Another take on the Ingram Class

[Jayru]

Ok, well I've posted comments on other peoples work - posted the odd finished picture (back before the site was rebuilt) - but never gone out on a limb and shared a WIP.

About six months ago I started working on making a version of the "Ingram Class", based on the plans and designs of Todd Guenther. The ship is his take on what the Excelsior should have looked like, and to be honest a far better looking concept, IMOO. For those interested copies of the plans can be found here >> Star Trek LCARS Blueprint Database - Star Trek Blueprints: U.S.S. Excelsior Ingram Class Plans. The picture quality wasn't so great on the site, so I went out on a limb and bought a set of the plans to work from.

Anyhow, after a few months work on mesh I kind of drifted away from the designs a bit when I started wandering what a refit version would look like. After all the Excelsior had some minor (but noticable) modifications in STVI - and the Ingram would have been about the same age. I didn't want make major changes, becasue then it wouldn't be the same ship - but I couldn't but tinker (ok, slapped wrist time). That and someone else is working on proper version of the ship (Tallguy, his wip thread can be found here >> http://www.scifi-meshes.com/forums/3...m-not-you.html

So here is my take on a "refit" version of the Ingram Class, or - if you prefer, another Excelsior variant. The main changes are that I've curved out the secondary hull, changed the nacelle pylons, and added some extra parts to the main shuttle bay, oh - and changed the shield grid on the lower saucer. Aside from that, I've tried to ramain faithful to the original design...

Still lots to do - including thinking about textures at some point, but let me know what you think. Just be gentle, this is my first time posting something like this...







** Addendum **

Sorry guys and gals, but I’ve had to start culling some of the images I’ve put on this thread to make space for new ones – which can be found on the latest posts about this project. So have no fear, there are pretty pics on this thread - just on the later pages

[Starship]

Certainlly it looks interesting...

[evil_genius_180]

I'm a huge Excelsior fan, but this ship is really cool too. Outstanding start.

[Jayru]

Here's some orthos...

Going to start working on the torpedo bay(/bays?) next...

PS: Cheers evil_genius_180 ... seriously I have been working (on and off) on this for 5/6 months... hopefully the pace will pick up...

[evil_genius_180]

The only thing I don't like about this ship are those thin nacelles, but that's not your fault, someone else designed it. I like thicker, meatier nacelles.

[Jayru]

Originally Posted by evil_genius_180

The only thing I don't like about this ship are those thin nacelles, but that's not your fault, someone else designed it. I like thicker, meatier nacelles.

I know what you mean, took me a while to get used to them, and I don't think mine are as thin as the ones on the plans. In context of the design I think it works. The refit 1701 has thin nacelles... this ship is just following that trend... I'm pretty confident that the nacelles on this baby are done, just need to be textured - but I'm sure I will think of something to add...

Closer look at the impulse deflection crystal thingy... pretty much finished. May play around with using a glass material, and building the room/section under it to add some depth... I certainly plan to do that with the windowed sections... although it will depend on how good I turn out to be at modelling as to whether I show the results

Off to do work on the torpedo bay... or watch a DVD... more as an when...

[Jayru]

Well, here's a take on the torpedo launcher details. Even with in hand paper plans some of the detailing is a little hard to make out, so I've based the design on what the refit connie has (which seems close to original launcher design for this ship).

Again, shifting away from the plans, I've reduced the forward launchers from three to two, but increased the aft launchers from zero to two (so the ships gained one extra torpedo launcher...)

Edit: added the fore/aft orthos so you can see how the torp launchers fit in...

[Starscream]

*sniff*

I love it so much I could cry! (but I won't) I hope you'll go for a Constitution-style texture set rather than anything similar to Excelsior. All those coloured panels never made any sense to me - and the situation got worse when we got handed the cr@pfest that was the Ent-E...

On the subject of nacelles, how about increasing both the width and height together? Their length seems fine, but if you increased the other dimensions it might suit the fore/aft views a little better.

[Jayru]

Originally Posted by Starscream

*sniff*

I love it so much I could cry! (but I won't) I hope you'll go for a Constitution-style texture set rather than anything similar to Excelsior. All those coloured panels never made any sense to me - and the situation got worse when we got handed the cr@pfest that was the Ent-E...

On the subject of nacelles, how about increasing both the width and height together? Their length seems fine, but if you increased the other dimensions it might suit the fore/aft views a little better.

I will be using a texture/colour scheme more in line with the refit connie. The base colour for this ship will be white.

I played around with the nacelles quite a lot trying to get the ballance right with the design. I didn't want to stray too much from the blueprints - which I kind of have now, but I wanted to keep the nacelle width more in line with the what the refit Constitution has rather then go for the porportions used on the Excelsior Class. There isn't a great deal of difference between the Excelsior nacelles and the Ingrams, aside from the width, the detailing on top, and the additional fins. Certainly the height looks right from the side - but as you say, from the front and rear it don't look quite right...

Have some ideas for some changes I could make to the nacelles. Strangly enough they are the one thing about this mesh that is spot on to the plans, but - as they say, in for a penny, in for a pound. I'm going to try and echo some of the design elements from the Constitution.

At the moment I am trying to sort out a cock up with the main shuttle bay. I've only just noticed that the curve at the back is missing - once I have that sorted I shall play around with the nacelle design....

I suppose I also should start thinking about the adding the shield grid onto the stardrive section, and the other shuttle bay/cargo bay doors....

[Tallguy]

Interesting. It looks like you've steered many of the details in a more Excelsior-like direction. The whole secondary hull, for instance. I'll be intrigued to see what else you come up with.

BTW, Todd Guenther had always intended the "refit" to eliminate the huge (failed) transwarp engines and replace them with standard LN-64 (Enterprise) nacelles. Mostl people think that this puts it way off ballance, aesthetics-wise, but he digs them.