Federation X-Technology Heavy Cruiser

[Icy_Penguigo]

Hiya all. This is a model of a Fed X-Cruiser in Starfleet Battles. In SFB, X-tech is roughly analagous to TMP-era technology(at least that's how I view it). The problem is, ADB doesn't own the rights to use anything beyond the original series(and they never will). So basically this model is my attempt to create something familiar to Star Trek fans as a ship from that era, without getting ADB in trouble with Paramount. This model is still very much a WIP. I still have a lot of work to do on the engines, and I want to add more details to set it apart from the movie Enterprise. But the general idea is there. What do you guys think?

 

[Relayer]

WOW!!! Really sweet. Very elegant. I'm not crazy about the impulse design, is my only critique.

I'd posted a while back at ADB's boards inquiring about an X1 design. At the time Steve seemed to think that the Regular CA design was sufficient. I think we need lots-o-variants though. Keep expanding the boundaries, Adam.

 

[Cary L. Brown]

I like it very much, actually. But the whole PPC/Amarillo "tapdance" is a minefield, I, personally, would just as soon avoid. I don't envy you (or Amarillo) the position this puts ya in.

It's definitely reminiscent of the TMP era. In fact, I'd have to say it's TOO CLOSE, and thus would set of PPC's "red alert sirens."

 

[largo]

fantastic. that said, i think the nav dish + torpedo box make this far too close to the TMP enterprise, and i'd be hollering for blood if i were paramount.

 

[Wingsley]

The nacelle caps should glow amber or golden.

I love that you kept the domes on the saucer glowing white.

 

[PlanetMudd]

If it were me designing this ... which it ain't ... but if it were ... and I had to get close to a TMP design without crossing that line ... I'd lean closer to the 'Phase II' designs than I would the TMP end of the stick. Some of the things that send warnings to me are the nacelle pylons, the forward sensor dome and the torpedo launcher ... I'd change those up a bit ... maybe rounding off some of the hard cornered look of them, as these elements of TMP designs in general are rather 'angled' looking to me.

You kind of have what I'm trying to get across going on along the secondary hull, especially on that raised dorsal area.

Personally, those raised couplings just behind the bussard collectors seems out of place with the over all, streamlined nature of the nacelle.

Otherwise ... wow ... great design!

JM.

 

[Griffworks]

I agree w/PlanetMudd and others that it's a bit too close in some of the details to the Refit. Something closer to the Phase II would look better for what you're shooting for, I think. I like the nacelles as-is, tho.

 

[Icy_Penguigo]

Well, the design checks out with SVC. He did ask that I change the engine struts to be a nearly uniform width, rather than dramatically tapered out to where they meet the engines. He said historically Paramount has been very weird about that. But that will be a good area where I can set it apart from the TMP Enterprise.

As for other elements, I plan on keeping the torpedo box(those are actually drone launchers on my ship, the photons are on the upper half of the saucer just underneath the bridge). I'm gonna monkey around with the nav deflector area some more though. Probably add an actual TOS-style dish, but pull it in so that it's not obviously sticking out. I'm sure I'll find other areas to tinker with as well.

Thanks very much for the comments guys! I think this model might end up being one of my favorites that I've made so far.

 

[Wingsley]

I agree on the nacelle pylons.

There are a couple of ideas that I think would be really cool if you wanted to tinker a little more with this design:

NEW BRIDGE MODULE - Just as the "Cage" bridge was different from the "TOS" bridge in external shape, and the "TMP" bridge was also different, maybe you could come up with a new design.

DIFFERENT "BOX" - Instead of your probe launchers resembling a photon torpedo bays, maybe you could change the shape a little to make it different. Instead of the "box" sticking out and then narrowing down above the dish, maybe it could be wide all the way down, kinda like a mini-hangar.

 

[SeerSGB]

That is absolutely a wonderful looking ship.

 

[Icy_Penguigo]

Here's the new engine pylons:

I smoothed out the pylons and gave them gave them a shape more akin to an airplane wing, which I think looks a lot better with this design. And it's dissimilar enough from TMP to keep Paramount from pinging us.

Wingsley: The overall shape of the bridge module on my ship is similar to the TMP Enterprise, but all the details are different.

As far as the drone missile launchers go, I'm not sure if that's their final form yet or not. I'll see how I feel after I mess around with the deflector a little bit. The main reason I'm inclined to keep it like that is that there is precedent for it in SFB. Both the Kirov-class BCH and the uprated Federation class DN have missile launchers like that. We'll see.

 

[Bernard Guignard]

Hello Icy
I think that you are on the right track. If you want to make the ship look more different, why not use the standard deflector but recess it where the glowing deflector is
also shorten the deflector Spire. Another thing that could be done is widen out the connecting dorsal to match the width of the Drone launch tubes. Great work so far looking forward to seeing the final results.

 

[Kaiser]

Looks Awsome :thumbsup:

 

[Icy_Penguigo]

Bernard Guignard: As far as the deflector goes, I'm basically thinking the same thing. I might try to have little glowing elements visible from behind it still.

The warp engines are modeled. Check it out:

 

[Wingsley]

Something else needed: the ship's ID markings need to be painted on the hull.

It'll be interesting to see how you incorporate the "NCC" registry onto the nacelles. I say use TOS-style "block" letters and numerals.

I say make her U.S.S. Christopher R. Pike, NX-1900, in memory of the heroic fleet captain.

The nacelle pylons need surface detail, maybe a hybid of the squares from TOS pylons and the distorted shapes from Picard's Enterprise-E.

The front nacelle caps should glow the same colors as TOS, and have the same "rotating blades" as seen in TOS front nacelle caps. I've always wondered why no Federation starship (that I've seen) ever had pylon mounted weapons or other gadgets. For some weird reason, I keep wanting to see small, thin spires coming forward out of those caps. (Not as big as the "Where No Man..." ones.)

 

[Icy_Penguigo]

Wingsley: It has yet to be textured at all. Much more detail will be added in that step. You shall see.

The modeling part is basically done now. I tweaked the deflector dish and added some running lights. Next comes the textures!

 

[Venardhi]

In the past I haven't always been a big fan of your designs or models, but I quite like this ship for the most part. One thing that sticks out for me is the bussards don't quite fit in with the rest of the design. TOS showed us a hemisphere with some sort of rotating mechanism inside and TMP gave us a more rectangular 'grille'. These are a long ovoid shape and don't seem to fit anywhere in between. Perhaps a hemisphere with grilles over the top showing broken light through them, or just a grille over the circular opening where the sphere would be more in line?

I'd also say that putting a real dish in front of the glowing refit defector might help it look less like the refit.

Look forward to seeing where this goes.

 

[Icy_Penguigo]

Venardhi said:
One thing that sticks out for me is the bussards don't quite fit in with the rest of the design. TOS showed us a hemisphere with some sort of rotating mechanism inside and TMP gave us a more rectangular 'grille'. These are a long ovoid shape and don't seem to fit anywhere in between.

I'm trying to introduce an alternate evolution in Federation design. TMP is off-limits, basically. They can print stuff that is similar to it or derivitive from TOS, but if I use the flattened black-grilled nacelles or anything else from the movies, Paramount's lawyers will descend on ABD like the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

So, consider this the TMP era in an alternate timeline where everything is different but similar.

And thanks!

 

[Venardhi]

In general, the ovoid bussards just look silly to me and I've criticized a lot of designs for this. There must be another way of showing evolution without making them look like a glowing dog penis.

 

[Cary L. Brown]

Upon further reflection... I've got a suggestion. Take it or leave it, obviously.

As I understand these ships, the "drones" are essentially small unmanned fighters, not missiles per-se. Right?

So why would you have drones being launched from something that looks like a missile launcher?

My suggestion... keep the overall shape of that area, but instead of having two forward-facing launch tubes, have the front end enclosed... and have the entire side length on either side consist of racks of drones. So you swing up the doors on the sides, and launch the entire first row of drones at once. Unexpended drones could then fly back, under their own power, and "re-rack" themselves upon successful completion of combat.

That's my main suggestion.

I've also really never been fond of the blue bussard collectors, but as I understand, that's pretty much "canon" in the SFU for X-tech ships, right?