3DYet Another Connie Variant

JWWright

To continue my obsession with the Matt Jefferies masterpiece, I decided to work on a new design attempt.

You can see my last one here, which I will resurrect one day, I still dig it.

Since this site gives only a tiny bit of server space for image uploads, I'm embedding pics from my photbucket.

Have a look at a few views of what I've got so far on my new design, let me know what you think, thanks!



Forum Thumbnail:

Aresius

Hm... An interesting design... Almost looks like a direct gapfiller between the Connie and the Gelaxy.....

psCargile

I like it. All the pieces carry the same look. I like the window in the bridge. I like how the neck connects. It's looks graceful and bad ass at the same time. That's probably the hardest to pull off.

JWWright

I appreciate the feedback, yes there is a lot of Galaxy class and JJPrise influence here. I like to doodle in meetings, to look busy, and this is a result of one... it started out as a nacelle sketch, just playing with geometric shapes.

I just intend to cook up a fun design, but then I become obsessed with details, as if I'm designing a real vehicle... when I start working on interiors I have to know when to stop, else I'd never get any exterior modelling done, I stopped myself with deck 1, and the shuttle bay...

For window placement I used a 6' figure with clearance space around it for determining decks:



Here's a couple of shots of deck 1 interior, showing the bridge (no sunken ops well yet...) and corridor to the captain's ready room:



There is a docking port/gangway airlock on either side of the saucer:



There is an egress/workbee port under that fantail, here you can also see the stardrive section's impulse engine exhaust port:



And a gangway sized egress airlock on either side of the shuttle bay, for some reason. You can see the aft facing photorp tube in this pic:



Plenty of twin phased array emitters to target any threat around the ship = no significant blind spots. I may have them retract into the hull, not sure:

JWWright

Refining the ramscoop, a few cut ins, intercooler radiators and RCS cluster in place:

JWWright

The saucer section is a lander, it has VTOL impulse thrusters and combination landing struts/disembarkation ramps. There is also a yacht I'll detail out later. It may have warp nacelles that extend from the hull, have a look:

evil_genius_180

Really nice work so far. The design is nice, it's a blend of ships from all eras of Star Trek. I like how you've even planned how the captain's yacht thing and saucer separation. Plus, the Forbidden Planet style landing legs are nice.

Though, you appear to have a few smoothing errors around some of your window cuts on the secondary hull. You may want to fix those, if you haven't already.

JWWright

Thanks, man! Yeah, she's a composite of many design sensibilities... the mesh smoothing issues are not a big deal, I kind of want the hull plating to be organically irregular, like you would see on a contemporary sea vessel.

I did a little work on the connecting dorsal, added windows and the connecting turbo elevator shaft, showing 3 cars and a figure for scale, have a look:

publiusr

I like this!

Aresius

nice work with the separation.

evil_genius_180

Looking good.

JWWright

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the comments, got a little more detail done... so tedious, I wonder how people who do this for a living get this kind of thing done on a deadline?

Anyway, 'quick' update, this took several hours... maybe I'm doing it wrong?

evil_genius_180

Nice details. Do you mean it took several hours to render or just to build the "quick" stuff in general. If it was the former, yeah you may need to look at some settings. If it was the latter, I find that's typical. Usually, when I want to do something "quick," it seems to take way longer than it should.

JWWright

Thanks, yeah I meant cutting in all the grid lines... it doesn't seem to take a lot of time but once I'm done, many, many hours have passed... maybe there is a better technique?

The models I make are intended to be able to be shot fairly close up... like any good filming miniature... so texture maps alone just won't do.

JWWright

More geometry cut in... making progress, check it out:

evil_genius_180

It's looking good. :thumb:

Aresius

Hm..... Two things.... To many windows on the neck for my taste;

General the idea of that many rooms on a comparatively "thin" neck. Going by that "detached" look on the neck with the turbolifts, I'd say it's barely big enough for one room. How do you plan to integrate that many rooms into that little room, plus corridors??

JWWright

The neck looks thin, because of the acute angles that make up its shape, it's actually the size of a respectable 4-5 storey building with ample room for duty and operations stations; structural spaceframe, resource connections; conduits, plumbing, equipment storage, ect...

I think I made the windows too large, so it's throwing off the sense of scale, that may be what you are seeing.

JWWright

Windows and gridlines, I think I've had my fill of cutting in details like this, maybe bitmap is the way to go...

Jenny

Bumpmaps never look as real as modeled detail. Ganbatte!

evil_genius_180

It's looking great so far, Jeff. :thumb: I really like how you're doing the grid lines. They're very cool.

Jenny wrote: »

Bumpmaps never look as real as modeled detail.

Agreed.

JWWright

Thanks, guys!

Some various progress on the model, including the nacelle strut turbo elevator shaft:

JWWright

Continuing detail work on the nacelle struts:

evil_genius_180

Great job on everything. The amount of detail you're putting into this is fantastic. :thumb:

JWWright

Thanks, man, I really appreciate it!

Some gridlines on the supporting struts:

evil_genius_180

I really like the patterns you're putting into your grids.

JWWright

Thanks, I appreciate it, man... got some more details cut in, working my way to the shuttle bay:

stephan_ska

I really love the angular look of it. Great job you're running with this ship.
S.

JWWright

Thank you, I appreciate that!

A quick animation of a shuttle bay landing:

Jenny

Maybe a more gradual opening of the hanger doors, while the shuttle is on glideslope, rather than the shuttle pausing and the doors opening quickly?

evil_genius_180

Maybe it's Emergency Landing Plan B.

Nice work, though I agree that maybe the doors could open a bit more slowly as the shuttle approaches. The details are all looking great. I agree with stephan_ska, the angular look is very nice. I wasn't sure about it at first, but you're really making it work.