Topic: UFOP Ares class dreadnought WIP.....and hello again.

[Raven Night]

sec hull looks like a fly'n uboat lol. Perhaps keep the nacelles but get rid of the angle in the pylon at the end have the pylon go strait in.

I actually did do one version like that, the only problem was it looked too much like the others ones I'm doing, and I wanted a Galaxy nod in there. This ship gives slight nods to four of my Fed faves...the Defiant (cloak emitters on the dorsal spine, you dont see them yet but they will be there like on the Leopard, and the saucer deflector), the Galaxy (nacelle struts), the Sov (hull details, like on the Falcon, as well as the deflector scoop and the bridge spine), and the Ambassador (the saucer shape).

As to the sep shape (like a boat), thats actually exactly what I was going for, I even canted the front of the nose to give that impression. I tried a bunch of different shapes, including one that had a more pointed, shallow nose (no room for saucer) and a flat vertical nose (looked like a brick with nacelles)....neither worked. I think this does, though it takes some getting used to. Comparing it to the Galaxy sep, I think its an improvement.

[Raven Night]

Ill try working on a small saucer protrusion remaining behind and see how it looks.

[Raven Night]

Ive tried a few sofar, but no luck. Ill go ahead and take some pics, post them later to see what you guys think.

[admiral horton]

i like this design, however i dont like the angle pylons. i like the nacelles but they lokk to short and narow for the design but i hope to see more

[Raven Night]

I would be game to make them longer....I'm a bit resistant to making them wider, but not completely against it. Could you post a pic of what you mean?

[Raven Night]

Ok, made a few changes.

First, I streamlined the rear spine a bit, making it flow better. Now the grade from the bridge to the tail is not as extreme and blocky, though it is still noticable. That is actually intended.

Second, I rebuild the nacelles. I'd like to keep the nacelles unique to each ship, so my first attempt is to use the designs I made and try to make them acceptable. I want to use modifications of the Falcon nacelles as a last resort.

The changes are pretty obvious...the bussards flow back farther, the nacelle is taller and a little more streamlined, and there is a shield generator on each bussard intake. I considered adding a third nose intake, but decided to keep the simple two vent configuration.

Let me know what you think...I didnt smooth out the nacelles yet, wanted to see what you thought of them first.

[OlBuzzard]

Wow !  Interesting design..  The overall shape seems very smooooth >  I especially like the idea of the incorporated warp nacelles into the primary hull.  That tells me there is a secondary power source as well !  Excellent !

My only disagreement with the post has nothing to do with this model ..  but rather the statement about the saucers ...  IMHO not every ship in the Fed line is a battle cruiser.  The saucers ..  even the larger one can play a good roll as well as smaller one.  The Galaxy (for example) was supposed to be more for extensive exploration etc.  I realize what you were talking about with the war against the Borg...  that's cool! ( this is just my particular thoughts on the matter ...  and nothing more!)

BTW ..    I think this is one good model !

[FoaS_XC]

Hey Raven!

I just got an idea you might want to consider for the engineering hull. In order to break up that surface instead of going out with a outcropping, make an indentation:
Sorry for the bad photomanip, but you should get the idea.

[Raven Night]

Ok, I made a few changes, just slight ones (made the spine flow up to the bridge a little better, a little more graduated), but instead of posting a close up pic I decided to also cover the size issue.

Now, this ship is supposed to resemble a combination of the galaxy and the sov, sort of. It should be longer than both, with a bridge that is about the same size as the sov. I think I got the sov and galaxy scale right, tell me what you think of this size scale compared to both...

[Raven Night]

Just wanted to see if you guys like the current scale, or if I need to change it.....

[ModelsPlease]

Damn Fury I like that idea as wll great thinking!!!!

[OlBuzzard]

Just wanted to see if you guys like the current scale, or if I need to change it.....

putting the three next to each other is excellent ...

I think the width accomplishes exactly what you had in mind.  My only question is :  Did you intend for it to be as long as it is?  This is only an observation.  I know you have to be very carefull with any changes you might consider.  Those types of changes can distort the proportions .. and consequently end up doing more harm than good.  You know what size (and mass) you had in mind ...  if the model as it now stands meets that criteria then leave it as is.  If you think the over all length is TOO much ... then try  to scale it down a bit.  BUT ONLY if it will not take away from the over all scope of the model.

[ModelsPlease]

Just wanted to see if you guys like the current scale, or if I need to change it.....

I like the length, but I'd like to see the ship a bit wider.

[Raven Night]

I was actually going for something sort of inbetween both. Basically, it was supposed to look bigger from some perspectives, but smaller from others, like the front view. Sort of what the baby of the sov and the galaxy would look like.

In general, this ship is a graduation of what was learned from both ships, taking it to a military extreme. It was actually born from a single scene, where the Enterprise is getting hammered by a heavy borg scout (large sphere) and a Marine Corps vessel comes in to assist and hand the sphere its walking papers. In the written scene, it indicates the class and that it is a marine ship, and one of the deck crew makes a remark about how big it is.

And thats it. Not much to make a ship for. So, I pictured this ship as you see here. Bigger than the Sov, but still having less volume then the Galaxy (after all, its a military ship, no families on board). The ship has a contingent of marines on board, and plenty of firepower, a capital ship in it's purest form.

The fun part about my job is I get to take the story I partially wrote, look at a need (this ship) and invent it....not just how it looks, but its background, history, etc.

At any rate, it sits right where I intended it to. The nacelles were supposed to be slightly shorter than the Sov, but wider, and sitting at about the same gerth. The saucer was supposed to be a slight oval shape, something inbetween the sov and galaxy. Overall the ship is larger than the basic sov dimensions, but still takes up less space than a galaxy, though longer than both.

[OlBuzzard]

In that case  (from all indication ..)  you have achieved a very good representation of those goals !  A VERY GOOD model at that !