Playing catch-up - My New and Improved TOS Enterprise

[Vektor]

Well, since my old TOS Enterprise thread bit the dust along with the rest of the board a couple of months ago, and since I have decided to build a new and improved version anyway, I guess a whole new thread is in order.

As some of you may recall, my previous version of the Big E was based on the Alan Sinclair drawings but differed from them--and from the original filming model--in a number of small but significant ways. The underside of my primary hull was a little more rounded, the secondary hull was slightly bigger around, and the neck and nacelle struts were a little bit thicker, to name a few. I still have that model, more or less complete, filed under "TOS Ent-Modified," and I one day hope to finish the texturing work on it.

Meanwhile, my own long-neglected project to update the special effects for The Doomsday Machine has been calling to me, especially since the announcement that CBS/Paramount has essentially beaten us all to the punch with their new remastered and CG'ed re-release of TOS. With my USS Grandeur model once again (temporarily!) stalled due to "designer's block" on the underside of the primary hull, I woke up this morning and decided to clear my mental palate, so to speak, by starting work on a new, more accurate version of the Big E.

And yes, I can already hear the moans and cries of disbelief: "You're starting over on another project!!?? What was wrong with the last version?" Well, nothing was wrong with it in and of itself, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt that I needed a truly accurate--or as accurate as I could make it--version of the Enterprise for my update of The Doomsday Machine. I've been participating in all these discussions about the TOS re-release next month and expounding on my personal opinions about how the new visual effects ought to be done, mostly that they should match the character of the originals as closely as possible, and I gradually convinced myself that a modified version of the Big E was not going to cut it for the kind of update I wanted to do myself.

So, as I said, I got up this morning, unarchived my AutoCAD DWG files of Alan Sinclair's plans, imported them into 3ds Max and got to work. As much as I respect Alan and his efforts, I know for a fact that some of his details are a little off, so this new version will once again be based on his plans but this time the modifications will be aimed at making them more accurate to the original 11' filming model, not less. I don't expect it to ever be perfect, but I don't want anyone to be able to say it wasn't for lack of trying.

Without further ado, here's what I managed to accomplish over the course of about seven hours today:

http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_001.jpg
http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_002.jpg
http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_003.jpg
http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_004.jpg
http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_005.jpg
http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_006.jpg
http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_007.jpg

I was actually hoping to finish the primary hull in one shot but I didn't quite make it. I spent too much time optimizing various parts of the mesh and discovering that having done the windows at least a dozen times on previous versions of this model doesn't really make doing them any faster. I have to say I'm pretty happy with the quality of the mesh this time around, though, even moreso than the previous version. I managed to reduce segmentation overall and make the model look better up-close without significantly increasing the triangle count. Obviously I still have some windows and other details left to add, but I'm currently at just over 44,000 triangles for the whole shebang and expect to keep the completed primary hull under 50,000 when all is said and done. On the last version of this model, the primary hull accounted for about a third of the total face count, so I should be able to bring the whole model in under 150,000 if that holds true, which bodes well for animation speed.

Allowing for the holiday weekend, my ongoing job search and a few other preoccupations, I hope to be able to finish the modeling work on this new, more accurate version by the end of next week. After that I will either proceed with the texturing work on it or possibly start working on the other models I will need for my Doomsday Machine update, like the USS Constellation. Then again, I will hopefully be past my latest bout of designer's block on the Grandeur by then, so who knows. ;)

[biotech]

Looks fantastic, I'd love to see some wireframes, its hard to beleive something that looks so smooth could be 50,000 triangles or under.

[USS Mariner]

Vektor is the king of optimization. ;)

[Vektor]

Looks fantastic, I'd love to see some wireframes, its hard to beleive something that looks so smooth could be 50,000 triangles or under.

Believe it. ;)

http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_008.jpg
http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_009.jpg
http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_010.jpg
http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_011.jpg

[USS Mariner]

It's so beautiful.:eek!:

[Nebula]

yes indeed it is! :)

[CrimsonLine]

Vek, you can build this lady as many times as you want, so far as I'm concerned. I never tire of watching you go at it.

[scifieric]

Heyzeus that's beautiful.

She's a sweet-looking and (from what I can tell) marvelously accurate rendition of the old girl, Vektor. Of course, she is my favorite ship of all time.

[Cinnamon]

Hear Hear - those wireframes are just amazing. So /clean/.

-jaime

[Vektor]

I got the windows in the underside of the primary hull shrunk down to a more accurate size, at least they look about right compared to the reference photos I'm using.

http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_012.jpg

You can't really see it in this rendering but I also sharpened the upper edge of the saucer rim and softened the lower edge, which I believe is also more accurate.

Next I'm probably going to rework the impulse engines and linear accelerator. I've been pouring over reference photos and I think I see where I went wrong with what I have. I should able to post some results on that before the end of the day.

[scifieric]

Sweet!

Are you using Mike Trice photos and the photos at the IDIC website for reference?

[Vektor]

Are you using Mike Trice photos and the photos at the IDIC website for reference?

Yup. Those are my two primary sources of reference photos. Trice's are especially good and I've never found anything better.

[scifieric]

Thanks. I feel teh same way although there used to be a set of really wonderful images on www.pcmodeler.com but they don't exist anymore.

[Mr. Wilde]

Damnit, using triangles to lessen the polycount towards the center of a disc... why didn't I think of that? Fantastic!

Great work!

[Vektor]

Last one for this weekend. I made some adjustments to the impulse engines and linear accelerator that I think are pretty accurate.

http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_013.jpg

See the reference photo by C.M. Trice here (http://www.mjtsc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/new/images/image94.jpg) for comparison.

Everybody have a great holiday weekend and I'll see you on the flipside!

[biotech]

THose wires are amazing, so much for the old school theory that you have to maintain quads at all times!

I am also suprised you managed to boolean a round hole frough one individual poly for your windows and it didnt play havok with the surrounding area!

[Vektor]

THose wires are amazing, so much for the old school theory that you have to maintain quads at all times!

Maintaining quads only matters if you're planning to tesselate or subdivide the mesh, which isn't necessary in this case. Although, I have to admit that's how I made the linear accelerator, and it may wind up to be how I do the back half the B/C deck module to make it more accurate.


I am also suprised you managed to boolean a round hole frough one individual poly for your windows and it didnt play havok with the surrounding area!

I always detach the relevant polygons before doing the boolean operation. I'm also careful to prepare the geometry for the hull surface by cutting extra edges where needed to keep the hidden edges under control. I've done this so many times and explored so many aspects of 3d geometry and how it effects smooth shading algorithms that I could probably write a book on the subject.

[biotech]

I wish you would, or at least a tutorial on the subject.

Do you reattatch them afterwards?

[Cinnamon]

I wish you would, or at least a tutorial on the subject.

I'll second that request! Loudly!

-jaime
(still amazed)

[Four Mad Men]

Yes, very nice. The new plans and your windows have inspired me to give the saucer a try. And thanks for the link to the reference pictures, I had forgotten those existed.

I do see that your round window pattern is different than the Sinclair plans and the picutes of the 11 footer. Are you trying to add a bit more symmetry than what is present on the physical model or do you have different reasons?

[homerpalooza67]

I wish you would, or at least a tutorial on the subject.

Do you reattatch them afterwards?
I'll second that request! Loudly!

-jaime
(still amazed)


I third!! I third!

(whaddaya mean I can only second that?????)

[Vektor]

I do see that your round window pattern is different than the Sinclair plans and the picutes of the 11 footer. Are you trying to add a bit more symmetry than what is present on the physical model or do you have different reasons?

Actually, I made several changes to the windows on the underside of the saucer. I reduced the size of the rectangular windows from what was shown on the Sinclair plans, which I believe makes them more accurate to the filming model. I also "regularized" them a bit. I realigned the forward group so they were evenly spaced on either side of the centerline instead of half a degree off. I also adjusted the radial distance of some of the rectangular and round windows so they were consistent for each deck. Finally, I mirrored most of the round window pattern over to the port side where there were none.

Some might argue that making such changes renders my model fundamentally inaccurate, but you have to draw the line somewhere and decide that certain things were just a little bit off and needed fixing, or at least that's what I have chosen to do. If that makes my model inaccurate then so be it.

[Digital I]

Y'know, as a relative newb and mostly lurker around these parts, I feel almost impertinent pointing out an issue, but since you are trying to make it as accurate as possible, I'll offer these observations... Bear in mind that I'm coming at this as a purely impartial observer - while I have loved the ol' 1701 since the late 60s, I've never looked at it with anything like this degree of analysis...

It seems to me, looking at the photo of the linear accelerator on the 'real' model, that the narrow rectangular sections on top of it are not quite right. In the photo you provided, it looks to my eyes as if the raised 'lines' arc around to join up in a semicircular shape at the proximal (er, inner) end. Or is it merely a trick, an artefact of the resolution of the photograph?

Similarly, the more bulbous part of the accelerator seems to have a bit more of a raised elevation on the model, again at the proximal end. In yours, it almost sinks into the rising curve of the saucer...

These are extremely nit-picky items, I admit, so take them or leave them as desired. Some of the differences may also simply be illusions caused by the differing lighting in the real/CG images - but there you have it.

Offered humbly and in awe...

Cheers!

[homerpalooza67]

BTW, have you ever thought about doing an Ent D? they are an endangered species around here

[Dark Overlord]

My 2 cents worth is that absolute adhrence to nit picky detail isn't always a goodo thing.

If it were, Vektor would be modeling "tape" for the impulse engine covers.

Fixing things that are not practical or are inherently flawed shouldn't make the model considered inaccurate.

I commend the astounding work Vektor is doing on his latest pass on an old classic.

[Vektor]

These are extremely nit-picky items, I admit, so take them or leave them as desired. Some of the differences may also simply be illusions caused by the differing lighting in the real/CG images - but there you have it.

I think some of what you're seeing is explainable by the difference in lighting between the two images. Some of it may also be attributable to the "weathering" that's been added to the joints between parts on the filming model. For example, the front end of the accelerator is actually almost flat as can be seen in other views like this (http://www.mjtsc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/new/images/image97.jpg) one, but the airbrushed shading around the edge makes it look more raised than it is with the light from certain angles.

Another thing you can see in that last photo I linked to is the barest hint of a notch in the forward end of the "fin" on top of the accelerator, which leads me to believe that the groove in its top edge cuts all the way through. You can see it even better in this (http://www.mjtsc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/new/images/image95.jpg) image.

Not to say that my version is perfectly accurate. For one thing, the impulse engines themselves are still too large, a long suspiscion of mine that has been confirmed now that I've looked at Alan Sinclair's Rev. D plans. In fact, he seems to have fixed most of the inaccuracies I had identified except for the overlarge windows in the underside of the saucer, which means I will probably be going back and starting over again. *Sigh.*

[Digital I]

I think some of what you're seeing is explainable by the difference in lighting between the two images. Some of it may also be attributable to the "weathering" that's been added to the joints between parts on the filming model. For example, the front end of the accelerator is actually almost flat as can be seen in other views like this (http://www.mjtsc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/new/images/image97.jpg) one, but the airbrushed shading around the edge makes it look more raised than it is with the light from certain angles.

Another thing you can see in that last photo I linked to is the barest hint of a notch in the forward end of the "fin" on top of the accelerator, which leads me to believe that the groove in its top edge cuts all the way through. You can see it even better in this (http://www.mjtsc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/new/images/image95.jpg) image.

Not to say that my version is perfectly accurate. For one thing, the impulse engines themselves are still too large, a long suspiscion of mine that has been confirmed now that I've looked at Alan Sinclair's Rev. D plans. In fact, he seems to have fixed most of the inaccuracies I had identified except for the overlarge windows in the underside of the saucer, which means I will probably be going back and starting over again. *Sigh.*


Fair enough - the resolution of that image of the accelerator top is much clearer: so, yes, the notch goes right through, but the ends are rounded off a bit - so in a strange way, we were both right!

Cheers!

[Vektor]

Rebuilding the primary hull to match the Sinclair Rev. D plans:

http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_014.jpg

[Cinnamon]

Just beautiful... I never tire of this ship... and certainly not when they're so pretty.

-jaime

[Four Mad Men]

OK then, if I run across any "Revision E" files over the new few days I'll just keep my mouth shut.

[Nevets]

Simply beautiful.

[Roliba]

Nice job Vektor.

[seanr]

Vektor, please (pretty please wth sugar and a cherry on top!) write a tutorial (or at least a detailed explanation) of how you modeled the saucer like that to get the wireframes so well optimized.

[Vektor]

I went back and rebuilt the B/C deck module one more time to try to match my reference photos as closely as possible. Here's the result:

http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_015.jpg
http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_016.jpg

My previous attempts at this were spline cage modeled, but I just wasn't getting the subtleties of its contours to come out right, so I wound up box modeling the sucker. This is what the base mesh looks like:

http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_017.jpg

Obviously, this is just the back half. I apply two iterations of mesh smooth then create a shape from the smoothed leading edges to use as the base for a lathe that creates the front half. This ensures that all the vertices line up perfectly.

Anyway, on to those pesky windows again...

[Vektor]

Vektor, please (pretty please wth sugar and a cherry on top!) write a tutorial (or at least a detailed explanation) of how you modeled the saucer like that to get the wireframes so well optimized.

No time for a tutorial in the forseeable future, but here's an explanation that will hopefully be sufficiently detailed:

I started with a spline in the shape of the saucer's cross-section, making sure I had vertices at the locations of the concentric grid lines. Even though I wasn't planning to model the gridlines this time around, they served as convenient points of reference and allowed me to keep my options open for later. Typically, I further subdivide the spline segments manually and turn them all into corner points rather than deal with the vagaries of bezier curves for something like this. Either way, I just make sure I have enough segments to get a nice, smooth curve everywhere it's needed.

Next, I broke the cross-sectional spline into several pieces according to their distance from the saucer's centerline. The strategy here was simple: Each new spline was lathed separately using the same axis of rotation at the saucer's centerline, only the ones closer to the center used progressively fewer lathe segments. To determine the actual numbers, I started with what I thought I'd need at the saucer's edge. The saucer of the TOS Enterprise is divided into 28 segments by radial gridlines. Through trial and error, I determined that 9 lathe segments per radial grid looked pretty good even in close-ups. That's 252 segments all the way around the saucer. Try to imagine how dense 252 segments would be at the radius of the sensor dome on the bottom and you'll understand why I came up with this technique in the first place.

Now, thinking ahead to what it would take to weld together these objects with different numbers of lathe segments and the sheer number of vertices involved, I decided not to lathe the saucer all the way around. It would be far easier to do, say, one radial grid and then array it into the complete saucer. As it turns out, though, this doesn't work very well using this particular example. You see, each quadrant of the saucer is divided into 7 radial grids, which works out to a measurement of 12.857142 degrees per grid. That's an infinitely repeating decimal, by the way. There's just no way to precisely model this, and I am all about precision. I didn't have to divide each quadrant by 7, especially since I wasn't planning to model the gridlines, but I still wanted the mesh topography to match the radial gridlines so I would have the option of modeling them later, and because I'm anal retentive. As a compromise, I decided to work with an entire 90 degree quadrant and let the program deal with the imprecise grid segments. I would still be saving myself 3/4 of the work.

So, 252 lathe segments all the way around worked out to 63 lathe segments per quadrant. Starting with the outermost cross-sectional spline, I lathed it through 90 degrees using 63 segments. My plan was to remove one lathe segment from each radial grid segment for each step toward the center of the saucer. In other words, as I worked my way in, I would reduce the lathe segments by 7 at each step, from 63 to 56 to 49 and so on. By giving each concentric piece a number of segments that was evenly divisible by 7, I ensured that the mesh topography would line up with the radial gridlines all the way from the outer edge to the center.

What I still had to determine was how often to step down the number of segments. The obvious answer would be to do it at every concentric gridline, but the Enterprise saucer has a different number of concentric gridlines on the top and the bottom, and there are enough of them that dropping 7 lathe segments per quadrant would leave me with far too few segments near the bridge module and the bottom sensor dome. Again through trial and error, I wound up setting three or four break points at whichever concentric gridline was closest.

With my lathed objects created, the final step was to attach them into a single object and target-weld the vertices along the edges where the number of lathe segments differed. I simply went around the 90 degree arc, target-welding vertices in the outer concentric segment to the nearest vertices in the inner concentric segment. It's important to go from outer to inner for one main reason, because it allows you to simply eliminate one vertex per radial grid rather than having to take the extra step of subdividing a face to get an extra vertex if you went from inner to outer.

There is one little gotcha to this method of vertex welding. You're going to discover that every other concentric band of vertices to be welded presents you with a decision to make. The numbers work out in such a way that the vertex you want to weld is exactly halfway between the two vertices in the inner band. Which one do you weld it to? It doesn't matter as long as you're consistent. For the sake of completeness (and because I'm anal retentive), I always go back and cut an additional edge at each of these locations so the triangular convergences are symmetrical. If you have no idea what I just said, I promise it will suddenly make sense when you actually do it.

That's basically it, but I'll offer one more piece of advice: Make a copy of the original cross-sectional spline before you start breaking it up into separate pieces. Why? Because after they're lathed and joined into a single object, you won't be able to easily return to the original splines in case you need to make some adjustments. It's also a good idea to make any necessary adjustments BEFORE you start target welding the concentric pieces together, because any change at all will pretty much force you to go back and start completely from scratch.

Oh, one more thing: In case you hadn't figured it out on your own, the final step is to mirror or array your finished quadrant into a full 360 degree saucer. Attach the four pieces into a single object, weld all coincident vertices and voilla! You're done.

Have fun. ;)

[scifieric]

Wow, I've never seen anyone box model the BC Deck! Interesting concept.

Thanks for the explanations.

[Cinnamon]

<takes hasty notes and saves them where she can find them once she graduates from cubes>

Thank you - particularly for keeping to terms that even *I* could follow. It really is neat to get some insights into how you DO these things... Thank you muchly. ^_^

-jaime
(who is looking forward to seeing more of this grand lady)

[Vektor]

A couple of days ago I finally found some time to add the windows and other details to the B/C deck module, but I quickly realized that they didn't match my reference photos of the filming model at all. With all due respect to Alan Sinclair, his windows in particular seem to be way off all over the ship. Through trial and error, I made slight alterations to the size and position of the windows and rectangular markings until I wound up with something I believe is much more accurate to the actual filming model:

http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_018.jpg
http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_019.jpg
http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_020.jpg

In addition to the windows and markings, I also pinched the back half of the teardrop shape a little more than was shown on the Sinclair plans. Here's a wireframe:

http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent/wip_021.jpg

The front half of the module was lathed from a cross sectional spline while the back half was box modeled, and believe me when I say that lining up the two halves was a royal pain in the ass. The results were worth it, though; the object came out cleaner and more accurate to the contours of the actual model than any other method I've tried.

I should also mention that the textures shown are purely generic placeholders to provide some scale and visual interest to the otherwise featureless surfaces. I will be doing a complete set of custom textures for this baby before all is said and done.

[BEMEUP]

Absolutely stunning work! I really appreciate the wires and explanation as to how you modelled it. Very helpful, thanks! Looking forward to you next progress post...

[Ramiel]

Oh Vektor, man, you are doing a piece of 3D history here!:D
Everything is so clean, everything was done for a specific reason... I'm speechless.
You know how to model something properly, don't you?;)

[scifieric]

Excellent work Vektor! You've always done terrific work but this is simply stunning and looks very much like the studio model.

[Cinnamon]

That is just so beautiful... I can not *wait* to see this baby finished... well, yes, I can if it means you keep posting renders and wireframes I can learn from - for now, anyway... ^_-

Simply awesome.

-jaime

[Nayslayer]

Thats pretty sweet. Even the temp textures are better than most i've seen.

:)

[Vektor]

Incidentally, the rectangular windows on the sides of the B/C deck module wound up to be exactly the same size as the windows on the secondary hull. I also know that the windows in the underside of the saucer were smaller than Sinclair showed them on his plans, but I think they were still a little larger than the ones in the secondary hull, so I'll probably wind up doing some more trial-and-error tweaking when I get around to redoing them.

[Cinnamon]

I hope that as I learn more about this art that I can develop half the skill and attention to detail I see in threads like this. It's really awe inspiring to watch these things grow and mature. Educational, too, thank you, Vektor.

Just out of curiosity, why in the name of the goddess does it say 'SFM n00b' under your name? If you're a 'n00b' at this, then I'm the governor of Rivendell. *I* am the n00b. ^_^

Cheers!

-jaime

[Taranis]

Jaw Drops .. awesome work ..

[Roliba]

As before, looks good.

[USS Mariner]

When you get around to it, tell us how you do the impulse engine, with it's special "molding" where it meets the saucer.

[EBOLII]

One of the features I really like from your previous version is the torpedo hatch

will you be adding this concept again?

[Vektor]

When you get around to it, tell us how you do the impulse engine, with it's special "molding" where it meets the saucer.

Are you talking about the fabric covers on each side? If not, I'm afraid I have no idea what you mean by "molding."

[Vektor]

One of the features I really like from your previous version is the torpedo hatch

will you be adding this concept again?

If you mean the concealed torpedo launchers near the sensor dome on the underside of the saucer then the answer is yes. If you're talking about the dome hatches I used on the launchers in the front of the B/C deck module on my old Constitution model, the answer is no. If you're talking about something else entirely then I guess you'll need to rephrase the question. ;)

[strangeman]

Wow... the wire is so clean... all is so perfect :) great work !!!

[USS Mariner]

Vektor, your amazing. Even that text tutorial is immensly helpful.

Danke schoen.:thumb:

(Yes, it's not based on the gridlines, but on the places where the hull contours meet. To counteract this, I step down by 14 rather than 7, and it seems to work fine.)

[EBOLII]

If you mean the concealed torpedo launchers near the sensor dome on the underside of the saucer then the answer is yes.

yeah that!
:flippy:

[Roliba]

More Please!

[Vektor]

Got two things done today: I restored the four glowy, rectangular panels on the top of the saucer, and I pretty much finished the modeling work on the impulse engines.

http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent\wip_022.jpg
http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent\wip_023.jpg
http://www.vektorvisual.com/3dwips/TOS-Ent\wip_024.jpg

You'll note that I have added the slight inward curves at the sides of the impulse housing. After long perusal of my reference photos and much internal debate, I decided the curves were most likely intentional and not just the result deterioration as I originally assumed.

The glow effect may or may not be final. I rather like the way it looks now, but I'll probably wind up tweaking it at least a little as I go along.

[Nayslayer]

i like the impulse glow man!

this is pretty impressive work and looks like it'll be the best TOS Enterprise made. :)

[scifieric]

Yep, it's going to be a good one.

I like the impulse engines as you have them now. It does not look quite like TMP engines but you can tell it's the direcction they're going in! Very nice.

[al3d]

looking very nice man..but not to accurate for the Impulse engine section. But you might be taking liberties..i did'nt read all your post.

[Vektor]

looking very nice man..but not to accurate for the Impulse engine section. But you might be taking liberties..i did'nt read all your post.

I am taking liberty with the appearance of the engines themselves, obviously, since the ones on the filming model were just dark rectangles, but I'm trying to make the overall shape and proportions as close to accurate as I can. I'm still relying heavily on the Sinclair plans, but I'm finding more and more stuff as I go along that just doesn't look quite right once I build it in 3D and there's a lot of that around the impulse engines. The "linear accelerator" above the engine housing, especially, could use some tweaking.

I guess let me know if there's anything in particular you think needs to be fixed.

[Tallguy]

I'm still relying heavily on the Sinclair plans, but I'm finding more and more stuff as I go along that just doesn't look quite right once I build it in 3D and there's a lot of that around the impulse engines.When you're done you should (out of the kindness of your heart) create a set of plans off of this. Right? :)

[Vektor]

I will probably do exactly that, though I can't guarantee they will be any more accurate than the Sinclair plans, only that they appear more accurate to my eye.

[scifieric]

Well, that would appear to be fine by my eyes! LOL!

Nice work Vektor.

[Cinnamon]

The glow may be a liberty, but I like it, too... I particularly like that it's not a uniform glow over the entire surface of the vent - the way you've done it gives it a LOT more depth and makes it look much more 'real'.

It really is a gorgeous model. ^_^

-jaime

[USS Mariner]

I'd like an explanation of how you box modeled the B/C deck by using the blueprints. That seems like the most difficult thing here.

[Vektor]

I only box modeled the back half of the B/C deck module, the front half was a simple lathe. The trick was getting them to line up with the same number and location of vertices along the seam. Once I knew how many segments I was going to wind up with on the box modeled side, I just made sure to use the same number for the lathed spline. Aligning the two halves was the real hard part because, as anyone who has ever box modeled knows, the edges and vertices shift when subdivision is applied. I also had a problem getting the correct surface angle along the seam, which generally happens at the open edges when subdivision is applied. I could have tried to compensate by pushing out the next row of vertices but I decided to go with a simpler method that was less prone to secondary distortion. I simply mirrored the control object and attached it to the original, which left me with a oval shaped B/C deck module rather than teardrop shaped. Once the subdivision was applied and the control vertices along the centerline were nudged into alignment with the lathed front half, the surface angle along the seam was perfectly tangential and smooth. I then simply froze the subdivision and deleted the mirrored portion, leaving me with a nearly perfectly matched back half. I say nearly perfect because the segments between the control vertices never come out perfectly even, but they were close enough to the matching vertices of the lathed front half that you really couldn't tell once they were welded together.

As for matching the object to the blueprints, I'm working from Sinclair's DWG versions of the plans, which means I can bring them directly into Max as editable splines instead of having to use them as background templates. In the case of the B/C deck module, I used the spline right off the plans for the front half, while the back half was created as a new object and shaped to match the plans, more or less. I tapered mine a bit more than Sinclair did and adjusted the contours to flow around the sides, back and down over the tail end in a way that just wasn't possible by simply distorting a lathed object. That's the main reason I chose to box model it in the first place, to achieve that distinctively sculpted shape the actual filming model had.

I don't know if that will make any sense to anybody. It might not be possible to provide a clear explanation without detailed visual aids, and I just don't have time for that at the moment.

[JesseRC]

It real good man...clean and very pleasing to the eye... will we ever see a connie without the name Enterprise and 1701 lol.... I was hoping for a Yorktown or something ....

[DaAan]

is there anywhere one can get hold of Alan Sinclair's rev d. plans online (if u have to purchase them fair enough) i just thought i'd ask. i searched google to no avail but google is not the be-all-end-all of the internet so im just asking :) thanks

btw the model looks awesome

[scifieric]

On the post of this page (http://www.scifi-meshes.com/forums/member-tutorials/727-how-build-starship-enterprise-truespace-3-a.html), you can find at least three different sets of plans online, including Alan Sinclair's wonderful plans.

[DaAan]

thanks muchly eric

[scifieric]

Any time! Now, back to Vektor's magnificent build.

[VALKYRIE013]

again, I'm late to the party... great job so far, and the explanations are excellent, keep on going... please

[Promus]

Please tell me that this project did not die...

[RAF-MX]

This is what I call PERFECTION,Vector ,Sir!!!!

[Promus]

This project DID die, didn't it? :(

[Vektor]

This project more or less transformed into my Conjectural Trek XI Enterprise model. It is unlikely I will be picking it back up again, certainly not any time soon.

[JWWright]

superb work as usual, i want to finish my connie, my instinct was to lathe the primary hull, are you using nurbs?

how did you get that perfect fillet joining of the upper decks to the saucer? brilliant.

matt's design is as much a futuristic beauty today as she was in the sixties.

[Promus]

This project more or less transformed into my Conjectural Trek XI Enterprise model. It is unlikely I will be picking it back up again, certainly not any time soon.

That's the saddest thing I've heard in a long time. :(