Topic: WIP - Black Country class Frigate

[MajorRacal]

I was hoping to have this finished sometime over the next week or so, but I just busted the screen on my laptop so I'm stuck here until I get the replacement part.  Anyway, here's the Black Country class Frigate (a bow to your general neck of the woods FW  )

[GotAFarmYet?]

Looks good so far a few minor details you might want to recheck.

The windows are sized different on the Bridge compared to the saucers edge. Considering this is a frigate you might want to make the ones on the Bridge 20% larger and then scale the rim one to match. If you do the rim will only be a single level and not two, right now it looks like you vould get 4 levels in the rim from the small size of the windows. I think the larger window would do better as they would more closily matc hthe rest of the detailing on the ship. The ones on the lowetr saucer would also need adjusting.

Phaser banks look to small, and you should try them at a few sizes for the best look, try 20, 40 and 50% larger versions.

You did not run the grid pattern around the rim to the bottom so it looks better if you stop the grid before you hit the edge of the suacer.

The red line on the saucer top and the detailing under it should stop before the cut that follows the saucers rim. the little bit that goes past that cut doesn't look good.

You might also want to add a bit more details or a aztec pattern to the lower pylons that go to the warp drives. They loo a little to plain compared to what you did to the rest of the pylons.

You did a great job on the model itself, and most of the texturing looks good. I think with a little more attention to some minor details and you will have a outstanding model that will past test of time and look good for many games to come.

[Starforce2]

looks like a good start, gafy's suggestions seems to fit.

[MajorRacal]

Thanks guys, apart from the phasers, those points were all on my 'to fix" list, so that's one more (and I've still got a couple more firing points to add)... I'm going to completely redo the saucer gridlines, but I can't do any more work on her until I can repair my laptop... (I cracked the display yesterday morning, but a replacement part is on the way).  There are a couple of other details I've still to fix and work on too.

[Don Karnage]

where is the shuttle bay on that ship?

[Bernard Guignard]

very nice work there

[Kreeargh]

Sweet model  i love the design of those warps.

[GotAFarmYet?]

where is the shuttle bay on that ship?

Not Every ship needs a shuttle bay, pleny of military ships don't have helicopters on them as well. With a Transporter a Destroy sized ship would be better without them, rarily would they be tasked in a place that would need them.

[Norsehound]

I can see why most web forums require images to be maximum 800 pixels. If the side-scroller wasn't so far down there I wouldn't mind... :x

If you're going sans shuttlebays, you'll still need obvious external airlocks. Though not every Federation ship needs a hangar, all of them need ways for the crew and cargo to transit in large quantity. The transporter is a gift, but in the event that it goes down or needs repairs....

[GotAFarmYet?]

If you're going sans shuttlebays, you'll still need obvious external airlocks. Though not every Federation ship needs a hangar, all of them need ways for the crew and cargo to transit in large quantity. The transporter is a gift, but in the event that it goes down or needs repairs....

Not really the plans for the orginal Enterprise had large scale transporters that could handle 20+ ppl at a time. They also had cargo transporters that put items right in the storage areas. With a Destroyers 100-150 crew the 4 standard and 2 large transporters would be more than enough. Add that transporters could be multifunctional the cargo ones could be used for ppl and the ppl ones for cargo you have more than enough capacity. The need for orbiting bases is also not needed, as anything can be beamed from the planet. If we go by the orginal show alone the Enterprise was built using transporter like tech areas being held out of phase as they were worked on.

The transporters are also a better way to get ppl on and off. You can control weapons, personal, and any harmful microbes from getting in or out. Security wise it would be the better option, and except when constructed you would never really have more than 20% leaving the ship. Well except for combat losses.

[Atolm-Rising]

The ship does have a shuttle bay, its located on the dorsal starboard part of the saucer.
Also the ship doesn't have to have anything rescaled from the way that it is...the bridge doesn't need to be larger, nor do the windows have to be resized.
Its a common mistake to believe that ship classes denote size, which is totally not the case.  There are cases that a cruiser would be the same size as a destroyer or even a frigate. 
You don't need to be a "small" ship to be a frigate or even an escort.  its all about the equipment that is on the vessel in question.
So I think the design and its designation are fine, as are many of the details.

[Don Karnage]

where is the deflector dish on this ship?

[FoaS_XC]

where is the deflector dish on this ship?

Where's the deflector dish on the miranda? where's is it where the crew gets to the secondary hull on the oberth? where's the defector on pretty much any other race's vessels? why does this ship, the saladin, and the AGT galaxy break rule #1 of Roddenberry's ship design guidelines? why does the Nebula break rule #2?

Who Cares?!? Just enjoy the design.

The ship is great Racal. Keep up the fantastic work.

[Norsehound]

I'm aware of the cargo transporters.... but the issue of mass evacuation without transporters is still an issue. Since there are no obvious escape pods, how would the crew evacuate in the event of a main power failure?

[FoaS_XC]

I'm aware of the cargo transporters.... but the issue of mass evacuation without transporters is still an issue. Since there are no obvious escape pods, how would the crew evacuate in the event of a main power failure?

oh for cryin' out loud!   

[GotAFarmYet?]

A shuttle bay would not work either at that point. You could not depressurize the bay open the doors, close them, or repressurize it. and there would be no gravity either at that point so landing it would be out to. At that point the suacer is a life boat awaiting rescue

and good luck finding a working toilet

[GotAFarmYet?]

The ship does have a shuttle bay, its located on the dorsal starboard part of the saucer.
Also the ship doesn't have to have anything rescaled from the way that it is...the bridge doesn't need to be larger, nor do the windows have to be resized.
Its a common mistake to believe that ship classes denote size, which is totally not the case.  There are cases that a cruiser would be the same size as a destroyer or even a frigate. 
You don't need to be a "small" ship to be a frigate or even an escort.  its all about the equipment that is on the vessel in question.
So I think the design and its designation are fine, as are many of the details.

He can make them fit what ever size he want the ship, my point was that right now he has them at three different sizes and needs to make them uniform. I gave him my opinion on where to go with them but it is just that my opinion on it. He is the one who will ultimatily decide what he wants for it.

And I agree that it is the equipment that you want inside the ship that will decide on the size,a shuttle bay requires a large area internally. It was also proven that this class of ship has a bay, it was a fan design that put the bay there. In truth you could alway have a inflatable bay for a shuttle if you wanted to. It lands on the hull in a certain spot and the dome comes out of the hull and closes over the shuttle. You then inflat it and they can come and go from the shuttle.

I will disagree with you on one point though, Classification does denote a size, but since this is a fictional ship we don't know the true size. In any case even in trek a CA is bigger than a DD, and DN is bigger than a CA, etc.

[FoaS_XC]

Uniform scale helps with realism, definitely.
Class doesn't HAVE to impact SOME class designations. for example a frigate can be the size of a cruiser, but a battleship will likely always be bigger than a destroyer. It's a matter of degrees and not a matter of certainty.

As far as the model itself goes. I looked at it again, and I think its odd that the saucer has sharp edges, but the nacelle struts have such smooth organic shapes. I think that creates an aesthetic conflict.

[GotAFarmYet?]

Uniform scale helps with realism, definitely.
Class doesn't HAVE to impact SOME class designations. for example a frigate can be the size of a cruiser, but a battleship will likely always be bigger than a destroyer. It's a matter of degrees and not a matter of certainty.

As far as the model itself goes. I looked at it again, and I think its odd that the saucer has sharp edges, but the nacelle struts have such smooth organic shapes. I think that creates an aesthetic conflict.

The Saucer Cuts are fine I think as TOS ships often had Straight Cuts on a round area, that really is not issue. Where the issue sits I think is at the upper Pylon part that area should be straight lines at a angle from the hull say 30 - 45 degrees. The lower Pylon parts actually matches the Engines look and the cut out. Think it was a matter of maybe to much roundness overloading you, not really a conflict.

[FoaS_XC]

The struts are oversmoothed, it clashes. I would keep the design there, but make the geometry of the struts simpler.