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KJCs Work

kjc733

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Ah, constructive comments, thank you.

The Excelsior is a very distinctive ship. Personally I don't like the design much, it just isn't balanced the way I'd like. The saucer is too small, the secondary hull too long, the pylons and nacelles to long and spindly, it reminds me of a sailing ship seen out of the water - seeing the full depth of a hull looks unnatural because we're used to only seeing a ship to the waterline. Another part of the problem with the Excelsior is that it should have been a much bigger ship, but they scaled it down for the films as being too unbelievable (the opposite problem of the JJprise).

But it is all of these features that make an Excelsior an Excelsior. Because the base design doesn't necessarily flow right and it only looks "right" because that is how we expect an Excelsior to look, making small changes often don't work, and making big changes takes away from the Excelsior look.

It is a tough balancing act to "refit" a ship so that it retains the essence of the original but looks new and improved. In some respects the artists who made the Constitution refit had it easy as there hadn't been any other Starfleet design shown at that point - the refit therefore was acceptable, even though it is virtually a completely different ship. I think that if they had the task to refit the Constitution today it would have to look more like the original because it can't look like other designs.

Anyway, to your specific comments:
have given thought to maybe shortening the neck and the nacelle pylons? It would move the saucer and nacelles closer to the main body and achieve the "slipstream" look your going for.
You have hit the nail firmly on the head. The neck and pylons are the key to giving the Excelsior the streamlined look. Unfortunately, the neck and pylons are also key to the Excelsior look. Doh! So I compromised. If you look at the side by side comparison picture from 15th September, you can see that I've actually lowered the saucer quite dramatically. In reality there is hardly any neck left, it's just how I've reshaped the neck-hull interface that gives the illusion of a substantial neck. As for the pylons, the original pylons just had to go because they did not go with the almost organic look. I started off by recreating them but having the attachment point on the hull itself and then sweeping them back. Unfortunately this then contributed to the tall "sailing ship" look and in order to balance it better I had to space them out a little. Again, it's not by much, but because of how the pylon blends into the hull instead of a lump above the hull, it appears very different.
All in all, it took a lot of work to find a balance that I was content with (although not necessarily happy). The only reason I'm not still working on finding a better balance is because she looks positively evil from the upper forward quarter.
 

kjc733

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So, this year we celebrate 50 years of Star Trek... I figure that calls for something a little special.
So here we have the startings of my own Enterprise. No A, B or any other letters. The intention is to stay more or less true to the original, but to modernise it to fit better with the refit and the likes of the Ares and NX.
(I'll try to do better than the JJprise :lol2: )

As ever, I'm using Aad's ships as a comparison (and in this case a template to build around), although some parts are from my old Connie Refit that I never complete.
 

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Jetfreak

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I think its a rite of passage of sorts for a Trek 3d modeler to make their own spin on the classic saucer/drive/nacelle design. Nice work so far.
 

kjc733

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Finally figured out how to make a Connie fan tail :clap: I may be able to finish my Refit after all!
More importantly, new style deflector and dish.
 

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kjc733

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Back to the Excelsior (as I should probably try to finish it). I made a decision to go with a secondary deflector but changed the style slightly. I've also more or less finished the base textures. Now for the registry and glows...

EDIT - basic glows
 

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kjc733

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And more or less done. Some fine tuning of the lighting will be required for when I do some proper scenes, but that's for a later date.

EDIT - file didn't attach last time.
 

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marsneedswomen2008

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I can say good job. Interesting take on the Constitution class, sort of stubby compared to the canon design.
 

Jetfreak

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A classic design with a new lease on life, top work on the Excelsior Slipstream. :) The shorter nacelles takes some getting used to though, but definitely looks fast standing still.
 

kjc733

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Yes, the nacelles were a problem. The issue is the taper, if I stretched them as long as the original Excelsior nacelles then they just look silly. If I scaled up the nacelles then we get the JJprise effect and they look silly. I tried different designs but couldn't find anything I liked better.
Besides, the Excelsior nacelles are too long anyway :lol2:

-----EDIT-----

Anyway, the Dodwells is yesterdays news. Back to the Connie.
Some shots showing the changes I've made to the neck and nacelles. I like the buzzard cowling the JJprise has, they just went too big and didn't seem to serve any purpose. So on mine they're just a partial covering.
The bridge is a cross between the TOS and Refit Connies.
The deflector is also a crossbreed, I figure the dish is for comms and the deflector itself is the glowy bit - which is why the dish has cut outs. I figure it'll look a lot better when it is actually glowing.
 

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kjc733

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Thank you.
Another update on my Connie.
Added some support bracing to the neck reminiscent of the Refit (torpedo tubes are on the saucer). Added some detailing to the impulse drives reminiscent of the Ares. Finished the connection points for the deflector array to the hull, including a docking port. Started with the detailing on the nacelles. Still unsure what I'm going to do about the "blue glow".
 

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Aad Moerman

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Nice work, as always!
I feel a bit flattered that you often use my models for comparison.
 

kjc733

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Thank you.
I feel a bit flattered that you often use my models for comparison.
There are three main reasons:
1. You do astounding work. I'm am frequently amazed at the accuracy of your meshes whilst maintaining a low poly count. You sir are a master of low poly modelling, and I've learned a lot from studying your meshes.
2. You almost always package the .ms3d mesh in your releases. It's possible for me to convert those to .obj and import them with relatively little hassle. Sometimes I try to use meshes from BC, however I find there's almost always conversion errors and things don't line up.
3. Consistency. If I want to compare a Sovereign with a Galaxy (for example) I can get a better result if the meshes (and textures) come from the same source.
 

Aad Moerman

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Thanks, I hope to see more of your work. Do you use your model for a game?
 

Chiletrek

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Hello:
Aad, I totally agree with KJC, because of the quality and consistency :D .
 

Aad Moerman

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[QUOTE Do you use your model for a game?
Please, ignore this question. I found the answer at resources. (Should have looked!)
 

kjc733

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Some, not all. The Seeker for example has a version for A2. The Dodwells was built on request as a high poly (although not as high as it might have been). My new Connie is also being built for beauty renders. However as I work up from low poly to high poly if there were interest I can go back and make an A2 version.

EDIT - A splash of colour makes all the difference.
 

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kjc733

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After much procrastination, my Bird of Prey (now christened the B'Gin after a recently retired colleague) is now available in the Resources area.
 

kjc733

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Anyone remember this? Decided I needed a break from Star Trek.
 

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Hellkite

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Nice start to a Excalibur you got there KJC
 

kjc733

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Thank you, although while based on Excalibur it's actually a frigate designed to supplement the Whitestar fleet.
 

kjc733

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So I've been in an Ace Combat type of mood...
Obviously the love child of a YF23, a PAK FA/T50 and S37/SU47, the Eclipse GR1 is a two-seat stealth long range strike fighter to replace the Tornado GR4. Powered by a pair of EJ200 (or variants thereof) and featuring a pair of centreline weapons bays for bombs/Meteors and a pair of side launchers for ASRAAM self defence.
I'm also working on a single-seat F2 version designed for speed and agility, but I'm still working on the foreplane configuration.
(and no, I borrowed the pilot from the F35 mesh)
It's actually a lot harder than I thought trying to maintain all the correct angles and retain enough interior space for the equipment. I have new found respect for the F35 team.
 

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kjc733

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As I'm reading The Dilgar War (again) I felt in the mood for some Babylon 5. Surprise!
 

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kjc733

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A new secret project emerges from the Carpenter shipyards (so secret that not even Jetfreak knew about this one!).
The Envoy class, like her smaller cousin the Seeker class, has been designed from the ground up to make use of advances in quantum slipstream drive technology. Originally intended as a diplomatic cruiser to offload the Vesta, Sovereign and Galaxy classes from the arduous task of ferrying politicians, it was quickly realised that mass production of the new medium cruiser would be more economically viable than refitting the ageing Excelsior class.
 

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Hellkite

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Nice work as always
 

Majestic

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Beautiful work as always KJC.
 

kjc733

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So the painful process of mapping the Envoy is complete. I must stop making slipstream vessels, the flowing hulls are a pain to break into smaller parts.
Anywho, basic texture...
Not sure what I'm going to do about the shuttlebay (underneath the pylons), the flat right angle just looks a little wrong.
 

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T

TUB_Husker

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Nice Work. It looks very organic for me. A Question to Design and Slipstream, is a flowing hull a condition for slipstream?
 
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