Akyazi/Akula

[Basill]

The Perimeter Action Class ships Akyazi, and Akula were some of my favorite design elements in the Trek Movie era. Even though they were totally non-canon, they had all it took to fit in perfectly with the vessels they were meant to serve with. Thematically similar but with distinct enough elements to stand up and be counted.
I've been working in fits and spurts on this ship for over 2 years now in Lightwave, and thought I had reached a nice viable stage of presentation for a WIP thread. I was fond of several aspects of both the Akula and Akyazi, so I decided to blend my favorite features from either or. There is still much to do in terms of some basic mesh issues, detailing, and texturing, but here she is. Hope this works...


Also, she will be named the U.S.S. McCook, after the ship my father served on in WW II. Any thoughts will be appreciated. :D

[Enterprise-E]

Great model, i also like this ship. Only thing i dislike is the sucky bridge (the original design, nor your model's fault). And those advertising panels on it's nacelles are a little strange :-P

[exodus2310]

It's a lovely design. Great model.

[Aresius]

Enterprise-E, these platings are a protection against concentrated fire onto the naccelles... The Ayakazi-class is a Patrol-Fighter-Carrier and the Akula is a Patrol-Frigate...
Especially used to enforce borders... Borders towards the Orion syndicate, the Rhiannsu Empire and the Cardassians...
I myself like this idea alot... This gives them a better protected image...
;)

[Dallidas]

Enterprise-E, these platings are a protection against concentrated fire onto the naccelles... The Ayakazi-class is a Patrol-Fighter-Carrier and the Akula is a Patrol-Frigate...
Especially used to enforce borders... Borders towards the Orion syndicate, the Rhiannsu Empire and the Cardassians...
I myself like this idea alot... This gives them a better protected image...
;)

one question. if the shields fail, couldnt they just slice through the pylon holding the nacelle to the ship?;)

[Road Warrior]

I have always liked this one. Great job.

[backstept]

Akyazi is definitely one of my favorite designs. I was building one myself a year or two ago :D
is the Akula the one with the fugly giant dangly deflector thingummy?

fantastic work so far :thumb:

[Countdown5]

Great work... just wondering where the Akula in the title comes in? (Other then your like of it)

Are you planning a build of one? If so, I cant wait. Its one of the best ones.

[Starship]

Welcome on board ! Nice ship and clean modelling. :)

[Aresius]

one question. if the shields fail, couldnt they just slice through the pylon holding the nacelle to the ship?;)

oh, of course they can... But the platings cover the spillports grille that in turn covers the coils...
Look at all the takes where beam hits directly into the coils assembly...
The outcomes are ... explosive...

That's why the plating covers the naccelles especially...

[Basill]

Thanks for the comments. To answer some questions...

Countdown5 and Backstept- Akula is indeed the one with the "fugly giant dangly deflector thingummy" (My least favorite feature actually, and I won't include it) I think I leapt before I looked on that one. I guess I should have said Akyazi-Arbitor-Akula in the title because there are indeed elements from all these ships that I adore. At least in the schematics. (There are some crazy paint jobs I don't care for) She is indeed a total mix and match
Some quick examples:

Akyazi has the nacelle pylons spot on perfect, and I prefer her bridge to the successor classes.

Akyazi and Arbiter have longer central aft sections to their primary hulls. The more space the better I say.

I prefer the upward slope of the primary hull on the Arbitor and Akula to its opposite on the Akyazi (though I don't consider either "superior") I may even make a variant someday.

One version has a shuttle that rides along permanently docked in the little gap between the saucer and engineering sections. NEAT! I'm Thinking about going that route.

Phaser and Torpedo placement, hull plating arrangement and hatch details etc... Its like shopping at Ikea or customizing your car! Mix and match what you want! :D

Dallidas- About the shields. As far as I know, the ships that my mesh is modeled after are heavily enforced all over with shields this and deflectors that. in fact I think that is what that little fins on the connector-tubes do. The book that these ships come from have several different designs (and sub-designs) each with its own special little shield/deflector to protect certain areas (each with its own little brand name and model number) Its certain that if shields fail the ship is in trouble regardless, but strangely enough some even have contingencies for separation from the warp section of the ship! Backup impulse engines and the like. :lol: Its a total fan publication and the passion shows. :thumb:

As for my clean modeling Starship... Its all smoke and mirrors. ;) There are quite a few edges that need fixing, and some basic modeling chores that I still have yet to figured out how I am going to do.

Here are a few updates. I removed a piece of stand-in bridge I didn't realize was there when I rendered (forward angle), and I took out some colored hull plating I was experimenting with while trying to fake a little more sophisticated Aztec. All still a possibility Added a few of the limited number of view ports these designs allow for in the aft view. And finally gave a peek at the underside which is the last frontier for this ship. So far all the details are modeled not textured. I don't even want to think that far ahead. ;)

[MichaelS]

Oh, I like this one! I'm glad that somebody finally models it - it doesn't get nearly as much attention as it deserves.

[exodus2310]

So beautiful.

[aridas sofia]

Oooo... I like that first composition a lot:

http://www.scifi-meshes.com/forums/attachments/3d-wips/20571d1164728305-akyazi-akula-akyazi_exp33.jpg

It reminds me of Guenther's painting of one of those ships -- "Echo at Station Keeping".

Your ship is true to the spirit of the book, and sticks to the design vocabulary established for those ships. It's a harmonious blending of details that looks like it could fit in with the other ships.

Good work Basill! :thumb:

[Basill]

Thanks. Not familiar with those paintings but I LOVE "design vocabulary" :D

I have been working on her steadily for a week now off and on. I have some update shots, but I'll get those uploaded later when I get home from work.

[Eoraptor]

Will be great to see this finished... my poor Akazi mesh from ST:Australia just doesn't hold up under modern render standards. (same with my Cheyenne hint hint;))

[Basill]

Well, as promised, a few updates...

The first 2 were rendered using global lighting techniques. Took a good while to render each of them, but boy the difference. The 3rd was an on-the-fly just so I could show some of the details added to the underside since last week. That and the bridge is where most of the work has been.

Still some greeblies to add But most of the big stuff is modelled in some 1st stage at least. Textures... well... heh... later. :lol:

Some errors showing up around the bridge area... light seeping through some of the angles or something. I haven't nailed it down yet.

Enjoy. I'll try and get some shots of the details, but they don't hold up to scrutiny quite as well on Zoom mode. And some of the errors show up a lot more.

[aridas sofia]

Thanks. Not familiar with those paintings but I LOVE "design vocabulary" :D

I have been working on her steadily for a week now off and on. I have some update shots, but I'll get those uploaded later when I get home from work.

Todd Guenther, who designed the Akyazi etc and was the author of Ships of the Star Fleet, Volume 2, did this painting in the mid 1990s, the old way (no 3D modeling).

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n167/aridas_sofia/trek/AKYAZI-FINALForWeb-Copyright.jpg

[evil_genius_180]

Yes!! Akyazi rules!! I've always been a fan of this beauty, ever since I first saw it in a book years ago. And your model is definitely beautiful. Nicely done so far. :D

[Basill]

Oh darn! aridas sofia Your picture's not showing up! I may never get to see your inspiration for my model! ;) Being that he is the guy that authored that book (I totally didn't make that connection like a goober) I'm sure its great! Despite my love for 3D, I still love good-ole conventional methods.


Thanks again all for comments. She is coming along in strides and fits. right now I anguish over "greeblies" and I am wanting to do those lounges inside the windows, but I must stay on task. :lol: My true hope is to have her alongside Lt. Kevin Riley's Phobos someday. (I'm a big fan of "rendezvous imagery")

Here are some more images done up for a few new features- Ends of the nacelles, phasers on the upper impulse pod, and the greeblies on the forward torpedo area. They are definately still wip.

I am wondering if I should enlarge the recessed areas around the warp coils as they are very hard to distinguish in the images even though there are little "sockets" on either end of the blue glowey things... in most images they look like they butt up against their housings rather blandly. Bridge is still giving me grief too. Oh well. Enjoy till next time.

[DamienNZ]

What are the specs of this? Approx....

[Tallguy]

What are the specs of this? Approx....Bigger than a bread box? Faster than a speeding bullet?

Gilso Ship Schematic - Perimeter Action Ship's Akyazi Class (http://www.strekschematics.utvinternet.com/fanbprints/periaction/akyazi/akyazi.html)

[aridas sofia]

Oh darn! aridas sofia Your picture's not showing up! I may never get to see your inspiration for my model! ;) Being that he is the guy that authored that book (I totally didn't make that connection like a goober) I'm sure its great! Despite my love for 3D, I still love good-ole conventional methods.

Maybe this will work better:

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n167/aridas_sofia/trek/Echo-print.png

[Aresius]

looks great... weird and great... as if the ship would join an interstellar carneval truck...

I like it...

[exodus2310]

For some strange reason, my browser will only load up half a picture...

[MadKoiFish]

I think thats sfm pushing out large mamals again, its doing it to me off and on.

[Basill]

Oooo neat. Thanks aridas sofia. I can definately see what you mean about the angle of the composition. That's one of my favorite angles, mainly because of the single non-orthographic shot of the ship in the original book. Flipping through the book at one of my first conventions many years ago, that is the drawing that made me fall in love with the design. I don't particularly care for the exotic paint job, though I am curious if part of that is not due to some sort of "stealth" feature of the hull plates or if it is just a Federation starship stationed on the outskirts doing the "Custom-Auto" thing ala "The Flying Tigers." I find the concept of a crew individualizing their starship kind of interesting, but I probably won't take my texturing in that direction.

Tallguy, Thanks for the spec links. Couldn't have said it better myself. :D

[Basill]

Back from the holiday melee, I've added a few more details to the ships hull.

"Pay no attention to that workbee behind the cur... uh.. hatch!" On the ventral saucer hull, third ring from the outer rim, I've placed workbee bay doors similar to their placement on the Akula subclass. There are actually little workbees needlessly taking up polygons directly behind the doors! Of course I can't remember where I downloaded them, so until I can model a version of my own I'll just keep them there for "reference" ;)

Right next to them are "intelligence drone launch covers" also similar to the Akula but probably interpreted a little differently.

Onto the lower docking ring between the main hull elements, a little experiment is taking shape. In the source literature for this design, there is mention of one subclass which carries a single mounted shuttle. It is mainly for emergency escape, and has limited warp capacity, but it can do double duty for other purposes.

Still a lot to do on this model. It's been giving me a bit of grief. Similar to the Surak warp sled shuttle, (Hats off to Tallguy and your rendition) this version is more akin to the slightly smaller standard shuttle supposedly designed by Andrew Probert to go on Starfleet vessels. The Surak is much too large for this tight fit, but the smaller version has just the perfect amount of clearance. I've even been toying with modeling a smaller warp sled from one of Probert's conceptual drawings (the warp features on the shuttle in the book aren't quite as easy to discern) I haven't even begun to consider dedicated docking mounts (also in the book) integrated into the hull, which would be necessary. Docking collars are neat, but I doubt they are structually sound enough for permanant stowage. Naturally I will have versions with and without.

There are some other minor details I've probably added here and there since my last post that I've forgotten. Placed some ridges in the large hatches aft of the saucer, as well as a little interior for the upper observation lounge. More on that later. Happy Holidays! :D

[Basill]

Here are some images of the upper observation lounge I have been working on. Playing with radiosity, so they are a bit smaller and only the final image is anti-aliased. They are all self lit by various glowing panels within, or just a few scene-placed spotlights that correspond to the six recessed lights in the ceiling. It is still a bit dark and I want to brighten up some corners, but I still want the lighting to be subdued, being as this is an observation lounge that typically looks out into the blackness of space. The first is an early version with a blue based color scheme, which I will keep in some form as a variation, but I've put more details into the red carpet version, which I think has a warmer feel to it. I will be adding more finishing touches of course, maybe some plants and little drinking containers and such on the table tops, since I have a little greeny glowing bar like food/drink units in the corners by the doorways.

Happy New Year! :D

[AndyM]

Nice work, like the interiors,

A.

[NightShadow]

This is quite inspirational! Very clean lines. I hope you're as good at texturing as you are at modelling- some specularity on that hull would be a nice addition to give it more of that metallic look. Right now it appears almost plastic rather than something made of metal.

[evil_genius_180]

This is just awesome. The whole ship looks outstanding and those interiors are sweet. :D

[DamienNZ]

Was this ever featured on screen?

[MichaelS]

Sort of. It's included in the background of a video that's part of Star Trek Legacy.

[Starship]

That's nice !! Never saw a so detailed Akyazi !!!

[jadre]

Such good work, I like that you've chosen to go with the movie era on this one, I've been writing a story just recently set just after Enterprise and used the Akazi/Akula Class in that, see the attachments, as it could clearly used in both.

Would love to see your ship in space alongside the connie or in a battle with the Klingons!

One question though, Where's the ship's deflector array?

Your interiors are showing promise, really like that last one that looks like ten-forward above the docking port.

Your ship rocks! hehe

[Basill]

Thanks to all.

NightShadow: Alas, my experience in texturing is pretty limited, so she might look a little plastic for a little longer. None of the details on this model are texured yet. With the exception of a little contrast in specularity on the basic hull colors there are no textures of any kind. I will probably start with that in the near future. Right now I am concentrating on the interior. One experiment I tried on the interior was "baking" the textures and colors in radiosity onto the interior model. The results were less than promising at low end settings and high end settings take too long or crash the program. But at least I know how the process works now, and it might come in handy for more distant shots to fake the interior lighting.

DamienNZ: The ship was never featured on any episode or film, but as MichaelS mentioned She has been seen in various video games that simulate space battles, including Star Trek Legacy. (I googled it after I read his post ;) ) I found one video with the Akula class (with the big drop down deflector thingy) So it is clear that the class is something of a fan favorite.

jadre: The movie era is the only version of this ship that I am familiar with so that's why I went with that interpretation. The source materials are not canon, but I don't think they conflict too heavily with what was ever seen on screen. Of course canon isn't everything to me (I love a number of FASA designs- Canon Conflict Central ;) )

I too have been longing to see her next to a Connie or another common-era Starfleet ship. But I think she needs a lot more work before putting her with some of my favorites (or the few that I have)

About the deflector array, which do you refer to precisely? The navigational deflector is the glowy blue bar in the front above the torpedo tubes. As for the long droopy deflector array, seen specifically on the Akula subclass for combat purposes, I am not totally fond of this feature. Since this is a meld of my favorite features of all the Class/Subclass varieties, I chose not to incorporate it into this version. I really like to think of this particular vessel as a platform for intelligence operations (Mobile listening post, probes and drone launches, etc...) leaning more toward the perimeter aspects rather than the action, though they are not mutually exclusive.

Oh well, back to the fun on my last three day weekend for a time!

Happy New Year 2007! :D

[Aresius]

you, too...

ah... yes and : looks great...

[seanr]

I am really liking this model. I've always liked the ship design and this model looks excellent. I hope you'll post some larger anti-aliased shots of that interior. I'm also very much looking forward to seeing the model with a good set of textures added.

[Basill]

seanr: Oh great Guru of the Interior. So many of your shots have been inspiration to me over the years. Its funny you should ask for an anti-aliased image the very day I finish one in just under 9 hours. :eek:

Let you in on a little secret... You did some shots of a bridge for a ship you designed called the Nogura (I think) a few years back. Those images have always been how I envisioned the interior of this ship's bridge ever since I saw them. :thumb:

Oh well, ask and you shall receive...

The original image for this was done at 1024 X 768. A bit large and a bit dark, I played with it in photoshop and came up with this. Some of these features are a nod to Kevin Riley's Phobos VIP lounge which I played with a while back (played with lots of her insides really ;) ) Meanwhile, I will continue to tweak the model and the radiosity settings. Might try for another angle soon, but I can't afford the 9 hour lulls. I'll have to come up with some clever faking I think.

I also created an "orb light thingie" over in the aft corners to break up the bland and bring in some light. It shoots light up and down the wall, but I am starting to think it looks silly. I am going to change it to a flattened shape (like a wok on the wall) then have it just glow all around from behind. Pretty Trek standard really, but I love indirect lighting. Go figure. :D

[seanr]

You should have left that at 1024x768 - most of us have fairly large monitors so 800x600 looks like a postage stamp (mine is currently at 1400x1050). I render all of my bridge sets (final renders at least) out at 1600x1200 or even 2400x1800. Not necessary to render that large, but it makes them fun to look at, especially when you've modeled all the details right down to the bolts. :lol:

What you've got there is looking good. Might be a good idea to put some plants in the corners if you can get ahold of some decent plant objects.

[Basill]

Heh... I just put some plants into the model last night. Some freebie download from several years ago. I don't have a clue where I got them though, so in a way they were just place holders. Was worried about credits and all that. I've only done the quickest low res renders so far, but that is what I am concentrating on currently. I'll try and get something up shortly and I'll post that larger image when I get home from work.

[Basill]

Here are the larger versions- the original dark and the Photoshop adjusted. Best I can do in 9 hours. ;)

Now I go to make a tree.

[seanr]

Both look great! The only thing I don't like about the Photoshopped version is that you've dimmed the lights themselves down a bit so they look gray instead of white.

[Basill]

Interesting. I'm not sure I follow you. I'm wondering what makes them seem grey or dimmed by comparison when the Photoshopped version is actually brighter. I tried adjusting the contrast to compensate for brightening the image, but even with that some is always lost. Subsequently some depth is lost as well. Could that be what's causing it? Or does it just look grey on the surfaces?

I have to admit, my monitor at work shows things much brighter than my home monitor, almost to the point of washing things out. Its at the limits of adjustment at that (but its getting old anyhow.) But in the original version, there are some details in the shadowy corners not well seen on my home monitor that show up better at work. The photoshopped version does look pretty wishy washy at work.

I built a nice little house plant last night from scratch- mesh & UV map. Fairly simple design, but I'm quite pleased with it. Can't wait to get some good renders with it. More later. :)

[Basill]

Ok, some quickies. My first houseplant! :D

And a new angle experiment at the lower settings with some new features. The tweak will continue.

[aridas sofia]

Damn that is sweet. It looks so very TMP. As you probably know, Todd wrote about how the crews of these ships were given significant leeway to "express themselves" in decorating their ships -- graphics, motivational regalia, etc. You might want to try some of that here and there. He actually did a full color poster set that featured some of the "unofficial" graphics, though this being a new ship, you might come up with something of your own.

[evil_genius_180]

Awesome job on those interiors. I don't know what's more impressive, the ship itself or the rooms contained within. :devil:

[Basill]

Thanks. It seems I am in "Interior Mode" for the moment, so I will follow my "flow."

Here's a nice little 2-3 hour render (I was asleep and didn't remember to look at the final render time before saving) compromised for 1024 X 768, so its only anti-aliased to Med settings. I have added a recessed area with some more soft blue lighting to help reduce the harsh darkness, and to also aid in the definition of the rooms shape. I also added some cushions on the platformed seating.

[evil_genius_180]

That's another awesome render. :thumb: I really like the lighting in these.

[Nadesico]

Doesn't the Akyazi have some wierd massive crossbar thing that hangs down the ship?

[Basill]

Nadesico: The Akula subclass has a large "deflector pod" that hangs down, but my model has only a limited number of features from that particular subclass. This ship has my favorite features from all 3 main models in the book. I have chosen to leave out the "defector pod" on this particular model however. I might add some shorter toned down version someday, but functionality aside, its just not one of the more attractive features of this ship in my mind.

evil_genius_180: Thanks for the compliments. Lighting can be one of the most tricky elements when working in such arenas. I've been experimenting with some lighting for the bar area right under the viewports. Its just so dark, which makes for good viewing, but makes the area itself hard to distinguish. The Enterprise lounge in TMP had a few spotlights (during Spock's shuttle docking sequence), and I put a few soft dimmable lamps to help define that area. I based them on a neat IKEA lamp I bought a while back. I thought they looked kinda navalesque with brass next to the wood finish, but I'm not sure I like them. At any rate, I haven't decided yet, but here is an image. One of the 3 lamps is visible. Might need some adjustments, might just need to be nixed.

[jadre]

About the deflector array, which do you refer to precisely? The navigational deflector is the glowy blue bar in the front above the torpedo tubes. As for the long droopy deflector array, seen specifically on the Akula subclass for combat purposes, I am not totally fond of this feature. Since this is a meld of my favorite features of all the Class/Subclass varieties, I chose not to incorporate it into this version. I really like to think of this particular vessel as a platform for intelligence operations (Mobile listening post, probes and drone launches, etc...) leaning more toward the perimeter aspects rather than the action, though they are not mutually exclusive.

Im sure those starfleet enegineers figured out something, probably put some of the deflector milarky in to the sensor dome on the underside of the saucer!

Its just when you think starship, you think big glowing blue disc on the front of the stardrive or on the front of the saucer in the NX01's case. Looking at your design, theres various things that could be used and who's to say that the deflector has to be specifially like the Enterprise's one mounted on the saucer or stardrive!

Loving the progress of this ship, the design really does work!

[Basill]

A little something I whipped up this weekend. It will be nice to show off my cargo trains I built quite a while back... Until now they have been dragged by someone else's mesh (whose mesh I can't remember, and thus haven't used until now.) Now I will be able to open my workbee doors and show off its interior... when I build one of course. :D

[Eoraptor]

work bee's! gotta love em, great for set dressing.

gonna release em? *hint hint* ;)

[seanr]

Looking good. The bees usually have docking bays that they back into, though. Might want to doublecheck the blueprints to see if the author accounted for that.

[SnowCrash]

Always love to see ships with their aux vehicles

[Tallguy]

I'm loving the "buzz" on this mesh. (I crack me up.)

[Basill]

Thanks all. I hate posting when I don't have any new renders to add, but I have been spinning my wheels for the past few days on the home PC. I have been working slowly but surely on some corridor interiors that will serve this project and some others. ;)

I've done a lot of detail work on the bee too, mostly on the underside, which I hadn't even started when I posted those last images.

Eoraptor: I might release the bee especially if I do what I promise myself and make a better one. (or even finish this one-my notorious flaw) I'll just have to think a little longer on it. How do you guys typically decide whether or not you are going to release an item to the general public like that? Factors, motivations... all that? :confused:

seanr: As to the bee parking- To my understanding, workbees are stored on these smaller perimeter ships a little differently from how they do it on larger vessels with complete landing bays and facilities. There, they park into form fitting docks with exit areas separate from the main bay. This is obviously for easy access during open landing bay procedures, presumably to save time and effort from having to pressurize and depressurize the main bay and such. With this airlock scenario they work essentially like the ring dock shuttles and travel pods, though they are probably less universal. These perimeter action vessels have no landing bays, and are notably rare if they even have an auxiliary craft in permanent park as I have made this model. I suspect they have no need for such a specialized parking setup, though I will continue to skim the parent info. The only reference I've found in the book are the different places where the individual subclasses park workbees. These are in the schematics and are referred to as, "workbee stowage." Some have them in the lowest aft section of the saucer on either side of the torpedo launcher(s.) Others have them on the ventral portion (p/s) of the saucer near the bow. I have exterior hatches modeled in all these same locations, I just haven't decided how many work bees I want (at least 2, maybe 4...no more than 6.) I have already designated the two forward hatches will house the minimal two, but the other locations might serve another purpose eventually. In this last render I just opened some doors I know to be there and stuck them in for show and scale (which still might need tweaking.) I suspect I will use this area for something other than work bees in the end, probably small cargo bays. More information than you needed I'm sure. ;)

SnowCrash: Me too! :D

Tallguy: Uh... hmmm. Boy I'm glad you build awesome meshes! ;)

I'm looking forward to getting some more renders in the near future. I have a new system and some hardware I'm about to install soon that might improve my render times (if only by a tiny margine) We'll see. Meanwhile, I'll try to get some render stuff for my next posting.

[Eoraptor]

yes, bee's have a sort of cradle they dock into; a combination clamp/recharger that rings them just above the upper edge of the windshield (space shield? no wind in space). but no human-sized dock on the back... just connectors to attach to the various attachment sleds. if my Mr Scott's Guide to the Enterprise wasn't in storage,. I'd upload the images it has, which are excellent.

[Basill]

Exactly Eoraptor. Perfect description. Much better than my overblown version. I tend to think this smaller class probably doesn't need the cradle for entry/egress and all that, but the connections for charging and or refueling wouldn't be a bad idea, not to mention just something to hold it in place. I might work something less complex up. I looked in the deck plans of the book. The Akula subclass are the only full deck-by-deck set provided , and they show the workbees in the forward ventral stowage (p/s) bays. From the looks of it, the workbee is just sitting on the hatchdoors which might double as a floor in that area, but that's probably just for the clarity of the deck plans. There might be some sort of clamp system set up in the ceiling area. I also happened to notice... the doors where I have rendered the workbees are in fact the same place the Akyazi puts her workbees, so accidental bullseye there. All the other subclasses have spare impulse engines in that area (bleah.) It is the Arbiter that places them on either side of the aft torpedo launchers.

So not much rendering done but here is a little something. An early test of my new corridors which may come in handy in the background for this ship (tried another render after I had added more elements to the scene and upgraded the render settings, but I had too much going and crashed the program.) Also, a new render of the workbee from below, with greebles starting to flourish.

[Tallguy]

Terrifc! Are those details on the original workbee model? Definitely an "if it ain't, it oughta be". (Oughta bee?)

[Trekcross]

I REALLY need to hang out here in the WIP area more. Fantastic work! The Akira Subclass ships is one of my favorite trek books, and as a Fellow FASA Fan, one of the first ones I created stats for :cool:

Let me know when it and the Phobo's fly Side-by-Side, I think would make and awsome Wallpaper.

[USS Mariner]

Here's the reference for the Workbee "socket." (http://www.probertdesigns.com/Folder_DESIGN/LandingBay-3.html)

[Basill]

Alright Tallguy, that one actually made me snicker... a little. ;) As to the details, I have very few references of the actual filming miniature, but I do have images of a fan produced resin model (Federation Models I think they're called.) The details on the bottom of that kit were pretty neat, so I followed their lead to some degree. There are also a number of other people that have made pretty nice bees here and there on the net, and so I have those few images to reference as well. Mostly just some idea dipping.

I've actually got that image of the workbee socket USS Mariner. (Socket, THAT's the word I knew I liked ;) ) I've even built something similiar in another project I am working on. I probably won't go with the full socket mechanism on this ship, for the reasons I mentioned, but I will adapt some sort of clamp for the recharging and parking. Still deciding on that one though.

Here is something I threw together a little while back, but has been tugged by someone else's bee until this point. ;)

It may have little to no role in the Akyazi's day to day functions, but it seemed a perfect fit. :D

[Starship]

That's a cool one, no doubt !

[Basill]

Minor update. Not too obvious but I did spend a bit of time with the ship this weekend. Mostly modeling corrections as I haven't yet geared up enough to tackle real texturing. I think I need to do a whole separate experiment with some texture images before I commit too much to the ship itself. I'm still very inexperienced in that area.

What I did manage is subtle. Played around a little adding some slight shade differences on the large "eggish blue" sections by offsetting colors and specularity just a tad. Still, it's temporary and experimental.

I did create a little "cradle" for the workbees. They fit the lower angular portions of the front half of the craft. There are also "bumper" pads and a small sunken area in the middle where clamps can reach up and attach to some portion of the bee's underside details. Still early and the details are few, but I thought I would go ahead and show a wide shot with them. I also added some details to the light/sensor area just below the bridge. The lack of detail there was just annoying me and it looked too bright. (some of that was bad glow settings in the renderer) The spotlight I used there is how I intend to proceed with future renders.

The biggest challenge was the lounge area, which until now has been a separate file with only a small excised section of main hull for use as a guide. The original windows (indeed the whole area itself) were relatively low polygon, but worked fine at a distance. As I built the interior up, the sharp cuts of the window area bothered me more, so I redid the whole upper area where the windows were. The window curves are now smooth at the top and bottom. Of course, I only really needed it for the interior shots and close exterior shots, but I decided what the heck... I'll try and reincorporate it to the main ship. And voila! :thumb: reincorporation, required alot of tweaking in the area of connection, but it ended up being a godsend, as I was able to correct some minor defects in those areas anyhow. As a result the top of the connector pylons had to be moved up a tiny bit, and thus the entire engineering section and some details, but it's still close to the dimensional limits.

Takes alot of memory hooking the two projects together, so I will definitely redo some interior features to lower the polycount for far off shots like these. It's also not lit the same, but this is the first use of the lounge with the ship as a whole! :D

[Eoraptor]

now that is a very elegant solution to the workbee, say that they just have magnetic locks holding them down and be done with it... I never would have thought to put them on something that sma,,, but as a perimeter action vehicle, it's so blatantly obvious for re-floating (re-spacing?) damaged vessels like an interstellar triple A that I am now kicking myself

[Road Warrior]

Basill....Im not as well versed in Treknology as some people on here however.....I have always liked this ship. You have constructed the finest example that I have ever seen.

[Basill]

Eoraptor Exactly. Going it rough in the border areas, I've always thought that a nice complement of the bees would be of prime need- That as well as any unanticipated upgrades or adjustments to the ships monitoring equipment that might be warranted by special missions.

Road Warrior Wow, thanks. That means alot. I've been in love with this ship since I first saw this book at a convention. Had to wait a few years before I found the book again and made sure I bought it that time. I myself have only seen one or two 3D versions that ever did the ship justice. One was a fellow on SciFi Meshes before the crash, which I'm not sure was ever finished. I don't recall who that was however. The other was by a guy who went by Nova Designs. It was several years ago, and his Akyazi was pretty amazing to me, although I always thought his nacelle pylons were a bit blocky. Every other feature was so beautiful, and I was motivated to try something as well constructed as his. Of course I've come to realize the fun of these things are that they're never totally finished. :D

And here are a few quickies I made to show off the work bee bay I promised myself I wouldn't spend too much energy on. Luckily I was able to borrow detail elements from that other project and plop them down here and there inside the bay.

[Road Warrior]

I remember seeing the book you are refering to in a Barnes and Nobel years ago. For some reason I didnt get it( just being an idiot on my part, no doubt). I never saw it again. I fell in love with the design the moment I saw it. I think my first reaction was "Cool! a Federation 'Coast Gaurd' cutter!" I think what drew me to this ship so much was its smallish size and smaller crew compliment. Always thought she looked designed for buisness too. Ha! When I was little I could see me and some of my buddies from school serving aboard a ship like that.( I think we were privateers though)
Basill...she looks great.:thumb:

[Hellsgate]

http://www.scifi-meshes.com/forums/attachments/3d-wips/22684d1167451124-akyazi-akula-exp61.jpg

I ~love~ this design but I'd like it just *slightly* better if it was upgraded post-"Endgame" with the secondary hull from the U.S.S. Insignia / Insignia-Class & entirely different nacelles & supports. That, IMHO, would ABSOLUTELY make this design the next "Defiant Pathfinder-Class".

[Basill]

Sorry, my brain is fried after this little experiment. But I ask, does she look a little more metallic now?

2 angles to show the specularity a bit better. Good nite sleep tight. :lol:

[Starship]

Looks good, but I suggest you to decrease the panels of the aztec patterns. ;)

[seanr]

Looking great. I REALLY like that pod bay. Also, the corridor looks good, but is a little too TNG. The light panels should actually be translucent plastic all the way around (including the curved top and bottom). They only made the top and bottom of those panels solid for TNG and later. Here are some screenshots:

http://www.webolutionary.com/startrek/corridors_tmp/stcor_01.jpg
http://www.webolutionary.com/startrek/corridors_tmp/ (http://www.webolutionary.com/startrek/corridors_tmp/)

[MichaelS]

I'm following this thread with interest (not only because this ship is one of my favourite Constitution-based fan designs, but also because it seems to become an all-encompassing project). May I ask if you still need work bee references? I did a quick google trawl today and found some I hadn't seen before. Since I plan to tackle the work bee in 2D sooner or later, I need as much ref material as I can get, and I'm happy to help out other people who have the same problem.

[Basill]

Ok. Brain rebooted. First work day of the week... over. :D

Thanks to all.

Starship: I'm assuming you suggest I decrease the size of the panels themselves? They will probably become smaller as I refine the maps I used to create them.

Sean: Wow, I just started capturing shots from the DVDs myself, but there are a few there from TWOK that I hadn't yet thought to reference. Thanks! :D

The render I posted before was one of my earlier shots, and I have since eliminated the light panel borders. What's funny is, when I first modeled it, I knew the TNG panels were different, but thought it was because the TNG panels were light on the bottom half and metallic on the upper half.

With my captures, (and now yours) I have even noticed some of the upper framing and stuff hiding in the depths of the ceiling. Might cause some scaling issues with a few of the projects I have already committed corridors to. They are especially noticeable in the bright corridor scene immediately after the transporter accident. One standout feature (Bottom image on your captures) is the ceiling panel that, unlike the wall units, seems to run uninterrupted for the length of the corridor... until it reaches one of these radial-concentric cross walks. There it simply flat-ends just past the frame work, and it sort of bothers me aesthetically. I am experimenting with bringing mine down to that level, and I have yet to add the little sunken ceiling monitors. And tell me, are those light panels warped or what? Details, details... ;)

MichaelS Thanks for your interest. All encompassing is right! I'm at a stage where I find my attention wandering to multiple projects simply because they are all related in the Federation way. I have been working on a shuttlebay/cargo bay (among other features) for my copy of the Phobos by Kevin Riley. It's just been a fun little project I've tinkered with for a few years now, but I've found a great many of the interior elements easily lend themselves to a sort of "cross-pollination."

As for workbee references, I never turn down a good reference my good man! :D My cargo containers were derived from a black & white diagram someone scanned from a published fan work. For my workbee I used images off the Ex Astris Scientia site. But if you have something else I have not laid eyes upon, I would more than welcome it. Especially of the backside or underside of a workbee. And do let me know if I can be of any assistance to you in your projects. :D

[MichaelS]

Here are the images I think will help you the most. Enjoy! :D

[MichaelS]

And some more ...

[Basill]

Ooo thanks. I have a few of those I used for reference, but I definately like that one with all the effects guys sitting around the shop working on the models. That's the best detail I think I've seen of the cargo sled miniature (outside of the films) I might just redo the top portion of the workbee's attachment to the sled.

Road Warrior: Sorry I didn't respond to your last post... I just wanted to say "Coast Guard cutter?" Wow, that is a pretty neat analogy I never thought of. (at least not consciously) But it does actually fit rather nicely in a way. I too love the smaller nature of the ship and crew. I've also seen it as not unlike a submarine.

Here's a little something I began rendering and then ran off to bed... I know I reved up the juice a little too high on this one, but the initial low rez renders seemed sooooo dark. Looks like I have some tweaking to do on the lighting, but I can at least show off my little detail and the angled side of the concentric corridor (which is distinct from the radial sections.)

Second image is mostly for show and I figure seanr might get a kick out of it. The philosophy behind the design, as well as the details planted in the workbee bay, come mostly from the airlocks on the underside of TMP era Federation saucers. Kevin Riley put the outer doors on his Phobos... and this just invites experimentation. While working on an internal cargo bay, I needed to know how much clearance I had for a sunken floor in that area... Naturally I went all out and created this. I don't want to digress too far from Akyazi, but as MichaelS said, its "all-encompassing." For me anyway. At any rate, it will sort of be the design basis for the workbee hold on the underside of the Akyazi's saucer.

Good day!

[Basill]

Ok, update on the corridor. I brought the global illumination down a bit on the corridor. Also added a few details and a doorway. I still think its too dark. Need to learn how to refine my light settings a little more.

Second is another closer version of the airlock. Those are the only 2 serious images I've rendered of this feature, so I figured I would go ahead and post it.

[seanr]

Try turning down the brightness of the lights bu increasing the GI. There needs to be a lot more bounced light to help lighten up the walls a bit.

[Road Warrior]

We think alike Basill.......:thumb:

[Basill]

Well, another weekend turns to quicksand and Monday looms on the horizon. I spent most of Saturday working on my version of the Northampton... hopeless pile of bogus frak as Scotty might say.

But tonight I managed to get somethings together.

First is a nice take on my previous corridor efforts... I keep trying to dim this and brighten that, but nudging settings ever so delicately is still time consuming for me right now, even with low res images. But, I actually managed to blend two seperate images in Photoshop... one rendered with no shadows and came out a bit too bright... and the other with shadows that rendered too dim... they came together pretty darn well, if you ask me.

The second is a peek around that corner to the left... after a full reorganization of the elements and some additional details mind you. After studying more screen caps, I see there is a pattern of long segments and short segments. The short ones in effect "bookmark" the door jams, and they lack the little straps visible on the light covers at the base. Turns out there is only one long segment in the radial turbolift corridor seen in the ST II images Sean provided. The Motion Picture was fond of using short corridors and forced perspective background images to lengthen the appearance of its radial corridors.

Lastly a little tinkering with the details of my running lights. This was sheer fun I did on Thursday night while watching Smallville. Still having some difficulties, especially with the red port light, but I find it promising.

Enjoy... Monday grind awaits.

[Tallguy]

Shiny.

Did the TMP sets have deck letters, or was that a TWOK addition?

[Basill]

TWOK addition based on what I've seen. TMP had turbolift symbols with numbers below. They appear stenciled, black on background, onto the bulkhead just to the right of the door. TWOK put signs, which look like big sticky labels, directly onto the door with letters above the label (all white on red- the letters possibly stenciled.) These signs were also larger.

The turbolift symbols were essentially identical, but in TMP all the stylized symbols for just about everything were encapsulated within a border. The artist Lee Cole did a fantastic job on all these. <longwinded response complete> :p

[Aresius]

they're pretty good, the lights...

I like the interiors look...
fits very realistically into the era...

[Starship]

Can you teach us a bit about the lights ? Appers that you d&#237;dn&#180;t place a omni over the dome simply... Looks like the light comes from inner the domes, especially the green one.
Never saw a so detailled Akyazi/Akula. You&#180;re building a GREAT mesh Basil !

[GuitarEC]

Just a quick observation:

Shouldn't the overhead pad / ridge end before the door slot in the frame? This would allow for a pressure door to close (similar to the one seen in TMP just after the launch sequence - when the guy slips through as it's closing).

Just my casual observation. Great job with the modeling - I was working on a similar environment in Blender.

Eric "GuitarEC"

[Basill]

Starship:I can try and explain a little (assuming I remember how I did any of it.) My platform is Lightwave, so that is how I understand the settings.

Yes, the lights are point lights, I'm guessing essentially an omni for Lightwave. It is inside the dome and has shadows turned off but a limited range. Each light has pretty much the same color as the globe it's inside of, though the red is slightly lighter. Intensity for green is 100%, red is 200%.
I think the key is the lensflare setting which is turned on for these lights but I am still experimenting with them as well. Only the central glow is enabled and I haven't decided whether I like the little streaks or not yet.

The globes or domes are modeled with the ribbed shapes, and their shaders, while different colors, have the same settings of:
Luminosity 100%
Transparency 10%
Refraction index of 1.1
Translucency set 100%. (though I am thinking that has no effect as I experiment further)

They are set to glow at 1% for the green, and 2% for the red. Glow settings tend to be a personal prefence I figure.

Also inside the globe is a half capsule shape representing the bulb for all intents and purposes. It is pure white with a luminosity of 500%. The lights are inside the top portion of this "bulb."

Hope all that made sense.

update of image and a behind the scenes screen cap.

[Basill]

Just a quick observation:

Shouldn't the overhead pad / ridge end before the door slot in the frame? This would allow for a pressure door to close (similar to the one seen in TMP just after the launch sequence - when the guy slips through as it's closing).

Just my casual observation. Great job with the modeling - I was working on a similar environment in Blender.

Eric "GuitarEC"

I thought that would make sense too when I started modeling this, but since I started researching screen caps and such it appears that is not the case. There is actually no door slot in these frames, just little ridge/indentions. Every frame has them. Still, it bothered me too, because it just stuck out and looked silly to me. Nevertheless, at these junctures where the radial corridors and the concentric corridors meet, the pad/ridge for the concentric corridors continue on through and the radials dead end, but they stick on into the crosswalk past the frame. The closing pressure door you refer to in TMP is the main door to engineering. It is in its own bulkhead at one of these junctures and is just opposite one of these radial end points. Some screen caps

The first one shows the blue engineering corridor... you can see the bulkhead and doors just to the left and right in the forground. This is the same door the crewman slips through. The ridge end is just visible in the top of the image. The second image clearly shows how the rails end at some length beyond the frame.

[GuitarEC]

Okay - yea I see it. Just thinking from an engineer's standpoint you'd want pressure doors at those key junctions in case of decompression - but I can see you going for a conical representation.

I'd love to play around with your corridore lwo when you get to the point to where you think it's complete - to compare it with mine.

Let me know,

Eric "GuitarEC"

[harrisw]

Maybe the groove in the doorway frame is for a force shield and not a sliding blast door.

[GuitarEC]

Well, then wouldn't the force-field emiter need to have clearance just as a door would?

My understanding is during the TMP days, Force field generators for that use were still restricted to large scale usage (Shuttle bay / cargo decks scene for instance) because of the size requirements of the equipment. As we move to TNG (and the beginning of Generations) the equipment became more compact / advanced and was avle to be more readily used in that regard.

Of course, all this is conjecture... ...but it's still fun. :D

Eric "GuitarEC"

[Basill]

Was working on upgrading and refining some of the wall greeblies for the workbee bay by researching some versions from TMP and TWOK (the airlock room and the Starfleet Academy simulator hallway- see pic below)

While doing this research, I discovered that the airlock room from TMP was a set actually intended to represent the elevator/airlock seen later in the film, when the lead cast exited to communicate with V'Ger. This totally sidelined me of course, and I ended up reproducing this version of that set. Of course I still need greebles for the wall behind that door, but that is in the works now. :D

This render version is more like the darkly lit scene when Spock nerve pinches the technician to sneak out of the ship. Since I had already constructed the corridors and my Akyazi has these personnel hatches at various places on the upper hull (even the book's deck plans show rooms loosely based on this design) this set doesn't seem too much a stretch for an interior. This Enterprise configuration however, probably won't fit into the ships final internal arrangement. But it was a nice study and has independent elements that can be easily shifted around like the corridors. (And I still have greeblies to mod!)

Images are: Greeble reference,
One medium res render (best to date) and,
New test angle. Crappy rez, but still experimental. Tis the price of a slow system. :(

[Basill]

Well, then wouldn't the force-field emiter need to have clearance just as a door would?

My understanding is during the TMP days, Force field generators for that use were still restricted to large scale usage (Shuttle bay / cargo decks scene for instance) because of the size requirements of the equipment. As we move to TNG (and the beginning of Generations) the equipment became more compact / advanced and was avle to be more readily used in that regard.

Of course, all this is conjecture... ...but it's still fun. :D

Eric "GuitarEC"

Yes, I totally agree on several points. TMP era force fields were probably still not a refined as TNG standards, and conjecture is quite fun.

Also... I noticed another "clearance factor" in door/shields that might be relevant. The early movie corridors had a little kickplate feature that ran the perimeter of the entire floor area. I'm not certain yet if I want to include this feature in my corridors, but as far as clearance issues it ran right across every frame member and only stopped at the edge of door entrances.

What I find interesting is that there were apparently 2 types of these in TMP. One with rails, and the other with metal plating sporting a hole pattern. I think they are both in TWOK as well, but the corridors tend to be darker and a little harder to make out.
Interesting enough to experiment with. Maybe later.

P.S. Done some corridor work GuitarEC? Work in Lightwave? I think I could be interested in a mutual trade arrangement. Compare and contrast can be as fun as conjecture. ;)

[seanr]

What I find interesting is that there were apparently 2 types of these in TMP. One with rails, and the other with metal plating sporting a hole pattern.Actually, I think they were all the hole pattern. The ones you're seeing as three rails are all an optical illusion which is the result of them being seen from a shallow angle in screenshots of insufficient resolution, and often containing a bit of motion blur. I think you'd be safe making all of the kickplates have that hexagonal hole pattern in them.

[Lonewriter]

this is a sweet design.

[Basill]

Actually, I think they were all the hole pattern. The ones you're seeing as three rails are all an optical illusion which is the result of them being seen from a shallow angle in screenshots of insufficient resolution, and often containing a bit of motion blur. I think you'd be safe making all of the kickplates have that hexagonal hole pattern in them.

Well, actually that thought crossed my mind, albeit briefly... Upon closer inspection, that makes a lot more sense. :D In some shots, I can actually see the "shadow" border between the individual holes, those that don't show as well as the straight line "beam" that seperates individual rows of holes. It also explains what I thought in a few images were transparent materials showing specularity and reflecting at certain angles. Its just the reflectivity of the plate itself. Neat.

Oh well, I thought it could be a neat method to help add to the distinction between levels, much like the change in lighting and color between the decks of engineering, transporter ,and personnel quarters. Though I thought rails were slightly more classy than the plates, I guess I'll go back to deciding whether I want them at all. They were absent from TNG all together, but I am definately leaning toward that TMP era design philosophy. Really helped them feel like ships to me. We'll see.

[Basill]

Here's a medium res, with a few more details and a different angle. For the control panel, I drew up some graphics in Photoshop and modeled some control buttons.

Seems what I posted yesterday as a Medium res image was in fact a low res antialias, it was just larger. I realized that when I had this medium one to compare it too. That and it took a great deal longer to render. I usually use smaller images at no antialias or low res for experimentation, but I must have forgotten to up the ante when I upped the image size. Added some details at any rate.

I still have no idea what those monitor things are in the little room behind the window. So I have put off making up images for mapping yet. Still researching screen caps. There still needs to be some other little details, and of course greeblie room and elevator platform.

[MichaelS]

That's absolutely gorgeous! Do you plan to follow Todd Guenther's deck plans for the Akyazi, or do you want to do your own thing?

[Nadesico]

nice that corridor looks excellent. can we see a wireframe?

[Basill]

That's absolutely gorgeous! Do you plan to follow Todd Guenther's deck plans for the Akyazi, or do you want to do your own thing?

Thanks! Since I've already taken liberties with the book's designs and modeled a variation on all the ships, I'll probably have to do my own thing, even though it will still be based on the book. The airlock/elevator will probably be very similar to the deck plans, though maybe in a different location.

[Basill]

nice that corridor looks excellent. can we see a wireframe?

What kind of wireframe do you mean exactly? A rendered frame or a screen capture of the mesh in modeler? Any particular angle?

Here are a couple of renders to start. I find its kind of hard to make out details, unless I have the freedom of movement, but your welcome to pore over these.

[newman]

Damn, I love Star Trek interiors! Looking great!

[Tovette]

damn. These interiors are looking great. I hope to see more of the ship!!!

[Basill]

Haven't been up to much lately. Installed a new operating system, so I've been steadily rebuilding my kingdom.

Not much to update, but I did start a little on the ships name and hull numbers. Tons of texturing left to do however.

ta da

[Aresius]

nice, though I think the scripting is too big...
anyway I like the ship...

[Road Warrior]

Looking great Basill

[Basill]

Here's an update to the airlock elevator room I have been dreading, but many an hour later and it is done. I put some graphics in that back room, to the best I can discern, and finally got a render out. There is another done to highlight the panels. There is no global illumination (the render killer) and it is rather dark, but let's just say it's the wee hours shall we? Someday soon I hope to get back to more modeling in earnest. :D

[Basill]

Little bit of fun...

Ok, I took Aresius's advice (a little) and reduced the size of the ship's name a bit, though not to the size of the examples in the book. I left the numbers as is however. Overall I thought the hull scripting in the book was a bit too small, especially considering the smaller size of the ships to begin with. I like the idea that a larger script can help illustrate the smaller scale of the ship itself, especially when near another, larger, Federation Starship. Not that hull numbers are meant to take on this task. Pic 1 shows this change, as well as some added hull detailing to the saucer's rim and the upper area around the bridge. Those new hull details are just color/spec changes to the model's polygons, and probably just temporary until I can dive into some new maps.

Also started playing with light placement for future scenes, thus the remaining pics show the ship in a mostly self-lit mode. After modeling the structures that will produce spotlights, it is just as important to know if where you put them will yield anything close to what you imagine. I placed the nacelle's forward light-well a little off-centered compared to the graphics in the book, but I still wasn't sure exactly what it was supposed to illuminate. I also knew I needed a Starfleet Pennant somewhere on my ship, but I couldn't find a location that suited me.

When I started thinking about what the light should focus on, and where I wanted a pennant, I just came up with a nice compromise. Pennant is on both sides. I left out the ships name and registry since that info will eventually be just forward of this on either side of the main docking port. Obviously, I need to do some work on the deflector rings around the rim.

Lastly I made a nice texture for behind the impulse grid. Global Illumination to show how it glows.

Enjoy, and please let me know what you think about the pennant placement. Its really just a test in a way. It is modeled into the hull, although the lettering is a floating texture. I've saved back up sections of the hull in case I decide against it, but I really like it even though its unconventional. (Honestly I couldn't find a "conventional" location for it) Either way, I knew I had to have one and I definitely don't like it on those engineering struts.

[Basill]

Long time no post. Jumped back into the hobby recently and thought I would play with some stuff I've worked on for a while.

I created some new greeblie walls based entirely on some moldings used extensively in the first 3 Trek films. Once I realized how far widespread they are in those movies I was able to do a little DVD research to get the general pattern. They are pretty much identical and often used right next to each other turned in opposite directions to give a nice busy look. They're not perfect reproductions but look good from a distance; their purpose. It allowed me to finish up my elevator room interior. It actually has an elevator now. :D

That and some cargo nick-knacks with other background set designs have come out of my renewed interest. All for the interior of my Akyazi and other Federation ships I might want to toy with.

[Road Warrior]

Long time no see Basill!

[Andrew March]

This is really good looking stuff!

[VALKYRIE013]

holy crap not a necro post! always loved this little ship and glad to see you getting back to her again..

looking good on the details sir.. keep it up

[JRL3001]

Wow...this is looking absolutly fantastic man! :) Has to be the best representation of the Akyazi class I have seen in a long time, if not ever :)

[seanr]

Very nice. Glad to finally see some more progress on this.

[Basill]

Thanks all. Sorry for the necro post, but I was under the impression that it was only an issue if we played with someone else's corpse. ;) I'll open a new thread if it is preferred. Either way it appears I've reached the limit of my upload capacity, so I'll need to shave off some of my earlier images anyway, if I want to upload anything new.

[Starship]

You returned in a great stylle.:) Welcome back Basil!!!

[Aresius]

Nice upd. :thumb:

[seanr]

It's not a necro post if you're updating your own thread with new content. The reason necro posts are a pain in the first place is because they do not contain new content - usually just someone asking for updates - which is a farking nuisance. Posting new images is the opposite of that.

[VALKYRIE013]

oh no, new threads not needed.. we're just all happy that its you updating which is very good...

we all look forward to more updates :D

[evil_genius_180]

Yes, glad to see you back to work on this. I love that greeble set. :thumb:

[pacal]

This is an awesome render. If it is not asking too much do you have any plan profile diagrams which show this ships dimensions and overall size. I am a physical modeler and would like to tackIe this in 3D.


pacal

[Roliba]

Nice greebling. Nice interior. What else can I say, but nice?

[Basill]

Thanks again all. Glad to hear I'm not a necro-icky.

Spent a bit of time looking through the thread and culling some older images (and no I probably wouldn't have used that word had I not watched Stargate: Atlantis) I found it easier to remove images with identical camera angles that I had updated repeatedly. So I killed all but the latest updates of many images and managed to get a little space back for new material.

pacal I got most of my orthos (used in program) from this site:
Gilso Star Trek Schematics Main Page. (http://www.strekschematics.utvinternet.com/)
that and the book that they originally came from.

I've gone and done it again; put too much effort into a little set that is only meant to be seen from afar: the workbee bay. So, I might as well go all out and truly detail it. I created an entirely separate file for the whole bay and only the basic ships exterior that relates to it, so now I can perform dedicated imagery to its interior. When I first modeled my workbee, I imaged it against empty space, so I didn't realize until after I put it in this bay that light was seeping through a large number of places in its geometry. Things I don't care to repair at present. I came up with a somewhat inelegant quickie solution. I carved up a simple box so that it fits entirely inside the workbee's exterior, and is totally devoted to blocking light. I worked on a console and added a number of other details to the set and that process continues. :D

[VALKYRIE013]

Try playing with the light linking if your software does that.. basically.. whatever light you use link it to a single piece of geometry.. or unlink a piece of geometry from the main lights..
looking good on the bay.. keep it up

[Starship]

Excuse me if it&#180;s already asked before, but are you planning to do a Star Trek fan series for her ? The details are perfect !! I never saw that before, especially for an Akiazi class. :)

[evil_genius_180]

I was thinking the same. These wonderful images would go great with a fan series, give your readers (assuming it's fanfic) a real look inside the ship. Great stuff. :thumb:

[Aresius]

great done and really nice ideas about a series. :thumb:

[Shadowman99]

Very nice. I have a first printing of the "Ships of the Line" book that featured this design and the perimeter defense ships. There was also a work-bee with a combat attachment that made it look scorpion-like. Kinda cool.

You're doing a great job. I'll dig the book out and let me know if there's any sections where you have questions about accuracy, I can send scans.

[Basill]

Ok, this is fairly bloated for 3 little images, so read at your maximum ADHD discretion. I’m thinking of changing my signature to “King of the run-on sentences!”

Thanks Shadowman99. I too have a copy of Ships of the Line Vol 1 though I don't know if its first edition printing or anything. I used scans off the internet to function as background plates for the modeling, but that book has been in my lap during 90 % of the work! :D I'm not particularly worried about accuracy at this point, especially since I took some liberties with the three different designs, cherry picked my favorite features, and merged them into a single ship. But I always welcome advice. :)

About a fan series... I'm not that familiar with the genre, and well, not being a fiction writer of any capacity, I can honestly say the idea has never crossed my mind. Not that I haven't developed little scenarios here and there in my background mind while modeling, but they are never fully realized and rarely consistent. More like subspace chatter and crew buzzing around while they go about their mundane routines. The “ghost in the machine” if you will. But I'll store the notion in my subconscious for later consideration. ;)

As for updates... I worked on the bay some more. Added more details. Put little grippies on the hand rails and added a new pair overhead. I realized, if I was climbing up that little ladder thing and suddenly had to stand upright to board a workbee, I might want something overhead, in addition to the side rail, to manage my balancing act. Do you think I should put some sort of base against the wall for the hand rails? They look sorta plain just sticking out of the wall. Haven’t decided yet.

I turned on one of the newly added red warning lights by the exterior door. I placed them there so they would be out of the workbee flight path and off the floor for maximum movement while the doors are closed. Standard procedure would have those as spinner lights that come on, before the doors open, to warn of impending environment change, and remain a fixed glow after opening. Of course if you could see them and didn’t have on a working space-suit, you wouldn’t have long to admire them. Both sides should have them but I haven’t put the other in place yet. Those other dark things I added are combination remote control/tractor beam emplacement for docking and undocking. There is even a little graphic on the control console that partially deals with this.

I tweaked the light settings in general; also added a few and readjusted positions. Ideally the glowing panels would do most of the work, but I've chosen to fake it this time around with spot lights and omni-directionals, at least in this early stage- for ease of rendering. I used a shadow noise reduction feature to help cut the sharpness of the shadows all about. I think that helped a bit. Lighting it seems, is the never ending task. Therein lies the hobby I suspect.

I might start on one of the single bee-bays on the ventral hull shortly. I’m thinking those bees will have to be suspended in some way while docked, so I look forward to working those issues out. :D

[Shadowman99]

FYI - The Work Bees in TMP would fly into an airlock socket that made an airtight seal around the front half of the ship. There was a utility arm that would swing down to that large black structure on the top-rear and lock the bee in place and plug-in various umbelicals to recharge the craft.

In ST:TMP this was shown in the BG of a couple of matte paintings depicting the shuttle hanger.

[Basill]

Yeah. There was some discussion about that earlier, and I figured that docking feature was probably necessary in a larger ship that might need to leave its bay doors open for long periods while in dock and such. But I decided that since this was a considerably smaller ship and its bays were totally dedicated to their storage and maintenance, I would come up with some slightly different nesting features for them. But now that I think about it, even though I have some detail in the cradle for umbilical purposes, I might still want to build a little swing arm thingie to latch onto the backside of the bee. I've actually built a hanger/cargo bay for Kevin Riley's awesome Phobos model and it has those little vacuum seal docking sockets. I guess I've never posted any of those images online. My bees need numbers too now that I think about it. :D

[Drumming Hawk]

Unbelievable what you have done for this ship!

[TheGreatRaja]

Very nice work, sort of retro yet not

[evil_genius_180]

Nice job on the bays. Whether it's proper for a work bee to land in one or not, it's freakin' cool. :thumb:

[Basill]

Ok, as promised, that other little bee bay calls to me and I have shifted some of my emphasis to it. It’s in a very primitive state currently, as I am just trying to decide how I want things arranged and how much internal space I want to devote to it.

It’s currently set up much like the deck plans in the book, but I am less than enthused with this arrangement. However, I must follow the exterior design to some degree, so I don’t have a lot of wiggle room. I’m trying to use other model assets just like a set designer might, so you will note the glowy slat wall, greeble wall, and control console. That’s part of the fun for me. In the deck plans, there appears to be a spacesuit stowage nook, just like the TMP airlock set, so I have put one here in the same position. It appears too large however, so I will be rethinking its final location.

There is a large section of the ship (it would be just to the right of this image behind a wall) devoted to launching science probes (my version) and intelligence/reconnaissance drones. It takes up a significant chunk of the next section of “ring” over, so I have toyed with the idea of combining the two room’s functionality, unlike the official versions. This would give me more room to maneuver inside as well as possibly more storage space for all the cool little workbee attachments that make the craft more effective like a Swiss-Army knife.

I’ve built a clamp or “cradle” to be suspended from the ceiling for holding the bee during parking. It has bumpers and hard attachment points to some of the bee’s external features (fuel/battery-charge/life-support consumables.) It also has openings for access to some of the apparent maintenance panels on the bee. I haven’t fully worked out how it will be attached to the ceiling (especially since there is no ceiling yet) or if it will have any mechanized features for lowering the bee out into the clearance of space. Not sure how redundant that feature may or may not be, but it seems cool. The bees of the other bay would appear to slide into their parking slots with ease, especially under auto/remote piloting. So we’ll have to see.

First image shows the door closed with everything in apparent hibernation. Sorry for the darkness, but it’s the night shift. ;) Actually these didn’t look that dark at midnight last night with only my monitor to light the way, but here at work I find it harder to make things out. Still, there is very little there to make out in this early stage.

The second image showing the action of the clamp, is a blend of two renderings, with and without shadows for some omni-lights standing in for those glowing panels in the door frame. And yes, there are 2 doors; inner and outer for this bay. That comes mostly from the need for a movable floor, and the fact that the inboard profile shows a large gap between the outer hull and the deck this bay is on. There may be some artifacts from the blend, which relied on Photoshop and a bit of creative eraser technique, but I was just trying to give a first impression and was too tired to worry about it. :D

Enjoy, and let me know what you think. :D

[Shadowman99]

I like it. Great looking claw.

Since the workbee is ubiquitous there would be many compatable systems for servicing, storing, moving, etc... TMP socket method is "cannon", but seeing workbees with only the aft section visible is not as interesting looking as what you've done.

[XRaiderV1.7]

nice, just nice.

does she have nacelle intercoolers? i ask cause its been a while since ive last viewed a nice starfleet ship like this one, thus, my trek knowledge is a bit rusty.

[Basill]

Shadowman99: Thanks. I too tend to like variety (or should I say options.) I've actually modeled a set of those socket docks but they are on a different ship.

XRaiderV1.7: Does she have intercoolers? Yeah as far as I know. According to the manual, they are those flappy things on the ends of the nacelles. http://www.scifi-meshes.com/forums/attachments/3d-wips/21238d1165423725-akyazi-akula-akyazi_exp57.jpg

[Starship]

I´ll need to save all the renderings for future reference and inspiration. Great work!:)

[XRaiderV1.7]

hope you release a set of 5 views of this one soon.

perhaps in png format?(wishful thinking?)

[Anduril]

really good ship.,nice job.,

[Basill]

Thanks all. Sorry no updates of late, but my mother has been in the hospital, so I haven't had a lot of free time in computer land. She is doing much better now, so I can start working a little more on stuff.

XRaiderV1.7 I don't have the ability currently to render orthos but I can put the object at extreme distance and zoom in to fake it. Not the best but I'll give it a try. Don't have much experience with PNGs either, but I am pretty sure my renderer can save to that format, so I'll see what I can do.

I've been working on actual sketches while sitting in the hospital with my mom, so I haven't totally quit work on the work bee claw or bay arrangement. I am still leaning toward having the claw extend out into space to release and grab the bee, if only to avoid having to fire thrusters in the bay (and because I think it would be cool) Still not sure how to model it though, as I want something that looks Starfleet, but isn't too utilitarian like the Alien movies or anything. Cool, but different universe. I've been toying with a scissor-lift type of extension, but I want to be sure it looks sturdy and not too gangly when extended. The only other option I can think of would be the use of a nested column-extension type method, which seems kinda boring and might take up too much space. But if it's shiny... who knows? we'll see.

In the mean time, I have been playing with yet another ship interior... Kevin Riley's beautiful Phobos. Lot's of work on the shuttle/cargo bay so I wanted to share some of those images. Most of the main structures are complete, so just working on tons of details and textures now. Peace.

[VALKYRIE013]

looking good, best wishes for your mom.

have you given any thought to a tmp shuttle for the akyazi.. as in some schematics? it would look good in this bay, and on the akyazi.. :D

[Basill]

Thanks Valkyrie. My mom has a tough battle ahead, but she is doing remarkably well now and we don't call her the "Little General" for nothing.

Actually if you look back on page 7 you can see the shuttle I built specifically for the Akyazi. There may be another render with the shuttle in place, but I may have pulled it by now. I know I rendered some though. (Edit: There are more images on page 3 with multiple angles for the docked shuttle. :D )

The shuttle is kinda stuck in a hard modeling place, as I keep having some errors pop up when I try to add new details, so it hasn't been fleshed out beyond the basic shape and a few of the easier minor details. But I planned on putting that shuttle in this facility as well. There are parking bays on either side of this landing bay, the same place the workbee nooks empty into. There is room for 2 of the Akyazi size shuttles, and 2 other small shuttles I built from scratch, based on the design of the Final Frontier/TNG shuttle. I might show them off someday. Rest assured, everything is a tight squeeze in this joint. The cargo bay looks huge, but its not, and like Andrew Probert's design for the TMP cargo bay, this one will have some clever little means of using up as much extra room as possible. I'll post a little composite image of the layout of the bays when I get home this evening, as I don't have an image with credits to Kevin Riley at present and no image editor of any note at work.

[Basill]

Here's a little overview render done with a near-transparent Phobos to show the internal arrangement of this bay. The observation areas in the shuttle bay open to balconies in the shuttle storage areas, and the external airlocks visible on the outside of the ship operate from there. Just under the balconies is where the workbee docking area is. You can see how the cargo bay, and some of the other structural aspects of the vessel that will be visible from within, follows the curvature of the ship's saucer section. I even made sure there was room for the inboard docking/airlock that I modeled and presented earlier. Its JUST below the deck of the cargo bay, which also just happens to help make all that greeble work make sense. There is also on the Phobos model, an apparent door directly above where the shuttle bay should be (since that is where is Mr. Riley put the main shuttle bay doors) So I built this feature into the ceiling of the bay and placed a corresponding elevation platform into the deck below. Its kind of hard to make things out with partially missing features and transparent "ghost" surfaces of the ship, but it sort of helps place all the elements within the frame and some features are deliberately sticking out for just that purpose. :D

[XRaiderV1.7]

hope your mother gets better. Try taking screenshots, that usually works when the other method fails.

[Aresius]

that looks cool. And interesting.

[tobian]

Man that's getting crazy detailed, it's like Pluto Station with Nacelles! Looking fantastic. I like how you've organised the interior, and got the dock underneath there. You should try and see if you can render using radiosity so you get a more sophisticated lighting solution. It is really hard to light interiors without hundreds of lights! :)

[VALKYRIE013]

OKAY..nice perspective of the bay.. takes up alot of room in the saucer.. but you need alot of supplies too exist for a long time in space.. food, water, consumables (toilet paper .. or the 3 seashells...) fuel etc..etc... so the small bay means that the phobes can't stray to far from starbases.. and that its not a deep range explorer.. although.. given the number of stars.. even local exploration will take centureys.. :D

[ST-One]

This is really cool :thumb:

I think Kevin Riley would like your ideas for his ship. :)

[MadKoiFish]

Tops! this is very much like how I imagined the bay in the USS Lethe I am working on.

[Basill]

Ok. Thanks all. Busy week. Mom released from the hospital, back in and back out again already. But all is well. Quick update to the world of schizophrenic starship modeling. A return to the McCook's ventral workbee bay. One of the reasons I don't use radiosity more often, even though I nearly always love the results; this was very much a "kiss-it-nighty-nite, and hope the power stays on until morning" production.
I truly look forward to updating my main system someday soon. :)

So this one corner of the room is pretty much set up and actually fits into the confines of the deck it is located. There is now a ceiling that needs a few more details. I put in the more detailed space suit cubby hole and pressure door from my airlock/lift set, and added a round supply closet in the back corner. The deck plans show a similar feature in the diagonally opposite corner but this angle just screamed for it. So, with just details to add, I can now decide how I want this little bay to fit into its surroundings and whether or not I want to model the drone launch bay. With the details on the ship's exterior, I don't have much room to maneuver.

Already constructed a nested extender arm for the bee clamp based on the expansion joints used in the TWOK torpedo room (originally the TMP Klingon bridge) but its just a 90 degree vertical arm. Would need another night to devote for full rendering, so I'll just wait until I have more to throw into the mix.

[DamienNZ]

Nice. I have always liked the worker bee and I really do like seeing it IN the ship as well as in a spacedock et al.

Hope mum stays ok.

[biotech]

Remarkable work, I really envy your enteriors.

Glad to hear your mom is better.

[Tallguy]

This is really cool :thumb:

I think Kevin Riley would like your ideas for his ship. :)Wonder no more.

"That's wicked cool. He's pretty much got my cargo bay right, including
the elevators. Even the TMP art style too. I haven't seen what shuttle
he'll use, but it should be the TMP wedge shuttles. This is the joy of
releasing your models into the wild." - Kevin Riley

[ST-One]

Wonder no more.

"That's wicked cool. He's pretty much got my cargo bay right, including
the elevators. Even the TMP art style too. I haven't seen what shuttle
he'll use, but it should be the TMP wedge shuttles. This is the joy of
releasing your models into the wild." - Kevin Riley

So he is still out there...

[Starship]

Wonder no more.

"That's wicked cool. He's pretty much got my cargo bay right, including
the elevators. Even the TMP art style too. I haven't seen what shuttle
he'll use, but it should be the TMP wedge shuttles. This is the joy of
releasing your models into the wild." - Kevin Riley

Hummm... Are Kevin talking about plagiarism and/or a mesh thief ? Did I understood it right ?

[Tallguy]

Hummm... Are Kevin talking about plagiarism and/or a mesh thief ? Did I understood it right ?No, he's being totally serious. It's a kick to see what people do with your meshes when you make them public. He's a big proponent of releasing your work. (It's when people claim them as their own that it's a drag, but that isn't the case here.)

And he thought the work being done here was cool enough to point it out to me.

[biotech]

It certainly is cool work, and if I ever make the interior shuttlebays of my constellation class, I know which thread to look at for inspiration.

[DerekDRP]

Now this is what they call a hero model :d

[aridas sofia]

I'd like to see the two Ingrams (Jayrath's and Tallguy's) with a couple of these Akyazis. A Todd Guenther task force!

[Lt. Kevin Riley]

Yes, it’s fun to see what people do when you release your work. It was great for example when I popped onto SFM to show someone a TallGuy model only to see someone’s render of the Phobos cycle through the header.

In fact, in the readme.doc included with the model I state for people to have fun with it. So keep up the good work Basill! (And the rest of you too, I see a lot of great work from the members here).

(Yeah, I’m still around. I just don’t get here much these days. I got into R/C car racing and that consumes about 110% of my time and money. I’ll finish the U.S.S. Strider one of these days. I’m struggling up the sheer vertical learning curve of Maya at work right now, but I’ll likely continue the Strider in Max).

[ST-One]

Yes, it’s fun to see what people do when you release your work. It was great for example when I popped onto SFM to show someone a TallGuy model only to see someone’s render of the Phobos cycle through the header.

In fact, in the readme.doc included with the model I state for people to have fun with it. So keep up the good work Basill! (And the rest of you too, I see a lot of great work from the members here).

(Yeah, I’m still around. I just don’t get here much these days. I got into R/C car racing and that consumes about 110% of my time and money. I’ll finish the U.S.S. Strider one of these days. I’m struggling up the sheer vertical learning curve of Maya at work right now, but I’ll likely continue the Strider in Max).

Good news! :D

Mind showing us some pictures of her again?

[Lt. Kevin Riley]

Maybe another time, I don't want to distract from the thread. I'd have to find the images on a disk buried somewhere in the stack anyway. I never did re-upload stuff to the Gallery after the big crash. I'll have to get around to that too. The meshes are in Mesh Downloads though.

[Basill]

Wow! I just got in from a little trip abroad. Did a quick e-mail and MB check only to find this. The Phobos master himself! :D

I must say I am truly honored. The Loknar in general is one of my preferred non-canon designs, and Kevin Riley's movie era design refinements and excellent Phobos mesh is truly one of my favorites. I will certainly try to continue the project(s) and do your Phobos model justice. All comments are greatly appreciated, and yes, TMP wedge shuttle (or variation thereof) is definitely one of the shuttle designs I'd planned to park in the garage. Of course I've had about 6 hours sleep in 2 days so my happy home bed calls to me.

[Basill]

Long time no mesh. Finally worked on the interior for those lower view ports on the saucer's aft section. Source material leans toward this area (if a ship has it) as a fairly narrow viewing lounge, little more than a walkway with a few chairs and windows. Almost like a screened-in back porch. I have however reassigned it as a standard mess hall. Though I have increased the fore to aft dimensions, it is still a small room and more utilitarian than the upper lounge area. There are 4 identical staggered tables with standard seating for 13; 2 four seat tables, 1 two seater, and another with 3 chairs. This is mostly so people can walk past the tables and utilize the food terminals, but more chairs can be brought in if necessary.

Though I could still come up with more details I suppose, I don't have as much time to devote at present, especially with the Global Illumination this design requires. Renders can take forever. That is why I used standard spot lights to fake the lighting in the exterior view images. I'll probably try and come up with some graphics for the food terminals next.

And though it may not appear as such, the ceiling is actually perfectly fitted to the mechanics of the airlock and the deck above.

[DamienNZ]

Beautiful

[XRaiderV1.7]

nice.

[Aresius]

Looks quite good. But the chairs look a bit blocky.

[ST-One]

Very cool. :thumb:

This is turning into a 'Pluto-Station'-like thread. I love it! :D

[tobian]

Haha it is a bit yes, though I haven't went so far as to make the bar, with drinks on the table, yet :D

Looks pretty cool and the lighting looks really nice, though yes, the chairs look way too blocky, they could use some refinement. Keep up the good work!

[Starship]

A W E S O M E !!!

[biotech]

Very nice, I'd hate to think what all those ray traced glasses and drinks are doing to your render times though.

Are you going to put crew in there too, it looks like the Marie Celeste at the moment. :)

[Basill]

Yeah, she is a ghost ship. With the exception of scale silhouettes, I don't have any human forms, and I probably won't until (if ever) I complete her. A labor of love, but it's slow going process these days.

As to the blocky chairs, my first instinct was to say "That's what Starfleet gets for shopping at IKEA." But then I realized they really are just stand-ins of a sort. I will rethink them eventually, but for now they are just simple soft cushioned chairs with light, rigid, corrugated structures inside to give them shape. I even imagined a person could just pick one up and practically throw it across the room. Not unlike the squarish lounge furniture from TMP that were supposedly built on the fly and yet so perfectly 70's. The chairs in the upper lounge are actually based directly on those, so these aren't quite so evil... yet.

I rendered a few new images. Quick and dirty with fake lighting due to the render times. As biotech has surmised, yes the glasses were devastating to my render times, and the two Global Light images were only done to medium anti-aliasing. These new images are to show some upgrades in the food processors. The first units were cloned from objects in the upper lounge. They served fine as background objects there, but I took a look in my old heretical Mr. Scott's Guide To The Enterprise and found I liked the overall design of the "Nutritech" food units featured there. I didn't follow them faithfully, though I borrowed some design elements. I even used the "Nutritech" name and part of the menu listing (Vulcan dishes ;) ) from the book for the control panel graphics. In addition, I added some texture to the chairs (1 image.) When I rendered them in full anti-alias without Global, they were completely smooth further fakening their blocky appearance.

I am still up in the air about what, if anything, to put on those various view screens (3) in the room. I thought about putting standard period Starfleet or Federation emblems for their "downtime," but then I thought it might be interesting to put up some movie era space-map graphics. They would be there for the officers and crew to get an idea of how and where things are in any given mission. Given that these ships are scouts and intelligence gathering vessels, it might be nice to wake up some time before duty shift and go for a cup of coffee and Denobulan eggs; and there would be waiting a nice big screen with a kind of "You are here" layout of the patrol region, and maybe another screen with standard duty roster activities for that particular Stardate. Any suggestions? Anyway, here are the quick-and-dirties.

Edit: 1 image removed for space. Updated image on next page.

[biotech]

Very nice modelling.

Have you thought of using the pewter tankards that they had in STVI rather than glasses?

Might be kinder on the render times.

If you are going to have an open TOS style food dispenser, you really need chicken soup.

Maybe a PADD on one of the tables, you know these starfleet types, they never stop working, even when they are eating.

[eracoon]

man man..
that must be the most detailed ship I'v ever seen here... I might be wrong offcourse.
Anyway... I rellay love the attention you give to this ship.
This thread I will follow.

[seanr]

Loving everything but the chairs (which look bizarrely huge and clunky).

[Road Warrior]

Everyones favorite border cutter is looking grand. Nice job there Basill!

[smurfted]

Stunning, well done. 5 stars.

[Basill]

Thanks all. Here's another quick and dirty (loosely termed, as this took 2 hours and 45 minutes to render after including ALL my raytracing factors, tweaked to reduce output time.)

With those "big blocky chairs" I didn't realize how hideous that shadow close to the exterior wall was. Faking such lighting for quicker renders is a sacrifice sometimes. It also forces me to use the shadow softening effect, which invariably leaves artifacts along the edge of the rendering segments. Bleah.

But my main purpose for this render is to show my new chairs. Blocky chairs gone; Yay! I searched for several days for decent inspiration. I didn't want something that belonged on the bridge (especially those swivels that premiered in TFF or TUC.) Seeking something along the lines of the Emeco aluminum Navy Chairs that have been a shipboard mainstay since the 1940's, but with a nice Starfleet compatible update, (and cushions) I finally found several designs that I could borrow from and blend into these. :D

Learned some nice new metal texture techniques to simulate aluminum for the frames (my preset metal textures tend to suck- THIS is my new default aluminium!) and I did a little refining of the fabrics for the cushions (maybe a little too refined- but there is a texture there.) Also, looking gapingly huge, I reduced the vertical height of the food slots, as well as adjusted some table dimensions to suit the new chairs.

Maybe when I get things a little closer to finalization I will batten down the hatches and do a full Global render on this. That should take, oh... a month. ;)

[tobian]

You're using LW right? Which version? Because radiosity is massively speeded up in V 9.2+ My latest renders have been done solely in native LW and while not fast, aren't as bad as they would have been once - infact the radiosity usually calculates within 5-10 minutes, it's just all my soft blurred reflection which takes an epoch to render :D

I'd love to see a radiosity render of this!

Another suggestion is you also take advantage of surface baking, and create maps of the radiosity solution, and apply it back into the object. You can save a lot of time that way, for re-rendering!

[Tallguy]

I actually like the big 70's chairs. The new chairs are great, but they still feel very TUC.

Still looking awesome.

[Basill]

Ok. Sorry for the delay. Holidays, holidays. I'm never busy with the holidays myself, but I do tend to get busy because of everyone else's experiences with the season of joy.

tobian: Alas, I am using an older version of LW -the 7.x region (not sure off the top of my head from here at work) Looking forward to an all new version someday, but it's still a little expensive for a hobby. I'll be upgrading my system before then, so hopefully that might help matters a tad. I can't help but think I am missing some crucial setting that would speed things along enormously but I may just be at the ceiling for my system. It is still faster than anything I've worked with before but I've never asked quite as much of it before now either, as I learn more and more.

I have tried the baking method before with little success. Actually crashed the program once. I am seriously considering rendering things in layers so I can at least get some decent showings on the back ground lighting. That might help with the baking. In this latest image I took out the glasses at least. Figured I could add them back in later if I do things right.

Tallguy: Thanks. I too like some 70's decor and that is what I was aiming at with the blocky chairs. Though I had planned to do more detailing of some sort, they really were just stand ins, though I thought they conveyed that light yet sturdy furniture feel I was going for. But after I saw a documentary spot on the Navy chairs and figured out that metal texture, there was no turning back. :D

This image is quite the little post-render cheat.

Its actually 3 images with 3 different lighting schemes blended. I had one decent Med anti-aliased version of the room before too many details. Everything just under the ceiling however has been altered to a degree, but it was very helpful in getting the soft spread of light from the light panels above. The other two schemes are plain ole spot lights with shadow soften effect and shadow mapping, also with shadow softener. Each image had their own benefits (and detractions) so I put them together with hopes they would come to each other's aid. Been working on some graphics for the screens, but not too happy with what I've managed so far. After the holidays I might start working on another section of the vessel and give this breakroom a break. Still I have a lot of experimenting to do and so little time. :D

[tobian]

Hmm no it's been so long since I did LW 7.X I can't remember.. Yes a newer system will speed things up hugely, but the 9.x series of LW has HUGE improvements on render speed over earlier incarnations.

Let me know if you want me to do any renders for you.

[Basill]

Thanks. That is very generous. Maybe after the holiday madness I'll take you up on it. :D

btw. My monitor just fritzed out on me and I had to get another yesterday. 19" widescreen with a much larger resolution. As Seanr predicted, all my renders now look like postage stamps. ;)

[tobian]

Haha yeah, 19 inch monitors are almost bottom of the line now :) I couldn't get by with anything smaller: Though it has to be said to go from the size you were doing to 'full screen' might be pushing what you can easily do, as the area will be nearly 4 times as big!

and you're welcome :)

[Falin]

A very nice ship indeed, but after looking through all the pages, there's something missing on this ship. where's the deflector array? at first i thought it's be in the cut out on the front, but thatseems to be photon launchers, then i looked to the bottom and the top and there is no deflector array, this ship would be destroyed if it ever tried to go to warp ;)

[Basill]

In fact the deflector is in the front cut of the ship. According to the reference material this ship is based on, the navigational deflector array is that area with the glowing horizontal "bar" directly above the photon torpedo tubes. And since those areas just to either side of the torpedo tubes are not specifically labeled in the images (not sure about the write up sections) I like to think that maybe they also aid in this task. That is why I made them glow similar to the deflector "bar." They are just significantly dimmer.

Best example is on page 2, the last post of the page, center image.

[Basill]

Well, moving on and holidays past, I thought I might tinker with another section of the ship. I haven't done an engineering section in years since my early 3D days, so this was a treat. This is just a taste as there is much more to do. I follow the muse.

I have to say I really like the UV map I made for the intermix glow. Did a number of experiments in Photoshop, but this one just grabbed me. It's not particularly canon or anything, but I thought it looked pretty and plasma "fluid like." I'll probably work on some more possible versions if time allows. Since I don't know exactly how that process works on set, (essentially an elaborate light show) I am not really sure how to perfect any process that tries to emulate it.

I also want to tweak the texture on the big ring segments. The set had pieces with a really non-smooth texture about them. I need to do some render experiments with just one of those segments and a number of texture settings to see if I am satisfied.

All the lighting is fairly temporary and all my glows are of course faked for the time being. Even the overhead canister lights are just there to show where the spots are coming from. Ironically, that may be overkill as when looking at screen shots of the engine room from TMP, I don't know where the light is actually supposed to be coming from, in terms of in-movie-reality. Talk about indirect lighting.

Working on graphics for the consoles based on screen shots. Some there are reuses naturally, but a few are new and need to be refined.

As to scale, the consoles around the intermix shaft are reuses and simply moved from the work bee bay over to here. So, all of this this actually fits perfectly into the engineering hull section. I haven't followed the cutaway and layout plans exactly in terms of the size and number of segments for the intermix shaft, but they were fairly simplistic anyway. Most everything should follow the basic layout of the plans, but I'll take some liberties as always. ;D Especially fun and daunting is the ceiling which converges with the Impulse Deflection Crystal seen on the exterior of the ship. There are already some hints of that.

This is of course a view looking off-center forward. The forward bulkhead holds the shape of the ships exterior. Just on the other side of that wall with the console is area for a computer, and just beyond that... the vacuum of space. Let the plasma... flow.

[tobian]

Looks cool :)

I am not sure of the support struts you have on the glowing tube part are strong-looking enough? Hmm. Maybe thicken them a little?

If you're going for a glass look for the tube, put a gradient on your reflection channel, and se it's type to incidence, ramp it so that it's white at 90 degres, and rams down rapidly to black at 0, to simulate Fresnel falloff :D

If you want to try and recreate my plasma.. hmm, not sure if you have the tools in that version of LW :(

[Falin]

In fact the deflector is in the front cut of the ship. According to the reference material this ship is based on, the navigational deflector array is that area with the glowing horizontal "bar" directly above the photon torpedo tubes. And since those areas just to either side of the torpedo tubes are not specifically labeled in the images (not sure about the write up sections) I like to think that maybe they also aid in this task. That is why I made them glow similar to the deflector "bar." They are just significantly dimmer.

Best example is on page 2, the last post of the page, center image.

I must be blind, because i'm not seeing an array there, he whole area is taken up prettymuch by the Phot launchers.

[Basill]

I must be blind, because i'm not seeing an array there, he whole area is taken up prettymuch by the Phot launchers.

Forgive me, perhaps I should reiterate. I realize now that I said, "the navigational deflector array is that area (emphasis mine) with the glowing horizontal 'bar' directly above the photon torpedo tubes."
In fact, I should have said the deflector is the glowing blue bar above the launchers. Understand that there is no dedicated dish per se, but the deflector is right where the designer and writer of the book says it is. The actual torpedo launchers are just those 2 square nipplely objects poking out into the greater area of the cut out.

I did say however that I had taken it upon myself to assign the boxy shapes off to the side of the torp launchers as part of the whole "Main Sensor/Navigational Deflector complex." They are the upright rectangles with 3 divisions in them to the outsides of the torpedo tubes. I'm a big believer in combining the chores of Long Range Sensor and Navigational Deflector as they seem to have been in the original series and early movies, even if it is just a bit of fan fiction attitude. :D

[XRaiderV1.7]

nice warp core

[Basill]

Thanks guys.

Little update. Added some details. Computer equipment, more lights, and now the entry/egress area is visible. An interesting area since one has to ride a little car over from the primary hull. I Have begun work on the aft section, but still haven't finalized anything. Not sure I like the design in the floor plans, so I might stray a little more off course. before I leap into it.

I experimented with that reflection gradient tobian. Of course gradients are still new territory for me, so I am not even sure I did it right, but the initial results didn't seem to add anything beneficial. It seemed to ramp up the glow effect a bit as well as render time. I'm still going to experiment with it using limited objects in a separate experiment scene, but I'm not sure it's what I want at this time. As for the struts around the tube, I doubt they are perfect without blueprints, but I worked with what is seen on screen. Except for a little clear plexiglass I ignored along several surfaces, this is a pretty standard Motion Picture era intermix chamber. Honestly, I always wondered what held the thing up when I watched the movies myself, but I am not sure those "blades" are for support, but maybe more for magnetic containment. One of the things I like about the design, besides its simplicity, is its variability. The elements all look like standardized equipment, that can be lengthened or trimmed to suit the needs of the ship. Very Starfleet if you ask me. And low and behold, I have elements that can now be incorporated into the Phobos, should the urge strike. I could have a lot of fun building a multi-deck engineering with those cool clear floor plates around the intermix shaft. I'm just not sure exactly where to put a main engineering on that ship now, since I put the large cargo bay in one of the key spots. She has two impulse engines however, and though I resist the notion, I might make two separate engineering rooms. But that's for later.

[VALKYRIE013]

looks excellent Basill, love the photo realness of your environments..

even in cannon like the relient.. the navigational deflector is in question.. :D

[tobian]

The effect is subtle, but you can see it here -> http://comby.star-fleet.org/test121.jpg in my EPS conduit, I put Fresnel gradient on the reflection of the glass, so it simulates the effect of glass. Take a look at the Worms of Art tutorial Worms Of Art: Lightwave Tutorials (http://www.the-worms-of-art.com/Tutorials/) on Fresnel to understand the process. and yeah, adding reflections, will, sadly, slow down your render :D

Looking good though :)

[Basill]

Thanks tobian. Those look very useful. I look forward to taking a crack at some of them. I am amazed at how much if this I should know, but how much I truly forget when I step away from the platform for months at a time.

[seanr]

This is all looking fantastic!

[Basill]

Thanks Sean, that means a lot. :D

Here is a a quickie subtle update. I looked a little closer at some TMP screen caps and was able to better estimate some angles and such, so I have refined the intermix shaft a little. Turns out the more common radial fins surrounding the containment tube are even thinner than I had modeled them, and the pointy ends actually go down into a recessed gap between the big rings and the tube. Also the tube is even more narrow than I realized. So, I changed some minor details on the rings, and totally redid the common fins taking the opportunity to add the plexi-glass ends along the fins' outer edges. They are a nice subtle distraction, but little else, which is why I had opted to not add them the first go round.

The complex upper fins were a bit more controversial. In screen shots, there appeared to be about 7 or 8 plexi-glass panels, cookie-cutter shaped to the outer metal frame and sandwiched within. This added a nice little light detail, but practically crashed my render when I added them into the mesh recipe. Must have been all the reflections and stuff. I cheated by essentially eliminating the large polygons serving as the inner panel surfaces and left only the outer edges. It rendered, but at this distance they are virtually invisible. This first render I chose to forgo the Fresnel fun, but I might try another tonight with some more realistic settings on the plexies.

Aside from those changes and a floor seam that I totally forgot to add until after my last render, not much new. I'm having to cull images from earlier in the thread in order to load new images. I really need to just put them up somewhere online, but I so love the convenience factor of loading them here.
Now I'm just rambling. I have a lot left to do, and my brain is already starting to wander towards an attempt at a Phobos engineering... Must stay focused. :eek:

[tobian]

Ahh you're approaching my wall.. lots and lots of reflections and refractions - melt your computer :D

Looking good, and I am gonna have to go back and watch some myself! :D

[Hellsgate]

With all due respect the Akyazi/Akula-Class needs a secondary hull or other post-"Nem" Frankenstein Fleet upgrades. The aft half looks like it would snap off upon accidental atmospheric re-entry during a dog-fight, without some kind of further structural reinforcement.

[Tallguy]

With all due respect the Akyazi/Akula-Class needs a secondary hull or other post-"Nem" Frankenstein Fleet upgrades. The aft half looks like it would snap off upon accidental atmospheric re-entry during a dog-fight, without some kind of further structural reinforcement.Well, this ship predates Nem by 100 years. Besides, space is really big. Don't fly into an atmosphere and you won't have trouble. Worked for Kirk and the gang. NCC-1701 lasted 40 years.

[Ted Wolf III]

With all due respect the Akyazi/Akula-Class needs a secondary hull or other post-"Nem" Frankenstein Fleet upgrades. The aft half looks like it would snap off upon accidental atmospheric re-entry during a dog-fight, without some kind of further structural reinforcement.

This ship is beautiful, it doesn't need any of that crap.




Awesome work basill, throughout this whole thread.:thumb: Keep up the great work man.

[XRaiderV1.7]

she's beautiful as is.

[Basill]

Thanks all. Been off and on this for the past week. With a few more screen shots and better research, turns out some elements of the vertical shaft are noticeably different from the horizontal shaft. So, I ended up redoing the entire structure. The horizontal shaft elements appear smaller and don't have the same texture. Also, its radial fins alternate between the more standard fin and a shortened version with plexi-sandwich detailing akin to that upper vertical structure. I still have a few details I'd like to incorporate, but they are minor so I went ahead and did a render. I was anxious to try my new plasma tube textures and point the camera for a peek aft. :D

For the new plasma texture, I was experimenting with a fractal render program I downloaded for possible nebula backgrounds. Not a lot of success with that, but one parameter I set up reminded me of the original intermix effect from TMP. A little more fun in Photoshop and I came up with a couple of images that suited my needs for this project. I even used a gradient or Fast Fresnel setting on the tube (can't remember which right now) ;)

I am not looking forward to adding the plasma tubes that branch off to the warp nacelles, but they have to be somewhere so that will probably be the next step. Still, lots of lighting to tweak, and detailing but here is a little something.

[tobian]

Looks very cool basil ! :) As a suggestion, your surface, for the conduit supports could maybe do with some reflection blur. Since that can send render time through the roof, try putting a microsocopic fractal bump noise on it.

At the moment I am routing EPS conduits through the lower core of my station, so yeah, I hear ya, it's a mare! :D

[Ted Wolf III]

Love that latest one basill. It really does look pretty close to the TMP effect.

[MichaelS]

Wow. Very well done, that!

[XRaiderV1.7]

I agree!

[Basill]

Thanks! :D I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with most of these results thus far.

tobian: Are you referring to the radial fins/supports? There must be too much smoothing going on in the anti-alias, but they actually have about 32% reflection blur, and a gradient set to "previous layer" in the bump channel (though to be honest, I don't know that that is remotely useful since is is the only layer.) Gotta play with that one- still learning these texture ropes. I got the texture settings from a mixture of tutorial advice and experimentation, as it is the same texture I used on the metal chairs in the ships galley. Its also used on those rails. I went looking yesterday, but can't to save my life remember where I got the setting advice. I followed the settings to the letter at first but then skewed them and now can't find my way back. Naturally. But this is how I learn and I'll keep looking and tinkering.

Not much, but here is a subtle update to the lighting and plexi-glass settings. The area around the main shaft is remarkably stark-dark for something that is glowing like that, so I added another low level spotlight with distance parameters to help bring up ambiance in the immediate area. I also like how the sandwiched plexi layers look now. Recursion level set at 8 so they all show up, but it took about 5 1/2 hours to render (sleepy time.)

I think I will start focusing now on putting a few labels here and there to bring up the detailing a bit. That and the consoles towards the aft need to be refined. Then I can aim the camera anew. Not sure how much greeble work I want. My 2 main reference sources, TMP and TWOK, had remarkably different philosophies regarding the same engineering set on the Enterprise. But we'll see.

Off to lunch. :D

[JeffrySG]

Congrats on the Header! Really great work here! :D

[Tallguy]

Wow that's nice. Congrats. After you finish the intermix column you can do the M-5 computer.

[tobian]

Very nicelly done, and congrats on the header!

the only thing which bugs me a little is the lack of refraction, but then in that version of LW that oculd add months to the render time, and then there's that whole 'air poly' thing :D

[overState2006]

I've just seen all this. Basill, you are a madman of the first order for lone-wolfing this. Along with the others, congratulations on the header, and I will be watching this one like a hawk!

BTW: I understand you're using lightwave? I'm a nut for special effects (unusual surface/lighting effects that can be animated if needed) and I might be able to help you out if there's anything you don't already have your head wrapped around.

[al3d]

Modeling of the intereior i would give 7/10 but textures, 1/10. the textures don't match modeling so far.

[Basill]

I must say, thank you all. I take it this is a good thing? ;)

I have to admit at first, I had no idea what you all were talking about, but... Cool! Thanks! I'll try to be worthy.

Yeah tobian, refraction IS the great nemesis is it not? Someday... someday...

overState2006 (love the name btw) I could use getting my brain around a great deal these days, so thanks for the offer. More importantly I need to stick to my guns and actually let it all sink in. Honestly I don't know where I'd be without Post-It Notes!

Again. Thanks

[cochrane]

Basil:

This is really well done. :) I love the detail of the interiors.

-- ZC

[TheGreatRaja]

very nice, congrats on the header

[XRaiderV1.7]

about damn time too, nice work.

[Stev0]

oh, of course they can... But the platings cover the spillports grille that in turn covers the coils...
Look at all the takes where beam hits directly into the coils assembly...
The outcomes are ... explosive...

That's why the plating covers the naccelles especially...

Why not just shoot out the bridge. It's not like Federation ships intend to hide it on the superstructure. Federation designs always have the bridge right out in the open. Like a suit of armor from head to toe but the wearer decides to go into battle without a helm wearing a fancy hat instead.

Sure there is a battle bridge but the effectiveness of a ship of this design would be like a boxer getting socked in the head and his being dazed during the few seconds after the blow when instinct and training finally kick in to move around and put up defences.

This design based on the Classic series is the most odd but interestingly plausible designs..

ps. Nice model and congrats on the header! :thumb:

[Maphisto86]

Well Basill I must say that your work is really beautiful. You've made me a fan of the Akyazi class. :thumb:

[Basill]

Thought I would post some stuff I have been working on recently. Got a little hot in engineering, so I thought I might start working on my first Starfleet bridge. Managed to make some progress. It is totally sectional and the "slices" can be rotated to whichever configuration I want. Borrowed some ideas from one of seanr's designs in these early stages. He had a ceiling on a bridge render a few years back that I was particularly fond of, so I sort of emulated it here. I'll probably make a few different ceiling designs for interchange purposes and my bridge can serve double duty just like the sets at Paramount did. :D

Graphics were the hardest part and are taking up most of my time on this region of the project; studying screen caps and reference materials and then recreating them in Photoshop. It's been fun, but its amazing how much time flies by before you realize it. Nothing is close to finished (as if it ever is) and the glow settings on the monitors and buttons is obviously a little too bright. I'll tone those down for the next long render.

Also included, another little project I've been working on that might help me actually build all those other Federation designs I am so fond of, even if it's only symbolic. :D

[TheGreatRaja]

The drydock is looking at me!
nice work

[Aresius]

Nice work.

[XRaiderV1.7]

nice work.

[Tallguy]

You know we've been looking at that drydock for so long and it's been used SO much that one forgets how breathtaking it really is. Nice work.

The bridge looks terrific as well. Fed bridges should always be built in pie slices. If you don't do that, you can't make the Reliant. ;)

[seanr]

Yikes! Got some major errors in the bridge walls. See here:

http://www.webolutionary.com/startrek/constitution_refit/ph2-xsec.jpg
http://www.webolutionary.com/startrek/enterprise_st3_bridge/

Note that the rounded part at the bottom of the wall in the final stage set is nothing more than a baseboard piece covering what is otherwise a 90&#186; angle between the wall and floor (ass seen in the cross-section). The shape of the cutouts for the turbolift alcoves is inaccurate as well. Those should not be curving out away from the door at the top (see the screencaps again).

[Starship]

Congrats on the header!
You're doing a dammed fine mesh!

[Ted Wolf III]

Nice work. :)


Hey SeanR, you do realize that the bridge for this ship isn't the standard one from the E, but is actually smaller, right?


Basill, do you have Ships of the Star Fleet vol II, or you going from another source for this design?

[Basill]

Thanks all.

Sean: I wasn't trying to perfectly reproduce the Enterprise bridge per se. I did use screen caps and other reference materials to try and capture the essence of movie era bridge design. I've even debated whether or not to place a lighting element of some sort along the baseboard that I have. the floor used to be much closer to the bottom of the curve but I didn't like the overall scale so I stretched some things out. And of course nothing is complete. I still have some problems with the geometry of the consoles. I'm just not totally satisfied with them and there is some light leaking through, so I must have goofed somewhere.

I used the "Enterprise Flight Manual" from the Phase II period for many of the graphics and a few other estimations here and there, but it was only a spring board. You are right though, it is clearly different from the actual sets. I have to admit, I don't think I've ever seen that plan you provided (if I did I must have glossed over it) but I must thank you ever so much for posting it now. That could come in very handy in the future. :D

Ted Wolf III: I do indeed have the Ships of the Starfleet vol II, and am referencing it for this project. I'm not sure how much smaller these ships bridges are necessarily, if at all. I'd look at my reference but I am at work. I'll check on that later.

Thanks again Sean.

[GuitarEC]

Basil,

Incredible work, my friend. I hadn't really looked through this post until a few days ago - you are an TMP-era Interior meshing machine!

Your quick work on the Bridge (as well as SeanR's reference materials) has called me to action. I've started working on my own TMP-era bridge (in Blender). I'll start my own thread to document the work, but I wanted to pass along a reference I found...

New Star Trek USS Enterprise Bridge Manual CD - eBay (item 230230012258 end time Mar-12-08 09:59:48 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Star-Trek-USS-Enterprise-Bridge-Manual-CD_W0QQitemZ230230012258QQihZ013QQcategoryZ37885QQ cmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262)

I've bought a copy, and will report back on the quality, but from the looks of it, it should provide plenty of references about the console layouts.

Keep on keepin' on and I look forward to more updates in the future!

Eric "GuitarEC"

[Basill]

I very much look forward to hearing your update. From the looks of it, I might want a copy myself. :D

I've actually done some work with the set plan that Sean provided, so maybe I'll post a little of that tonight. I've started working on the dry dock again too, but even though it is a fairly simple design, it is most repetitive and when you finally build it out to its full seven identical sections and then mirror it for both halves of the dock, it is a memory cruncher. So I might have to keep the detailing on the upper ceiling facility a bit less greebled than I would like. We'll see.

[Ted Wolf III]

Basil,

Incredible work, my friend. I hadn't really looked through this post until a few days ago - you are an TMP-era Interior meshing machine!

Your quick work on the Bridge (as well as SeanR's reference materials) has called me to action. I've started working on my own TMP-era bridge (in Blender). I'll start my own thread to document the work, but I wanted to pass along a reference I found...

New Star Trek USS Enterprise Bridge Manual CD - eBay (item 230230012258 end time Mar-12-08 09:59:48 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Star-Trek-USS-Enterprise-Bridge-Manual-CD_W0QQitemZ230230012258QQihZ013QQcategoryZ37885QQ cmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262)

I've bought a copy, and will report back on the quality, but from the looks of it, it should provide plenty of references about the console layouts.

Keep on keepin' on and I look forward to more updates in the future!

Eric "GuitarEC"

So, did you get it yet Eric?

[GuitarEC]

Indeedy I did Ted, but I didn't want to make a post here considering Basill has been busy / mute as of late - and / or be accused of resurrecting a necro-thread, or thread hijacking.

I've been busy myself, so I'll see about posting something in the next few days in the appropriate place.

Eric "GuitarEC"

[Basill]

A little update. Decided my work-bee needed functionali-tee. Since finishing my cargo sled, I really wanted some more attachments. A few years back H. Gibbens did a nice rendition of a "grabber sled" that fit his workbee, so I decided to use it as a template for a new version. The mesh is entirely new, but based mostly on the original dimensions. Just a few smoother edges and changes in the details; lots more polygons. I also referenced the Andrew Probert drawings. The details are still ambiguous enough for artistic license. One touch I made was to ensure certain grabber features matched up to the workbee details, especially the panels along the hull. There are now structural frame and power connections visible from the arms to the exposed compartments. I split the original battery compartment into two since it conflicted with the workbee's aft. They're now symmetrical and actually match up with raised surface details on the bee that could be more connection points. Probert also conceived of a neat welder attachment that I had to play with, so that was my second mesh. I especially liked the forward clamps and the little tanks on the side, but I haven't yet found myself comfortable with the welder arm. They both still need some work though, but since I haven't posted in a while I thought I would put them up tonight.

[somacruz145]

Wow those are really great ! They really look like modern building machines because of the color :D Very impressive details and overall design (even though I can't make comparisons because I haven't seen the originals you based your work on :p)

[tobian]

Neat work! I'd love to see it with it's little interior, driver or not :)

I'll be getting round to building one of these, or something like, for my station :)

Your windows, as well as insides, could use some details showing the framing and such, and if you can, I would try and introduce some subtlety to the surfacing, and if you can bear the render times, a couple of fill area lights, or radiosity.

[Basill]

Thanks. Driver and interior may come someday. I am not sure the windows have frames per se, except for the front viewport/main hatch. In all the reference shots I've seen the side windows were just beveled into the outer hull, which is the course I chose. Definitely needs surface subtlety. Not yet my specialty, but I'll play with it. looking at some reference models this morning and the bee's access panels seem to have more greeblie features than I had detected the first go round, so I will probably play around with that some too.

Also, here is a quick and dirty image of H.Gibben's original grabber sled. as I mentioned, dimensions are close to the same, but I smoothed some of the boxey corners and added some detail. Obvious color changes too. Also, there are no connections between his bee and the sled other than where they overlap. Still, a great standard to start with. :D

[Basill]

Well, a new tangent, but I like tangents. Started to try my hand at a Miranda class hull (which has been a nightmare) but it got me thinking about how cool it would be to model a Miranda hanger/cargo bay. I've seen some nice deck plans that have some interesting ideas about what is behind those two hanger bay doors and how it all might interact. But before I allowed myself the privilege, I thought I might take a stab at something I have been putting off for far too long- The refit Enterprise hanger bay, which is the source of many of my musings. A few other people have recently displayed similar works, so I thought it might be fun as well as a chance to update some components I did for the Phobos hanger facility. Its all very early but here are a couple of images.

I used one of Dennis Bailey's fine Enterprise meshes as a guide of course, and as several people have previously noted... the thing just don't fit (exactly.) However, I will model it as portrayed in the Andrew Probert matte paintings, and then if I wish to slice and dice it to fit, it will be completely there for adaptation.

[Tallguy]

Still my favorite Trek set. Lovely.

[tobian]

Superb as usual! Could use some ambient occlusion and radiosity, but I know that's tough for you to do :) Lovely details!

[Starship]

Nice to see an update. Looks great, as always. ;)

[Basill]

Ok. Gonna take a break from this one for a while but thought I would post how far I had made it. Might dabble on a Miranda class version just to see how all this theme might play out with a totally different layout.

[Tallguy]

Yowza! Looking forward to WHATEVER you do next.

[ST-One]

This shuttlebay looks great.
In an animation it would shine ;)

[tobian]

Those are very cool! Very nicely modelled!

[seanr]

That is SUPERB! The only mistake I can see is that you have made the lifeboat stick out from the wall, when in reality that should be a slightly recessed hatch with a rolling door (sort of like on an old roll-top desk).