Been working on this for about the past month or so. This is my first attempt at storm clouds, and I have to admit that I'm happy with how they came out. I also been wanted to make a more period-accurate version of the
USS Leodegrance, and so here she is-same configuration, but with
Excelsior/Lost Era components.
The backstory is Starfleet vessels will often take Hazardous Environmental Flight Tests (or HEFTs for short) in the system they are launched from, usually inside the thick atmosphere of one of the gas giants to simulate the rigors of spaceflight, where encounters with a spatial phenomena can't be ruled out, and have resulted in the loss of many ships. Due to their spectacular sights, the atmosphere of Jupiter and Saturn alike are popular assignments for cadets and officers alike. Here, the
USS Leodegrance escorts the brand new
USS Lancelot. If she should suffer any serious malfunctions or damage from the lightning storms and high pressure from diving into Jupiter's atmosphere, the
USS Leodegrance will tow her back to spacedock.
USS Speculator stands as look-out, just in case
Leodegrance has any trouble braving the storm as well.
It has been hell trying to get the
USS Leodegrance to look right, due to my decision to redesign her with the canted nacelles. The angle still doesn't look quite right, but oh well. Still a lot of work to be done before I can call this done.
I also started on some concept art views today, but those aren't anywhere near done enough to post, and were more for my benefit when it came to figuring out how the components were proportioned.
Lancelot Class designed by Bernd Schneider (Circa 1997)
USS Speculator registry, name, and class from Trekmania (Circa late 1990s-2000s)
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I admit that as far as perspective on Leondegrance go, it doesn't quite look right, but I've decided that if I take the time to get it perfect, I might as well spend my entire lifetime on this, and it's best to just move on, and use this a way to learn. I might try using Blender to build at least a simple 3D model for a template, but I'll just have to see what my laptop will tolerate (I doubt it will allow me to make them as complex as Madkoifish or Evil_Genius_180 above).
Thanks for the kind words, and I am honestly a fan of ANY legends. I don't think that they get enough love, especially in Star Trek lore. If I revisit this design, it will likely in a Mk-II (phaser strips, color scheme similar to the Ambassador class, etc.), with a USS Beowulf, to keep the naming scheme of mythical warriors and potentially ancient leaders as well. But the name choice is because this is supposed to be the same ship that is mentioned in Picard, captained by Uhura, and Jean Luc Picard's first assignment posting.