I really like the strakes. If nothing else, it will make it very easy to tell an X-ship, from a non X-ship on the table.

By Steven Zamboni (Szamboni) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 10:31 am: Edit

What if the ones on the saucer were curved to align with the radius of the saucer?

By Jay Gustafson (Jay13) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 10:45 am: Edit

I like the design of the left right warp engines

By Nick Samaras (Koogie) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 11:00 am: Edit

I like Zamboni’s idea of the curved saucer strakes. That and reducing their height would make then much less jarring.

By Matthew Lawson (Mglawson) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 11:03 am: Edit

Although I haven't messed with these on the other empires yet, I always felt from the line art that they were more flush to the hull, but could still incorporate the grid-like pattern to them.

Ship looks beautiful though; guess I should start messing around with new engine designs!

By John Sickels (Johnsickels) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 11:14 am: Edit

I think the strakes need to be more rounded, sleeker. I love the engines.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 11:16 am: Edit

The strakes in the art are all straight fore-and-aft. So, no curves or angles.

The line art are top views so they could be half or twice this high.

By David Bostwick (Zarquon) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 11:32 am: Edit

I quite dislike the strakes, not their presence, but their size. They look like a pasted on bit added after the design was done. I suggest shortening them until they are flush with the hull at one point and let the rest of the length stand out to that level.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 11:43 am: Edit

Flush on one end may actually be something Shapeways cannot do. I don't know. Maybe William does.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 12:14 pm: Edit

Thanks for the clarification regarding the saucer warp pack.

I'm fine with the drone racks staying in the saucer, and forgetting about the "gun deck".

I like Andrew's idea of moving the grilles from the side of the strakes to the top, and shortening the strakes themselves. For one thing, that might help distinguish them from other external features on certain later X-ships, such as the mauler cannons on the FlameHawk-X.

In the long run, it makes sense for these first-generation X-ships to have a somewhat less elegant approach towards packing in all those new "X-features" onto hull types which were not originally designed for them, if that then leaves the door open for second-generation X-ships, as and when they eventually arrive, to have these features woven more seamlessly into the base hull. (Which might help explain the note over in the SFB Module X2 discussion thread that pre-X2 ships shall not be convertible to X2 technology.)

By David Bostwick (Zarquon) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 12:23 pm: Edit

Maybe not exactly flush then, but minimal height and then allow the curve of the hull to add height as it curves away.

By A David Merritt (Adm) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 12:34 pm: Edit

Given the history that a lot of the X-1 introduction was rushed to get it on the front lines now, the "stuck on" look makes sense. I do think that lowering the saucer strakes would look sharper, the side view of the saucer looks rather jarring.

By Alan W Kerr (Awkerr) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 01:11 pm: Edit

I *like* the strakes on the secondary hull. Along with the new shape of the deflector dish and warp engines, it makes it look like there is some sort of new, powerful technology in there.

However, I don't like the strakes on the primary hull. Most of the ideas, that I would have suggested, have *already* been shot-down... so... I like Lawrence Bergen's idea of tilting the saucer strakes outwards. I suggest about 30 degrees from vertical (but leave the location the same). Would that still be close enough to the MSSB line art? (I don't have the MSSB to check). I just find the present saucer strakes look a little too "jarring"... like someone took two *huge* strakes and just shoved them straight through the saucer. I think an outward tilt would fix that.

By Mike West (Mjwest) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 01:37 pm: Edit

For the record, I love the engines.

By Will McCammon (Djdood) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 02:13 pm: Edit

Q: These do seem obstructive of the phasers
A: The side phasers are LS and RS. The bottom phasers are 360. The strakes were placed very carefully to not block those arcs.

Q: Flush on one end may actually be something Shapeways cannot do. I don't know. Maybe William does.
A: This could probably be done, but they will just end up looking like fins on a missile. Is that kind of "Flash Gordon" wedge-fin look what would be wanted? (it was anathema to Matt Jefferies and Roddenberry when the original series ship was design, specifically to get away from the finned Buck Rogers 1930s serial look)

By Jay Gustafson (Jay13) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 02:13 pm: Edit

Me to

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 02:48 pm: Edit

The nacelles are splendid, and do an excellent job of saying, "This is an X-ship!"

The strakes...I've got to go with the rest of the folks on that one. They look like someone strapped radiators all over the ship.

By MarkSHoyle (Bolo) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 03:47 pm: Edit

Strakes make it look like a Minelayer...
ala German Tornado.....

By wayne douglas power (Wayne) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 05:38 pm: Edit

The Federation CX ones are fine. The "strakes" detail size is big enough to be able to ID the ship (1/3788 scale) on the tabletop, that is good.

What could make the "Strakes" look more like a combination of cooling, shield generators, and sensors.(perhaps some similar earth tech)

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 06:05 pm: Edit

What if the front end of skates melded into the saucer and were higher on the back end? Or would that look too much like the fins on a '59 Caddy??


Garth L. Getgen

By Will McCammon (Djdood) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 07:00 pm: Edit

Some context/history on the term "strake", as it inspires the use of the term on X-ships:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strake_(aeronautics)

They're not performing the same function (obviously), but are very similar in looks.
---

Regarding shape and size of the strakes -
Shapeways has very tough restrictions on unsupported geometry for several of the materials ADB sells in.

The strakes that are vertical can get thinner, change shape, etc. Vertical is easy.

The strakes that come out at an angle (such as those on the rear hull of the current configuration) must be at least as thick as-currently shown, to be printable. They are pushing it even as is. The little angled "fins" at the rear of traditional Fed engines are a persistent source of trouble.

Making them pointed at the extremity would increase the risk of problems. They definitely can not be "tapered" to a sharp edge the way many airplane strakes are.

The grille pattern on the sides of the current versions was to give painters something to pick out on them, rather than just a featureless block. Putting detail on the "edge" would increase the risk of printing problems. Not necessarily impossible, but the intent is reliable for printing and details service that to a degree (which is why all the phaser bumps are all 10 times the size Franz Joseph drew them).

The slight angle chamfering and rounding they have now was an attempt to style them up and still maintain the spirit of the extruded-rectangle shape they are implied to have by the existing top-view line art.

By wayne douglas power (Wayne) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 07:54 pm: Edit

I think with some paint on the ship it would look good.

By Charles Chapel (Ctchapel) on Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 11:11 pm: Edit

Looking again at it, the strakes on the engineering hull are the ones that bother me. Could you incorporate them into the neck and/or the details that hold the deflector. Where they are now seem just tacked on willy nilly.

By Lawrence Bergen (Lar) on Friday, January 31, 2020 - 02:32 am: Edit

It’s true these are nothing a small file couldn’t take care of. I mean metal or plastic this is what these minis have been for all of 35 years is an actual platform for artistic imagination, so if you want a 59 caddy shave the front off at an angle. Or take them down a little or to flush.

Everyone has kit-bashed a bit here and there, some with gorgeous effect. Some because the minis needed it (flash) or some because of a vision for improving what we were given (whether it worked or not).

I like this ship, send it to print.

By Jay Gustafson (Jay13) on Friday, January 31, 2020 - 03:59 am: Edit

Send to print