Lang class

[RichMerk]

Ok, so there I was, staring despondently at the computer screen wishing I still had the Miranda class model of the USS Eternity that I had been using for a while. Actually, I still have the model, I just don't use my pirate copy of 3dsmax anymore. I tried converting the mesh to something I could use but it just didn't work any way I tried. So I said to myself, "Self, stop talking to yourself and build your own Miranda model!"

At which point myself snidely pointed out that I did not have the skill to pull off a Miranda model that actually looked like a Miranda class and not just something close.

So then I started thinking. I really did want a ship to do story illustrations with, but maybe it didn't have to be a Miranda exactly. Banshee Squadron is set 100 years after Khan, so why would they still be building new Mirandas anyway? And the USS Eternity is new, not a hand-me-down from the Dominion War. What I needed was a TNG-era version of a Miranda. A Nebula class? Nah, never been a fan of those, plus it's much to big and powerful for my story needs. Well, I guess I'll just have to build something from scratch!

This is just the barest beginning to get general shapes and proportions. I might be headed in a little too much of a hot-rod direction here, but we'll see how it goes.

 

[The Axeman]

I love the Miranda class, cant wait to see this finished. Still early stages yet so difficult to pick out issues in the design. It is very streamlined, maybe a little too much for a Miranda, but it's not a problem. The only bit I'm not sold on is the nacelles. I can see why you would want long, thin, tapering nacelles to imply speed and fit with the whole streamlined look, but I think they're a little too thin and pointy. Slightly more 'normal' nacelles would maybe act as a balance to the streamlining of the hull and help tone down the hotrod look a little.

 

[RichMerk]

With the nacelles I was going for something outside the box. I kinda like 'em, but not for this ship. Here's the next version. I like it much better.

 

[sojourner]

Hmmm, these nacelles seem to be at the other end of the scale. Too short and boxy.

 

[The Axeman]

Agreed, a little too short and boxy. A bit more length and they'd look proportionate with the body.

 

[Wingsley]

If this vessel is supposed to be from the TNG or DS9/VOY/"Dominion War" -eras, maybe you could try using nacelles shaped more like those used on the dreaded Starship Voyager.

 

[RichMerk]

Yup, the new one was too close to a Nebula... like a smaller cousin... so this next version is somewhere between versions 1 and 2. I like the teardrop shape of the pod, though this one is less tapered than the original. One of the important story features of this ship is the pod, and this pod is definitely more noticable than the little Nebula saucer of version 2. The hull is less pointy in front and the engines are longer and a little tapered like version 1, but again, not nearly as extreme.

 

[RichMerk]

Next update... Those old nacelles were just too ugly so I started over. Back to the tapered look, in a more traditional style. I did all the engineering greebly stuff on top. Still trying for a modern streamlined look, I made the rollbar and warp engine supports the same sweeping structure.

 

[LCARSGFX]

Hmm, nacelles look good. Room for the warp coils now! The pylons look a bit strange, don't seem to flow. Also The pod looks a bit off, like an after thought. Looked much better as it was in the original post.
Try adding a flat lip to the underside of the saucer section to give it more of a feature. Perhaps an Akira class style saucer underside with a nav deflector?

 

[sojourner]

Better nacelles! I think the pod needs to be smaller. At this point it's nearer to a secondary hull in size. It's as long as a nacelle and can hold more decks than the primary.

That's big!

Try just scaling it down by maybe %50 to %75 of current size.

 

[RichMerk]

Hmm, nacelles look good. Room for the warp coils now! The pylons look a bit strange, don't seem to flow. Also The pod looks a bit off, like an after thought. Looked much better as it was in the original post.

Yeah, that rollbar is looking a little odd in the light of the next morning. I have a completely different idea for the next version.

Try adding a flat lip to the underside of the saucer section to give it more of a feature. Perhaps an Akira class style saucer underside with a nav deflector?

Yup, the underside needs a lot of work, but no deflector.

Better nacelles! I think the pod needs to be smaller. At this point it's nearer to a secondary hull in size. It's as long as a nacelle and can hold more decks than the primary. That's big! Try just scaling it down by maybe %50 to %75 of current size.

The original ship I was using was a kitbash of a Miranda with an Oberth canoe hull in the place of the torpedo launcher, so I sort of am thinking of the pod as almost a secondary hull. And the pod serves the same purpose as the Oberth canoe. But you're right. This version is just too overpowering. I am going to go back to the original pod and go forward again from there.

 

[TrekMD]

This is looking nice...

 

[RichMerk]

Lots of changes. New engine struts, new rollbar, new pod. Improved engines. Added windows and more detail on the underside. I think the parts that are done are more or less the way they'll stay unless someone comes up with a good suggestion. I still need to do windows on the front side of the raised hull. The last big project will be the backside with the hangars and impulse engines. If I feel particularly intrepid, I'll try to model the insides of the hangars.

 

[RichMerk]

At long last an update!

The dreaded UV mapping is underway and much of the surface area has preliminary textures. The copper colored components are areas I have not gotten to yet and still just have their default color.

 

[Kaiser]

looks very good so far

 

[RichMerk]

Today's work. More textures. Lit windows.

 

[Starship]

Interesting, therefore I think the windows are a bit unproportional between then and for the ship herself.

 

[B.J.]

The nacelles don't really fit with the rest of the ship. The ship has a lot of nice smooth curves, while the nacelles are really flat with sharp angles. I like the body - fits very well with the TNG aesthetic.

 

[RichMerk]

Interesting, therefore I think the windows are a bit unproportional between then and for the ship herself.

I've been looking at the windows too. Maybe they just look big because the ship is so much smaller than a Galaxy class. Maybe they are more like skylights than TNG-style windows.

The nacelles don't really fit with the rest of the ship. The ship has a lot of nice smooth curves, while the nacelles are really flat with sharp angles. I like the body - fits very well with the TNG aesthetic.

Well, these nacelles are way better than the previous two attempts anyway.

 

[Patrin-Zero]

Mind just looking from a different perspective but had there been any consideration for the center-line placement of the single upper 'pod' to be two separate fittings, each 'outboard' of the engineering surfaces ?

Such an arrangement might add a sense of an aesthetic symmetry and offer an opportunity of 'connecting' horizontal surface between said structures, not to mention the possibility of mission-system specific 'pod' placement.