Starbase K-13

[StarLore]

After the success of my USS Enterprise(or at least what I thought was a success), I wanted to do something different. I have been experimenting with a lot of ideas over the last few months, but I finally decided to do a starbase. Originally it was going to be K7, but it turned out the blueprints I had been working off of were actually not K7. So instead of looking for different blueprints, I decided to create a starbase of my own: K-13. It is a very simple model(that's what I love about TOS era), but it presented some unique features and which broadened my Blender skills.

 

[ian128K]

Looks good! What were the unique features?

 

[StarLore]

"Unique features" maybe wasn't the best phrase to use, but what I meant to say was that I had to use a good amount of techniques in making the model that I hadn't used before. For example, for all the viewports I used a Boolean Modifier, which I hadn't used before. I also used a bevel on most of the edges rather than a mean crease factor. I am not sure if you use Blender, so maybe you don't know what I am talking about, but these were all techniques hadn't used on previous models.

 

[ian128K]

I'm starting to learn Blender, so I've got some idea of what you're talking about. So for the viewports, did you create a small reusable window model and then just unified them onto the main mesh?

 

[MadMan1701A]

Looks great!

-Ricky

 

[Wingsley]

I just visited the screen cap section of TrekCore, and your images are impressively close.

 

[Albertese]

Looks like this geometry is based on the AMT kit rather than the studio model. So i get why you renumbered it. But I think you did a great job!

--Alex

 

[Kaiser]

Nice 3D K7

 

[StarLore]

I'm starting to learn Blender, so I've got some idea of what you're talking about. So for the viewports, did you create a small reusable window model and then just unified them onto the main mesh?

Yes, that is essentially what I did. I started by duplicating the object which needed the viewports, and then I chose the faces where I wanted the viewports, and deleted the rest of the duplicated mesh. Then I added a thickness modifier to the remaining faces, and used a Boolean Modifier set on "difference", and voila!

 

[Wingsley]

The ribbings on the seams of the various modular parts of the station seem a little thick compared to the screencaps, but that's just me.

 

[StarLore]

The ribbings on the seams of the various modular parts of the station seem a little thick compared to the screencaps, but that's just me.

Thats certainly possible, I tried to stay to the blueprints pretty closely, but I can't say it is 100 percent accurate.
Thanks for all the feedback, everyone, by the way. It really encourages me to continue making things.

 

[Albertese]

Thats certainly possible, I tried to stay to the blueprints pretty closely, but I can't say it is 100 percent accurate.
Thanks for all the feedback, everyone, by the way. It really encourages me to continue making things.

Just to clarify for those who may be confused, the blueprints Starlore worked from are based on the AMT kit that was available in the 70s and was repopped a couple years back, not on the station as it appeared on the show. And he captured that look spot on. So it's not going to look like screencaps of the station on the show as clear images of that were not available when the blueprints were drawn back in the day.

But for what this is, it's extremely well done.

Starlore, keep up the great work!

--Alex

 

[Wingsley]

What are the differences between the "AMT" K-7 and the "real" one?

 

[Albertese]

What are the differences between the "AMT" K-7 and the "real" one?

Look for the "real" one in a google search. The on screen has a more curvy cross section in the "saucer" parts rather than the AMT's flat lines. Also the on-screen one is composed of a clamshell kind of form, with the radial lines in fact being the edges of the nested surfaces. The original model was a conversion of a set of model from (IIRC) JPL about a collapsible structure meant for building a moon base, the intention was for sections to be carried in a rocket and then opened up, sealed, and inflated. On the AMT model, these edges were represented as ribbing, which Starlore has ably recreated. The other issues are minor proportion things. It would be hard to notice them without a side-by-side comparison.

The two are actually pretty different. I've never had a problem with just assuming that the AMT one and the on-screen K-7 were just different classes of station.

--Alex

 

[B.J.]

The original model was a conversion of a set of model from (IIRC) JPL about a collapsible structure meant for building a moon base, the intention was for sections to be carried in a rocket and then opened up, sealed, and inflated.x

Minor correction, it was a Douglas Aircraft concept model, not JPL. You can see some original artwork and pics of models here: http://www.projectrho.com/SSC/station.html

 

[Albertese]

^^^
Thanks for the correction, I wasn't sure who had made the original model.

--Alex

 

[MGagen]

Here's my take, based pretty closely on the studio model. The details are as Albertese described.

Click to enlarge:

 

[StarLore]

Here's my take, based pretty closely on the studio model. The details are as Albertese described.

Click to enlarge:

Awesome work!