This is an offshoot of a discussion of the Haynes tech book recently released. The question is: who has done a cross-section deck-by-deck layout of the TOS Enterprise? Either the artists can speak for themselves (preferably) or someone else can let us in on it hopefully with an included link. I'm curious to see how much common ground there might be amongst the different solutions and also where they might diverge. I know aridas, Shaw, CRA, Tallguy, Professor Moriarty have done cross-sections and we'd like to see those, but there may well be others. Well folks?
^^ Well, if most everyone starts from the description of the ship's internal arrangement as given in The Making Of Star Trek then I think there's likely to be quite a bit of common ground. There are some things to consider: - is the 947 ft. figure for the ship's length set in stone? I'd say "no" because it has never been stated onscreen. I believe it was Shaw who came up with a figure slightly shy of 947 and there's also been a case made for a 1080 ft. length if the 11 ft. model was measured in a proper scale. aridas and others have managed to fit everything into a 947 ft. ship so that tends to give the figure weight and credibility. But it might be interesting to see someone render a 1080 ft. ship and see what effect that would have for some of the ship's internal arrangement. It's only about a 13-14% difference in length, but what difference would that make in terms of total internal volume gained? - in like manner is the 190,000 gross tons displacement as referenced in TMOST set in stone? Again I'd say "no" because it's never stated onscreen. - whether the bridge forward facing or offset it's dead certain it's at the top of the primary saucer hull. The shuttlecraft flight deck is unquestionably at the aft end of secondary hull. - Engineering is definitely situated in the "lower levels," but does this mean the lower levels of the primary hull or in the secondary hull? - onscreen we hear reference to aft phasers, but where are they located? TMOST makes references to phaser banks atop the main hull, but where? Exactly where are the photon torpedoes firing from and of what nature and form are they? - where is Auxiliary Control located? - Sickbay is said to be in the heart of the saucer, but where exactly? It's interesting to see the different solutions to the same issue because information is weighed and interpreted differently.
With aridas' blessing here's a link to his cross-section which I must say I'm quite impressed with even though I might quibble with some details. http://home.comcast.net/~aridas/1701 cutaway final2.png
^^ Right off I like how it has an FJ style to it. But I really like how not all decks are automatically the same height. It makes it all look more credible and more functional. I also like the multi-tiered arrangement of the hangar facilities.
Agreed. This is one of the best extrapolations of TMOST's c/s by MJ I've ever seen, and proves that the original 8x11 (or whatever) sketch need not be dismissed as useless. I particularly like Aridas' treatment of the main deflector machinery behind the dish.
I believe Shaw also used MJ's original cross-section as well as drawings of the Phase II E as a starting point for his beautiful renderings of the Enterprise. What I love about Shaw's work is the sense of meticulousness and precision and how it's transferred into his renderings. Others like Alan Sinclair and Charles Casimiro have done very nice schematics of the Enterprise. But for me, somehow, Shaw's work really looks like the ship we saw onscreen, or more precisely the ship we saw in our mind's eye of the ship we saw onscreen. His saucer and secondary hull contours look exactly right. He didn't just seem to take measurements but also scrutinized screenshots and photographs of the 11 footer and the 33 inch miniature.
Once again we're in agreement, I also think Shaw did a good job of extrapolating the pressure compartment diagram from "Day of the Dove" into a plausable design that could actually work.
Shaw has done probably the most painstaking drawings to date without having direct access to the model, which is why I'm so testy about their being left hanging this close to the finish line. Now, if he's coming up with a scale figure of a few feet shy of 947', then I think that solves a whole host of issues. For one thing, I consider the 947' figure as a bare minimum. So, if he's coming up with something a little bit smaller, and things still kind of fit, well, golly, Beav, all we have to do is inflate the thing a tad to hit that 947' mark and things'll fit a lot better, doncha think? Anyhoo, here's my cross-section... This seems to be as up to date as I have on Photobucket at the present time; the only thing that hasn't been updated in this pic is the antimatter injector assembly being raised a couple feet to allow for the ship dropping those satellites in the TOS-R version of "Operation: Annihilate!"
Allen Rolfe's has done deck plans of the Connie for my Starfleet Museum website: http://www.starfleet-museum.org/pyotr-velikiy.htm
Here's a little more direct link: http://www.starfleet-museum.org/constitution-plan2.gif Interesting how in each case the shuttlecraft hangar facilities, most particularly the overall length of the flight deck, have been interpreted differently.
If you are looking at strictly a cross-section, aridas had done the most polished effort I've seen... and maybe the most inclusive (covering both TOS and TAS). He started in on deck-by-deck layouts, but I don't believe he took that work nearly as far. Cary had gotten quite far on an alternate version of the Enterprise (at a slightly larger scale) that I believe was largely based on Sinclair's exterior plans (here), and TIN_MAN did an interesting project to revise the Franz Joseph plans (here). As for my work, I'd point out that I hadn't gotten beyond the Cocktail Napkin sketches phase. The main idea was to get the general layout figured out before starting the work of tightly fitting everything together in a polished set of plans. As an off shoot, I totally envy the authors of the Haynes' book. As it stands right now, the projects I've been spending my spare time on are the ones that peak my curiosity the most... and things always have to be put on hold for work. But I would love to be able to dedicate some real time to this type of thing (which is far more inspiring than what I do for my clients). If I could write/draw Trek stuff and pay my bills at the same time, I'd put out tons of stuff (all TOS related of course).