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3DNebula Class In Blender
Polaris 004199
Posts: 752Member
Okay, I got tired of cleaning meshes up and wanted to start in on a new project. The Nebula Class seemed like a likely candidate, as I always wanted one of my own.
I did some research, and decided I will start with the Farragut-style nebula, with the triangular sensor pod and the primary hull different from the Galaxy class. This works out for two reasons: one, it's the right general era for my Shipyard, and two I don't think I quite have the modeling skills to accurately reproduce the Galaxy Primary hull
Everything went well up until the Secondary Hull. It took me 7 or eight tries to come up with a basic approach that I think will work. I may have to go back and work a bit more on it, but anyway here she is so far.
It's very early in the build, but I always get good suggestions at this phase.
The inset for the sensor strip around the secondary hull looks really wide and a bit ugly to me, though it's based off of the studio model. I am thinking of taking a bit of a liberty and making it narrower...
I did some research, and decided I will start with the Farragut-style nebula, with the triangular sensor pod and the primary hull different from the Galaxy class. This works out for two reasons: one, it's the right general era for my Shipyard, and two I don't think I quite have the modeling skills to accurately reproduce the Galaxy Primary hull
Everything went well up until the Secondary Hull. It took me 7 or eight tries to come up with a basic approach that I think will work. I may have to go back and work a bit more on it, but anyway here she is so far.
It's very early in the build, but I always get good suggestions at this phase.
The inset for the sensor strip around the secondary hull looks really wide and a bit ugly to me, though it's based off of the studio model. I am thinking of taking a bit of a liberty and making it narrower...
Post edited by Polaris 004 on
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The studio (plastic) model saucer was always different from the Galaxy, so was the secondary hull. The problem was, when they did the CGI model for DS9, they kitbashed their Galaxy CG model and used photos of the Galaxy class studio model to texture it. So, it was inaccurate. :rolleyes: Yours definitely looks more accurate to the studio nebula so far.
and.. need to taper down the back of the eng hull as well.. its not a duck bill
some refs ( u probably have these.. but.. just in case)
http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/articles/nebula.htm
http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/scans/nebula1.htm
http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/nebula-class/
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Nebula_class
http://www.mutara.net/Christies/EnterpriseD.html
I'm continuing to struggle with the Primary hull. I got the outline of the hull exactly lined up with the orths I'm using, but somehow the result didn't seem quite right. I continued pushing things around until I got a compromise that falls between the orthographic references and the photos of the studio model.
I did taper the back of the hull, as VALKYRIE013 suggested, even though the orths did not have any tapering. I think I am very nearly happy with the general shapes. If I don't hear any further concerns, I will probably freeze the general shapes and get into more of the finer work.
Thanks. That sub-bridge is a placeholder. But the finished bubble will be similar. I decided that a rear-facing Bay makes no sense. probably there will be no shuttle bay there at all, but if there is one, the doors would have to face some other direction.
*watches thread with much interest*
I'm just going to put all shuttle bays in the back, cut into the pod support pylon. I think there will be two in the pylon and one in the aft off the primary hull, where we see it on the model. The decks under the bridge will just be windows and such.
Please don't hesitate to make suggestions or observations...
Deflector dish still needs a lot of finesse. My deflector grid lines are wider and more pronounced than what we see on the shows and in the movies. I tend to do that with my meshes, for some reason. I suppose I just like being able to see them more clearly that you can on the shows. When the textures are on, they will be a bit more visually suppressed.
It took me four tries to get that simple grid on the side of the pylon to come out smooth.
Those are without a doubt the best TNG nacelles I have ever made.
May have to cut these windows for a third time... not sure I have enough room for the regs...
Bridge area is progressing okay, but I'm still working on the layout for the back where there is no longer a shuttle bay.
Still a ways to go. I'm going to take a small break and get back to t in a few days. Comments welcome...
hmm.. you sure that there isn't a shuttle bay there? always thought there was? hmm
There was. But I always thought it was a bad place for a shuttle bay. The approach would be blocked by the pylon for the sensor pod. The only reason it was ever there was because there's one there on the Galaxy saucer. If you were really building a class of ship from the ground up, you'd never put a shuttle bay there. I tried extending the box out in back to put bay doors on the sides, but that looked very bad.
I'm trying to decide what I want there. Lounges? A rec area? An arboretum? I could put some small bay doors in it and make it a work shed for maintenance craft. I could put elevators on the top of the block and make it a small shuttle bay with elevator access but walled in the back. I have lots of ideas, but I have yet to pick one. I'm definitely open to a good suggestion at this point.
I've always thought that was a dumb place for the shuttlebay also, due to the pod. It worked better with the pod the Phoenix had. It had a split pylon that didn't block the bay approach, but it still wasn't ideal.
elevators might work.. so you thinking ceiling access then? they have a small bay on the tail pylon .. not to big though.. interested to see what you come up with!
Lots of progress. I said I was going to take a break, but I keep doing "just one more thing" until three in the morning... It's a sickness with me. Anyway, here are some pics:
Okay, the aztecs are all conventional UV mapping! I finally am figuring that business out. The saucer aztecs are pretty close to good, as are the Nacelle aztecs. But the aztecs everywhere else are temporary, just to prove to myself that I could do it. I think the darker color is a tad too light.. I'm going to darken the contrast, but just a hair. It's a really fine balance.
Let me turn down the light a bit and show my deflector dish glow. The dish is getting closer... still a bit of detail to go. The windows in the saucer are all cut, the grid lines are cut, lifeboats are ready to go...
Here's the top of the saucer... looking good to me. I have overcome a number of blocks on the Galaxy-type saucer. I can cut the grid lines with booleans, and I have finally figured out how to get the aztecs to line up with the grid. I have spent HOURS trying to figure that one out... Really thrilled with the breakthroughs.
Side and aft views... You'll notice I have only put windows on the secondary hull in places where they will have an unobstructed view. That was another weakness of the studio Model: windows staring up into the bottom of the nacelle pylons. Bleh. Not on my watch... Note to self: the top of the main hull needs much more aztec.
For all my progress I STILL can't make a good window cut into a very curved surface. All the windows on TOP of the secondary hull are cheater objects, poking just above the surface of the hull. I'll keep working on that. I saw a tutorial somewhere... You can see where I am contemplating putting two additional shuttle bays in the back of the sensor pylon. Three stacked flight decks should be plenty for this girl, don't you think?
Last look... My meshes are generally meant to be viewed from a moderate distance, and from here I think she really does look quite pretty. My best mesh yet, I think. I'm going to try to finish her up after I take a few days off. Still have some hard decisions to make about the bridge platform and the shuttle bays...
Hey, you're doing great work. And in a program where I've only managed to make a few small models.
Oh yeah, been there, done that.
I know it a bit late now, but the deflctor ship aera looks a bit to big.
I always thought it was the same as the Gal.
There is a version of the nebula that has a primary hull and a deflector exactly identical to the Galaxy Class. That was a later version, introduced in later seasons of DS9 and at least once on Voyager:
The originial studio model of the Nebula, however, had a completely different primary hull, as well as a modified saucer with fewer windows and different impulse engines
It is this version of the nebula that I am trying to model, although I have made a few "improvements" of my own as well.
I decided on the studio model version because it seems to stand out more to me. I'm used to looking at the Galaxy Class deflector, so this deflector really jumps out at me. It's also from the correct era for my fantasy Shipyard, namely the era prior to and just after the Galaxy Class project. If I could serve in Starfleet within any era, this is the time frame I would enlist in.
Thanks, I feel the same way about that "cut and Paste" job. Although at least they got a Nebula on the screen in some form, which is something that did not happen enough for my taste. I agree the impulse engines on the studio model seem rather small and amorphous, so I just grabbed some Galaxy-type engines and played with their proportions. I may build up the saucer right behind those vents a little, or at least change the color of the saucer there to suggest the fusion reactors that are stored within. I'm glad you like the results.
I've been just chipping away at little things, so no big changes lately, except for my latest attempt to fill in the area behind the bridge.
Looks like I will probably be going with "Arboretum."
Finishing these meshes up always seems to take a LOT of time. But I'm hoping to be done within the next week or two. I'll post again when I am closer to finishing.