Pre TOS star cruiser....
- Thread starter Warped9
- Start date
I, too, quite like the top image. I'm presently trying to think of extra bits of detailing (but not too much) to create a bit more visual texture. I'm also going with panels and sections of the hull done in slightly different tones. Finally I'll move on to the signage.
I still think of this as the Valiant even though I haven't finalized on a name yet.
The thing I like about your approach to the texturing is that the hull is still fairly smooth, but has very clear separations. It's almost like by the time of TOS, they figured out how to make panels big enough that those seams were able to be hidden. I guess I'd only suggest you not go off the deep end with detailing, which I don't think you would anyway.
And I think she makes a fine Valiant.
And I think she makes a fine Valiant.
Although I've never done it before I'd like to try more than one light source to create shadows like was done on TOS. That way the parts of the ship mostly in shadow wouldn't be quite so dark. Another thing I'm resisting is some of the lighting tricks that came later beginning with TMP---that of added lighting effects to engines and nav deflectors and such. For me it just doesn't look right on TOS and pre TOS era designs. I think it starts looking too toy like.
No, any physical details I add now will be quite moderate. Same with the variation in hull tones. After I finish those the next major thing will be signage then choosing the true colours for the nav deflector dome and such.
No, any physical details I add now will be quite moderate. Same with the variation in hull tones. After I finish those the next major thing will be signage then choosing the true colours for the nav deflector dome and such.
Some small additions and small changes. The navigational dome and nacelle spikes have been made more copper coloured than gold. There has been some subtle detailing added to the upper saucer dome as well as the saucer underside although they might not be easy to spot. I next want to add some detail to the underside and aft end of the secondary hull before I finally begin working on the signage. The colours might look somewhat flat in these images but they haven't had materials and reflective values assigned to them yet. I only do that when the model is complete.
On another note I'm rethinking my Independence-class. I still like the basic concept, but I'm going to use my star clipper design as a jumping off point and modify that. Basically the central section extending aft from the saucer will be tweaked a bit and shortened as well as widened. The hangar area (behind the shark fin) will be removed as it will go into the secondary hull which will replace the single warp nacelle. I think I want to keep the impulse engines much as they are on the star clipper or some version of it. Finally nacelles with some similarity to the star clipper's nacelle will be mounted on either side of the modified centre section.
On another note I'm rethinking my Independence-class. I still like the basic concept, but I'm going to use my star clipper design as a jumping off point and modify that. Basically the central section extending aft from the saucer will be tweaked a bit and shortened as well as widened. The hangar area (behind the shark fin) will be removed as it will go into the secondary hull which will replace the single warp nacelle. I think I want to keep the impulse engines much as they are on the star clipper or some version of it. Finally nacelles with some similarity to the star clipper's nacelle will be mounted on either side of the modified centre section.
Starting to get in some signage on the secondary hull, nacelles and saucer underside. I opted to go with tweaking the familiar Starfleet pennant design to reflect the idea this ship is decades older and from a time when Starfleet was pretty much just getting off the ground after the founding of the Federation. The red of the pennant links back to the UESPA pennant I have on the star clipper. The stylized star represents the "star" in Star Fleet and I got the idea from Masao's Starfleet Museum only I coloured it yellow and put it right on the pennant to differentiate from Masao's design. One could speculate that when the pennant is redesigned (possibly when the Constitution-class is introduced) the stylized star becomes an arrowhead or boomerang.
After some further thought I've decided to designate this design as Vanguard-class and this ship will be called the Valiant. I chose NCC-1203 to reflect this being one of the earliest ones to be commissioned into service.
After some further thought I've decided to designate this design as Vanguard-class and this ship will be called the Valiant. I chose NCC-1203 to reflect this being one of the earliest ones to be commissioned into service.
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I think I've gone just about as far as I can with this. I am going to take some time to think about whether I want to add any more fine detailing to it before I begin assigning materials to it so to make some finished renders.
Looking at these I can't help but reflect on how I first started fumbling with SketchUp. (-: I also feel (looking at these) that there's a story to be told about this ship. It's a shame it will be lost. I like to think that Robert April and Christopher Pike got their first commands aboard these ships. I also imagine the Republic NCC-1371 being one of these.
Looking at these I can't help but reflect on how I first started fumbling with SketchUp. (-: I also feel (looking at these) that there's a story to be told about this ship. It's a shame it will be lost. I like to think that Robert April and Christopher Pike got their first commands aboard these ships. I also imagine the Republic NCC-1371 being one of these.
I think you have tied into the spirit of TOS better than I ever could. Now, to me Masaos Valley Forge should have been a post TOS look, as fluid as that design was.
Your earlier Best of Trek ship, this one, the TOS and Masao's Valley Forge look like they all belong to the same universe--I can see progression.
That makes more sense than a sudden leap from a Daedalus to the Constitution.
Your earlier Best of Trek ship, this one, the TOS and Masao's Valley Forge look like they all belong to the same universe--I can see progression.
That makes more sense than a sudden leap from a Daedalus to the Constitution.
I was going to say - it's interesting how the proportions seem to come right back to the ol' Enterprise again... Just shows how well balanced the original MJ design really was.
The funny thing is while my design evokes MJ's design there are no interchangeable parts and my pre TOS design is more compact and a bit clunkier (for lack of a better term). One thing I do find interesting is how I like the nav-deflector dome. MJ originally planned for some kind of dome but a parabolic antenna design came into play instead. We're used to the antenna now, but what if the dome idea had stuck? I know I had to play around with the shape to get something that seemed to work right, but maybe they didn't hit on the right shape with a dome and so went with an antenna.
Right now I'm playing with colours and materiels. For the main overall hull colour I'm going with a slightly darker grey than the pics show above and with just a hint of cyan to the colour to evoke the TOS hull colour which was grey with a hint of green in the paint under the right lighting.
The nacelles domes apparently were not pure red, but had a measure of wine/magenta to them so I'm trying to evoke that too.
One thing I'm definitely not bothering with is trying to mimic the gridlines no matter how faint. I've never really liked the look of them and they would be a bitch to pull off I think.
The Deadelus concept just doesn't work for me no matter how much I try to play with it. I come to the same conclusion MJ did that when you stick a sphere into the design it immediately looks clunky and awkward.
Right now I'm playing with colours and materiels. For the main overall hull colour I'm going with a slightly darker grey than the pics show above and with just a hint of cyan to the colour to evoke the TOS hull colour which was grey with a hint of green in the paint under the right lighting.
The nacelles domes apparently were not pure red, but had a measure of wine/magenta to them so I'm trying to evoke that too.
One thing I'm definitely not bothering with is trying to mimic the gridlines no matter how faint. I've never really liked the look of them and they would be a bitch to pull off I think.
The Deadelus concept just doesn't work for me no matter how much I try to play with it. I come to the same conclusion MJ did that when you stick a sphere into the design it immediately looks clunky and awkward.
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Did you see the Deadelus model that Madkoifish recently built? You might change your mind.
Yes, I have seen that and it's very nice. But as a design concept for a pre TOS starship it still bugs me.
Although there are a few nitpicky things I could wish I'd done differently I'm generally pleased with the overall end result. The nacelle spikes should be a bit larger and the upper leading edge of the impulse section could be better (much more rounded). The nacelle domes should be a bit darker as well as the navigational deflector dome and colours is something I can easily tweak. I could also add just a bit more detail in some spots, but overall it's allright.
A little ghosting is something we could be quite familiar with back in the day. If I had found a good image of a '60s/early '70s era Admiral or Zenith console TV it would have been a real trip in nostalgia for me.^Nice! It even has a subtle double image!
I went with b&w to give the images something of a vintage feel.
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Warped, that is a very cool pre-TOS design! And I love the renders you did with it, especially the vintage looks! Well done! 
Thanks! Presently I'm tweaking it a little. I'm adding a few small and subtle details (you'll have to really look to notice them) and tweaking some of the colours. The nacelle domes have been made a bit darker as is the nav-deflector dome. I've also added just a hint more of green/cyan tint to some of the hull sections.
Part of the colour issue is that colours look darker in SketchUp then they look when rendered. So it gets tricky to get shades just right.
In terms of size comparison you can see how this is distinctly smaller than the Constitution-class even if the saucers were the same diameter. The dorsal is smaller, the secondary hull is smaller, the support pylons are much shorter and the warp nacelles are smaller in diameter and distinctly shorter. The Constitution-class components are not only larger in general but also pushed out further from each other.
Part of the colour issue is that colours look darker in SketchUp then they look when rendered. So it gets tricky to get shades just right.
In terms of size comparison you can see how this is distinctly smaller than the Constitution-class even if the saucers were the same diameter. The dorsal is smaller, the secondary hull is smaller, the support pylons are much shorter and the warp nacelles are smaller in diameter and distinctly shorter. The Constitution-class components are not only larger in general but also pushed out further from each other.
