JES

Okay, it's been a while since I last posed something, therefore it's time to post my latest work on my attempt to redesign King Liger, which has been challenging because, well, look at it! It was clearly not designed to be an action figure that could move like an actual lion! But it's also been fun, because there is so little in the way of detail, that there is a ton of room for interpretation and changing of the proportions.

Wow, can't believe I've gone two weeks without a bump...

Well, a relatively quick bump before folding laundry! A different take on some of the Discovery-type configurations. Rather than being retrofits, these would be brand new designs tracing their heritage to A) The Four Years War, or if conflicting existing registries, PROPOSED designs for that era, which might or might not have direct ancestors from the Cold War Era (2255-2292).




From top to bottom, left to right:
Shran-Type Config: small, fast, heavily armed Corvette. Replaces patrol vessels lost during the Borg Invasion of 2381, and a lighter equivalent to the Defiant/Avenger/Adamant classes

Gagarin class Light Cruiser Design Proposal 01

Earhart-type Config: those thick nacelle pylons and humongous nacelles can only be fit for a warship. A battlecruiser that is somewhere in size between a Defiant-type and an Achilles/Argonaut class. Or maybe in between the Achilles class and Jupiter class. Was perhaps the Enterprise-F in the alternate Millenium timeline.

Gagarin class Light Cruiser Design Proposal 02: Described as a Light Cruiser designed to fight the Jem'Hadar in the novel "Captain's Glory". Takes on a more compact appearance.

Sampson-type Config: A trailer-type cargo ship designed to transport supplies that includes Quantum Slipstream.

Finally, WIP on a Vesta Mk-II, using a bottom render from Mark Rademarker as a reference for proportions and the like. Now moving onto finalizing the shapes in Illustrator.




Also, a potential (brand new, state of the art) Enterprise-G. Just roughs to fill the blank space though.

Update!


The first week was trying to reconcile the incongruities of the Nemesis orthos, which turned into practice trying to redo the saucer. Got bored of that, and went back to finishing the saucer that I was working on using Admiral Horton's orthos. No word from @IRML, but then, I've gotten this far with (mostly) no help, so I figured that was the best decision I could make, rather than fighting with a set of inconsistent orthos.

Also been working on knocking out the approximate shape of the nacelles and wings.


I've been using this wireframe from NightFever as a reference on how to wire mine, but the underside isn't quite right. That's going to bother me, and I'm likely going to have to rewire that to make the shape of the slope+sides smoother later.


I've been trying to close up the shapes, because otherwise, they have deformities and such. All that is left is the separation cavity for the saucer, and the battle bridge for the engineering hull, then the detailing and refinements can take place.



Except now I'm starting to understand that aside from one or two mid-detailed game models, nobody has modeled the battle bridge: there are no good references to work on, aside from the concept art by John Eaves!




I liked the second idea better, with the smoother battle bridge section, and so that is what I decided to try to base it on. And then I found myself scratching my head, wondering how the battle bridge can fit inside the primary hull, AND separate, WITHOUT altering the exterior of either sections, AND without making it so that the auxiliary thruster hits the primary impulse drive while sliding out!!!

I thought that I had an epiphany while at work, thinking that the auxiliary impulse drives for the engineering hull must have a grove that fits into the saucer section while docked, like a glove, and slides out while separating. In fact, the whole leading edge of the battle bridge section can fit in this way. It would basically exist on a deck above the escape pods in front on the impulse deck, and as it just so happens, there should even be room! Unfortunately, the groove would have to lead all the way out of the primary impulse drive, which does not exist in the design, so if the aux impulse drive sticks out far enough to clear the separation lining, it blocks primary impulse drive, and both hulls can't separate! So much for that idea!

As of right now, I have two choices, which is to assume that the impulse drives don't need clear line of sight towards the aft, because they just generate a subspace field, and the red parts are just radiators, or alter the design. In order to side out, they just can't stick out any further than the width of where the hulls slide apart.

Now, as for the second choice: Now that I've thought about it further, I assume that when John Eaves was drafting the SOTL calendar art above, he pictured the impulse drives as closer to the secondary hull (even hugging the sides), as opposed to how it has appeared in the films, and that when the saucer section lifts off the secondary hull, it reveals the secondary impulse drives. You can even see how the First Contact model has the thrusters a little bit close like this, but not to the same degree as the in the above artwork in my opinion.


In Nemesis, the separation between the secondary hull and impulse drives doesn't quite have the same shape. But it explains the gap between the impulse drive and the edge of the separation lining perfectly.

This is my first attempt at making the secondary impulse drive, and my first quick and dirty attempt to create details in the form of very quick and dirty impulse panels. No measuring or shit like that means it took about half an hour or so to finish, but I figure that copying and pasting details is something I'll need to master if I'm to finish projects faster.


Playing around with different shapes for the business end. I could also copy and alter the geometry of the hulls to conform better to Eaves's design for the separation (basically make two different version, and might or might not go with both. Probably should split the two into two different files, to avoid a huge tri count). Of course, altering the geometry AND having it come out looking like it was designed to look that way in the first place will be a time consuming endeavour!

Either way, I have a lot of work to do before this model even reaches its first stage!

Practicing colors and shading on an aircraft design from earlier.





Also working on rebooting the Sparrow class (now the Swallowtail class), at least at night (the day is reserved for non-fan design work). The final design will likely be either 2380s Concept B or D. Also a way to work on creating thumbnail design sketches.

Roughs of what I think the final design of the suit will look like. Combining the "Muscular" form with the "Quadped" and arm-mounted wing. Have yet to figure out how to mount the main cannons, but have some roughs. Need to further develop.

Also, earlier rough sketches. Of the suit.



And from of air/spacecraft (of which there are many).

Finally got it to the point that I can call this done!



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).

evil_genius_180 wrote: »

I love the ship names too. Someone is clearly a fan of Arthurian legend. Also, Leondegrance happens to be the character that Sir Patrick Stewart played in the movie Excalibur, so nice callback to a movie with a Trek actor in it.

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.

evil_genius_180 wrote: »

I like the drop/attack ship. I can definitely see the Alien influences.

I've been getting into anime more myself these past few years. I find streaming has helped me in that regard, as I find stuff more accessible. When Enterprise was airing, I was in the Army and I often didn't have time for watching TV. In fact, I mostly caught Enterprise in syndication years later. However, since you've let me know Outlaw Star is a thing, I did a search and easily found it on both Funimation and Crunchyroll, so I'll have to give it a look. That's how I got into Dragon Ball last year, I started watching both the original anime and DBZ on Funimation, then I wound up buying both series.

As for your work, I love what you're doing. Mixing stuff from different Sci-Fi franchises is really cool when done right, and you're definitely doing it right. Since you posted the link to the Outlaw Star, I can totally see the influences both from that and various Trek designs. I agree that humans would have tried different configurations for warp drives before settling on the familiar Starfleet designs, so mixing traditional nacelles and ring engines to see what works best makes sense to me.

Dragonball Z was no small part of my childhood, and Outlaw Star aired on the Toonami block way back in the day. I just loved the world-building and characters, and I've been hooked on anime ever since. Like I said, a lot of designs in Japanese anime are often unique and aesthetically pleasing.

I had no idea that you were a recent fan of the series. From your profile icon, I would have thought you also grew up with the series! If you haven't watched Outlaw Star, I would totally recommend it. It's only one season long, but I find that the characters are fun and likable much like in Dragonball, the world-building is well done for only one season, and I feel that the animation holds up nice even to this day, and like most Japanese science fiction series, has some nice ship designs, and no shortage of background ships too.

I would imagine that serving in the military doesn't leave much time for TV. Thank you for your service!

And thanks for the complement! I often find that the Japanese designers will take different design elements, and I will admit that when I am feeling in need of inspiration, that's one of the first places I'll go. They even make what should be oddball design choices, like Space Battleship Yamato, feel like they wouldn't be completely dysfunctional, while also just looking aesthetically pleasing, while Outlaw Star draws influence from the American Space Age design aesthetic such as Flash Gordan, but in a way that is also modern and refreshing.

Now, onto ship of the day #004: What Happens When I Turn the Starfleet Insignia Into a Shuttlepod. Something's gotta replace the Type 16, 17, or whatever Shuttlepod. Also took the opportunity to practice a bit of shading, lighting, and color.






And I haven't stopped working on my mech suit. I might end up making the legs longer, but that is what the rough process is for.




The arms and sword was influenced by the Geno Breaker's X-Breaker (from Zoids), and the Exia Gundam's huge honking sword (from Gundam 00). A shield is just such a great way to mount weapons of various kinds.

Always nice to see a "Golden Era" TNG design. IMO, there aren't enough pre-Defiant Destroyers, even though they should make up a vast portion of the Fleet. Sounds like you've been overthinking the placement of the docking ports. There is a reason most (Federation) designs place them on the edges of the primary hull. If you are at all concerned about the docking port ruining the shape of the saucer, I've seen models with moving parts (often landing gear and such).

I figure you have enough experience to design the docking port to retract behind a series of panels when not in use?

Hope everyone and their households had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Posting this is a bit of an indulgence, because I have a backlog of laundry, and I have to clean up after finding a flour mite infestation.


A bulkier, cleaner shape for the Angel Suit. Has four legs, instead of the usual two. That brings the possible design paths to Slim, Vespine, and Bulky. I only plan to develop one design path further.


A WIP for Ship of the Day 005, which is more like Aerospace of the Day 005, because it is a Sky Bike. Influenced by an acquaintance's bike. Alternate, and perhaps future designs are also present, and there is a backlog of concept sketches in my sketchbooks that I'll snap and post at a later date.
Further plans to experiment with practicing coloring and shading next.

One last render before bed. Good news is: I've finished the shape of the deflector housing.

After fighting with corrupt vertices that was stretching and warping parts of the shape after merging the deflector housing and the rest of the engineering hull into one shape (I'm starting to think it might be better just to use separate objects as templates using the magnet tool, rather than joining them, since it always seems to cause corrupt surfaces), I've found that the leading edge is no longer smooth (as visible in the first render), but has a sharp leading edge.

Has anyone else had this problem? I've tried altering the merging distance for the mirror tool, nudging vertices as close as possible to the middle down to the maximum magnification, and even tried redoing the geometry of the front prow. I still haven't been able to get that smooth edge back.

Does anyone know how to fix this (aside from just starting over the geometry, section by section, or just pretending it isn't there)?