3DReady Room Stargazer

vfxart

This is a placeholder for me as I get this underway, or seem to...?

I suppose that this means that she is officially underway. :-) I have been waiting on some ref and trying to do some more digging for info (augh) on two other projects, but have now got the full lot of kits needed for a RR Stargazer, or soon will. Only awaiting two more. (One in tomorrow if the shipping godz smile; last one about a week from now)

Most of this little SDH is done in fact, but this is the coolest looking piece on its own. (Undecided on cutting in and potentially nuking an area with some finicky geo, or throwing a normal map at it; a cheat that I tend to loathe, but...)

I've two more projects to wrap up over the next week and a half or so (two more meshes, will put those up here too) and then have to sit and think. I hadn't planned on getting to the RRSg til this Fall, but.... hmmm...

Might also be some time to do some real world a bit, get some insight on what is good for an asset portfolio these days. I've got a nibble but no clean, top notch way to present a LOT of work at one time. I'm out of touch there and need to build a site and populate it. With two more fx houses folding, it's getting damn scary.... so wishing RA had worked out. (well, I'll always wish that ;-) )

evil_genius_180

Nice. The ready room model is definitely the more challenging one to do, since less references exist. The model itself hasn't been seen officially in close to 30 years. But, I know you love to figure out what kits were used to make these models, so I'm sure it will be fun for you.

vfxart

A little progress this afternoon, hitting the actual ship inst of the secondary pieces. Frustration with the Glaaj body has me on this for a short while instead. ;-) Got to get back to that and solve it, though.

vfxart

A better take on where the saucer progress is before modeling a LOT of plastic ;-)
Major insets marked etc. Not sure if going to build up the hull forms or keep going with 'parts' and such what-not. Decisions!

evil_genius_180

Looking great. Normally, I don't like heavy grid lines like that, but it's very correct for the model kits that they used.

vfxart

evil_genius_180 wrote: »

Looking great. Normally, I don't like heavy grid lines like that, but it's very correct for the model kits that they used.

Then you're gonna hate it when I drop in the panels ;-)
Ah might've misunderstood- above is 'just' material separation for the wider panel inset grooves... so the final should be more subtle when the geo is properly inset, and lit. The width is correct, but they're merely dark grey lines on the surface right now...

evil_genius_180

Either way, those old model kits had heavy handed paneling on them. Since you're recreating the model parts, it's appropriate.

vfxart

Got a fantastic reference and inspiration boost sent to me this AM, and in the looking through and chucking a few ideas while 'spot on' for others, did a few needed tweaks to the bridge.

Note to replica builders- This is one of the few times when 'part surgery' on the refit bridge brought a big enough change to likely be worthwhile (that tends to be frowned upon in most model shops- you just haven't got the time to be finicky)

A few kits to get yet (two for parts, one for decals), but am in really good shape on this one. Still a bit to suss out, but more than enough to make informed choices. This has officially moved up from Fall to 'now' on the sched. The Glaug (see elsewhere) has been bumped til I can sort out what the hell my mental block on that volume is. A radiation suit and an environment piece will follow this as planned. woohoo!

evil_genius_180

Looks great. It's great that you got a reference for the bridge. I know what the one on the larger filming model looks like, but I wasn't sure if the one on the ready room model was like it or more like the refit bridge, since I hardly have any references for the ready room model.

vfxart

Yeah, that filming mini bridge is... well, not a fan of falsie bridge, ahem. Though it is cool to see what GJ did to accentuate or ignore some of the shapes and details on the set dressing piece. In this case there's just a piece from one of the donors and a chunk of plastic, then RS slicing up the refit bridge parts. Got it easy. ;-)

evil_genius_180

To be fair, Rick Sternbach probably had more time to work on his model than Greg Jein did. He also had kit parts that were available to modify. Greg had to build all of the refit parts from scratch.

vfxart

The choice to integrate the upper BC deck before the lower sensor array is cause for... fun...

Fun...

In case you didn't recognize it.

In both the digital and eventual real deal, that'll have to be accounted for. I suspect Bondo is issued at Earth Spacedock, Utopia Planitia, etc...

vfxart

evil_genius_180 wrote: »

To be fair, Rick Sternbach probably had more time to work on his model than Greg Jein did. He also had kit parts that were available to modify. Greg had to build all of the refit parts from scratch.

I do not accept excuses.

evil_genius_180

vfxart wrote: »

evil_genius_180 wrote: »

To be fair, Rick Sternbach probably had more time to work on his model than Greg Jein did. He also had kit parts that were available to modify. Greg had to build all of the refit parts from scratch.

I do not accept excuses.

I actually hate the bridge module on the full size model. It looks terrible and it can't actually fit a bridge inside it. The last time I was building the Constellation class in CGI, I had actually modified the bridge to work better. However, I do allow for the fact that the ship was built in an incredibly short time, made shorter by the fact that the Stargazer was almost a Constitution class. This went into filming, with both Wil Wheaton and LeVar Burton calling the ship Constitution class and having to be dubbed over, and the dedication plaque actually saying Constitution class. Then they switched gears and had Greg build a model. Now, you can call those excuses if you want, but I allow for stuff to be built in a hurry. It's still not as bad as when he forgot to give the Enterprise-C torpedo launchers, then built a second model of the Ambassador class and didn't give that one torpedo launchers either.

vfxart

Oh I was messing around re: GJ, but you bring up some good points about the constraints and choices. Yet yeah, in this case... not a fan of some. I've always referred to details as either light catchers or shadow casters... in some cases both. So to that, the forms work, but... overall, it is a meh at best.
Still, I won't knock seeing a ship that I think is one of the best at capturing the movie era vibe and not trying (which would have been a mistake) to one-up the Reliant or a few others. I simply wish he'd stayed true to the rrsg bridge. I think the 'gazer pushes the limit of what some fans accept as 'bit too busy' on the surface. I don't mind a greeblie-fest on support and Other ships (ie love the SS Eileen) but for Starfleet, it doesn't feel quite right. Blisters and pods? Sure. But external plumbing? Ah, that'd be a no.

The Ent C is another kettle of boiled fish (not a fan... ;-) It's a huge detractor for Yesterday's Ent, along with Lt Jawline.) but the launchers well- (snicker) Did torpedoes ever get retconned in in some way? That one I'm not up on.

evil_genius_180

Fun fact: the model used two Enterprise refit model kits because the Excelsior kit wasn't out yet and Sternbach and Probert decided that the TOS ship was too old. So, they based their design on the refit.

The model bits from Gundam, Macross, etc. was just those two having a bit of fun. Some of it was repeated on the larger filming model only because Jein was able to get a larger scale Macross kit.

vfxart wrote: »

Oh I was messing around

I thought you might have been, but it's hard to tell in text sometimes.

vfxart wrote: »

The Ent C is another kettle of boiled fish (not a fan... ;-) It's a huge detractor for Yesterday's Ent, along with Lt Jawline.) but the launchers well- (snicker) Did torpedoes ever get retconned in in some way? That one I'm not up on.

Nope, the torpedoes were never officially retconned. The HD version of the episode uses only original model elements. It's actually really conspicuous that the ship doesn't have torpedo launchers, given that a fierce volley of photon torpedoes were what opened the temporal rift that the Enterprise-C went through.

I definitely have to disagree on the ship, though. I actually really like it. But, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Before I switched from Lightwave to Blender, I started on a model of it. As for the return of Tasha, I don't really care. I was never bothered by her stupid death in "Skin of Evil," even less so when I found out why they killed her off. It was just because Denise Crosby was bored. Boo hoo. As Wil Wheaton pointed out at one point, Worf didn't do a lot in the first season either, but Michael Dorn stuck around and Worf became a fan favorite. It's hard to say if Tasha would have gone on to that level of cool (probably not) and I don't care that they gave the character a "better" fate.

vfxart

A little boom-chaka-laka

vfxart

Xabungle progress. Just a bit more to cut in and he's ready for the underside.... this little guy is only 2" tall, so it's a struggle not to go after 'everything', esp with how he's placed under the saucer. Still he is larger than some of the other detail, than a lot of the other detail, but that placement...

vfxart

One more kit to get in to add the last detail to the rear saucer block. Then trim and docking bays over the next day or so.

evil_genius_180

You're making fast work of this.

Ugh, the robot on the underside. I know why they did it, they figured it would be funny and nobody would see it anyway. Still, it was a weird choice for sure.

vfxart

Thank you and yeah, trying to get in and git er done as it were... was away from modeling for so long that a lot of this is to get the muscle memory back as well as check out what's hip these days ;-) Getting faster with each puzzle solved.

Going to take some time away from this this week as I will be painting my wife's birthday card, and want to put all my energy into that. May hit this wee beastie as a break from at times, but will be back to next weekend! Will keep checking out the WIP section for inspiration. Fun stuff, wish I could do this FT- ah you know, for pay heh.

SCE2Aux

As has been said, you've made a fast pace of things so far! It looks great, and it's an interesting subject to base a project on (I like the OG Stargazer, but never seen someone make the Ready Room version before.) Does it differ markedly from the model they used for the large ship shots (other than the colour, obviously)?

vfxart

Thanks! The filming model was based off of this and as it was scaled up, the builder had to make a lot of calls around what to do to recreate the detail. Some of it wasn't a great choice (That bridge, ugh) ;-) A couple of pieces could be got from differently scaled kits of the same subjects, but he had to scratch build quite a bit and 'get in the ballpark'. Overall, the proportions and volume are similar, the main diff is that he avoided a particular headache by using an upper saucer for both upper and lower... the ready room model uses an upper and lower saucer, and you have to mod some pieces to fit against the contours (Space Bondo). It's the second-level and finer stuff that is different.

evil_genius_180

The four foot motion control filming model definitely has a lot more greebles. That itself is an interesting choice, given the usual tendency to avoid a lot of greebles on Starfleet ships.

vfxart

Had time to do a little more fiddling this AM, looking forward to a day or so on the nacelles and then likely putting away for a month.

vfxart

Might be the last time I can touch it for a month or so (back of hand to forehead! ;-) )... still, not a bad place to leave it.

vfxart

Whoooooaaaaaa yah no
Had a chance to crack her open and... she needs an overhaul in the worst way (before I can continue). So, May the Force Be... er Long and Prosper, or some such silliness... wish me luck? Think good thoughts? Send lawyers, guns, and money? Ok mostly money? Ok money?

Interior projects likely to (finally) wind down this week as opposed to a couple of weeks ago; the SG is first up to get wrapped up, heh.

publiusr

Anyone ever do a Reliant version of this? Two Reliant hulls top over bottom?

BolianAdmiral

Amazing work on this!

BolianAdmiral

publiusr wrote: »

Anyone ever do a Reliant version of this? Two Reliant hulls top over bottom?

I’ve seen 2D fan drawings of such a ship, yes.

vfxart

Some choices to make about going a level deeper on the impulse/deflector deck. Probably will hit the nacelle rebuild tomorrow.