Doug Drexler's Enterprise-J (with underside view!)

[Ghostface1701]

I hope this is a good forum for this, I think it's interesting to more than the Trek Art group.

I just found a blog by Doug Drexler (illustrator and graphic designer from TNG-ENT), which I know I'm going to waste many an hour going through. A post from today shows previously unseen views of his Enterprise-J, the vessel briefly seen in the ENT episode 'Azati Prime' (?). It's only a basic design (it's onscreen time was extremely short), but I kinda like it. It accomplishes its mission in its brief screen time, which is to say "WE'RE IN THE FUTURE"

Link: http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/enterprise-j-search-redux/

 

[USS Excelsior]

Not bad.

 

[miraclefan]

I saw that too! In fact one of my responces is posted on that page The ENT-J is in my top 5 favourite desings!

 

[Unicron]

Kind of has a FASA TNG look to it.

 

[Piper]

It looks like someone sat on the Ent-E. Not bad, but a bit too flat for my tastes.

 

[miraclefan]

It looks like someone sat on the Ent-E. Not bad, but a bit too flat for my tastes.

From what ''Drexler'' has said, it's several miles long!

 

[Nardpuncher]

Kind of has a FASA TNG look to it.

Hey, you're right. A bit like the Decker class I think.

I never had a big problem with the J. Buddy had to design a ship from even farther in the future than the future we're already watching.

 

[M'Sharak]

I just found a blog by Doug Drexler (illustrator and graphic designer from TNG-ENT), which I know I'm going to waste many an hour going through.

Yep, there's lots of nifty stuff to see there.

 

[GodThingFormerly]

Not bad.

...for a pizza cutter, maybe.

TGT

 

[Nardpuncher]

When I think about it, it's certainly not a ship I'd want to see week after week in something like Star Trek: The Next Next Next Generation though.

 

[Praetor]

I preferred the original version Doug proposed here, which has a secondary hull that is basically a tacked on version of what he and Mr. Okuda called the Altair from the Ships of the Line calendar.

Unfortunately, TPTB wanted the ship that is shown in the post linked above, which lacks the secondary hull. I asked Doug for permission to pretend that the 'real' J has the Altair-style secondary hull in addition to the forward-saucer deflector, and he said I could, so I do.

Doug had some interesting notions about the J (non-canon of course) among them being that it would be a gigantic, generational ship with families aboard, a space-fold drive enabling it to explore other galaxies and would be perhaps two miles long and of the Universe class. Me likey.

 

[The_Beef]

Interesting. I'm a bit intrigued now about the nature of the J's mission as a multi-generational ship and what that says about the Federation of this era. Perhaps we've now reached out to other galaxies? Its also rather interesting to imagine a ship like that in combat. That's a lot to risk in a fight.

 

[Praetor]

True, but so was the D. I'd imagine that it's also a ship that can expect to survive almost anything, and also that the people aboard are 'evolved' to be prepared to give their lives in that fashion.

 

[Eddie Roth]

It's a ridiculous design and I thought so back when that ENT episode aired.

 

[Praetor]

I think the final version was rather silly - trying to make it look exactly like the NX but 800 years later was a silly idea on the producers' part.

 

[miraclefan]

^I don't know guys, I really like the final design we got! All I can say is that if y'all dislike this design, then you would absolutely HATE! my designs! There really ''OUT THERE & ALIEN''!

 

[Praetor]

I just don't like having an Enterprise without a secondary hull.

 

[Eddie Roth]

^Right! Which is why I felt they went into the wrong direction with the Enterprise-E.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I think the final version was rather silly - trying to make it look exactly like the NX but 800 years later was a silly idea on the producers' part.

Or maybe they did it on purpose.

Consider this: The only time we ever saw the Enterprise-J was in an alternate future, where the Sphere Builders still existed and the Expanse took up 1/4 of the galaxy. In a timeline like that, with war dragging on for generations, it makes sense that starship technology and design would have stagnated a bit. Thus, the Ent-J - even after all those centuries - still looked like little more than an uprated NX-01.

The *real* J, or whichever Enterprise happens to exist in the actual 26th century, will no doubt look quite different than what we saw. Because there will have been a lot more 'room' for technology to advance, in a universe where there are no more Sphere Builders or Expanse.

 

[nx1701g]

Interesting. I'm a bit intrigued now about the nature of the J's mission as a multi-generational ship and what that says about the Federation of this era. Perhaps we've now reached out to other galaxies? Its also rather interesting to imagine a ship like that in combat. That's a lot to risk in a fight.

Especially since they list it as having full size parks, communities, and even a university aboard ship.