Hey everyone. I've started work on a model of the Excelsior NX-2000 prototype. Ever since seeing it in the Star Trek III program my dad brought home I was in love. I couldn't wait to see on the big screen and I certainly wasn't disappointed, even after the humiliating breakdown. I know it was designed to be a bit goofy and ridiculous in an over-the-top sort of way, but asking Bill George to create an unattractive starship model is like asking Placido Domingo to sing off key. Anyway I've blocked in the masses, now it's time to start cutting out the details.
The first time I saw it I was comparing it to the Constitution Refit and so didn't like it. Having drawn one, it is one of my favorites. I love it's massive feel. Absolutely cannot wait to see what you do with this.
I'll never forget, having completed the basic shape of the lower hull, it was downright scary to cut the deflector into it.
Looks great already!
I don't think the Excelsior was ever supposed to be goofy or over the top, at least nothing I ever read suggested that, and the long design process with half a dozen prototypes indicates they were very serious about reaching a good looking ship. IMO it's the most elegant starship ever designed for Trek.
For all my finished Trek fan art, please visit my portfolio
...I'll never forget, having completed the basic shape of the lower hull, it was downright scary to cut the deflector into it.
Yeah that secondary hull is a real bear. It's one of the gnarliest compound curves I've ever modeled. The cutout for the deflector dish is a weird shape too.
@Rekkert "Ridiculous" was probably a poor choice of words on my part. I think I remember seeing an interview where Bill George said the Excelsior was supposed to look ostentatious and haughty to make the Enterprise look inferior. I think of it like Captain Styles' personality was mapped onto a starship design. They really did end up with one of the most beautiful shapes in Trek, though.
@count23 Thanks so much for posting those refs! I hadn't seen most of those photos before, so it's really helpful. They show me that most of my work still lies ahead.
There are some things on this version that I prefer over the "refitted" version from Star Trek VI. That large impulse deflection crystal is one of those things.
Wow, did you read the note at the bottom? The guy that drew those wants them taken down. On the other hand, he asked back in 2015 and they are still there.
@Brandenberg an anonymous post from 2015... pretty sure those images are not going anywhere
Fun fact, did you know the TSFS Excelsior appeared longest of any of the Excelsior variants in trek?
TSFS's Excelsior was used for Encounter at Farpoint at the start of TNG and was used as the guest ship for all 7 seasons, TUC didn't occur until TNG season 5. So that means the TSFS excelsior version appeared as stock footage for all 7 seasons of Trek. The TUC excelsior only appeared for about 2-3 years in DS9 before Generations and converted to CG after that with it's own errors.
I do love that impulse deflector crystal on the back of the impulse deck personally, no idea why they replaced it in TUC with something different. That crystal dome was _the_ standout part of TMP that tied all the ships together.
You're welcome for the refs! If you need any more, let me know... I have some more on my external HD, along with all the images from that site I linked you to, lol.
Small update today. I wasn't happy with the spacing of the windows around the saucer so I recut them to be a bit closer together. I think it helps with scale and is closer to the actual model. I also enhanced the lights around the planetary sensor dome to be more dimensional and physical looking. Along with that I toned down the "blueness" of the lighting overall to be a bit less nauseating. Neck sensors have been completed as well. Impulse deflection crystal has now been activated.
Everything is looking great. I don't know why they went from one large impulse deflection crystal to the two small ones on the studio model, but I just love the ship with one big one.
Everything is looking great. I don't know why they went from one large impulse deflection crystal to the two small ones on the studio model, but I just love the ship with one big one.
Thanks! I too prefer the single crystal design. The "twin mill" design of the NCC version makes me think it has two warp cores.
So I've started work on refining the drive section. I decided to dive right in with the contraption in the cutout of the lower part of the hull. I know it's often referred to as a hangar bay, but it's always open to space and doesn't have a flat deck. Also the aforementioned "contraption" would seem to get in the way of any landing craft. I prefer to think of it as a "Transwarp Field Conditioner", much like the one between the nacelles of the NX-01. I also imagine the two large dark pads on the bottom of the hull are transwarp field sensors. I really don't know though I'm just a speculating hobbyist. It was difficult to model this thing as I couldn't find any reliable plans and all the photos of it are pretty foreshortened. In fact I got so carried away working on this thing that I forgot it was just a part of a larger project. Anyway here are a couple renders:
I prefer to think of it as a "Transwarp Field Conditioner", much like the one between the nacelles of the NX-01. I also imagine the two large dark pads on the bottom of the hull are transwarp field sensors. I really don't know though I'm just a speculating hobbyist. It was difficult to model this thing as I couldn't find any reliable plans and all the photos of it are pretty foreshortened. In fact I got so carried away working on this thing that I forgot it was just a part of a larger project. Anyway here are a couple renders:
It seems like a good definition to me for all those greebly bits. It's also a lot more detail than I'd have thought to put into it. Well done, so far!
The modeling on that section looks fantastic. I put together a plastic model of the Excelsior and one of the Enterprise-B back in the day and their level of detail doesn't even touch what you're doing.
One could think it was for capturing ships that are larger than a standard shuttle, much like how the Star Destroyer captures the Tantive IV in the original Star Wars. But, there's nothing like that in Star Trek, so it's hard to say.
Love the modeling! Also love the explanation for what that hole on the hull is, as I touched on my thread when doing the Potemkin shuttlebay I don't subscribe to the idea of it being a hangar, there's nothing in canon that suggests that.
Keep in mind the NX version looks different than the later NCC model there as well, the "executive shuttles" (I put it in quotation as given the scale there's no way those are shuttles, they'd be smaller than a Class-F) were designed for TUC, and thus weren't there on TSFS.
Touching on the topic of the "impulse crystals", I actually prefer the two smaller crystals; then again I never saw them as the top of the warp core. The Oberth and Constellation classes both have two crystals as well.
For all my finished Trek fan art, please visit my portfolio
The Constellation class has no impulse deflection crystals because they changed the details on the impulse engines.
I just personally like the look of one big crystal. The MSD on the Enterprise-B definitely shows the warp core ending well below the impulse engines, so I'm going to agree that it has nothing to do with the crystals. As far as I know, the only sources showing the warp core going up that high on the Constitution refit are non canon sources.
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The first time I saw it I was comparing it to the Constitution Refit and so didn't like it. Having drawn one, it is one of my favorites. I love it's massive feel. Absolutely cannot wait to see what you do with this.
I'll never forget, having completed the basic shape of the lower hull, it was downright scary to cut the deflector into it.
I don't think the Excelsior was ever supposed to be goofy or over the top, at least nothing I ever read suggested that, and the long design process with half a dozen prototypes indicates they were very serious about reaching a good looking ship. IMO it's the most elegant starship ever designed for Trek.
Current Projects:
Ambassador Class
Yeah that secondary hull is a real bear. It's one of the gnarliest compound curves I've ever modeled. The cutout for the deflector dish is a weird shape too.
@Rekkert "Ridiculous" was probably a poor choice of words on my part. I think I remember seeing an interview where Bill George said the Excelsior was supposed to look ostentatious and haughty to make the Enterprise look inferior. I think of it like Captain Styles' personality was mapped onto a starship design. They really did end up with one of the most beautiful shapes in Trek, though.
@count23 Thanks so much for posting those refs! I hadn't seen most of those photos before, so it's really helpful. They show me that most of my work still lies ahead.
Command and impulse decks are finished:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqRhLEHgwgTKxsalM5YznYQ
Formerly furswift
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http://trebuchestarships.blogspot.com/2011/03/model-magic-reference-photos.html
Fun fact, did you know the TSFS Excelsior appeared longest of any of the Excelsior variants in trek?
TSFS's Excelsior was used for Encounter at Farpoint at the start of TNG and was used as the guest ship for all 7 seasons, TUC didn't occur until TNG season 5. So that means the TSFS excelsior version appeared as stock footage for all 7 seasons of Trek. The TUC excelsior only appeared for about 2-3 years in DS9 before Generations and converted to CG after that with it's own errors.
I do love that impulse deflector crystal on the back of the impulse deck personally, no idea why they replaced it in TUC with something different. That crystal dome was _the_ standout part of TMP that tied all the ships together.
Current Projects:
Ambassador Class
I prefer the refined ST6 version, but it's still nice to see this done justice!
After several snafus while working on the saucer section I've made some actual progress:
Light tests:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqRhLEHgwgTKxsalM5YznYQ
Formerly furswift
Small update today. I wasn't happy with the spacing of the windows around the saucer so I recut them to be a bit closer together. I think it helps with scale and is closer to the actual model. I also enhanced the lights around the planetary sensor dome to be more dimensional and physical looking. Along with that I toned down the "blueness" of the lighting overall to be a bit less nauseating. Neck sensors have been completed as well. Impulse deflection crystal has now been activated.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqRhLEHgwgTKxsalM5YznYQ
Formerly furswift
Thanks! I too prefer the single crystal design. The "twin mill" design of the NCC version makes me think it has two warp cores.
So I've started work on refining the drive section. I decided to dive right in with the contraption in the cutout of the lower part of the hull. I know it's often referred to as a hangar bay, but it's always open to space and doesn't have a flat deck. Also the aforementioned "contraption" would seem to get in the way of any landing craft. I prefer to think of it as a "Transwarp Field Conditioner", much like the one between the nacelles of the NX-01. I also imagine the two large dark pads on the bottom of the hull are transwarp field sensors. I really don't know though I'm just a speculating hobbyist. It was difficult to model this thing as I couldn't find any reliable plans and all the photos of it are pretty foreshortened. In fact I got so carried away working on this thing that I forgot it was just a part of a larger project. Anyway here are a couple renders:
And lit:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqRhLEHgwgTKxsalM5YznYQ
Formerly furswift
It seems like a good definition to me for all those greebly bits. It's also a lot more detail than I'd have thought to put into it. Well done, so far!
One could think it was for capturing ships that are larger than a standard shuttle, much like how the Star Destroyer captures the Tantive IV in the original Star Wars. But, there's nothing like that in Star Trek, so it's hard to say.
https://i.imgur.com/VertHYQ.jpg
Current Projects:
Ambassador Class
Keep in mind the NX version looks different than the later NCC model there as well, the "executive shuttles" (I put it in quotation as given the scale there's no way those are shuttles, they'd be smaller than a Class-F) were designed for TUC, and thus weren't there on TSFS.
Touching on the topic of the "impulse crystals", I actually prefer the two smaller crystals; then again I never saw them as the top of the warp core. The Oberth and Constellation classes both have two crystals as well.
I just personally like the look of one big crystal. The MSD on the Enterprise-B definitely shows the warp core ending well below the impulse engines, so I'm going to agree that it has nothing to do with the crystals. As far as I know, the only sources showing the warp core going up that high on the Constitution refit are non canon sources.