Federation Commander

I'm VERY new here... and yesterday we finally got through two successful games (I got killed a lot because I zigged when I should have zagged)

Anyway, one of my goals for restarting this game was to write AAR's in prose (I know, I know... it sounds awful...). I wanted to illustrate the AAR's a little, so I thought I'd whip up a ship or two...

I'm horribly enamored with the NCA, but since the NCA is based off of the NCL's frame (With an secondary hull and another warp nacelle), I figured I'd start here

Note: I finished the work on this just before the Starline 2500 mini was released... so I noticed I have some of the details on the superstructure wrong... I guess I'll have to chalk that up to "Artistic License"

Short of the superstructure (And the weird maps on the nacelles, I'll straighten them out when I do mapping in a bit), are there any glaring errors?

Thanks!

--Aabh

Very, very nice! I love the NCL design and you pulled it off very well. What program are you using?

Nothing jumps out at me as an "error". I think your model is pretty spot-on.

The NCL has had more interpretations than just about any other Fed ship (Turner's is different than Giebel's, which is different than Vance's, which is different than the mini, etc.). I wouldn't sweat the details on the superstructure. Yours has the proportions in the right range and the various doodads, etc., to make it look like an NCL.

I might suggest adding the three circular windows/dishes to the front of the saucer (unless you'll be doing them in textures).

Hard to tell from the angle of that view, but watch the sizing on the engines. I've seen some folks just re-use "tv ship" engines and those are too big. The NCL's are the same diameter and details, but shortened to roughly 2/3 the length.

The only thing I can see is that the bow Phaser-1 mounts are missing.

Aside from that, it is probably the best version of the NCL I have ever seen.

The forward phaser mounts are on the underside of the saucer and would not show in the view posted.

Nice render!

Wow, thank you!

I will be putting the three circles on the textures... unless they stick out like they do on the minis... (do they? )

I did shorten the nacelles, but I didn't know how much to shorten them, now I know! (Thank you djdood!)

As for the program... well, that's kinda embarrassing: I use a little, old program called "Anim8or" which was made, like, in 2000... it has some severe limitations (It took me three tries to get the curve of the nacelle strut correct-the program wanted to connect the edges together, making it "webbed"), but it's the program I know... I use UVMapper (Rather: I WILL use UVMapper) to map it and then I bring it into good `ol Poser for rendering and assembly (I have Franz Joseph's ships already done, so I can just "Steal" parts from my already constructed nacelles (With adjustment) and sensor dish)

Looks to me like all the photons are on the Port side ---- first one in center then added them to the port ---

Though might just be optical illusion to the picture --

Aabh -

If you want to review the proportions on the engines, this picture may be of assistance:


Regarding the three circles on the saucer's leading edge, those are open to interpretation (like a lot of things).

Most art (and the tv series) seems to have them as illuminated windows, which could just be done in textures.

However, some art and decal sets labels them as small dishes for the tracking scanners.

Excellent assist, djdood! Thank you!

I went ahead and did 75% as 66% looked a little TOO small.

Okay, I'm mapping up the ship now, and I've run into another question:

On most models, the Photon Torpedoes sit on the front of that first lip. But there are four bumps there... however, every SSD I have shows only two tubes... what are the other two bumps?

And where is that Phaser 1 360 located? Is it on the after hull?

Bolo: It was an optical illusion

Okay, here's my progress so far:

Maybe not your intention but It has a REALLY cool cell shaded anime look to it. Very nice.

Aabh wrote: And where is that Phaser 1 360 located? Is it on the after hull?

I was getting my Trek universes mixed up.
In the refit version of the Paramount's starships- the only ones where the phaser mounts show, the TOS ones lack any visible mounts- the bow phaser mount is located on top of the saucer, just like the port/starboard mounts. On the ADB version of the ships, apparently, there is no upper mount (which makes me wonder how they fire phasers ahead and forward ).

Aabh -

I think you might be referencing the "Fleet Scale" ship card from FedCom.

What you might not know is that the Fleet Scale cards take the "real" ship and cut it roughly in half. So, 4 photons become 2, and certain phasers go from two to one, with their arcs being combined (a LS Ph-3 and RS Ph-3 become one 360-degree phaser 3).

The NCL has always had four photon tubes, (just like the DD it was meant to replace and its CA big-brother) and no 360-degree phasers.

See the Squadron Scale ship card (identical to the SFB SSD), here:
http://www.starfleetgames.com/federatio ... _both1.pdf - that file also has the Fleet Scale card.

For modeling purposes, only the Squadron Scale card (or the SFB SSD) is really valid, assuming you are trying to accurately model the "real" ship. Fleet Scale is an approximation to make for a faster game.

OH! Got it! (Thanks djdood!)

We've been only playing on Fleet Scale because we are still learning the rules and don't want to be over complicated (Since we still have to go to the rule book every impulse, we figured double the size would mean we wouldn't ever finish a game)... last night I played my NCA vs. a friend's Lyran CA and he was seriously annoyed by the overloaded photons I hit him with, he was really feeling that photons were over powered (He just didn't get the "Takes two turns to load and fire them" thing), imagine what he'll think when he realizes there are actually FOUR photons!

Okay, so I saw a picture on the website which has the photons in a hooded unit, would it be okay, do we think, to simply have the doors recessed into Deck 3?

SavedFromWhat: That was exactly what I was going for! Thank you!

Aabh wrote:imagine what he'll think when he realizes there are actually FOUR photons!

He'll only be mad until you miss with all four, something photons and "bad dice" can do to you and is much less likely with disruptors. The photon is a great "crunch" weapon, up-close, but there is a reason some folks call it the "wonder weapon" (as in "I wonder if it will hit"). Using photons to their best result is something people are still writing about, thirty years later.

He'll also enjoy smashing you with ESGs he can keep up nearly all the time, by cycling the doubled amount you'll be use to facing.

Aabh wrote: Okay, so I saw a picture on the website which has the photons in a hooded unit, would it be okay, do we think, to simply have the doors recessed into Deck 3?

Those "rectangular" photon ports are something that was not on the original art or minis and was added by Ted Giebel in his CG model (and then included in Adam Turner's). Personally, I don't like them. It's "movie ship" looking stuff, sloshing into the SFU and they just don't look like all the other Fed saucer ships.

You can do what you think makes your model look the way you want. For all my art of the NCL, I always draw it (and will be modeling it) as you showed in your first pic, with four traditional bumps, on the front edge of the "command hull" superstructure.