Federation Commander

I'm trying to make a 3D model of a Federation-Romulan War era light cruiser, but I can't find any graphical references for appropriate warp nacelles or any other subsequently upgraded systems that might alter its appearance. Here's an image of what I have so far (please excuse the "nakedness" of the model) but I want to redo the warp nacelles so they look like the older non-tactical warp versions. Do any such designs exist, or should I just make something up?

looks about right

I haven't seen any artwork showing non-tactical warp nacelles. Don't think there is externally any difference so I'd just go with what you've got.

Looks good so far.

Thanks for the encouragement. I've made a little more progress and taken a couple of artistic licenses. I've added my rendition of old style laser banks with black "lenses" and grey housings. I also added a bit more to the nacelles. I was hoping the copper grill would give it a bit of a retro feel, but the blue glowing portion on the side is seen more in later Star Trek than in the original series (and by extension, the SFU). What do you think?

Looks pretty good. How many UV groups are you going to use?

phdillman wrote:Looks pretty good. How many UV groups are you going to use?

Not sure yet. It's been a few years since I've really worked with 3ds max, so I'm relearning a lot of things, especially UV mapping.

I added some more details and edited the geometry a bit (lowered the nacelles and angled the pylons) and have started working on textures. I don't know of this name and registry number is taken yet. Does this registry belong to another ship or is it free to use?

The rounded Corvette front end you have is really nice. Hopefully the 2500 Mini will also be of that style. I think tiyr ship is looking great.

There is an NCC list located here
http://www.starfleetgames.com/documents ... umbers.pdf

Thanks for the link. I'll change the number to 944 since that one isn't assigned and is between two other state names.

I think that model looks awesome! I am fascinated by the pre constitution class ere designs!

If you plan for it to literally be a Terran ship from the Romulan War, it would be in service prior to the formation of Star Fleet itself; and thus may not have either the USS prefix (which is for the United Star Fleet, not for any of the planetary fleets) or the NCC number (which is in a similar boat).

I don't know if any of the "National Guard" fleets have, or had, their own naming conventions officially listed anywhere; but it could be interesting to see someday.

Nice. The stripes are more GW-era, but I like them.

Nerroth wrote:If you plan for it to literally be a Terran ship from the Romulan War, it would be in service prior to the formation of Star Fleet itself; and thus may not have either the USS prefix (which is for the United Star Fleet, not for any of the planetary fleets) or the NCC number (which is in a similar boat).

I don't know if any of the "National Guard" fleets have, or had, their own naming conventions officially listed anywhere; but it could be interesting to see someday.

Good point, but would a Terran ship have some sort of prefix and service number displayed other than USS and NCC-xxx?

As for the stripes, I figure markings such as these become more common during wartime no matter what era. It's sort of a starship "warpaint" concept.

I've done some more work and did a little research on pre-Federation earth vessels from various quasi-canon sources. I reworked the warp nacelles to reflect a more primitive design, replaced "USS" with "UES", and made a new registry number. I'm almost done with the basic texture mapping too (just need to make the shuttle bay door) and will then start on normal maps and self-illumination maps once I finish adding details (need to start on windows soon). What do you guys think so far?

The patches on the underside mark the landing gear?