Movie Era Romulan Ship

[DredZed]

So I was starting to work on a TMP era Starfleet ship, when it occurred to me that we never actually saw a Romulan ship from that period. The Klingon Bird of Prey was originally supposed to be Romulan of course, but that doesn't count.

So I wondered exactly what the Romulans were using at that point, and decided to try my hand at giving an answer.

So far I have a basic 3D sketch of the ship, to get a starting point of the overall shape to base a final mesh on.

And here she is facing off with a very early sketch of the Federation ship I was working on:

The overall concept is that this period should show an evolution from the Klingon ships the Romulans started using in TOS, towards the Warbirds from TNG. I tried to keep the overall shape of the Klingon ship, while bringing in elements of the later designs, especially the double wings and front end.

Any feedback or criticisms are welcome, I really want to try to get this one right. It will be my first completed Star Trek model if I can get it done.

 

[RoJoHen]

I like it a lot. It looks like a very natural progression from the old TOS Klingon cruisers while being an obvious precursor to the TNG era warbirds. Can't wait to see more.

 

[Kaiser]

I like it a lot. It looks like a very natural progression from the old TOS Klingon cruisers while being an obvious precursor to the TNG era warbirds. Can't wait to see more.

What RoJoHen said

 

[Cephas]

I like the logic of your approach and it clearly shows through in the design elements you've put together. Nicely done.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I built this from a Enterprise-E kit, but I always imagined it was TMP-ish (sorry for the quality, they're old photos):

 

[RoJoHen]

^Ooh, that is sexy.

 

[Maurice]

The problem with that 3D model is the double-wings feel unmotivated in terms of design. The double wings on the TNG Warbird were because Andy Probert always maintained a clear line-of-sight between warp nacelles, resulting in the "hollow" center. Minus that rationale having stacked "wings" doesn't have the feeling as having been designed with a purpose.

 

[YARN]

I am more interested in the sketch of the Fed Ship.

Looks a bit like that old poster for TMP.

 

[Kaiser]

I built this from a Enterprise-E kit, but I always imagined it was TMP-ish (sorry for the quality, they're old photos):

Sexy Romulan/Starfleet mix ship there

 

[The Axeman]

I think Maurice is right to a certain extent, the double wing doesn't make a whole lot of sense right now from a technical standpoint but does provide aesthetic continuity between the TOS and TNG versions. What might be an idea is to make each lower wing into dual support struts. Cut away most of the central section of the lower wings and thin them out a bit, and it becomes a kind of fake wing showing the evolution of the design but also playing a more genuine role in technical terms. Kinda like this...

 

[DredZed]

Yeah, the idea behind the lower wing was more as a bit of extra support for the warp nacelles. I was originally going to make it a bit smaller, or split it up like The Axeman suggested, but couldn't get the aesthetics quite right.

Looking at the front view it's more obvious why the extra support is needed:

I feel like the Romulans starting using the double wing as a way to strengthen the structure of the ship, while cutting down on unneccesary bulk in the area. It's more coincidence than anything else that later generations of Romulans designed the bigger warbird with dual wings as well, for different reasons.

I'm definitely going to consider adding some empty space within the lower wing, or making it thinner, or something, but I guess we'll see what I can come up with there.

And for YARN, here's a better look at the Federation ship:

This is a very early basic layout sketch, just to get the general shapes right. Here's one showing off some work I've done on the saucer since then:

The overall concept is a smaller, leaner cousin to the Constitution class. The saucer and engineering hulls are smaller, and placed much closer together, while retaining the same general relationships. I'll have more of that one to put up soon hopefully.

 

[B.J.]

Nice work so far! Can definitely see the progression in lineage.

As a side note, years ago on Flare, I asked a similar question about if anyone had designed a movie era Romulan ship. However, I also made the stipulation that, like the Enterprise and the D-7/K'tinga, it should be a big screen update of the Bird of Prey. I seem to remember that Atolm got an inspiration from that and came up with some sketches. I can't find the originals he sent me (which included side and bottom views), but I found a copy of the top view here, and someone else did a render here.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I built this from a Enterprise-E kit, but I always imagined it was TMP-ish (sorry for the quality, they're old photos):

Sexy Romulan/Starfleet mix ship there

Not quite as sexy as Forbin's USS Peregrine, but thanks.

As far as what DredZed is working on, maybe something with a single pylon/wing would be more TMP era.

Though we have no real idea when the Romulans started going in the direction of the D'deridax in those 80 odd years.

 

[CDR6]

So I was starting to work on a TMP era Starfleet ship, when it occurred to me that we never actually saw a Romulan ship from that period. The Klingon Bird of Prey was originally supposed to be Romulan of course, but that doesn't count.

So I wondered exactly what the Romulans were using at that point, and decided to try my hand at giving an answer.

So far I have a basic 3D sketch of the ship, to get a starting point of the overall shape to base a final mesh on.

And here she is facing off with a very early sketch of the Federation ship I was working on:

The overall concept is that this period should show an evolution from the Klingon ships the Romulans started using in TOS, towards the Warbirds from TNG. I tried to keep the overall shape of the Klingon ship, while bringing in elements of the later designs, especially the double wings and front end.

Any feedback or criticisms are welcome, I really want to try to get this one right. It will be my first completed Star Trek model if I can get it done.

I like the basic shapes on this, can't wait to see how you sculpt this out.

Regards,
Chuck

 

[publiusr]

I love that feddie ship. You might have a sensor dome rather like the D-7 bridge on top of the head--so show its lineage.

 

[DredZed]

I love that feddie ship. You might have a sensor dome rather like the D-7 bridge on top of the head--so show its lineage.

Yeah,i was actually thinking I might try that. Just have to figure a good way to blend that with the romulan nose section.

 

[Warped9]

I built this from a Enterprise-E kit, but I always imagined it was TMP-ish (sorry for the quality, they're old photos):

THIS is very interesting!

 

[timelord1010]

I really like the Federation ship, especially how thick the "neck" is between the Saucer and the engineering hull. I always thought the Constitution class "neck" was too narrow and a possible weakness.

 

[The Castellan]

First few pictures reminds me of something mad man made.

I think this has a mix of the bird of prey and the klingon d-7 the Romulans were given. Could see this sometime in the 2270's. And those impulse crystals on top of the wings look exactly like the ones on TMP era ships, like the Constitution and Mirandas and Constellations. Might be a way to use the idea of Romulan spies stole Starship designs, that was planned to be mentioned in Balance of Terror, but was subsequently cut.

This could be used, too, for either TMP or TNG.

 

[Knight Templar]

So I was starting to work on a TMP era Starfleet ship, when it occurred to me that we never actually saw a Romulan ship from that period. The Klingon Bird of Prey was originally supposed to be Romulan of course, but that doesn't count.

So I wondered exactly what the Romulans were using at that point, and decided to try my hand at giving an answer.

So far I have a basic 3D sketch of the ship, to get a starting point of the overall shape to base a final mesh on.

And here she is facing off with a very early sketch of the Federation ship I was working on:

The overall concept is that this period should show an evolution from the Klingon ships the Romulans started using in TOS, towards the Warbirds from TNG. I tried to keep the overall shape of the Klingon ship, while bringing in elements of the later designs, especially the double wings and front end.

Any feedback or criticisms are welcome, I really want to try to get this one right. It will be my first completed Star Trek model if I can get it done.

Very nice. Reminds me of FASA's take on movie era Romulan ships somewhat.