3DWorking on an Enterprise-B... I could really use some advice on her fish lips.

Arsene Lupin

So I'm working on modifying my Excelsior-model into an Enterprise-B/Lakota-type variant (as seen in Star Trek Generations and the DS9 Homefront/Paradise Lost two-parter) and... it's kind of a headache. I freely admit that I'm not very fond of this variant (I think it kind of ruins those sexy, sexy Excelsior curves) so I'm probably not taking as much care with the modeling as I maybe should be... but oh well.

Anyway, I'm running into some trouble with the giant honking fish lips on the secondary hull. With my current mesh, I'm trying to duplicate the same general size, shape and positioning as on the studio model, and I'm... not exactly happy with the result. (It's possible it'll look better with some detailing?)

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Anyway, on the studio model the central portion of the "lip" protrudes out slightly in front of the secondary hull, directly above the deflector cut-away.

NCC-1701-B 2.jpg NCC-1701-B 1.jpg

In order to do this, I had to move the deflector dish down somewhat from its proper location. Unfortunately this leaves a kind of gap of blank space between the top of the lip and the "ceiling" of the secondary hull. I don't really like it, but am unsure of what I could do to fix it. Any ideas?

I could also restore the deflector to its normal position, which would raise the lip *above* the deflector cut-away. The cut-away would probably end up bisecting the the lips entirely. (This is currently the solution I am leaning towards.

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The other problem I have (best seen in the second image, from the lower angle) is that the cut-away is, well... kind of big. And boring. I feel like I need to do something to make that space more interesting. Any ideas? A big blank swath of hull in the cut-away just feels kind of boring to me.

(And while I'm at it, I've got a lot of jagged lines where the curve of the fish-lips intersect with the curve of the primary hull. I don't suppose anyone has any handy advice on how to fix that?)

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Anyway, I'd appreciate any advice you can give me. I try to use a kind of stylized aesthetic, so I am *not* trying to 100% duplicate the studio model... I am fine with, and often intentionally set out to make changes. So, basically, I'm open to anything here. I just want to make it look good.

EDIT: Here's what the refit-components look like pasted on top of my original Excelsior model (to see how the original deflector placement lines up):

NCC-42024, U.S.S.jpg

nightfever

Maybe this helps (open in new tab for full size)

Arsene Lupin

Oh, yeah. That is helpful. Is that your model? I see that the deflector *is* lower than the original, which is cool, but more interestingly the shape of the cutout is completely opposite (IE it's wider at the bottom, narrower at the top, whereas the original is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom). Hm... this is very helpful. Thanks!

nightfever

Youre welcome. This isnt my modell, I just overlayed the blueprints found on the net.
I made the cutout a bit rounder, the dish slightly higher (according to another reference) and no protruding upper lip. This is my modell: (open in new tab for full res)

Arsene Lupin

That's gorgeous. I think it definitely looks better without the upper lip--at least on your model. I tend to use toys as reference (IE the Diamond Select excelsior-class models and the Eaglemoss ships) and I didn't even *know* that the Enterprise-B had that upper lip thing until I got the Eaglemoss ship. TBH I don't quite like it--after seeing how well your model turned out, I think I'm going to pretend it never existed.

Anyway, your model is really, really nice. I think you've inspired me to completely redo my secondary hull.