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Starship design history in light of Discovery

As the grandson of the person who ran the F-104 program I totally see what John is talking about. And INSPIRED by doesn't necessarily mean "looks exactly like"

He said "There's a whole series of fins on all the ships you'll see and that's kind of a tie-in from some of the old experimental jets of the '50s and '60s like the F-104, which had these blades." They often called parts of the Starfighter 'blades' but beyond that you can see there are a lot of similarities:

1) Extended deflector dish prong mimics the pilot head
2) The way the intake ducting merges into the body is very similar to how the saucer and secondary hull/nacelle strut structure merges into the saucer.
3) The fins and nacelles mimic the auxillary wing tip fuel tanks of the Starfighter
4) The red striping is reflective of not only the Enterprise but also the F-104

40560781551_76e8f17734_b.jpg
 
As the grandson of the person who ran the F-104 program I totally see what John is talking about. And INSPIRED by doesn't necessarily mean "looks exactly like"

He said "There's a whole series of fins on all the ships you'll see and that's kind of a tie-in from some of the old experimental jets of the '50s and '60s like the F-104, which had these blades." They often called parts of the Starfighter 'blades' but beyond that you can see there are a lot of similarities:

1) Extended deflector dish prong mimics the pilot head
2) The way the intake ducting merges into the body is very similar to how the saucer and secondary hull/nacelle strut structure merges into the saucer.
3) The fins and nacelles mimic the auxillary wing tip fuel tanks of the Starfighter
4) The red striping is reflective of not only the Enterprise but also the F-104

40560781551_76e8f17734_b.jpg
I'm sorry, I'm just not seeing it. But evidently someone else out there does so there must be SOMETHING to it. :shrug:
 
Since this thread was created, we have some much better images of the ships, from Eaglemoss.

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And the new Enterprise from the calendar:

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I really enjoy some of the fan descriptions of the history and role of specific starship classes. I wonder if we could come up with some interesting theories of their purpose? I'll start off by writing some fluff for the Cardenas-class:

Cardenas-Class Medium Cruiser

In the 2240s, Starfleet needed a starship class that could operate at ranges even greater than the prestigious Constitution-class explorer of the 2220s. While the Constitution-class still represented Starfleet's most advanced research ship, unmatched in sensor capacity, and designed to out-last the independent operational capabilities of the Einstein-class of the 2190s, there was room for an overlapping, less-specialised, but longer-warp-duration, exploration ship that could penetrate the fringes of Beta-Quadrant.

rKFjt3e.jpg

The Cardenas-class of the 2250s was designed by Starfleet as a long-range explorer. It's four engine nacelles could be alternated in mid-warp, reducing strain on it's warp engines, and allowing prolonged travel. It was capable of operating independently of a Starbase for extended periods, carrying provisions for years of independent operation. Few were built, serving as a niche design, and were considered a very prized command, for those few captains tasked with Extreme Deep Range Exploration (EDRE).

un7nVAo.png


The class did have drawbacks however, with it's extensive warp systems using a lot of internal volume, limiting capacity for science labs and sensor suits. The class had a reputation for being cramped, and not having as much scientific capacity for a thorough study of distant planets as shorter range starships. These problems were addressed by Starfleet with the later Constellation-class of the 2270s, who's more compact 8th generation warp systems allowed for more internal capacity to be devoted to sensors.
I just spliced together some fan ideas about other four-nacelle starship classes, but I like anything that attempts to humanise (age-of-sail-ise?) things, because starships in Star Trek are little islands, not just disposable units.
 
Okay, who wants to make sense of the USS Shran? First, won't everyone inside be irradiated when they activate the warp engines? And with the warp nacelles inside the saucer, how does one even get from the saucer centre to the port and starboard sides with the nacelles in the way?
 
We also have this side view of the Enterprise from eaglemoss' booth at Destination Star Trek
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Credit to EAS for the image

I don't know. When it first appeared blurry on screen, I was like "Yay, the Enterprise! And she's recognizable!"

But the I see of her, and the longer I look at her, she looks .... off.

Like, something isn't right. And the longer I look, the worse it gets. I don't know if it's the "your face on photos"-effect, where it's just slightly off because I know the alternate version so well. Or because Matt Jeffries hit the perfect ratios so perfectly that any change distorts the balance.

But the secondary hull looks way too thick and cylindrical. Even more than the original version. And the shuttlebay is just plain too small. The refit-like longer cut-out at the end looks awful without the the drop-shape of the refit. The shorter neck is okay, but for the nacelles to be at the same position, the nacelle strusts become shortened as well, and now look kinda' stumpy.
It's weird the saucer has so completely different windows than the rest of the ship. The glowy top and bottom of the saucer are way over-pronounced (much more than on the original). The nacelle has a very fine shape. But it's way too bulky. The overall color of the ship is too dark and makes it more obvious that it's a CGI model, and not a real thing.

It's strange. Originally, I really didn't mind that model. And it's a fine iteration of the Connie. But nowadays, I would have much much more prefered it if they simply would have used the original model. Which is IMO way better looking, and would be, with realistic texture and lightning, frankly, look even more realistic than this version.

I don't know. This is really not a bad job. But nothing I will start to love anyhow.
 
Okay, who wants to make sense of the USS Shran? First, won't everyone inside be irradiated when they activate the warp engines? And with the warp nacelles inside the saucer, how does one even get from the saucer centre to the port and starboard sides with the nacelles in the way?
Not any different from the defiant.
 
I don't know. When it first appeared blurry on screen, I was like "Yay, the Enterprise! And she's recognizable!"

But the I see of her, and the longer I look at her, she looks .... off.

Like, something isn't right. And the longer I look, the worse it gets. I don't know if it's the "your face on photos"-effect, where it's just slightly off because I know the alternate version so well. Or because Matt Jeffries hit the perfect ratios so perfectly that any change distorts the balance.

But the secondary hull looks way too thick and cylindrical. Even more than the original version. And the shuttlebay is just plain too small. The refit-like longer cut-out at the end looks awful without the the drop-shape of the refit. The shorter neck is okay, but for the nacelles to be at the same position, the nacelle strusts become shortened as well, and now look kinda' stumpy.
It's weird the saucer has so completely different windows than the rest of the ship. The glowy top and bottom of the saucer are way over-pronounced (much more than on the original). The nacelle has a very fine shape. But it's way too bulky. The overall color of the ship is too dark and makes it more obvious that it's a CGI model, and not a real thing.

It's strange. Originally, I really didn't mind that model. And it's a fine iteration of the Connie. But nowadays, I would have much much more prefered it if they simply would have used the original model. Which is IMO way better looking, and would be, with realistic texture and lightning, frankly, look even more realistic than this version.

I don't know. This is really not a bad job. But nothing I will start to love anyhow.

The pylons don’t appear to be shortened, they’re just at a different angle. Actually they might even be longer

buorW5w.jpg
 
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Not any different from the defiant.
The habitable areas of Defiant were not outside the warp nacelles. That's a big difference. Logically, the Shran would have to have crew passageways that go through the nacelles themselves. It would require a ridiculous amount of additional shielding that makes the design untenable. Additional shielding means additional weight and less space for crew, supplies, and machinery.

Not to mention the damned thing looks like a hopped-up iRobot vacuum cleaner with headlamps and tailpipes.
 
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