dreadnought-sized
heavy carrier has port and starboard "balconies" for its fighter bays, plus a double-sized set of shuttle bay doors to aft.)
Not that any of the above need matter for the project as being outlined here, of course. But, on the off chance it
was worth taking a closer look at...
