The Klingon Ships

[Nedersong]

Have you ever noticed that when seen from the top or bottom, the overall general shape of the Klingon vessels looks like the hilt of a sword?

However, I think that was not done on purpose.

 

[SchwEnt]

Which Klingon ships?

If you speak of the D-7, Klolode, K't'inga... It is simply great.

Unmistakable design. Boldly bad-ass look, no question about it.
Bat-wing design, cobra head...
From the front, it even looks like a gunslinger about to draw on you.

Not to get all fanboy gushy on you, but seriously the design just evokes so many cool bad-ass images, either overtly or latently.

They wanted to convey the image of a dangerous enemy warship.
Just on appearance alone--mission accomplished.

 

[Mister_Atoz]

a little off topic, but the Romulan Warbird from TNG gives me a sense of an evil looking man peering up menacingly from his cape when viewed from the back and at a slight angle. The best shot I can think of is in the final part of Reunification when it destroys the convoy. It also kinda looks like a timberwolf at that angle, a big skulking creature with claws. I'm probably the only lunatic who sees it, but hey.

but yeah, Klingons BAAAD-AAAAS design, and a good contrast to the "noble steed" look of the Constitution Class.

 

[sbk1234]

Interesting, when they were designing the Klingon Bird of Prey for TSFS, they wanted it to invoke a feeling of power, so they made it to look like a football player.

 

[Nedersong]

Which Klingon ships?

Bird of Prey, D-7, Enterprise Raptor, even modern TNG era.

Just look at them straight from the top and bottom, ignore the details, and just look at the outline. You'll see they do look like a hilt from a sword.

 

[Red Ranger]

Hmm. Personally, I think if humans go out into space, the ships will look more like Klingon and Romulan battleships that Federation starships, given humanity's war-like, aggressive tendencies. Just saying! -- RR

 

[CommodoreKong]

I've never noticed it before, but now that I think about it Klingon ships do resemble swords when viewed from the top or bottom. Interesting. The sword design certainly fits with their culture.

 

[EEE]

Interesting, when they were designing the Klingon Bird of Prey for TSFS, they wanted it to invoke a feeling of power, so they made it to look like a football player.

I thought I read/heard on the DVD that it was representative of something like a hawk, that draws in it's wings when it attacks? Although your analogy works for me, as does it's a spaceship version of the Hulk flexing. Of course it was also meant to be Romulan.

 

[sbk1234]

I think it was on the DVD that they said from the front it was supposed to bring to mind a football player. When you look at it, even that "ring" that goes around the mid-section of the "head" kind of looks like a football helmet face guard.

As for it being intended to be Romulan, I know that in early stages of story development it was indeed Romulans, and later they showed Klingons stealing a Romulan ship, but was the ship actually designed as a Romulan ship, or had the entire Romulan back story been dropped by then, so it was purely a Klingon ship by the time it was built?

 

[Mister_Atoz]

Yeah I think the "football player" analogy was for the Reliant, it's low profile nacelle down like football player's arms.

 

[sbk1234]

Actually, the Reliant was actually approved upside down, so I still think the football player comparrison was meant for the Bird of Prey. I do, however, see the resemblence of Reliant to such an athlete, now that you mention it. But I think that is more coincidence.

 

[MarianLH]

The football thing was definitely in relation to the BoP. I watched the doc on the TSFS bonus disc just recently and I remember the modelmaker talking about it. Specifically, it's the built-up, padded "shoulders" on the top of the ship. And sbk1234 is correct about the little bar across the bow; it was inspired by the faceguard on a football helmet.

I'm not sure if was still a Romulan ship when the design was finalized, but I remember the modelmaker specifically saying that the feather pattern on the bottom of the wings was inspired by the TOS Romulan ship.


Marian