Ok, here is the latest. First, I noticed that the old BOP had what appeared to be 6 square impulse engines in the rear...the original model is lost, some have it, some dont, so I decided to add them. I also noted that they had a capsulated plasma caster in the nose, so I created something similar, but added one to the tail, as well as the plasma disruptor plate fore and aft, not on the original. Call it an upgrade.
Im not sure about the one on the nose. The one on the tail looks good. My idea is that now the pod is a pure disruptor bank, with two mediums and one heavy disruptor, to compliment the dual torp/disruptor plate below it.
I dont know if I explained this, but the glowing green plate you see on the nose of all of my romulans had a triple purpose...it emenates a field during warp flight, acting as the main deflector, and also can fire plasma torps or plasma bolts. it can also act as a reverse engine, as its design is similar to the rear impulse engines (no, the impulse engines in the rear are vents only, they are optimized for thrust.).
Now, to the warp engines, and why this design is similar to the old BOP. First, as it has been debated time and time again, the issue of Warp and the TOS BOP.
I say it had warp capability. It had to. However, one could say that the matter/antimatter engine was a copy of the federation design, and a crude one at best. The crystal used for the reaction was very inefficient, wasting huge amounts of fuel. Though the romulans were much better at tuning thier warp plasma to power other systems, llike weapons and such (the ships had an abundance of power, hence the ability to cloak), the engine itself gobbled fuel like it was going out of style, severely limiting the TOS BOP's range.
This takes care of the problem in "a day of terror", where scotty indicates the ship only had "simple impulse"....at that point that is all it had, as it was almost out of fuel, not enough to get the reaction going to go to warp. Only enough to menuver, and over the episode its tanks finally run dry.
Why point this out? Well, the guy that designed the ship was ousted for the design weaknesses. The new BOP (the Vdan) had a quantum singularity core, much more efficient, though still not as good as the Fed core.
So why revisit the design, a failed design in Romulan eyes? Well, Romulans were proud to serve on such a difficult ship to control, and truth be told only the best commanders were assigned to such vessels.
Now comes along the orignal designers son, and decides to exonerate his father, to show the design was sound. He redesigned the Vdan, created the D series ships, like the DDeridex, and made a name for himself.
Once he had enough clout, he revisited the BOP design his father made, and created this ship in his honor. He increased the size slightly, decreased the size of the shuttlebay, and equipped this ship with a matter/antimatter core, like his father had, with his improvements.
So, what does that mean? That means this puppy is fast...as fast as any Fed ship out there, a good match for the Defiant. Not as nimble as the Defiant, nor does it have as much armor or weaponry, but better shields, longer range and speed that matches the Fed escort.
So there you have it. Hope it didnt bore you.
Here are the latest pics, tell me if the cannons work for you guys. Remember, there isnt any smoothing applied yet.