The Art of Voyager

[Praetor]

This looks very cool. But I think the "sharper" design makes it look a little more like a fighter than an exploraton ship. Nevertheless, I could imagine Starfleet building a ship looking like this.

I agree. Then again, Voyager was supposed to be a destroyer to the Enterprise-D's battleship/aircraft carrier, at least size-wise. An aggressive stance might not be bad. I really like the long nacelles, and it also looks like it would be pretty balanced for landings.

^How come we never saw ''that'' design in the background of those DS9 battles?

I imagine because most of those kitbashes were made from kits, whereas this study model was probably mostly made of foamcore. Then again, who knows, it might be there hidden somewhere...

A little offtopic note here:

So far the best ship design for me has been Shinzon's mean-looking bird in ST: Nemesis. That ship was, hand down, the best design I've seen in Trek so far. But let's see if the new Trek movie will hit us with something even more " "

You know, I may be one of the few who really liked the Scimitar and Donatra's Valdore. (Obviously I have a thing for Romulans anyway.) The one thing I hated about the Scimitar was the way it had to deploy its wings to fire the weapon. But from using it in video games, I must tell you, it packs a wallop.

I bet the Narada could give it a run for its money, though.

 

[Praetorian]

I thought the Scimitar was too "complex" and "edgy". I much prefer the "smoth" and "simple" looks of the ships like the D'Deridex Warbird, the Ferengi Marauder or even Federation ships like Galaxy Class, Ambassdor Class, Intrepid Class and so on...

Besides the Scimitar was quite similar to an upscaled version of the S'ona Attack Fighters (the ones who beamed people out...) It also looked like the Dominion Cruisers which were also designed by Eaves I think...

I tend to prefer the works of Andrew Probert and Rick Sternbach than those of John Eaves....

 

[Praetor]

Well, so do I, and the D'Deridex is IMO almost impossible to beat.

Okay, so now that our exterior Voyager design is pinned down, we can have a close look at the wonderful physical miniature that was built for her. I can't say enough good things about the quality of this miniature. It's really remarkable, and IMO perhaps the best one built before the franchise-wide CGI switchover later in the series.

First, the model almost-done:


Finished:


Details, details:

Take note of the airlock doors at the back of the bridge and offset in the spine, which purposefully show doors reminiscent of the holodeck/cargo bay doors, in case they ever needed a set location for one of them.

Also note that the bridge was designed to be a separable model, with thrusters and all.

And some lovely publicity shots of the model:


The last one is my favorite angle of the ship, I think... it's hard to pick.

I must shamelessly plug Bernd Schneider's Ex Astris Scientia. A lot of these images can also be found on his gallery page for Voyager (and I have a strong suspicion that other sources from around the web got them from there) and the site is all-around a good technical resource. Plus, he's a pretty nice guy.

 

[Eddie Roth]

I have to say I've always liked the earlier design better than what we got. It looks a lot more "masculine" than the final Voyager.

 

[Praetor]

An understandable opinion. I can't help but wonder if it was 'feminized' on purpose?

Then again, I find the final, graceful lines very in keeping with the design of the Enterprise-D, which I wouldn't call feminine but not overtly aggressive either. More elephant-like - dignified and massive, yet powerful enough to trample you if you get underfoot.

And if you really want to get down to it, the Voyager is more phallic in shape... but I do understand what you're trying to say. Clunkier and pointier = more aggressive, therefore more 'masculine.'

 

[Eddie Roth]

^^ That's right. It's a subconscious thing.

 

[miraclefan]

An understandable opinion. I can't help but wonder if it was 'feminized' on purpose?

Then again, I find the final, graceful lines very in keeping with the design of the Enterprise-D, which I wouldn't call feminine but not overtly aggressive either. More elephant-like - dignified and massive, yet powerful enough to trample you if you get underfoot.

And if you really want to get down to it, the Voyager is more phallic in shape... but I do understand what you're trying to say. Clunkier and pointier = more aggressive, therefore more 'masculine.'

''phallic in shape''? OMGAWD I will never look at VOYAGER the same!

 

[Praetor]

Shock? Good. Then my work... is done.

 

[Rick Sternbach]

Shock? Good. Then my work... is done.

And sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. The fact that Voyager got a bit curvier from its original chunky look has nothing to do with masculine or feminine. It's simply a stylistic thing involving pushing and pulling some shapes and still making it look like it fit within Starfleet. Compared to an older iPod, is the iPod Touch "feminine"?

Rick
www.spacemodelsystems.com

 

[Praetor]

Cigar is just a cigar - aye-aye, sir.

I happen to quite like what we got.

 

[Albertese]

The older I get the more I like both versions. Voyager and Enterprise are tied for my least favorite Treks but I've got to say, there's alot about the ship itself I really like. I've always been terribly impressed with the sheer level of detail worked into the design. There is surface detail, but not lots of excessive greeblies to wonder "what's that for?" I love that everything on the outside of the ship looks purposeful. As much as I love star Wars, I still can't figure out why the Millennium Falcon needs so much plumbing on the outside. But the level of techie bits on the Voyager's hull is just right.

--Alex

 

[Rick Sternbach]

I love star Wars, I still can't figure out why the Millennium Falcon needs so much plumbing on the outside. But the level of techie bits on the Voyager's hull is just right.

--Alex

All conduits/comsumables piping, etc. should hide behind structures, same for the interior. But it should all be accessible.

Rick
www.spacemodelsystems.com

 

[USS Intrepid]

The finished Voyager is one of the most beautiful ships in Trek...

Seconded, I've always loved that design.

 

[Akiraprise]

Me three. I prefer the starships that blend the saucer and secondary hulls more. Less neck is better. Voyager and the Enterprise-E are my favorite. Although I like most of the Starfleet ships to an extent.

 

[Bill Morris]

I love the exterior design, but I'm also very fond of the interior and how many modern appliances and some recent architecture and furniture at least have a bit of the Voyager look to them, regardless of what may have inspired what.

 

[ST-One]

The Voyager is really one of the best Trek-designs:

 

[Praetor]

Ooh, thanks for posting those ST-One.

 

[Richard Baker]

IIRC there was an Intrepid variant seen in orbit behind DS-9 during the Dominion Wars- It was the classic Voyager design but it had an AWAC pod mounted above and behind the Primary Hull.

 

[Tachyon]

"Feminizing" a star ship? LOL.

 

[Gary7]

I like the Block II revision. That one looked superb to me.

The two main issues I have with the series incarnation of Voyager:

1. Soft appearance: This is supposed to be a battleship, not a luxury star cruiser. And yet, all the rounded edges and curves detract from Voyager having an imposing military visage. There were a couple of episodes where the ship is described as a not being designed for "creature comforts", more for battle. And yet that exterior doesn't give me that impression. The interior certainly does.
2. Moving warp nacelles: This is something we've never seen before on any other starship. And I don't like it. It doesn't make any sense. And when the nacelles move "upward", the ship looks almost 'boat-like' to me. This was such a gimmick element... blah. When they're fixed in the horizontal position, it looks fine... again, not very aggressive.

Anyway, intriguing to see how the ship evolved. Thanks to everyone for their contributions!

Incidentally, was this the last Star Trek series that used a large scale model? At what point in the series did they switch to CGI? Did they reuse a lot of older model footage, even up through the last episodes?