Pre TOS star cruiser....

[Warped9]

I like the Reliant design and the Defiant from DS9

Whoa, you actually like something that isn't from TOS? I think I'm gonna faint!

(I kid, I kid.... )

I think the Reliant was a good piece of design that basically followed the FJ approach (rearranging and cannibalizing parts) yet added other elements that made it distinctive and appealing in its own right. As it a result it doesn't come across as a rip-off, not to me anyway. DS9's Defiant is another good design that still utilizes the ideas of a saucer and nacelles, but does so in a fresh and creative way wherein they're almost unrecognizable.

 

[Warped9]

A bit more detail. Navigational sensor arrays added to the leading edge of the saucer, some hangar door detail as well as the homing beacon above the shuttlecraft bay and I modified the detail on the secondary hull.




There's still lots of work to do, but here are some early orthographic views.

 

[Warped9]

Starting to play with colour ideas. Note the nacelle caps aren't pure red. In fact when I was reading about the colour of those domes on the 1st and 2nd pilot versions of the TOS Enterprise (re: startrekhistory.com) it turns out that some wine or magenta was actually mixed in with the red in something of a swirly mixture. So I've decided to try evoking that a bit here.

 

[Albertese]

Hmm... I love the shape of the radome on the front of the lower hull, But I'm not so certain about the yellow color. How about just a paler version of the hull gray? As if the deflector hardware is under there, but the dome has "DO NOT PAINT" stenciled around the outside edge...?

Of course, it's your baby. Don't let me rain on your parade!

--Alex

 

[Warped9]

Hmm... I love the shape of the radome on the front of the lower hull, But I'm not so certain about the yellow color. How about just a paler version of the hull gray? As if the deflector hardware is under there, but the dome has "DO NOT PAINT" stenciled around the outside edge...?

Of course, it's your baby. Don't let me rain on your parade!

--Alex

Note the model hasn't had materials assigned to it yet so what you're seeing presently isn't a true representation of the colours. The dome spikes and nav-deflector dome are actually supposed to be gold but look yellow on the raw model. Once the model has materials and textures assigned to it for final rendering than the colours will be more subtle and have reflective qualities in varying degree. The nav-deflector dome is also actually three tones of the same colour to show off the shape better.

 

[Praetor]

Digging the newest updates.

I might suggest going for a less gold and more copper coloring, but let's see how things go, eh?

 

[ancient]

This is looking pretty sweet. I'm a fan of giant oversized bridge domes.

I think the yellow cap looks fine, but I can't think of a reason for it to actually be a different color "in universe" as it were. Then again, the same could be said for the TOS-E and her bronze sensor dish

 

[Praetor]

Well, phaser bulbs on the refit had yellow coatings around them. I always theorized it to be some sort of anti-burn or anti-abrasive coating, designed to allow permeability out (to release heat and radiation) but perhaps not in.

 

[B.J.]

I always figured the yellow around the phasers was just warning markings. But there's no reason why it couldn't have a dual purpose.

The ship is looking good, Warped9! Are you using any plugins for modeling this, like one for edge fillets or anything?

 

[Warped9]

^^ So far, no, as I'm making them from scratch,

 

[Warped9]

Here is a glimpse of the general outline I have for my planned Independence-class which is a pre pre TOS cruiser.

 

[Praetor]

Neat. As you work your way back in time, does the secondary hull basically become the interchangeable cargo pod of your starliner?

 

[Warped9]

Neat. As you work your way back in time, does the secondary hull basically become the interchangeable cargo pod of your starliner?

Well, my star clipper is the previous major design and the support facilities are built into the section extending aft from the saucer.

 

[Praetor]

Ah, okay. I wasn't quite sure how it all laid out.

 

[Warped9]

Visiting my brother and sister-in-law for a few days until maybe mid week so there won't be any updates until I get back to my computer.

In the interim I'll be giving some further thought, as well as some sketching, to my forthcoming Independence-class project.

 

[publiusr]

Take care.

 

[Praetor]

Enjoy your trip.

 

[Warped9]

I'm baaack. (-: Nice to have a few days change of scenery, but also nice to be home.

Today I started getting in some finer details: some saucer windows and running lights. Taking a cue from the WNMHGB pilot version of the Enterprise I've set the lower saucer running lights further aft rather than align them with the upper saucer running lights.

 

[Warped9]

I don't know if anyone has noticed but the segmenting on curved surfaces (seeing the individual facets of the curvature) is a lot less noticeaable on this model and to some extent the last. The simple reason is I'm making my large circles and curvatures at 360 degrees or 360 sides. As a curve gets smaller in relation to the model then I decrease the number of sides because it simply won't be noticeable then. Mind you even at 360 degrees if the light hits the surface just right and your pov is close enough then you can still make out some facets, but it's a lot less noticeable now. Yeah, sometimes it can mean a bit more work, but the finished result is a lot more satisfying.

 

[Warped9]

Incremental progress. All the windows are in although I want to darken just a few more of them on the secondary hull.



You mighn't see it, but the dorsal does have a slight greenish tint to it just as the pilot versions of the TOS 11 footer had a slight bluish cast to it.