I think I should get back to this and finish the last detailing.A bit more detailing...
I'm thinking of the name U.E.S.S. Discovery.
Pre TOS starships....
- Thread starter Warped9
- Start date
I've realized that the mistake I made with this design was using a perfect sphere as the main hull. What I should have done was fatten the sphere just a bit to have a slightly ovoid shaped main hull. It would have been a subtle difference, but I think it would have partially helped overcome the problem MJ had with a spherical hull. A spherical hull tends to make a design look less "fast" and sleek and seem somewhat stodgy.
I'm not going to change it now because I've come too far for that, but assuming I come up with the next evolutionary step in design then I will fix that issue. Here all the major elements are done and I next have to think about the detailing and markings.
I haven't decided on a name yet, but I'm leaning on calling it the Constellation as a nod to a future ship that will also bear the name. Perhaps this Constellation distinguished itself sufficiently that the name was passed down to future vessels including NCC-1017.
It's interesting to contemplate the notion of ENT's creators having had the balls for their hero ship to have been something more along these lines. It could have coloured much of how the rest of the show looked in general.
Imagine...
- No saucer
- No transporter
- No phase pistols
- No Warp 5 (unless we assume an older Warp formula)
- No catsuits
- No Suliban
- No temporal guys
- No Klingons
- No Ferengo or Borg
...to name a few things.
Beautiful job!
I think you make some good points concerning the tos/Jeffervescent architecture. However, the point I want to make is that technology, especially with respect to materials science, has to keep pace with ship design. For example, the nacelle plyons. There seems to be an assumption that a 45 degree angle with respect to the ships centerline was always the norm. Some of the SFM designs represented this point with nacelies being parallel to the centerline. I would purpose that there would have been a point when nameless were attached to the secondary hull with no pylons at all. There might even be a case when there would have been a single warp coil integrated into the secondary hull's structure. This might well have been the point of departure followed with the design of Cochrien'so warp ship in ST:FC. Instead they made the ship have a design that depended on flimsy fold out nacelles, in a time when technology and materials would probably been incapable of supporting such a design, not to mention that Earth was still in a post-nuclear war condition.
Over time I've dabbled with conceptual designs for pre TOS era starship designs. My baseline has mostly been "what might be have seen if given the chance in TOS?" That means I use the TOS aesthetic in general and pretty much ignore what was shown in ENT and most other post TOS productions in terms of references to the 21dt to early 23rd century period.
For inspiration, beyond my own notions, I've based ideas on early Matt jefferies sketches as well as other soucres I felt could be adapted in a way consistent with the TOS design aesthetic. One of those inspirations has been designs found on Masao's Starfleet Museum website. While I might quibble with some of Masao's ideas I found others t be inspired and insightful. And one cannot argue that the Starfleet Museum represents a great deal of thought and work.
In this thread I want to continue sharing some of those pre TOS era designs for those who might be interested and appreciate another perspective.
The Hercules-class star clipper is one of may favourite designs. It's meant to represent a major evolutionary step from the mid to late 22nd century.
The Independence-class is from the late 22nd century period.
The Vanguard-class was meant to be the major design before the familiar Constitution-class ships. It is from the eraly 23rd century era and represents ships like the Valiant referenced in "A Taste Of Armageddon." It is largely inspired by a Matt Jefferies' sketch as he worked his way toward the final Enterprise design.
A size comparison.
And so continuing this is the next concept being worked on. This is based on the idea of an early 22nd century design prior to the Earth/Romulan War.
It would be interesting to compare these to what we're seeing on Discovery. I can't recall much of what was in this thread, but what I do seem to recall is liking the ships, and also that they were mostly more consistent with a lineage that would lead to the TOS Connie than what we're seeing in the new show.
Yes.
Agreed. Warped9 has a keen eye for TOS design. Warped9, why not consider starting a deviant art page? Mine is thru my siggy
Very cool, love to see more of your work. I'm returning after a very long hiatus as well.
Here's to awaking sleeping dragons!
/cheers!
