Excelsior Class Concept Model 'Tweaked' Redesign

[calamity_si]

Hey all! Like a lot of you here its been a long time, but I'm finding myself being slowly drawn back into the Trek universe as news and images from the new film slowly leak out to the general public. I didn't really like the redesign of the Enterprise when I saw it first, but a the few glimpses of it in action have made me reconsider that opinion. Anyway, I've been checkin out some of the original movies, and I've gone back to my all time favourite Trek ship, the Excelsior to give her a bit of a redesign myself. After a lot of of research I found some pictures of the original concept models they made in the 80's and I've decided to tweak one of those designs to make it a bit more up to date.

I didn't really want to change the overall shape of the ship as I really am fond of it, but I've checked out some blueprints of a variant called the USS Ingram which has a neck section that sweeps 'backwards' rather than leaning forwards like the original. I liked that concept so I pinched it and incorporated it into my design. I then flattened out the bottom of the saucer so it didn't look so 'UFO' like and tidied up the impulse drive at the back of it. The secondary hull has been tapered to give it the sleeker profile of the original model and I've added the original's shuttle bay extention on the back of it. However, instead of having the rear bay being slightly raised as on the original, I've incorporated it into the main secondary hull.

I then added the original ship's blue vent on top of the warp nacelle and lengthened it out a bit, (without making it a ridiculously long as the Excelsior's) and then finally went on to adjust the warp pylons a bit. I'm happy as I think I've managed to retain the overall shape of the original whilst giving it enough 'tweaks' to make it stand out. I welcome all comments, good or bad. Cheers all!

USS Excelsior_Old_and_New_Comparison.jpg

[Aresius]

wow. So that's how the Excelsior first looked like?
Now that's fascinating to quote a pointy-eared science dude.

I like it.

[braveheart1701c]

The Excelsior study models were as cool as the final design. Like your tweaks, save I am not a fan if the "spin" going from command section to edge of saucer.

[Jayru]

It's a nice spin on the Excelsior design... I think the only thing I would "tweak" (change) is the the thickness of the hull going back to the shuttle bay... it's looks very very thin - perhaps needs to be beefed up a little.

Aside from that, it works very well. Nice take on the old concept ideas

[calamity_si]

Okey, thanks for all the comments guys.

Originally Posted by braveheart1701c

The Excelsior study models were as cool as the final design. Like your tweaks, save I am not a fan if the "spin" going from command section to edge of saucer.

Braveheart, I'm not too sure what you meant there mate about the "spin" going to edge of the saucer? Perhaps if you wouldn't mind giving me a bit more clarification on that, I might be able to address the issue...

Originally Posted by Jayru

I think the only thing I would "tweak" (change) is the the thickness of the hull going back to the shuttle bay... it's looks very very thin - perhaps needs to be beefed up a little.

No offence to anyone else intended here but Jayru you've done such an awesome job on the USS Ingram *gush* that your opinion on this model was especially sought after, so thanks for your comment. I tried to take what you said on board but when I attempted to beef up the thickness of the rear hull it ended up looking really odd. In the end, I've only managed to thicken it up a tiny bit and I hope it goes far enough to fix the problem. I've also stretched out the secondary hull a wee bit to sleek it out coz whenever I compared it to the Ingram it just looked too 'fat'! LOL!

I've also highlighted the addition of the blue dome windows on the inner surface of the shuttle bay as that was a feature of the original model that I really loved. (I hated the shoebox shape that they replaced it with in ST:VI) Anyways, enough geekery for one evening me thinks... Comments are again welcome peeps.

excelsiorstudy3-photo.jpg

[Jayru]

calamity - yep that works much better. I guess I was thinking along the lines of, how do people get to the shuttle-bay? (I tend to look at these things from a practical stand point, rather than just there look/style - yeah, yeah, yeah - I know, it's not real - but that's not an excuse to not think about these things lol).

I know exactly where you are coming from on the whole "beef up the thickness of the rear hull it ended up looking really odd" problem, lol. had that one myself for a very long time on the Ingram.

I think the shape of the Excelsior secondary hull is flawed in many respects, as it's not the most practical of designes... that being said, yes - Todd Guenther found a way to make it work, and yes, the actual build of the Excelsior kind of makes it work.

I think in terms of what you have done, it might be worth looking at a much bigger ship, bigger than what the Excelsior ended up being. This would allow your change to either be a high deck (say a deck and half high) - or two decks thick.

All that aside... it looks fab, and it is a nice spin on the old Excelsior concepts

[calamity_si]

Cheers Jayru I appreciate the time u've taken to comment on my humble ship. I added some of those little blue windows to give a sense of scale and going by those I reckon the 'corridor' to the shuttle bay would be about 2 decks thick. I've often pondered practicality of the design myself and if u think about it, the secondary hull is shaped very much like the hull of a boat so its not that impractical. I do agree though that other parts are downright awkward looking. Still, she is just so gorgeous to look at, who cares?! Lol! I'll try to add more views soon...

[Furyofaseraph]

If I may through my $0.02 in here: I love the excelsior, she's my favorite class of federation ship. I also like the concept ships, but except for one thing. I don't like the saucer moved back, it makes it look like the ship has a massive underbite, or a pidgin-like head. I do like what you're doing to it though, especially the lowered saucer.

[Jayru]

Originally Posted by calamity_si

Cheers Jayru I appreciate the time u've taken to comment on my humble ship. I added some of those little blue windows to give a sense of scale and going by those I reckon the 'corridor' to the shuttle bay would be about 2 decks thick. I've often pondered practicality of the design myself and if u think about it, the secondary hull is shaped very much like the hull of a boat so its not that impractical. I do agree though that other parts are downright awkward looking. Still, she is just so gorgeous to look at, who cares?! Lol! I'll try to add more views soon...

LOL, yeah, that's always the balancing bit on stuff like this - it's fiction, and not real.