Okay...
As I said earlier, I have been inspired by Shaw's thread where he attempted to create an accurate layout and plans for the TOS Enterprise. As I stated, I wanted to do the same thing with the TOS-era FASA Surya-Class design, because almost all fans have differing takes on what the "TOS Miranda" ought look like, inside and out, and I wanted to create a set of plans that would rationalize the design and layout in a way that makes practical and functional sense.
I am going to be following Shaw's approach, and once I'm done with the plans, I will draw up the internal spaces, starting with the bridge, and place/overlay them on top of the ship image, to try and establish a cohesive internal layout. YES, I will at times turn to the Miranda-Class plans for ideas and generalities, but the Miranda is not the Surya... it is a bigger ship, physically, just as the refit Constitution was physically bigger than the TOS version.
So, I found the one set of CLEAN Surya Plans I have... from the Ships of the Star Fleet book. I scanned them, and will use those as a basis for the external plans. However, some things will be corrected/adjusted/omitted... for instance...
The version in the Ships of the Star Fleet has some kind of grille on the warp nacelles, near the upper front, that is not present on the TOS Enterprise's nacelles, so those will be omitted. And the version in the book for some reason has TMP-era markings, so my version will have proper TOS-era markings. So, here is my first WIP... where I am now:
The book has only two views... top and side. For the bottom, I will be using Sinclair's prints of the bottom of the Enterprise's saucer as a basis for the Surya's bottom hull, adapting the Sinclair plan as best I can to the Surya's design. For the aft view, I will have to wait until Melak finishes the 3D model of the ship, and I will use that, as well as draw upon Tallguy's model for the basis of the aft view plan.
Once I'm done with the ship, I will tackle the ship's four Class-F shuttlecraft. According to The Making of Star Trek, the TOS Enterprise carries a total of six shuttles, so I will limit the Surya-Class to four.
I want to create the definitive set of Surya-Class references, that will cut through all the conflicting versions, and offer up a version of the ship that truly works. I love this class of ship, because of all the fanon TOS-era designs, I think it's the most "true" to TOS, in that its lines are elegantly simple, clean, and uncluttered. There are no useless greebles or things on it (even though the Starship Farragut people slapped an arse-ugly pod on the top of theirs, ruining the simplicity of the design). It's not overdone. As far as TOS-era fanon designs, it's really the best one out there.
This is for the Surya-Class ship from a TOS story I'm working on. Some basic stats are below:
U.S.S. Gemini - NCC-1604
Surya-Class Frigate
Construction Site: Tellar
Captain: Sam McCord
Shuttlecraft: Class-F (4)
- Castor - NCC-1604/1
- Pollux - NCC-1604/2
- Lewis - NCC-1604/3
- Clark - NCC-1604/4
I have not decided yet if my version will have a sensor dish... I will wait on that decision. Also, you may notice that I made the hull grid/panel lines quite light... that is intentional. On TOS-era ships, the hull grids and panel lines were very subtle... not as "in-your-face" obvious as TMP-era paneling. I was also very lucky, and got in contact with Cory McDaniels, who was nice enough to sell me his last TOS-era Surya-Class kit, so I will be building that up as accurately as possible, and using the model both as an assist for this project, and as a part of the project itself.
More to come soon!
-BolianAuthor
As I said earlier, I have been inspired by Shaw's thread where he attempted to create an accurate layout and plans for the TOS Enterprise. As I stated, I wanted to do the same thing with the TOS-era FASA Surya-Class design, because almost all fans have differing takes on what the "TOS Miranda" ought look like, inside and out, and I wanted to create a set of plans that would rationalize the design and layout in a way that makes practical and functional sense.
I am going to be following Shaw's approach, and once I'm done with the plans, I will draw up the internal spaces, starting with the bridge, and place/overlay them on top of the ship image, to try and establish a cohesive internal layout. YES, I will at times turn to the Miranda-Class plans for ideas and generalities, but the Miranda is not the Surya... it is a bigger ship, physically, just as the refit Constitution was physically bigger than the TOS version.
So, I found the one set of CLEAN Surya Plans I have... from the Ships of the Star Fleet book. I scanned them, and will use those as a basis for the external plans. However, some things will be corrected/adjusted/omitted... for instance...
The version in the Ships of the Star Fleet has some kind of grille on the warp nacelles, near the upper front, that is not present on the TOS Enterprise's nacelles, so those will be omitted. And the version in the book for some reason has TMP-era markings, so my version will have proper TOS-era markings. So, here is my first WIP... where I am now:
The book has only two views... top and side. For the bottom, I will be using Sinclair's prints of the bottom of the Enterprise's saucer as a basis for the Surya's bottom hull, adapting the Sinclair plan as best I can to the Surya's design. For the aft view, I will have to wait until Melak finishes the 3D model of the ship, and I will use that, as well as draw upon Tallguy's model for the basis of the aft view plan.
Once I'm done with the ship, I will tackle the ship's four Class-F shuttlecraft. According to The Making of Star Trek, the TOS Enterprise carries a total of six shuttles, so I will limit the Surya-Class to four.
I want to create the definitive set of Surya-Class references, that will cut through all the conflicting versions, and offer up a version of the ship that truly works. I love this class of ship, because of all the fanon TOS-era designs, I think it's the most "true" to TOS, in that its lines are elegantly simple, clean, and uncluttered. There are no useless greebles or things on it (even though the Starship Farragut people slapped an arse-ugly pod on the top of theirs, ruining the simplicity of the design). It's not overdone. As far as TOS-era fanon designs, it's really the best one out there.
This is for the Surya-Class ship from a TOS story I'm working on. Some basic stats are below:
U.S.S. Gemini - NCC-1604
Surya-Class Frigate
Construction Site: Tellar
Captain: Sam McCord
Shuttlecraft: Class-F (4)
- Castor - NCC-1604/1
- Pollux - NCC-1604/2
- Lewis - NCC-1604/3
- Clark - NCC-1604/4
I have not decided yet if my version will have a sensor dish... I will wait on that decision. Also, you may notice that I made the hull grid/panel lines quite light... that is intentional. On TOS-era ships, the hull grids and panel lines were very subtle... not as "in-your-face" obvious as TMP-era paneling. I was also very lucky, and got in contact with Cory McDaniels, who was nice enough to sell me his last TOS-era Surya-Class kit, so I will be building that up as accurately as possible, and using the model both as an assist for this project, and as a part of the project itself.
More to come soon!
-BolianAuthor
