I really miss the original 6 foot Enterprise-D

[publiusr]

I like the deeper sec hull on the four footer

 

[Takeru]

The funny thing is, that all these models you can buy of the 1701-D seem to always be a mix of the 4- and the 6-footer: The nacelles section is the 4-footer and the saucer from the 6-footer.

If I had to pick a part I dislike the most it's the way too thick saucer rim. The 6-footer is a beauty, the 4-footer is one of the worst redesigns I've ever seen, it ruins the look of the ship, the original is majestic and elegant, the new one seems to be much smaller and kinda stubby.

 

[SoM]

In-universe we have to consider that

a) existing graphics continue to depict the six-footer, especially the large MSD cross-section;

b) the six-footer “magically” surfaces whenever the rare saucer separation is needed;

c) a compromise between the two “magically” appears in the framing story of the ENT finale;

d) the six-footer is entirely back for “Generations”;

e) TNG never stops interspersing stock footage of the six-footer with new shots.

As a result, whatever the reason for the four-footer shape, it has to be something semi-permanent but hardly irreversible at a moment’s notice: structural integrity field upgrades that distort the shape for the “camera”, either in part or in full, the default shape being that of the six-footer?

Well, "in-universe", the six-footer can't be accurate post-S2, since (as the Ex Astris Scientia article link above points out in detail), the saucer rim is far too narrow for Ten Forward to exist - it was built to designs that assumed a single deck around the saucer rim, where the set is designed for it to be the lower of a pair of rim decks.

 

[Leviathan]

The 4 footer is the evil mirror universe 1701-D.