Miranda II

[The Axeman]

Hi all. I dont get a lot of time these days, in real life I now have to travel quite a bit for work, but lucky for me I broke my toes on my left foot so have some desk time. I spent my spare time today knocking up a Trek design based on my favourite model, the Miranda class USS Reliant.

I always loved the Reliant from the moment I saw it, as it was both recognisably Federation graceful and at the same time squat and powerful looking. It was compact and looked like it would make a nice ship to run around the galaxy in. Here's what I got this afternoon based on the same sort of setup. If I get a chance tomorrow I'll try and start refining and detailing it. Comments and suggestions always welcomed...

 

[B.J.]

I like it! Looks a bit stubby in the side view, but it looks great in all the other angles.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

I really like this! It's a very logical progression from the original Miranda class (one of my favorites also.) Looking forward to how you add detail.

What's the size/crew complement for the Miranda II ?

 

[Bill Morris]

I like the basic concept.

I wonder if the pylons shouldn't be a bit thicker, since when they're thin questions come up about how people and materials move through them. And what about turbolift access between the main hull and pod?

And I always think that when designing a ship from scratch it's a good idea to also have a side-view cross-sectional drawing with deck lines and maybe even turbolifts blocked in for reference to check the exterior contours so they end up making sense to the eye. I'm already wondering about locations of things like the warp core and impulse engines, maybe even a sensor dome, even at this stage.

 

[Nuadu]

And what about turbolift access between the main hull and pod?

Wasn't the quad torpedo launcher atop the roll bar unmanned, though? I'd imagine this iteration would be no different if the ship were similar in size.

 

[The Axeman]

I doubt there would be anything larger than a Jeffries tube leading to either the nacelles or the top of the roll bar, but that presents no problems. Not when you have closed circuit transporter tech. I don't envision anyone going near the pod on top very often anyway, other than to reload it in dry dock (assuming I make it a torp launcher and not a sensor pod.

I have played around with the proportions of this thing a fair bit, and I'm still not fully convinced. I thought about angling the nacelles outwards at the bottom as a way to make it look sleeker in the side view, but then the front view no longer looks like a Miranda and that bugs me a little. More work needed there.

LCARs, you are right enough that it is a good idea to have a plan and stick to it from the start. My method is to create a stack of deck lines about 3m apart and keep it in the background. That way I know exactly how many decks the ship will have and let's me get details like windows, airlocks and hangars in the correct positions.

 

[BolianAuthor]

Yeah, I really like this too... especially your design for the nacelles.

 

[Kaiser]

Hi all. I dont get a lot of time these days, in real life I now have to travel quite a bit for work, but lucky for me I broke my toes on my left foot so have some desk time. I spent my spare time today knocking up a Trek design based on my favourite model, the Miranda class USS Reliant.

I always loved the Reliant from the moment I saw it, as it was both recognisably Federation graceful and at the same time squat and powerful looking. It was compact and looked like it would make a nice ship to run around the galaxy in. Here's what I got this afternoon based on the same sort of setup. If I get a chance tomorrow I'll try and start refining and detailing it. Comments and suggestions always welcomed...

I've seen many Miranda II's over the years and by far this is my fav

 

[RichMerk]

I really like the proportions between the hull and the nacelles. The beefy engines look great. They make the ship look like a monster truck.

If it was me building this, I'd lose the deflector. The original Miranda didn't have a recognizable deflector. I personally enjoy breaking the rut Trek ship design has become hampered by.

 

[The Axeman]

I actually like the deflectors on this style of ship, as it adds a bit of a feature to the front end and I like lighting them. You cant beat it for moody low-light stuff, where the blue glow from the deflector can be seen lighting up an area of the hull.

 

[RichMerk]

Well yes there is that.

 

[Patrickivan]

I like where this is going and can't wait to see the details go in.

The only things I don't like are the top deflector, and that the nacelles should be a little further away from the ship.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Great looking ship!

Is it from the same era as the Sovereign?

And like TheLoneRedshirt asked, how big? Proportionally, it looks small.

Patrickivan, that hole on the top is a lot like whatever Voyager had there. The notch on the bottom is more likely a deflector.

 

[Technobuilder]

I like it, but honestly, it reminds me a lot of the U.S.S. Titan.

 

[The Axeman]

A minor update today, rebuilt the nacelles and began blocking in the major details on the nacelles and roll bar. Any textures are just placeholders. I am also impressed by how many actually like the look of this one, I thought it would pass unnoticed through the BBS. Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions all.

PatrickIvan, my idea for the top was a sensor array. Is that a deflector on Voyager? They have a perfectly good one right below it, as mine will have. As for the nacelles, I have extended them away from the body slightly and also canted them outwards slightly to reduce their perceived size when looked at from the side. I wouldn't want to move the nacelles too far away, or it would look like it was on stilts.

Size? Difficult to say until I start cutting in windows and hangers, etc. I want it quite big though, a good deal larger than the original was. I'll need to look up dimensions of the Reliant and check where I'm going with my sizes. I'm thinking that this will fall between TNG and Sov era stuff, advanced TNG if you will.

Technobuilder, I dont know much about the Titan although I'm sure I'll have seen it somewhere about. One of the reasons I posted this here so early on is because I'm always afraid someone is going to point out my design is actually the USS ******* and I haven't realised it. There are so many fan ships and variations out there you're bound to hit on something similar to someone.

 

[Sarvek]

I really like the concept. This is a fantastic design. I have always liked the Miranda Class and this looks great.

 

[Oerdin]

Every time I hear the name Miranda I think of that lame Firefly movie.

 

[The Axeman]

I've never seen an episode of Firefly, and I've only see bits of the movie in passing. It never made more than a ripple here.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Voyager has a proper deflector dish on the secondary hull.

I never knew what that notch on the topside was, but the blueprints HERE say it's another navigational deflector.

Maybe it's got to do with that variable warp geometry nonsense.

The same schematic calls the warp core "power systems", so who knows.

Maybe the great and powerful Rick Sternbach could shed some light?

 

[The Axeman]

Why the two deflectors if it's not built to separate? The variable geometery bit seems rather forced.