My "Enterprise F"

[erifah]

Well, this is the design I submitted for the contest. I only got so far, and gave 'em what I had, to beat the deadline. I've been working on her since then.

I don't think it will be a contest winner by any stretch of the imagination, for several reasons, not the least of which is, she simply doesn't fit into the design aesthetic of the contest sponsor. But she does carry echos of what the Enterprise is supposed to look like when we finally get to the Enterprise J.

I can't help working on her some more. It's addictive, moving things here, adding other things there, changing this, deleting that, smoothing these out, punching those up. It also feeds the obsessive-compulsive features of my personality.

I stuck a generic bridge module on top as a place-holder, 'cuz that's where Star Trek seems to like 'em. But I think I'll change it to some sort of sensor pod, or maybe an observation deck & dome for #@&%*$ tourists. ("Look Marge, Klingons! I wonder if they're friendly..?") The bridge itself should be buried safely away, deep within the saucer. Maybe on the port side.

I still can't decide how big she is. I don't think that a new Enterprise should always be bigger than the last one. (But no reason she can't, if there's a darned good reason for it.) I'm also not looking forward to drawing the windows. I don't DO windows - I'm a Mac guy. Why does it even NEED windows? I'm sure by the 25th century, Sony will have flat screen displays down cold.

In any event, I just hope you enjoy my Enterprise F, flaws and all.

My USS Enterprise F

One of the things I really, REALLY like about Google SketchUp (as a newbie artist), is that you can import a drawing, and then easily manipulate it to get a quick & dirty idea of what it should look like in perspective.

This Enterprise is intended to be a bit "flat" so the pics look a bit like what I imagine she should actually look.

 

[BlobVanDam]

I really like the design, and the Enteprise J influence is strong, and my main criticism would only be that it looks further along than an Enterprise F. It looks a lot more organic than the designs of the time. The design cues look more advanced than only one step up from Nemesis era Federation to me, and it looks closer to the J than I'd expect for a few hundred years off.

But I like the design, especially the front/back symmetry of the saucer section with (what I assume to be) the RCS thrusters and phaser strips. That front deflector dish(?) at the front looks interesting, and I'd like to see it more clearly from the front and side views, if you do so.

 

[erifah]

... my main criticism would only be that it looks further along than an Enterprise F...

Aye, I was a-thinkin' the same thing. But the dang ol' contest was looking for the "F"...

I was thinking of lifting some details right off of an "Enterprise E", such as windows, thrusters, and lifeboats, and slapping 'em on my ship, to pull it back visually closer to what an "F" should be if it evolved more logically.

But I think she's really more of an "Enterprise H" myself.

 

[BlobVanDam]

Yep, Enterprise H sounds about right to me. It looks quite distant from current designs, yet doesn't look quite close enough to the scale and purpose of the J, so H sounds about a good medium.
Now that you're working on it for yourself instead of for the competition, you can just safely run with H instead of worrying about making it an F.

 

[erifah]

Yep, Enterprise H sounds about right to me. It looks quite distant from current designs, yet doesn't look quite close enough to the scale and purpose of the J, so H sounds about a good medium.
Now that you're working on it for yourself instead of for the competition, you can just safely run with H instead of worrying about making it an F.

Maybe I can have her ready in time for the "Design The Next Enterprise" contest for the year 2021...

 

[ToMaHaKeR]

Nice design! However, does anyone know how exactly big is the Enterprise-J? It's saucer looks a bit too squashed (thin) to me, so the ship must be huge in order to accomodate a number of decks in the saucer itself.

 

[SMC]

the design is beautiful but its just too close to the J to be four generations away from it - that's the same as the difference between the TOS Enterprise and the D - and look how much things changed there. It just wouldn't be plausible for the design style of the ships to remain that unchanged through four more generations when it changed so radically in the four before it.

 

[erifah]

the design is beautiful but its just too close to the J to be four generations away from it - that's the same as the difference between the TOS Enterprise and the D - and look how much things changed there. It just wouldn't be plausible for the design style of the ships to remain that unchanged through four more generations when it changed so radically in the four before it.

Thanks, and I agree it's too close to a "J", but that's how she turned out - my left-brain doesn't always get my right-brain to cooperate with logical expectations.

That's why, as soon as I formally DON'T win the contest, she's getting her official "H" designation!

 

[Starship]

Good worlk Erifah!

 

[AJBryant]

Nice design.

I actually think I like that -- extreme as it is, it's cool.

 

[erifah]

A few revisions to my Enterprise F-H.

I ditched the center impulse drive at the rear, and split it into two units located on the nacelle struts. I also changed the geometry of the struts.

I replaced it with a good, old-fashined hangar deck & a set of clamshell doors. Still tinkering.

The nacelles themselves have been giving me fits - and a case of bad gas (oops, excuse me.) The starboard nacelle has my most recent musings.

I reworked the bridge area. I still don't want a bridge on top of a saucer, but a Star Trek Enterprise demands it, so...

And I borrowed a set of escape pods and tried them on for size. But since I haven't decided the scale, I don't know if they will work as a template.

 

[Dukhat]

I really like this design...maybe not for the "F," but it's still really nice.

The one thing that stands out to me though, is the deflector dish/sensor/pointy-thingy in the front of the ship. It kinda stands out as very blocky/angular as opposed to the graceful curves of the rest of the ship. I'm guessing you were trying not to make it look too similar to the "J," but that might be something to refine a bit more.

 

[erifah]

I really like this design...maybe not for the "F," but it's still really nice.

The one thing that stands out to me though, is the deflector dish/sensor/pointy-thingy in the front of the ship. It kinda stands out as very blocky/angular as opposed to the graceful curves of the rest of the ship. I'm guessing you were trying not to make it look too similar to the "J," but that might be something to refine a bit more.

Thanks!

The original idea was from another design I modified rather heavily for the contest; it featured a long, intentionally not-graceful tube, with the saucer riding on top, and the engineering section stuck on the back; the deflector dish was put that way to visually create a "follow through" with the tube - rather than the saucer stuck on the tube, the tube goes clean through the underside of saucer and out the other end, with the deflector system stuck on the end.

However, as this ship design developed, that front section of the saucer turned into that big "Y" section, and I am now struggling with what to do with that dish.

I did pull it back a bit; maybe it just needs to be softened & smoothed and made more organic-looking. Or widened out, with the idea that from the front it would be an oval.

Or, maybe it should be ditched altogether, and I should develop that "Y" more thoroughly, and let it take on the deflector role? Is there a reason why a deflector system should be divided into 3 sections on the rim of a saucer? Maybe I need to find out!

 

[CaptainSerek]

I like your design so far, it looks like it is a logical in between for the Enterprise-J. Good luck on your efforts.

 

[erifah]

A quick update.

I isolated the bridge module and blew it up 500% to make it easier to work with, then faded that layer, and drew a new module on top of it. I added two doodads to the front of the module. I don't know what they are yet. I believe them to possibly be space marshmellon launchers.

Then, I shrank it back down and grafted it back on to the ship. I left it somewhat larger than the original module, as well as enlarging the impulse engines, to make the overall size of the ship seem a bit smaller.

Finally, I simplified the deflector dish housing, and widened it, to give it the impression that its built into the saucer in the "Y".

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

Well, you can have the bridge on top of the saucer, but noone says it has to be in the center, right?

 

[SMC]

Looking really good though maybe the whole pylon section could be closer to the saucer area and the warp engines lengthened some? Just a thought....

 

[erifah]

Well, you can have the bridge on top of the saucer, but noone says it has to be in the center, right?

NOT buried within the saucer, and not centered... Yet still on top of the saucer... Hmmmmm....

 

[erifah]

Well, you can have the bridge on top of the saucer, but noone says it has to be in the center, right?

Maybe something like this?

 

[backstept]

now that's cool
I'm all for asymmetry