Question/Opinions Haynes Bird of Prey Manual

[KQuita]

I was the luck winner of the Haynes Bird of Prey Manual and again would like to that Father Rob, it is fantastic. I do most of my reading on my IPad and was wondering if anyone had gotten this book for ipad and how well the formatting was. Also I was wondering if anyone had contact information for the authors, I would like to contact them and see if they would be willing to sign the book through the mail? Thanks I don't get to the Lit board as often as I'd like but throughly enjoy myself when I do.

 

[Mysterion]

Have it in hardcopy, not iPad, format. I like this book. A much better effort than the Enterprise book they (the publisher) did previously. The Sternbach deckplans are almost worth the price of admission all by themselves, IMO.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I had a quick flick through this in Waterstones today. The deck plans were a big "WTF?" - the ship was made far bigger than in any of the fan-made Bird of Prey deck plans I've seen, and seemed totally wrong for the ship as it's appeared on-screen. I realize there are conjectured to be bigger and smaller versions of the ship (because they kept it the same size relative to the Enterprise, whether it was the Enterprise-A or -D), but still...

 

[Christopher]

^I heard it was because there was a TNG episode that featured a large Klingon battlecruiser in the script, but they didn't have the budget to build a new miniature, so they faked it with the BoP miniature and pretended it was a larger class. I don't recall why they didn't just use the K'tinga miniature.

 

[DEWLine]

Unavailable for other reasons (yet to be revealed by the production team)?

 

[Christopher]

I think the reasons have been revealed; I just don't remember what they were.

 

[Rick Sternbach]

I had a quick flick through this in Waterstones today. The deck plans were a big "WTF?" - the ship was made far bigger than in any of the fan-made Bird of Prey deck plans I've seen, and seemed totally wrong for the ship as it's appeared on-screen. I realize there are conjectured to be bigger and smaller versions of the ship (because they kept it the same size relative to the Enterprise, whether it was the Enterprise-A or -D), but still...

The B'rel class Rotarran, the one for which the deck plans were drawn, fits very nicely within a 139m length, based on the window placement and deck spacing built into the ILM studio miniature. I measured ortho photos of the model over a number of weeks, and it just fits. Yes, I realize there have been crazy wild variations in the on-screen appearances of the BOP in the features and TV episodes, but I choose to imagine the B'rel class BOP mainly as the size I believe the ILM model makers originally intended.

Rick

 

[FatherRob]

My thoughts on the book...

http://trekbook.blogspot.com/2012/11/november-2012-haynes-klingon-bird-of.html

 

[DEWLine]

A fair assessment.

I'm still hoping to find a copy under the family tree...

 

[Caesar753]

I got this one for Christmas but haven't had much time to read it. From what I have gathered flipping through it, this book seems a little more in depth than the Haynes Enterprise manual. I can't wait to finish it.

 

[Boris Skrbic]

The ILM modelmakers most likely intended 360 feet (110 meters), since that is the length listed on the original Star Trek III size chart, and later adopted into VFX charts all the way through DS9 (episodic variations in TNG notwithstanding). You probably worked with the usual 12-13 foot deck height, but not every starship designer has used that, which might be one reason for the slight increase.

However, it's a fortunate coincidence that VFX supervisor David Stipes had lengthened specifically the Rotarran to 450 feet (137 meters), in order to make it look better next to an assumed 560-foot Defiant. So the number clearly fits the intent of people who worked with the Rotarran on DS9, which is important if one is to flesh out the interior in a manner consistent with the show.