Sizes of the Filming Models

[TREK_GOD_1]

From the Star Trek Giant Poster Book #10, June 1977, article "The Smithsonian Report":
The Klingon battle cruiser is 31" L, 20" W, and 7.5" H. In cm that's about 79 L, 51 W, 19 H.

From David Shaw info, the 3-footer was just under 34" long, and 15" wide.

Ah!

I still have most of the poster books, and they were a good source of then-updated information in the years following the Making of Star Trek / The World of Star Trek / The Trouble with Tribbles books. Just the kind of cant-miss publication for a 70s TOS fan.

 

[MGagen]

Ah, the Poster Book. Got 'em all, as they came out. What a treasure trove they were!

And in the dark years before Trek was available for purchase on video, let's not forget the handful of Star Trek photo books. An episode each, assembled from film frame enlargements with speech balloons like a graphic novel...

M.

 

[publiusr]

So jealous

 

[CoveTom]

Hey Folks,

I've seen the 11 foot TOS Enterprise in the Air & Space Museum.
I gather there was a 3 footer as well and a smaller one that showed up in "Requiem for Methusela"

I just got to thinking:
How big were the other filming models?
The Klingon D-7 doesn't look nearly so large.

And, I just saw a picture of the TNG Enterprise and it looked much smaller.

Anyone know the sizes?

You're correct that even though the Enterprise-D is supposed to be significantly larger in-universe than the TOS and refit Enterprises, the models are quite a bit smaller. The main initial model created by ILM for the pilot was about 6 feet long. That was the primary model used throughout the first couple of seasons. It was also the only model built to actually separate, so anytime you see the saucer separation, that's the model being used.

Around the third season, an additional three foot model was built that had much more detailing on the exterior of the hull. It became the primary filming model from that point on and is generally what you see in most shots from the later seasons of TNG.

Wikipedia says there was an additional 2 foot model created by ILM at the same time as the original 6 foot model, but I don't recall hearing about that one before. But that may very well be true.

 

[Scott Kellogg]

You're correct that even though the Enterprise-D is supposed to be significantly larger in-universe than the TOS and refit Enterprises, the models are quite a bit smaller. The main initial model created by ILM for the pilot was about 6 feet long. That was the primary model used throughout the first couple of seasons. It was also the only model built to actually separate, so anytime you see the saucer separation, that's the model being used.

Around the third season, an additional three foot model was built that had much more detailing on the exterior of the hull. It became the primary filming model from that point on and is generally what you see in most shots from the later seasons of TNG.

Wikipedia says there was an additional 2 foot model created by ILM at the same time as the original 6 foot model, but I don't recall hearing about that one before. But that may very well be true.

Thank you, that's very interesting.

What got me wondering was that in the original series, there were a lot of shots of the Enterprise showing off the structure in perspective. You'd want a large model to do that with. TNG didn't really use a lot of tight in perspective shots (at least that I remember)

Example:
https://tos.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/2x06/doomsdaymachine_279.jpg

 

[Albertese]

....
Around the third season, an additional three foot model was built that had much more detailing on the exterior of the hull. It became the primary filming model from that point on and is generally what you see in most shots from the later seasons of TNG.
....

I believe that it was a 4 foot model. But you are correct in that it can't separate and that it has more surface detail.

 

[Maurice]

No, it was closer to 2 feet. There are photos of all three models together out there.

 

[Ronald Held]

Should this thread be made into a stickie?

 

[Boris Skrbic]

Should this thread be made into a stickie?

Not really, since the information should really be looked up on a wiki and updated there if necessary. Threads are better suited to discussions of specifics such as model scales, scale revisions or discrepancies in reported sizes.

 

[Maurice]

• The two footer was mostly used for the stock warp drive shots so the ship could go from big to small (the engine flash hides the transition)
• The six footer was used for all the hero shots in the two first seasons and any shots of the ship separated
• The fat four footer was scratch-built by Greg Jein's shop and was used for the bulk of the series from season three on

 

[Boris Skrbic]

But what is the One True Shape and why?

 

[Shaw]

Well, here are some of the studio models scaled (approximately) to each other...

Click to enlarge​

In 1965 it was actually important to build models big for them to appear big in camera. Here is an example of two similar shots of the Enterprise studio models...

By the mid 70s this wasn't nearly as much of a problem. The Star Destroyer in Star Wars (1977) was about the same size as the smaller Enterprise studio model, and the Star Destroyer in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) was about the same size as the Enterprise being built for the Star Trek II (1977) series and the Galactica from Battlestar Galactica (1978).

Also, there were tons of tight perspective shots of the Enterprise D from TNG. One great example appears in the title sequence for the entire run of the show.

 

[Henoch]

Well, here are some of the studio models scaled (approximately) to each other...

​

This is the first time I've seen this picture. Is the Hangar model supposed to be the external of the wooden filming model and what are the three "windows"; to see or film into the model's observation deck interior?

Is the camera the right scale?

 

[BK613]

This is the first time I've seen this picture. Is the Hangar model supposed to be the external of the wooden filming model and what are the three "windows"; to see or film into the model's observation deck interior?

Is the camera the right scale?

Some of those details like the "windows" can be seen in the first image from this post:
https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/is-the-bridge-at-a-funny-angle.306619/page-14#post-13720132
But there is an implication in Shaw's drawing that he has seen more of the hangar model than is revealed in that image.

 

[blssdwlf]

Well, here are some of the studio models scaled (approximately) to each other...

Click to enlarge​

Thanks for those images. Just a comment, but does it seem like the flight deck is a bit out of proportion when compared to Datin's book numbers?

 

[Spaceship Jo]

Glad to see Shaw is still at it! I've clearly been frequenting the wrong (read: Shaw-less) threads lately!

 

[Maurice]

Well, here are some of the studio models scaled (approximately) to each other...

Thanks for sharing.

For some reason the images don't show up in my browser, and the second one doesn't even display as a valid link. So for anyone else encountering the same issue:

Link to Image One

Link to Image Two.

 

[Spaceship Jo]

Thanks for sharing.

For some reason the images don't show up in my browser, and the second one doesn't even display as a valid link. So for anyone else encountering the same issue:

Link to Image One

Link to Image Two.

Same issue for me. Glad to actually see the second image/link this time. Thanks!

 

[publiusr]

Thanks from me as well. Shaw has done outstanding work. I love the top of the 3 footer saucer, but the lower saucer of Datin’s larger model. The 3 footer has a longer secondary hull than Datin’s bigger film version…were they the same scale, right?

 

[Scott Kellogg]

I've seen photos of the ship models, but never one of the model of the hangar deck.
Has anyone seen a behind the scenes one of it?