Okay, I think the last thing I said on this thread was that I was looking forward to seeing how such a sleek and elegant frame could be made into a menacing predator.
Um. . .
done!
A few particularly exquisite points: First, this ship lends itself well to the scale intended for it: it
feels huge. The Trek franchise is well-known to be problematic when it comes to the scale of enemy ships,
particularly the Klingon Bird of Prey which Bernd Schneider points out is capable of scaling itself infinitely almost at will. This battleship has plenty of visual cues (especially the egg-shaped topdeck with the pillbox lookout) that tell you
exactly how appropriately huge this vessel is. If REL had built this model for the TV show, there's no way it could appear equal to the Enterprise-D in one episode and
twice that size in another, without fans protesting.
Second. . . Let's call this the
ridged forehead syndrome. If we can accept that the ridged forehead of a Klingon warrior is symbolic of strength, then the ridged and pointed neck of this bird is a signal to the universe, "Get the bak'tag out of my way!" This part of the design draws from the rich artistic vocabulary already built up around the Klingon mystique, so it not only strengthens the ship from an engineering standpoint (the neck is no longer the weakest link) but from an architectural standpoint as well. (Although it also borrows from a stained glass design by Frank Lloyd Wright, who didn't know the first thing about the Klingon Empire, but I'll leave that there.)
Third, and this is something I think Andrew Probert would appreciate: This ship assumes an animal prowess that's more cat-like. You know how a cheetah lowers its head and stiffens its back when it's ready to pounce? That's the stance this ship's neck takes, especially toward the rear, whose gear flares ever-so-gently toward the tail. Although instead of crouched, like the "bat wings" of the original D7, this ship's legs have already sprung the trap. It's not crouching in the grass, it's in motion.
REL, I love that you've built your details onto the ship by hand rather than paint them on later. There's a spiny-ness about the wing details that makes me think I could cut my fingers if I were to touch them the wrong way. They're still feathers, but more the way Hawkman would wear them.
The engines aren't glued on yet, and already this is an astoundingly beautiful vessel that deserves to be memorialized on film. If you're not already a professional at this, then you don't need a resume. Just a few photographs of this beauty. This could become my most favorite fan-made Trek design of all time.
DF "Klingon Vessel, This is Captain Jean-Luc Pic-. . . Uh, Sorry, What Was I Saying? Ah, Yes. Just Passing Through. Made a Wrong Turn. Going Back Now. Sorry. Have a Nice Day" Scott
