Is the NX 01 one of the better ships (aesthetically)?

[INACTIVEUSS Einstein]

My favorite design will always be the original Constitution, followed by Constitution-refit.

In that sense, I like the NX-01's nacelles, and the ratio of saucer-to-nacelle.

I quite like the design now, but originally didn't think much.

 

[nightwind1]

When searching for that link, I found a few entries where Doug did some mesh designs for a possible NX refit, had the series gone another season, adding an engineering hull.

Yeah, I saw the proposed refit and thought it looked pretty bad. Like they slapped on a secondary hull and neck with no regards as to how it looked.

Whereas I thought it looked really nice, and made a good transitional design between NX-01 and NCC-1701.

 

[USS Firefly]

The details of the akiraprise were nice but I preferred less like the Akira and more a Daedalus class

 

[NeedsOfTheMany]

I liked the design of the ship, it's very simplistic and functional which is what they were going for on that voyage. I was more impressed with how they were able to maintain the details each episode especially the damage.

 

[WraithDukat]

I was never a fan of the proposed refit, I have seen the drawings but they ever say what the technical reasons for having a secondary hull would be? More space, more power etc?

 

[Christopher]

I was never a fan of the proposed refit, I have seen the drawings but they ever say what the technical reasons for having a secondary hull would be? More space, more power etc?

It's explained in the centerfold of the Ships of the Line 2011 Calendar. It was said to be primarily about making room for a larger, more powerful warp reactor. It also let them add a larger deflector dish to supplement the "inadequate" one on the front of the saucer.

 

[Glacial]

I started off not liking the NX-01 at all, but it's become tied for my favorite with the TMP 1701, especially reading Drexler's blog and seeing all the obvious love, detail, and care he put into the design, and the fights he had with the producers and other departments over its look.

When you see it before all the VFX-department-demanded aztec'ing on the hull, I think the basic beauty of its design really comes through.

 

[at Quark's]

hmmm, come to think of it, I think it is actually one of the nicer designs of the lot. Never cared much for the E, looks too sleek and 'mean' to me. As a teenager, I loved the D, but it is quite top-heavy. I don't particularly like the original enterprise, but I don't know how much I would have liked it if had had the same level of detail the ships of the newer series had.

The only 'complaint' I have is that the NX-01 looks too 'beatiful' for its era. It's the 2150's -- in-universe, I would expect something more crude, like a deadalus- class design -- but of course, had Archer's enterprise been of such a design, the tv-series wouldn't have sold well ...

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

I think it did a reasonable job at looking like something NASA would build if there had to be a saucer and nacelles, with the possible exception of the twin hull extensions to engines.

 

[Christopher]

The only 'complaint' I have is that the NX-01 looks too 'beatiful' for its era. It's the 2150's -- in-universe, I would expect something more crude, like a deadalus- class design -- but of course, had Archer's enterprise been of such a design, the tv-series wouldn't have sold well ...

I doubt very much that a starship design from 140 years in our future would look at all "crude" to modern eyes. NX-01 does indeed look less refined in a lot of ways -- I mentioned the details like the handholds in case of gravity failure and the cooling fans on the consoles, and there are lots of other details that evoke a NASA-style feel, something closer to the present day than the designs from "later" (i.e. earlier) series that seem more minimalist and fanciful, more removed from present-day designs. But there's no reason something closer to the present has to look crude and clunky. There's plenty of elegance in modern aerospace designs. After all, it's not the 1950s anymore.

Besides, form doesn't always reflect function. Some of it is simple aesthetics. Modern smartphones and tablets and the like look a lot simpler than designs from 2-3 decades ago -- just these solid black slabs with little or nothing in the way of visible buttons, status lights, antennae, ports, or what-have-you. Things like stereos and DVD players today have very simple, minimalist displays that convey a lot less information than the VCRs and CD players I had 20 years ago. So sometimes it's the later designs that look more simplified and basic.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I like the idea that Starfleet simply had a different design philosophy during the TOS era, perhaps one driven by the use of standardized, one-size-fits-all parts (nacelles, saucer sections, etc)., for its ships. TMP may have marked the end of that particular era, IMO.

 

[ThankQ]

If I had to rank the designs, I'm not sure where I would place the NX-01...

NCC-1701 (TOS)
NCC-1701-D (TNG)
NX-2000 (Excelsior, STIII)
NCC-1701-C (Yesterday's Enterprise, TNG)
NCC-1701 Refit (TOS Movies)

The NX-01 would definitely come in behind those.

NCC-1701-D
NX-2000
1701-C
NX-01
1701-A
1701
WhateverthehellVoyagersnumberis

 

[Antni]

NCC-74656

 

[Saul]

I love the design


of the Akira class ships. Love it.

I would have hoped for something more original with the NX but it's lucky we got that since the producers were just gonna go with the Akira model without any changes. Nuts.
I agree with what others have said, Enterprise NX is a more functional looking ship which is what I thought about TOS Enterprise too. You could imagine it actually working in space. Also after reading Doug's Blog I appreciate all the little details I hadn't quite noticed before.

 

[RAMA]

I liked it, but THIS ship is gorgeous (for it's time):

 

[CorporalCaptain]

My favorite is the TOS Enterprise, closely followed by the TMP refit. Everything else is far behind.

As far as aesthetics go, I've always been reminded of a person without arms, when looking at the TOS ship. The saucer is the head, the secondary hull is the torso, and the nacelles are the legs. There's a rough parallel with function, too. The saucer "thinks," the engineering hull "metabolizes," and the nacelles "walk." I guess it doesn't need arms because of the tractor beams; and just from the proportions and the layout, the arms don't really seem to be missing, either.

Funny, then, that I also see the Starfleet arrowhead badge as a five-pointed star with two arms ripped off.

 

[heavy lids]

It's one of the worst. In fact, it might actually be the worst.

I agree. It makes sense for the show, but it's a pretty ugly ship.

 

[Dick_Valentine]

Like many people, I enjoyed looking into the background scenes of First Contact/the Dominion War/isolated Voyager episodes and spotting the Akira Class, thinking it looked pretty cool (tho personally the steamrunner was my out and out fav of those background ships )

Then perhaps like a lot of people I felt exploited that the producers used that popularity to base their new ship on the Akira, all the while ruining the design by changing what made the ship unique.

Nah, never took to the NX-01, Voyager too looked like a stupid upturned spoon....but most other Trek ships look great.
(except the Oberth...don't know what THAT'S about! )

The Enterprise-E and the Defiant are my out and out favs. Since you didn't ask.

 

[Nx-01fan]

The NX-01 is my personal favourite.

 

[Solariabsg25]

Always wished they had went with this one for the NX-01...

Had they gone with this design, then I suspect right now we'd have people complaining that they were just lazy and didn't come up with something more original.

Complaints about the NX-01 resembling the Akira-Class, well, so what? The Excelsior resembles the Constitution, the Nebula resembles the Miranda. Who's to say there weren't a couple of designs between NX-01 and Akira that weren't similar?

I like the NX-01, but then again, I don't really hate any starship design.