Yup, another new one. xD
With all of my previous ships I've started big and gone smaller. Usually I do the saucer first and then go from there. I decided this time, to see how I would get on starting smaller and working my way bigger. I began with the bridge and shall be taking it from there, I think. Not quite sure where this ship is going to fit in, most likely somewhere between Ent-TOS.
I have an idea of what the overall profile of the ship shall be (I should probably sketch that down.) but not the finer details. I'm not trying to hard to make it look pre-TOS/ Pre-1960's. This one's more art form than trying to fit it in.
Here's where I'm at so far:
http://vortex5972.deviantart.com/gallery/51046287/Aquarius
(Linked to album as I keep getting an "exceeds your quota" message.)
Posts
Yeah, you only get so much room for attachments here. I used to have issues with that before I started using external sites.
How to you put your pictures in then? I've always used the insert button and 'From URL'.
Hit "Reply With Quote" to see the code for that.
Gonna have to remember that one.
I used a front ortho of the NX-Class to start with ages ago. All I needed to do before carrying on was to switch Blender to meters and scale the saucer up.
I decided that I'm gonna go with this project and try to have the model as near finished as I can by the end of the year. So as not to waste what I've already done for the Aquarius, I've recycled the bridge. You can see two sets of impulse engines here, I'm only keeping one. I'm leaning towards the saucer engines as that'll give me more room in the aft hull for engineering and I won't have to cut anything out.
I like the idea of the spine/tails but they do need work. Nacelles are currently placeholders but I did learn that the thickness modifier is the best way of adding depth to those cutouts. Here, you can also see Bob at work.
Just need top get the thread renamed now.
EDIT: I'm stuck for deflector ideas. I don't want a secondary hull, I've tried building a nose/snout but haven't liked anything I've done. I'm thinking of doing it NX style instead, if I can figure out how to make the cut in the saucer.
I've always wanted to see an NX-Class with phaser strips and a FC era paint scheme. I've always thought that that would look cool. I may have to give it a go someday. And no, I don't mean the Akira.
I think that I'm going to thicken those pylons out a bit.
I've been tinkering with the idea of a hull. It makes the back end look less flat in the side views, but the deflector looks undersized. I may consider this for a possible refit version later down the line, not sure if I'm going to keep it for now.
Other than that technical issue, everything is looking good. I really like the nacelles so far.
It was too flat, so I've done a little reshaping. I've also shrunk the front of the nacelles and bussards a little and added the sensor dome. I've also learned of the inset tool. xD
https://www.dropbox.com/s/j1lb92p1w5zoe71/NX01.zip?dl=0
I have all kinds of stuff, some from DrexFiles, some from other places. I'm one of those people where, if I find a shot of a model that I like and don't have, I put it in a reference folder. I even have some screen caps I made and a closeup of the little access hatches that Jenny DeSalle did for me a while back.
Bonus shot:
The rear shot looks really nice. Good use of the persistent vBulletin double post bug.