Starship Class Question, It'll Help the Wiki and Wrack Your Brains...Maybe.... ;) Options

[DHillMSP]

So, there's an open question on the Wiki. It's pretty simple, actually, except that my head has hit the proverbial rock on this one.



What's the ship immediately below the star and a little to the left? Between the Insignia-class and the Excelsior? It looks like it has a hump on it...between that and the Galaxy-class-looking nacelles...yeah.

Any thoughts?

[Thunderbird 2]

So, there's an open question on the Wiki. It's pretty simple, actually, except that my head has hit the proverbial rock on this one.



What's the ship immediately below the star and a little to the left? Between the Insignia-class and the Excelsior? It looks like it has a hump on it...between that and the Galaxy-class-looking nacelles...yeah.

Any thoughts?

David, which episode is the shot from? Perhaps seeing the ships in motion will help. - Could the "hump" be a bit of the Nebula behind it? The shape of the saucerr reminds me of The USS Legacy, but I know the nacelles are wrong for that. Maybe a New Orleans class? - They have got those sensor pod things built onto the saucer?

This post has been edited by Thunderbird 2: Aug 12 2009, 05:16 AM

[DHillMSP]

David, which episode is the shot from? Perhaps seeing the ships in motion will help. - Could the "hump" be a bit of the Nebula behind it? The shape of the saucerr reminds me of The USS Legacy, but I know the nacelles are wrong for that. Maybe a New Orleans class? - They have got those sensor pod things built onto the saucer?

The image is from HF 1.03 ("Enemy Unknown, Part 3"). That hump seems to move with the rest of the ship...so I can't be sure. I've dismissed the New Orleans-class idea so far as it doesn't seem to have the pod underneath and the hump is a bit big to be those pods on the upper hull (although, I could be wrong)...plus it seems a bit too narrow.

I've checked out all the reliable sources (Memory Alpha, Memory Beta, STEU) and a few less-than-reliable ones that I lean on occasionally and I'm coming up with zero thus far. And nothing on scifi-art.

[Whiteknight]

using the other camera angles from that episode, it still kinda looks like the New Orleans Class.

-c

[DHillMSP]

using the other camera angles from that episode, it still kinda looks like the New Orleans Class.

-c

Actually, I'm wondering if it's a Frontier-class starship, now that I'm seeing it from the back-end...still doesn't explain the hump, but I'm not sure anything could....

[Whiteknight]

if u look at the saucer section, you can kinda tell it has elements of a sovereign class style saucer section, so I dont think the Frontier would fit that desc.
does rob not remember what ship's he used for the scene?
-chris

Actually, I'm wondering if it's a Frontier-class starship, now that I'm seeing it from the back-end...still doesn't explain the hump, but I'm not sure anything could....

[DHillMSP]

if u look at the saucer section, you can kinda tell it has elements of a sovereign class style saucer section, so I dont think the Frontier would fit that desc.
does rob not remember what ship's he used for the scene?
-chris

I've not asked him yet. I figured he'd just pop along and clarify eventually...

[Glenn]

That's not the Frontier.

It's a model that was kicking around Scifi-Art and/or 3D Gladiators back in 2000-2001. I suspect that if Rob hasn't cleared his files out, he may know. The nacelle design is very distinctive!

It's also possible Dan Crout remembers what it is - it may be one of his designs, if we're lucky, but I'm sure he will have seen it.

I used to have a copy, but no longer have any of my old CGI resources.

[Rob_C]

I'll have to see if I can dig up the original model. The second shot Glenn posted is the Dawnstar. The ship in the first shot is a different ship entirely. It's a carrier of some sort iirc.

Rob

[Farragut79]

Would that carrier be the same as the Nimitz and the Kursk that was mentioned later?

[Rob_C]

No, the Nimitz was a modified Galaxy variant, while the Kursk was that odd looking (engineering hull with a saucer in it) ship that was launching fighters in "Refugees".

I'm not sure I even have the model in question anymore as some of these I basically de-canonized which is why we never saw them later on. I had some pretty fan-crufty designs early on that were way too overpowered for Starfleet. (at least in this universe!).

I am still amazed at how many different classes of Starfleet ships there are out there both canon and non-canon. It just strikes me as overpowered, over-redundant, and maybe even a bit silly to devote massive resources to too many development projects, and Starfleet seems like it has 50 or so different ship classes in service at any given time. I know some are prototypes that never go into active production (Yellowstone Class anyone?) But still, I guess the drama demands it when you need a brand new ship for every new show that has the latests and greatest to come out of R&D. HF is plenty guilty of this mind...

For reference does anybody know how many active classes the largest Navy has in service at any given time?

Rob

[Farragut79]

I count around 50 different classes during the 60s and 70s.

[Arkady]

No, the Nimitz was a modified Galaxy variant, while the Kursk was that odd looking (engineering hull with a saucer in it) ship that was launching fighters in "Refugees".

I'm not sure I even have the model in question anymore as some of these I basically de-canonized which is why we never saw them later on. I had some pretty fan-crufty designs early on that were way too overpowered for Starfleet. (at least in this universe!).

I am still amazed at how many different classes of Starfleet ships there are out there both canon and non-canon. It just strikes me as overpowered, over-redundant, and maybe even a bit silly to devote massive resources to too many development projects, and Starfleet seems like it has 50 or so different ship classes in service at any given time. I know some are prototypes that never go into active production (Yellowstone Class anyone?) But still, I guess the drama demands it when you need a brand new ship for every new show that has the latests and greatest to come out of R&D. HF is plenty guilty of this mind...

For reference does anybody know how many active classes the largest Navy has in service at any given time?

Rob

In a modern navy there are older ship classes that have service life left until replacements have been brought online, and far more smaller and support ships than main capitals (at least that is the general rule of thumb) It also depends what roles you want these ships to fill (freighter, repair tenders, fuel carriers, patrol etc etc..)

At least when sketching trek stuff, i tend to do starfleet ships more geared to these support roles, (the Huron tender for example) and alien races.

I suppose since the Federation is such a huge place, they may have a lot of different ship classes in service, but some of them may be older ship classed and would have, I think, a pretty huge and varied support fleet to take care of the various duties that the big capitals like a Galaxy or a Sovereign would be a waste of time and resources to do.

One wonders how far the Federation resources stretch, or if Federation member worlds still may employ their own ship designs for minor duties like system police patrols and such.

It does provide interesting food for thought.

[USSFiredrake]

David, which episode is the shot from? Perhaps seeing the ships in motion will help. - Could the "hump" be a bit of the Nebula behind it? The shape of the saucerr reminds me of The USS Legacy, but I know the nacelles are wrong for that. Maybe a New Orleans class? - They have got those sensor pod things built onto the saucer?

Just FYI - the pods on the New Orleans saucer (and the 3rd one beneath the engineering hull) are self-contained torpedo launchers. At least according to whoever kitbashed the original model in 1990.

[Farragut79]

Honestly, I really don't see a problem with a huge Starfleet because what we have seen, Starfleet is the Federation's main naval force. The member worlds could have coast guard-type forces or national guard-type forces.

So we have three different types of carriers shown in HF, unknown carrier at the Battle of Devron, the Nimitz, and the Kursk. I like the variety of the vessels. I noticed a Type 9a cargo shuttlecraft (From the TNG Technical Manual) with the USS Angeles' registry flying around at DS12.

[Glenn]

I'll have to see if I can dig up the original model. The second shot Glenn posted is the Dawnstar. The ship in the first shot is a different ship entirely. It's a carrier of some sort iirc.

Rob

Dawnstar... that's it! I'd forgotten the name. Takes you back, doesn't it, Rob? I'm almost tempted to pick up a copy of Blender and start fooling around again.

Just FYI - the pods on the New Orleans saucer (and the 3rd one beneath the engineering hull) are self-contained torpedo launchers. At least according to whoever kitbashed the original model in 1990.

Funny, they look a lot like highlighter pens to me

[Belgarion]

I've always envisioned that the New Orleans Class pods were interchangeable and could be weapons or extra fancy sensors or long range comms etc. They did come from the era of the Cardassian Wars so that seems a logical thing for them to have.

I guess there could be a pen-pod. I'm sure every now and again the crew might need to highlight something... :-P

And personally I think carriers are tacky. I'm glad you didn't use them too much.

[Chroniton]

Could it be an early Century class vessel? It has the same yellow/god nacelle rings behind the bussard ramscoops.
http://www.fleetops.net/component/option,c...,5251.msg87738/



This post has been edited by Chroniton: Aug 16 2009, 08:57 AM

[Rob_C]

I'm tempted to say it was a Meridian Class ship, but I don't believe the model exists anymore so it may be one of those lost to the digital bits.

Rob

[moocow1452]

Oh, come on guys. I'd figure the people who run and frequent the biggest ST fanfilm site on the net would know that kind of ship off the top of their heads. I took one look at it, and knew it in a heartbeat.


It's obviously a "Moocow" class.