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TAS made real....

I have been thinking about the catamaran idea mentioned upthread. That might be a route to explore. And it could work if the aquashuttle were strictly a surface water craft, but it obviously needs to function as a subsurface craft as well.

But it’s giving me ideas...
 
Is that supposed to be an access hatch on top? I rather like that. I like your sketch—it echoes some ideas I have also been playing with.
 
Is that supposed to be an access hatch on top? I rather like that. I like your sketch—it echoes some ideas I have also been playing with.
Yeah, I figured there's be a hatch on the top and bottom, rather like the flying sub.
 
If I recall correctly there were four crew aboard the aquashuttle at the beginning of the episode. So it’s fair to assume the craft has to accommodate at least four persons, and thus seating for at least four. If we allow for them to be able to stand upright then the interior might be similar to the fullsize Galileo interior we saw onscreen. Thats an initial step in scaling this thing.

We might also speculate about a fore and aft compartment setup.

My early estimate is the aquashuttle’s exterior is definitely larger than the familiar TOS Class F shuttlecraft yet perhaps smaller than the heavy lander I modelled previously upthread.
 
I don’t think it’s necessary for It to be big enough for them to stand in. I wish they’d made the Galileo interior more cramped.
 
Today it would be different, but back in the day it’s more likely they would make a standing interior set for an aquashuttle.

We’ll see how big the exterior comes out.
 
Wouldn’t it a good idea to make it roomier for 23rd century equivalent scuba tanks, dive gear, etc., plus the crew?

Cheers,
-CM-
 
The Johnson Sea Link had a divers lockout in a self contained area in the aft, though it looks more like something a Space 1999 Eagle would carry.
 
Waiting on my housemate to go shopping, so I grabbed a pencil and just doodled a bit taking some of those Lincoln Futura styling cues and applying them to the general shape of the aquashuttle sans nacelles. Excuse the sloppiness. I mislaid my pencil sharpener.
View attachment 18014
That's some good stuff right there :)
 
I am in the midst of modelling this moment. Hopefully I will have something to show soon--either tonight or tomorrow.

For now I have chosen to massage the familiar design into something I find more acceptable for the purpose. The alternative was to go with something near wholly original and perhaps more in the direction of something MJ might have done. Then again the TAS design isn't far removed from the general aesthetic of the familiar Class F shuttlecraft so there is that. The curvy looking heavy lander seen in "Mudd's Passion" is much more of a departure from the TOS design language for Starfleet ships.
 
A quick look at the direction I'm going. The essential concept is the same as the onscreen version, however, I'm attempting to smoothen it out, make it more consistent and make it look less clunky. I've retained the nacelles this time around, but I've managed to integrate them into the design more fluidly. I have also repurposed them as the craft's surface and sub-surface drive--something along the lines of water jets or perhaps caterpillar drive. I don't see the craft having impulse engines in the traditional sense, but rather using antigrav for flight in atmosphere and space. Suffice to say I don't see that as being capable of much more than orbit-to-surface and return flight. Now that the essentials are in place I can start working out the detailing. I did toy with the idea of making the upper and lower hulls more canopy shaped like an aircraft, but this version looks more TOS like.

 
A quick look at the direction I'm going. The essential concept is the same as the onscreen version, however, I'm attempting to smoothen it out, make it more consistent and make it look less clunky. I've retained the nacelles this time around, but I've managed to integrate them into the design more fluidly. I have also repurposed them as the craft's surface and sub-surface drive--something along the lines of water jets or perhaps caterpillar drive. I don't see the craft having impulse engines in the traditional sense, but rather using antigrav for flight in atmosphere and space. Suffice to say I don't see that as being capable of much more than orbit-to-surface and return flight. Now that the essentials are in place I can start working out the detailing. I did toy with the idea of making the upper and lower hulls more canopy shaped like an aircraft, but this version looks more TOS like.

Keeping the cabin boat shaped was a good call. When I toyed with doing the one for “Atlantis” I decided to mirror the windows on top to the underside. Your “nacelles” are going a bit Seaview, which is not a bad thing.
 
I have since softened or rounded off the upper and lower hulls a bit more to make it look a smidgen more submersible like, meaning the radius at the edges is a bit larger. Merging the nacelles into the hull struck me as a way of retaining something of the original’s look yet making the craft look more hydrodynamic. Like many sci-fi designs the goal is to make it look remotely plausible rather truly realistic.
 
wNGw2Jk.jpg

I'm was curious why when I clicked on your images to enlarge them it goes out to Imgur, and I see you appear to be embedding using the URL tags instead of using the IMAGE tags. Is this intentional? Because if I put the same URL and use the IMAGE button it results in the pic being clickable and enlargeable w/o opening another page.
 
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