Star Trek: Starships Model/Magazine Subscription
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IIRC at first they were planning of just reusing the Akira mesh with no changes, figuring nobody would notice...
I love the Akira, but it is too modern looking for the TOS, let alone being a predecessor- it would fit in better between TOS and TMP I think.
Thing is the hero ship for a television series needs to look cool flying around. The Daedalus class it a great early Star Fleet design but can you imagine that ship swooping around a Xindi fleet in combat?
I mentioned this a few pages back, but it's something to keep in mind. Much of what has not yet been done by Eaglemoss reflects ships from TNG and early DS9 that did not get a 3D CGI model for use in a later project. Note that where we have seen TOS ships, the Eaglemoss offerings have by and large been based on the HD Special Edition upgrades.
It's easy to see why this is given modern manufacturing. For those ships that have an existing 3D CGI model they simply do some scaling and cleanup, and then send it to a 3D printer to begin creating a master. So prototyping is easy.
For those ships that they don't have an existing 3D model they either have to build one from scratch using existing reference pictures etc. or hand create a prototype to use as a master, old school. A much more complex process with far more potential to make an error from what appears on screen.
Add to this that many of the old "Alien of the week" ships were not really well documented, nor preserved, and tended to go home with the crew, be cannibalized or sold off after they were used, and you can see where we might not see them even among Eaglemosses deep pool of subjects. Case in point does anybody think we will see a Paclid ship anytime soon?
If you mean a Pakled ship, I doubt too many people are pining for one of those. I'm still waiting for the D5, the Jenolen, the Groumall, the Merchantman, the Xindi-Reptilian, and Degra's ship.
Years ago I saw a great lecture from an FX and modeling guy talking about how the shapes and geometry of the ships matter. And how their needs differ between movie big screens, and television screens with its then smaller aspect ratio. It is all about conveying the illusion of motion and maneuverability. This would have been not too long after Generations if I recall. Because he discussed why they killed off the Enterprise-D from a design perspective.
One of the things he showed and talked about was ILM's original work on Battlestar Galactica.
Watch in particular how well the saucer shaped Cylon Raiders move on the small screen. It actually informs a lot on how and why many of the ST television hero ships are shaped the way they are. (Outside of TOS, which was sort of a happy accident pre motion control). Notice how that saucer or ovoid shape gives an illusion of maneuvering in three dimensions so easily. Well now go apply that to the Enterprise-D, the Defiant and the NX-01.
The E-D, Voyager and NX-01 also share another trick. In their core design there is more than a bit of forced perspective. Which on the small screen gives an illusion of depth to the ships. A feeling that they are coming at you, and not simply going side to side across the screen. That's why the E-D and Voyager's engines are lower than the leading edge, and may seem slightly small compared to the primary hull. It's to create a certain visual illusion for TV.
But where it gets weird is those same designs don't tend to look as good on the big screen. The shear size and aspect ratio of a movie screen gives the filmmaker a much greater sense of depth to play with. So the TV visual tricks end up just looking a bit dumpy. This is why the Refit Enterprise and the Enterprise-E feel so different. They were purpose designed to convey movement on the big screen. They required a certain more balanced sleekness of design. Part of the reason the Enterprise-D needed to die in Generations was not simply bad writing, or the deteriorating age and condition of the models. It's that while a gorgeous ship design, it was not a great shape to use for movies. It's geometry was built to look good on TV. It didn't translate as well to large wide screens.
So yeah, with all of that said, the Daedelus would have been dead on arrival for TV. Further it shows the biggest challenge the Enterprise designers faced. No matter what they did, the ship they needed for that show would always look newer or more modern than TOS. The TOS ship was designed before modern FX photography was really mapped out. In order to service the more modern needs of the medium they were creating for, they could not really go back to those designs.
I just use the Pacled (honestly no idea how it's spelled) as an example of a distinct 1 shot TNG ship that we will likely never see as a figure as someone would have to recreate it from scratch.
We can be fairly certain that everything on your list likely had a digital 3D model built of itself, save the Jenolan. So we have a good chance of seeing most of them. The Jenolan is a fairly simple ship, so they may take a stab at digitally reconstructing it.
I don't think the Merchantman was ever made into CG either. I think it's last use was the Klingon transport in "Rules of Engagement".
There really too many ships in the first 70 or so that have never been made in CG form, but I think they are getting into a few of those: The renegade Borg ship, the Bajoran raider, the Daedalus class, the New Orleans class, and the Romulan shuttle.
There's a few other good non-CG contenders they'll probably get to if they're pushing 100, like the Miradorn ship, the Batris/Xhosa, the Romulan scoutship, the Vulcan shuttle, the Keldon class, the Tamarian/T'Lani/Klaestron ship, the Bajoran transport, the Karemma ship, etc.
Received the NX-01 Refit this morning and it's great. The details, shape and painting are all excellent and vivid as well as the size of the model. The ship outline just "works" for me and I would have loved to see it in motion. The accompanying magazine is informative giving Drexler's take and history with it. It's also filled with the beautiful CG paintings we've seen online and in the Ships of the Line calendar. I really hope these specials sell well and they go back and give us a better TOS Enterprise, E-E and I'd love an E-C (they kind of dropped the ball on the C) in the larger format. This is quickly becoming one of my favorites of the line along with the original NX and D models. It appears as if a lot of effort and care went into these three models and it shows.
They don't have a number for it, but it IS on the confirmed list of ships here:
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Official_Starships_Collection
Other than the Cheyenne class, I don't think it's care too much for either the Wolf 359 or DS9 kitbashes. Most of them (especially the Yeager) are pretty hideous up close, and there's one (including Starfleet ships) I'd much rather have.
I just can't see how they'll find enough ships to do to reach 100. The Doctor Who one can find another 50 vintage monsters, and if they get image rights there's 30-plus companions to do, but there aren't that many onscreen Trek sjips left. Half a dozen space stations maybe, but still difficult to get past 90.
Looks like they'll be able to do ships from Beyond and the new series, so that should keep them going into 2017 at least. If the sales are there, they will be able to find ships to make. Even if they just start doing variants like the NX-2000 Excelsior, or Sisko's Saratoga, or the USS Venture.
Shouldn't we be hearing about new upcoming ships soon? On facebook, etc.?
Only in the background (much of which was reused stock footage) and that doesn't make it a very aesthetically pleasing ship.
Earlier today on Twitter, in response to a question about models after #76, Ben said to keep an eye on Startrek.com next weekend.
I quite like it to be honest, even though it makes no sense at all!
Okay, so we've got a confirmation of 77-83 this week. Most of them are ship we already knew about, but there's a couple of pleasant surprises:
(Edited to correct #83)
77: Romulan shuttle from "In the Pale Moonlight"
78: Voyager Aeroshuttle
79: Harry Mudd's Class J ship from "Mudd Women" (formerly listed as the Aurora from "The Way to Eden")
80: Fed Scoutship from "Insurrection"
81: Xindi-Reptilian ship
82: Warp Delta
83: Bajoran Interceptor (Startrek.com incorrectly listed as the Bajoran transport)
The Bajoran and Reptilian ships were totally unexpected but certainly welcome. Looking forward these.
(Edited to correct #83)
77: Romulan shuttle from "In the Pale Moonlight"
78: Voyager Aeroshuttle
79: Harry Mudd's Class J ship from "Mudd Women" (formerly listed as the Aurora from "The Way to Eden")
80: Fed Scoutship from "Insurrection"
81: Xindi-Reptilian ship
82: Warp Delta
83: Bajoran Interceptor (Startrek.com incorrectly listed as the Bajoran transport)
The Bajoran and Reptilian ships were totally unexpected but certainly welcome. Looking forward these.
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Cool! I personally would not mind a few Repaints if they are well done and reflect distinct ships. ie A USS Valiant on the Defiant mold. or 1701-D redone as the Yamato, Odyssey or Challenger. or an 1701 Refit painted up with WoK battle damage. How about an NX-02?
It's not that it is an "issue". It's that Pre 2009 and TV Trek and post 2009 Movie Trek are two different licences from 2 IP holders. Paramount holds the new movie rights. CBS holds the rights to what we consider the Trek Prime universe. (Granted they are both owned by a common holder Viacom, but Viacom cleanly delineated the businesses and properties to allow for sale of the pieces.) Each license will have its own terms. So maybe Paramount wanted it as the specials? Or not mixed with the older series?
Some real great ships there. I'm really looking forward to the Warp Delta. Need 2 of them to frame the ISS NX-01.
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