Episode of the Week : Elaan of Troyius

[Maurice]

MO the CGI Klingon D7 model in the remastered version is TERRIBLE (low poly, bad texture map, and the WRONG color - the ship was always white...

Actually, no. There's some debate about exactly what colors the model was, but just about no no one thinks it was white. For instance, the below from this webpage (link):

KLINGON D-7 BATTLECRUISER COLOR THEORY 101
POSTED: FEBRUARY 6, 2009




By E. James Small.

Many people have been confused about the color scheme of the Klingon Battlecruiser. The new release from Round 2 gives the perfect opportunity to explain as best I can why the models you have seen in various locations are shown as they are.

The history of the color scheme of the ship is actually quite interesting. One first has to understand why certain people think it looks as it does, and what the original studio model looked like and why. If you watch the show, the ship appears to be grey on screen. In fact, the model built and filmed was never really just grey. It was actually a striking purple-blue and light green. The ship was never weathered when filmed either!

...The original filming model went into storage for a while before being re-painted. The paint work was changed somewhat. There are some pictures floating around the Internet of that model with the incorrect paint work, although it is somewhat close to the original. Later, the ship surfaced again and was repainted an overall grey, which is how it remains today. The grey color is technically incorrect, but many people still think of it that way.

 

[Vger23]

...The fundamental problem with that is the discrepancy between the quoted, pseudorealistic combat speeds; the understandable desire to show the adversary in impressive close-up visuals; and the compromise distance quotes that match neither the visuals nor the speed references.

"The Ultimate Computer" did better by neglecting to show the adversary ships in close-ups or tight maneuvers. The -R version of "Elaan" did worse by showing both the heroes and the villains in the same shot.

Timo Saloniemi

Yeah....I don't really think that matters.

 

[Noname Given]

Actually, no. There's some debate about exactly what colors the model was, but just about no no one thinks it was white. For instance, the below from this webpage (link):

When I watched the episode on my parent's color TV (and in later repeats on various color TVs) the D7 was white on the screen as I saw it.

 

[Maurice]

Yeah....I don't really think that matters.

Does anything about this show "matter"? C'mon.

 

[Vger23]

Does anything about this show "matter"? C'mon.

True enough...I just meant that even in the context of being nitpicky and detail-oriented...this particular gripe wouldn't have bothered me in the slightest.

 

[Maurice]

When things are unsettled, such as the Klingon ship models' true colors, I think it's interesting to share this stuff.

From a purely objective point of view the Klingon ship in TOS alternately purplish, greenish, and grayish throughout "Elaan on Troyius", and gray or greenish in "The Enterprise Incident". But, given the use of colored lighting on the show, and the issues of color drift and fading during optical compositing, it's very hard to prove anything from what we see on screen. There are various accounts of what the models (there were two, one screen used, the other not) were painted like, hence the "some debate".

 

[ZapBrannigan]

"It was actually a striking purple-blue and light green... Gene Roddenberry reportedly chose the colors himself."

I'm surprised they would go anywhere near blue when deciding how to paint the Klingon model, given the need to shoot it on a blue stage for starfield compositing.

 

[Maurice]

Again, who knows if that's accurate? If it was purplish does that mean more towards periwinkle or lavender?

 

[Timo]

From a purely objective point of view the Klingon ship in TOS alternately purplish, greenish, and grayish throughout "Elaan on Troyius"

A side effect of the cloaking device? You know, just like it also distorts the apparent size of your BoP...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[johnnybear]

I always thought the D7 was a greyish white with a tinge of blue!
JB