Phase II Enterprise Study Model
- Thread starter Shaw
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The Phase II diagrams just aren't practical, and I think they figured that out pretty darn quickly, abandoning the phaser tubes for photon torpedoes which can pretty much be directed anywhere. 
I am looking forward to the diagrams/schematics. They should come out pretty accurate and be the most accurate to this ship produced thanks in all to Shaw and all of his time and effort to find and research all the data and information to produce the model that we now see. Thank you Shaw!!!!!! 
Well, at warp speed the Enterprise could fire in all directions at once. It wouldn't be as dramatic/majestic as what we are used to seeing, so odds are we wouldn't see the ship do that... but it could.I guess in Star Trek II they'd have only fired forwards as seen in TOS, despite the background chatter of "Aft phaser to bridge" and such.
I threw together a quick sketch to outline how weapons were being approached in Phase II. Sure, the TMP design and later might have had a better take on this, but the main goal with the Phase II design was to fix the lack of any visible weapons on the original series Enterprise models.
Wow, thanks for the encouragement!I am looking forward to the diagrams/schematics. They should come out pretty accurate and be the most accurate to this ship produced thanks in all to Shaw and all of his time and effort to find and research all the data and information to produce the model that we now see. Thank you Shaw!!!!!!
I've gone back and found many of my original files to start out with. I've started in on updating the primary hull drawings I did last year...
... which are obviously missing elements.
At the same time I've also started back in on my 1966 AMT Enterprise drawings, which I don't have too much left to do on them...
It would be nice to have both finished in the next few weeks, specially as I don't want to start building the 1966 model until I've finished the plans.
Maybe not QUITE Journey to Babel...
What's especially odd is that they were the proper blue earlier in the episode.
Proper blue
Now disco
Nice to see your '66 specs out again! The outer edge iof the underside of the saucer is not horizontal, I've never noticed that before. Is that how the plans were originally designed or just how the model turned out during manufacture?
EDIT: I just realised that it's the AMT kit, right? Still, the non horizontal bit is an interesting feature
EDIT: I just realised that it's the AMT kit, right? Still, the non horizontal bit is an interesting feature
Maybe not QUITE Journey to Babel...
What's especially odd is that they were the proper blue earlier in the episode.
Proper blue
Now disco
Great point! Never noticed that after watching it so many damn times!
That was actually an error on the part of AMT, which in turn made the primary hull appear to sag downwards. Similarly, the placement of the openings for the nacelle support pylons caused them to appear to sag. Both errors were addressed in the retooling of the kit in the early 1970's.
If I put all the parts together in my drawings the way I drew the elements individually, all the sagging would be visible. I corrected the alignment in the drawings, but will make note of the issues in the final plans. And I'll be correcting the issues when I start building the model.
But from what I can tell, AMT didn't attempt to build the kit before putting it into production. The build of the kit used as box art later on shows they had to alter the model to get it to come together for that build (which is pretty sad).
Still, this model was built based on plans sent to them by Jefferies, so it has a lot of important information in it. And this version of the kit (the first release) was used for making both the Constellation and Enterprise screen models for the second season of the original series, which gives it additional historical importance.
Thanks!
I'd buy one.
That's definitely the TMP model, but with the original bridge dome seen in some early publicity materials. This looks like a test photo for the "wingwalk", when Kirk et. al. exit the saucer for their walk to V'Ger. Somewhere upthread Shaw details how and why those changes in the model came about.
Seeing it from this angle, I'm glad they had the chance to redesign the bridge dome... the one we got goes well with the other details of the ship, whereas this looks like a Jell-O mold.
Seeing it from this angle, I'm glad they had the chance to redesign the bridge dome... the one we got goes well with the other details of the ship, whereas this looks like a Jell-O mold.
It IS...and it isn't. This was the early, mostly-finished version of the TMP model that Robert Abel & Associates were playing around with while cast and crew were sweating it out through principal photography. They mostly shot it for test footage and early promotional art while trying to figure out how to pull off the movie's special effects:
When Abel & Associates were fired and Douglas Trumbull took over the sfx in Nov 1978, he demanded more detailing and a rethink of the model's lighting, which in turn led directly to the redesigned bridge and lower sensor dome we know with the now-classic spotlights on the hull.
Fun fact - that original bridge module was made of wood!
When Abel & Associates were fired and Douglas Trumbull took over the sfx in Nov 1978, he demanded more detailing and a rethink of the model's lighting, which in turn led directly to the redesigned bridge and lower sensor dome we know with the now-classic spotlights on the hull.
Fun fact - that original bridge module was made of wood!
Construction of the model began in February 1978, the A&A finished model delivered in October and handed over to Trumbull in November, then revised from then until early '79. The water incident occurred on July 4th weekend '79 (after the model had been revised and just after shooting had started), and the bridge replacement was a straight four-day 'get this model ready to film again NOW!' job with no room for redesigning then.
The history of the TMP Enterprise, from inception to what we saw on screen, was pretty amazing. The early design elements that made it onto the model only to be later replaced were quite interesting, specially ideas that came back in later models (Reliant and Excelsior).
But yeah, I'm not a fan of the bridge/B/C deck of the early TMP model as built (and drawn) because it feels... off. It wouldn't have been as bad had they kept Jefferies' contours from the Phase II design, which feels more streamlined compared to the TMP design. The B/C deck structure on the original TMP design feels blunt (too close to perpendicular towards the base), which clashes with the other design elements.
You can see it in that comparison with Jefferies' design, but it is even more evident when looking at a drawing by Aridas, which shows that the design could have worked nicely with only minor alterations...
Historically, the model was built to match the original designs... but if I were going to build an esthetically pleasing version of the early TMP Enterprise, I'd use contours that are closer to either Jefferies' or Aridas' drawings.
But yeah, I'm not a fan of the bridge/B/C deck of the early TMP model as built (and drawn) because it feels... off. It wouldn't have been as bad had they kept Jefferies' contours from the Phase II design, which feels more streamlined compared to the TMP design. The B/C deck structure on the original TMP design feels blunt (too close to perpendicular towards the base), which clashes with the other design elements.
You can see it in that comparison with Jefferies' design, but it is even more evident when looking at a drawing by Aridas, which shows that the design could have worked nicely with only minor alterations...
Historically, the model was built to match the original designs... but if I were going to build an esthetically pleasing version of the early TMP Enterprise, I'd use contours that are closer to either Jefferies' or Aridas' drawings.
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