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Hey Vektor, is this your Connie?

TrekkieMonster

Commodore
Commodore
Saw this image posted on the Axanar FaceBook page, and noticed that the illumination of the inboard grills on the warp nacelles looks suspiciously like Vektor's USS Constitution model, and was wondering if he could confirm. I don't recall ever seeing any other version take quite that approach. Just curious, really, to know whether I'm right. Fun image.

F16-Connie_zpsxjvz74pp.jpg
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I don't know who made the model, but the design is based on Franz Joseph's Booklet of General Plans.

Nice image though. :techman:

Yes, for those who may not have been around here way back when, Vektor created a CGI model of the USS Constitution based on Franz Joseph's plans, and it was spectacular (as all of his work is.) I think he started it not long after I first joined the BBS and, perhaps for that reason, it still stands out in my mind.

The prismatic affect in the grills on the inboard sides of the nacelles - as well as those grills themselves - are reminiscent of Vektor's model; likewise the 4 "ports" on the impulse engine housing, now that I think of it. Although, the "bulge" on the ventral primary hull looks a little off to me, but that could just be the angle and lighting.
 
I don't know who made the model, but the design is based on Franz Joseph's Booklet of General Plans.
Citation needed?
For what? Visual inspection? :wtf:

You guys look at these drawings all the time... are you saying you can't visualize what they'd look like as three dimensional objects? And this one was what many of us grew up with as the Enterprise during the 70's and 80's.

Last I checked, the Enterprise was designed by Matt Jefferies. Joseph just made some semi-official blueprints based on the original.
 
Citation needed?
For what? Visual inspection? :wtf:

You guys look at these drawings all the time... are you saying you can't visualize what they'd look like as three dimensional objects? And this one was what many of us grew up with as the Enterprise during the 70's and 80's.

Last I checked, the Enterprise was designed by Matt Jefferies. Joseph just made some semi-official blueprints based on the original.

Yes, but this is a model that is SPECIFICALLY based on those plans. :wtf: (And yes, that's either Vektor's or someone intentionally copying Vektor's.)
 
Yes, for those who may not have been around here way back when, Vektor created a CGI model of the USS Constitution based on Franz Joseph's plans, and it was spectacular (as all of his work is.) I think he started it not long after I first joined the BBS and, perhaps for that reason, it still stands out in my mind.

I remember that too. The impulse alone is a dead giveaway. The franklin Mint did a huge painted FJ as well

Look at the B/C deck:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FRANKLIN-MI...701-MODEL-25th-ANNIVERSARY-1991-/321749962525

That's FJ all right.

His saucer was always a bit chunky for me--but his secondary hull is even more graceful than the original.

I think it was the oversized (McMaster?) Fesarius blueprint that used FJ's sec-hull but a more production saucer. That is my favorite side view line drawing.
 
It's Vektor's. You could download it at Scifi-Meshes at one point.


It's your bog standard someone using stuff they found online and can't be botherd to give credit to the original makers.
 
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It's Vektor's. You could download it at Scifi-Meshes at one point.


It's your bog standard someone using stuff they found online and can't be botherd to give credit to the original makers.

All just about as I suspected. I should say that my intention in posting here was not to "call out" the creator/compositor (though I, personally, would never post something without attribution.) I was more interested because I hadn't seen Vektor's Connie for quite some time (much to my dismay), and was a little surprised that I recognized it so readily.
 
It does appear to be mine. I released it publicly years ago with the usual restriction that credit for myself and Franz Joseph Schnaubelt must be given, but a lot of uncredited images and animations have shown up over the years, as well as kitbashes, re-used texture maps, etc. There have been a lot of credited and by-permission uses as well, so I figure it mostly balances out.

Couple of fun facts:

1. If you look at the original 3D model in just the right place with light hitting it at just the right angle, Franz Joseph's signature shows up in the specular map.

2. The 3D model was built from hi-res scans of the FJ Booklet of General Plans and is accurate to within about 1/100 of an inch (at plan scale). And yet, despite my best efforts, I still made a couple of major errors, mostly in the shape of certain details surrounding the deflector dish.

3. When I built this model, I was one of the first people, at least within the amateur 3D modeler community, to use what I called the "window box" technique. Instead of just glowing rectangles, I built hollow boxes with illuminated texture maps inside the window openings for an added sense of depth and realism when the model was animated. Nothing special by today's standards but 20 years ago it was considered pretty awesome.

4. I created a poster-size print of the model with a classic 3/4 view and 4 orthographic views, technical details, etc. The print was framed and donated to a charity auction and sold for something like $350 as I recall. It was a signed and numbered print, one of only two (I still have the second one). It was also authorized by Franz Joseph's daughter, Karen Dick, and came with a certificate of authenticity bearing her signature. It would be interesting to know what ever happened to it.
 
Has it been 20 years??? :eek: Damn, Vektor - thanks for making me feel old. I remember when you first put that thing out! :lol:
 
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