U.S.S. QUEST NCC-80053 Blueprint/Layout Project

[ancient]

Thanks for the imput!

And now, some minor updates:

This is where the cutaway stands:

Doing the cutaway is an important part of getting the exterior details right.

Here is where the top/side/front/aft views stand:

The engine hull impulse engines and fwd deflectors are new, as is the new neck shape. I think the inverted color is slightly easier to see on the internet. As soon as all the hull details are final, I'll give it the proper color treatment.

I would recommend changing the shape of the nacelle pylons.

I considered using the Galaxy type pylons, as you said. It just doesn't look right on a ship of theis shape. They work on the Galaxy because it's so wide and needs the 'wing' pylons to keep the ship a bit balanced. There's really no room on a ship this narrow. The engines are too high up and too close together. I did bend them down a little to keep the curvy TNG look as much as possible. Thanks for the imput though.

 

[ancient]

Here's a better look at the general engineering layout. The core will have a tmp-style horizontal section, which is missing from the TNG core. More Horsepower? Or just Little Ship Syndrome?

The core itself is based on the ENT-E version, which I likes.

This is the sort of thing I've been spending time doing:

Not the most riviting part of design work, I'll admit. Doing the decks themselves will be way more fun than this stuff, but skipping this would prove DISASTEROUS!!!

Anyway,

Does anyone know a good website for the Okuda-gram reference? I'd like the helm consol to look like a helm consol, for starters. I've got the mondo-button-bar and little circle control, but I was going to do more detailed work on some of the consols themselves. I needs me some LCARS reference!

What the hell does LCARS stand for anyway? I could never figure that one out.

WAIT, the Encyclopedia is coming out...Library Computer Access and Retrieval System. Wow, I learned something new today. That doesn't explain why the deflector clamps need to be tied to the library computer, but what do I know?

 

[asdf1]

Does anyone know a good website for the Okuda-gram reference? I'd like the helm consol to look like a helm consol, for starters. I've got the mondo-button-bar and little circle control, but I was going to do more detailed work on some of the consols themselves. I needs me some LCARS reference!

Try googling it.

 

[Squiggy]

http://www.okudagrams.com/

 

[asdf1]

This site has a few close ups of galaxy class bridge stations, as well as a few other ships,

http://www.utopiaplanitia.info/entdbridge.html

 

[ancient]

Nice, thanks!

I also found some German site over at EAS. They have a few images I can use, but nothing from TNG itself, it's all VGR & movies. Probably close enough, I got pics of the little control wheel thing.

 

[Wingsley]

I have to say this: with the exception of the tabletop viewers/workstations in TNG, all the control consoles were cool looking. On the E-D's main bridge, the helm and ops stations always looked cool, as did the aft science stations. The only thing on the bridge I did not care for was the captain's chair. I thought Capt. Styles' chair on the NX-2000 was the best "center seat" since TOS. But that's just me.

 

[ancient]

Re: U.S.S. QUEST & Mr. Tricorder

On the E-D's main bridge, the helm and ops stations always looked cool, as did the aft science stations.

Considering the time also, they were pretty impressive.

The only thing on the bridge I did not care for was the captain's chair. I thought Capt. Styles' chair on the NX-2000 was the best "center seat" since TOS. But that's just me.

Styles had the pimp cane too. And transwarp drive. He had it goin' on.

And speaking of pimps, it's time to pimp your tricorder!

I did this as a test of my LCARS displays. This is supposed to be post-TNG, so everything is somewhat more streamlined.

I'm hoping to make a sort of tech manual that'll have equipment, locations, etc in it besides just deck blueprints. Why not?

EDIT: btw, this is 1:1 scale - true size.

 

[Philo]

I tried to stay within the design ethic of the Andy Probert & Rick Sternbach TNG

This is why I love you.

Excellent work. My only quibble is that on the fore and aft views I very much prefer the secondary hull contour from the original sketch (more of a slope than a curve, like the Ent-D). I also think your nacelles could use more of an extreme flat taper. Take a look at Andy Probert's sketch for the Sphinx Workpod for an idea of the shape I mean. Particularly the side view. It's kind of like a door stopper.

 

[ancient]

My only quibble is that on the fore and aft views I very much prefer the secondary hull contour from the original sketch (more of a slope than a curve, like the Ent-D).

I like the original slope too, unfortunately, for a ship this size the ultra steep curve wastes a huge amount of internal space. As such the hull took on more of an oval shape. I am still messing with the secondary hull though, so it could change a bit.

I also think your nacelles could use more of an extreme flat taper. Take a look at Andy Probert's sketch for the Sphinx Workpod for an idea of the shape I mean. Particularly the side view. It's kind of like a door stopper.

This ship is supposed to be the next generation after the ENT-D, while still retaining the original design style. So things won't be exactly the same.

Thanks for the link!

 

[Wingsley]

Love your stylish tricorder.

I never understood the TNG ones; everything else in TNG was relatively buttonless, except the tricorders. Your rounded flip-open model looks neat, but it is also very logical.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Philo]

My only quibble is that on the fore and aft views I very much prefer the secondary hull contour from the original sketch (more of a slope than a curve, like the Ent-D).

I like the original slope too, unfortunately, for a ship this size the ultra steep curve wastes a huge amount of internal space. As such the hull took on more of an oval shape. I am still messing with the secondary hull though, so it could change a bit.

I thought that might be the case. The simple fact that you're even approaching this with that kind of functional rationale makes it completely acceptable. However, if you can figure out any way to return some of that slope within those confines, so much the better.

I also think your nacelles could use more of an extreme flat taper. Take a look at Andy Probert's sketch for the Sphinx Workpod for an idea of the shape I mean. Particularly the side view. It's kind of like a door stopper.

This ship is supposed to be the next generation after the ENT-D, while still retaining the original design style. So things won't be exactly the same.

Thanks for the link!

Actually, that's kind of what I was getting at with that shape suggestion. It's still very Probert but more advanced looking and a little more befitting the sleakness of your design. Some of the nacelle treatments on this page are similar, albeit a little too angular and Eavesy.

 

[ancient]

I never understood the TNG ones; everything else in TNG was relatively buttonless, except the tricorders.

Yeah I noticed that. I'm guessing it was just a price constraint. My tricorder would be much more expensive to build as a prop, most likely. They finally got a touchscreen tricorder in NEM, but it didn't fold, and looked a bit too much like a padd to me.

The shape to the engine hull has changed slightly now. It's still eliptical - it's really the only shape that works for it, I've tried the steeper look, it's just not so hot looking with a center deck so wide.

The undercut has changed, however. It's shrunken significantly. This makes decks 11 & 12 significantly larger, but that's not the reason it changed. It turns out that it extended so far forward before that it went past the mid-point where the hull starts to get skinnier again. This looked pretty bizzare from every angle except the side, so it came back to the centerline.

Here is the latest:

 

[Wingsley]

I like what you've done here. Quest is a very impressive ship!

You obviously don't have to listen to anything anyone suggests, but I would like to see the aft tip of the secondary hull elongated, to recover interior volume that was taken away when the "neck" was thinned. But that's just me.

 

[ancient]

I would like to see the aft tip of the secondary hull elongated, to recover interior volume that was taken away when the "neck" was thinned. But that's just me.

It wouldn't look bad, but I want to keep as many ENT-D elements as posible, and that'll make it look even more ENT-E-ish.

Here is an update on the bottom view, which I've been neglecting a little.

I don't think I mentioned the saucer warp drive system. It's fairly small/slow compared to the main engines, but really, splitting the ship isn't much good without a FTL system. Warp 5 is better than nothing.

I'm in the pencil drawing stage for the captain's shuttle, which is going to look more like a mini ship than a shuttle.

Just a few more details and I'll be able to start doing the final artwork on these and defining the deck shapes.

 

[asdf1]

i love the idea of a warp capable saucer.

 

[Wingsley]

^ I always thought it was irrational for the saucer not to have warp capability.

The way Riker was talking in the opening of "Conspiracy", I assumed the E-D's saucer was capable of Warp 6.

 

[asdf1]

I know these are only early drawings, but your ship seems to be lacking thrusters, or are they there and i cant see them.

 

[B.J.]

Nice job so far! Question about the saucer nacelles - do you have enough room in that area for both the nacelles and the impulse engines? It looks to me like they're occupying the same space.

 

[ancient]

I know these are only early drawings, but your ship seems to be lacking thrusters, or are they there and i cant see them.

They are on the original sketches in the first post. To either side of the saucer's side-dents. Also, on the pylons and fwd part of the engine hull (those ones aren't visible in the sketch).

Nice job so far! Question about the saucer nacelles - do you have enough room in that area for both the nacelles and the impulse engines? It looks to me like they're occupying the same space.

Oh yes, I'm aware of it. The nacelles are quite thin/small and fit into that raised (lowered?) part of the hull directly below deck 5. The main impulse engines will be directly above them, on deck 5, and will provide the power to activate them.

EDIT: And yes, the vents also extend below into the lowered section. The nacelle shapes are not final and may be slightly shorter to take that into account.

More updates hopefully soon. I've been a little busy over the weekend and haven't done much computer stuff.