I'm late to the party on the O'Berth class, but I needed to say that the mystery pod is clearly Cetacean Ops. It doesn't have windows because Cetaceans prefer sonar. The pylons probably have 4' diameter dolphin tunnels, like Seaquest DSV.
That's an interesting theory, but problematic. The Oberth Class was in service long before the events of the Star Trek IV and the return of cetacean life to the Earth.
Been a while since I've watched Star Trek IV, but IIRC it only said whales were extinct. Dolphins should still be around.
The whole thing is an interesting thought experiment, but the arguments for have some flaws; The pylons on the Oberth are at best 1.8 meters wides - scaling them up changes the proportions of the ship. The lower pod is going to have to have some space allocated for fuel tanks - because (and having worked on a 180meter long version of the Oberth I know) there isn't room for them in the upper decks. Aside from Lower Decks - which is set in the 24th Century, we have no evidence that dolphins served in Starfleet. Or any aquatics for that matter. It comes down to it wasn't seen, so it's an on the fence debate. If "Cetacean Ops" was a thing in the 23rd century it would have been something the pre-refit Enterprise would have had and post refit version would have as well. Lastly, the Oberth Mk2 which is what I worked on, doesn't have Cetacean Ops. I'm not saying other Oberths didn't, just that the Mk2 variant I did, doesn't. More soon.
State of play - Still building up detail, but she is looking good. Comments and thoughts welcome. More soon!
The last of today's offerings - still a fair amount of detail to add to the upper saucer, but she's coming along. Yes, I have slowed down a bit, pain meds for my wrist make me sleepy. But am ploughing away at this :-) Comments welcome, more tomorrow
Coming along nicely I would say. As for the Oberth's pylons, on the 120 meter version they're indeed about 1.80 meters wide, your 180 meter would have a bit more meat on the bones there as they say, also, you don't need a turbo lift, just a cage lift with a seat that remains upright would be enough to get into the lower hull and do some maintenance there if needed.
"Lower Decks" pulled Cetacean Ops from the TNG technical manual. The Galaxy class has dolphins. 1.8 meters is enough for a 4' diameter dolphin tube. That doesn't leave much room for structure on each side, but given that Starfleet knows how to put windows on ships that fight Klingons, it must be manageable. Maybe the structural integrity field is boosted around the dolphin tube. This is a Federation ship. You can't keep the dolphins off. That would be racist. Keep in mind everything I'm saying is meant humorously.
I skip the art forum for a few days and suddenly.....Ambassador class!! Love it! Digging the deckplans too. Great work
I solved that early on by putting a travel-pod hatch on the pod. If the crew needs to get to it, the can. And there is a small crew area in the lower pod, but strictly speaking on the Mk2 the lower pod is automated :-) Autism is a wonderful thing, I do indeed take things as they are given to be literally, but I'm also old enough (wrinkly enough and grumpy enough in my sixth decade) to recognise humour for what it is. So, yes as I said, I wouldn't rule out the idea on a Standard Oberth - but I know I didn't include those facilities on the Mk2. On the flip side, you may have a ship run entirely by dolphins THAT would be an interesting looking ship. I am a glutton for punishment, lol. Should really be resting the old wrist, but I found a way to work around it. Still hurts like a... well, still hurts. I wanted to settle in my own mind some things about the Oberth. It can be made to work if you scale her up and tweak a few things. Now I need to settle my mind about the Ambassador. For a start do you know that the studio model has no torpedo tubes on it? Plus some of the windows are impossible (so not adding them). It's all fun. On a serious note: My laptop died, so I am stuck using the big rig for doing anything at the moment. Not a major issue, but it will slow things down even further. Plus I am 35 days away from a life event which I will have to stop for a few months. I shall see what I can do. More soon!
Dolphin Luther King Jr. looks at you Dolphin Lutherly. But what I really want to know is, do the Orcas take crap off the Xindi Aquatics?
To be honest, all of this is a distraction from what is coming up - and that's a good thing. Keeps my mind busy with other things. Could really do without the technology problems though, lol. And as for the wrist... I'm at the age where things start to fall apart, so it's no biggie. Cetacean politics... Sounds a bit fishy to me... More soon!
I think the upper saucer is now done. Don't think I have missed anything... I'm going to lock it down for the time being and move on to the rest of the saucer. More later!
Morning! Bottom of the saucer is done, I think, so I am locking it down for the time being and moving on to the rim - then the neck - I guess this is not going to be a one-to-one recreation of the Ambassador Class, but rather an interpretation. That's fine. Making her work is fun, and not as problematic as the Oberth, lol Comments and thoughts welcome, more later!
Woops! Missed a row of windows - now that section is locked - Made a start on the rim - Might get time to work on her this afternoon, so fingers crossed. Yes, I know - all the rooms are fully lit. I plan to make it a bit more random towards the end More later (maybe), likely tomorrow