Merian-Class and Mogai-Type Warbird

[aaron067]

I'm definitely considering two versions: one with the original fins and another with no fins and redesigned pylons/impulse engines.  

In the meantime, here's a very small update.  There would have been more but it's taken FOR-E-VER to get a smooth mesh with that deflector cut-away in the dorsal "saucer".  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, but I may tweak the poly subdivision around the center line a bit to see if I can get anything better.  Hopefully I can get the rest of the saucer and possibly the after end of the secondary hull churned out tonight.  

[dEjavU]

I suggest doing what Wiley did with his Proteus.  Invert the color of the parts of the text that are on the black part.

Damn! That Avenger class looks mean! As for the Palatine registries, Shadowknight1 was close to my suggestion....



..I was going to mention to do it like how I did Wiley's registries for his a2 port of that ship.   ;)

[aaron067]

I don't really like the red outline, but outlines may be the way to go nonetheless.  I'll experiment with various colors when I go back to the textures.  Thanks for the suggestion!

On the Prometheus front: I've finished splining out the basic shape of the dorsal secondary hull.  None of my objects have been welded together yet, so that's why you're seeing seams.  I'm keeping them separate in order to preserve the parametric stacks (easier full-mesh adjustments rather than vertex by vertex).  Next will be the command deck superstructure, additional weapon placements, then the pylons and nacelles, and finally any minor details.

[Bones]

The Executor no, really, the shape looks much like SSD from Star Wars ;) cool

[aaron067]

There was something oddly familiar about it when I was making the renders last night, and, now that you mention it, a couple of the perspective views do look like the Executor.  Once I finish out the rest of the model, I think that'll go away, though.   

[aaron067]

Just a quick update...

The base mesh is still in a semi-raw state (no thrusters, no welding, no deflector, no aft shuttlebay, etc.), but I think adding the pylons and nacelles is going to give the ship a much more finalized feel.  I've kept to the template images as closely as possible up to this point, but I'm hoping to pull in a significant Vesta-class connection with the pylons and possibly the nacelles.  I'm also considering something more Sovereign-like in that area since the Prometheus was likely an off-shoot of the Sovereign design program, but it all depends on how it looks during the modeling process.

I'm also getting a yearning to go back to the Palatine textures (though I'll have to do some educated guessing since I haven't heard back from Mark yet).  In the meantime:

[JamesTiberiusKirk]

its shaping up nicely!

[Lionus]

Indeed. Work harder! Faster! MOAR! 

[aaron067]

Thanks for the all the comments so far.  I need some to get some opinions on the current state of the pylons and nacelles, but I first need to share how much I absolutely loathe designing them both.  

             

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, here's where I'm at.  The nacelles are a combination of Sovereign and Vesta with a hint of DJ's Athena thrown in because I wanted the additional phaser coverage.  They're still in a fairly incomplete state, but I'm curious to know what you think about the positioning on each axis, the general shape, and the shape of the pylons.

[eclipse74569]

My first impressions are bring them a bit closer to the saucer but that's just me, other than that it looks great!

[aaron067]

That is something I've toyed with.  I'll have to adjust the position and/or angle of the pylons to accomplish it unless I decide to lower the nacelle and attach the pylon on the inner side rather than the bottom.  None of which is a problem, of course.  I'm just talking out loud, as the saying goes. 

[FarShot]

Here's what I would do in your position:
I'd drag the pylons and nacelles forward some more, so that they sit about halfway between the end of the saucer and the shuttlebay.  Also, the nacelles both feel too far out and too thin in the top view.  And lastly, the lower ends of the bussards are too angular.  I would round them out a bit. ;)

[aaron067]

Hm, so the consensus so far is that the nacelles need to be moved forward.  Just as a note to those of you contributing, the Vesta's nacelles attach just behind the bussard.  So, they actually sit further back than these.  On the other hand, it has a rather large hump extending off the saucer where the shuttlebay is, so the profile makes more sense.  

Farshot:  Thanks for your thoughts!  The bussards are actually pulled directly from the Vesta class.  The nose end is flattened and actually serves as a cap with spindly little support arms reaching around the bussard and attaching to the forward edge of the nacelle.  It should make a lot more sense once it gets textured.  The Vesta class also has narrow nacelles, but that's something I might change as I tweak the shape some more.    

Here's a forward ortho shot that might give you a different perspective.

[FarShot]

I shopped the previous two pics to show what I mean better.  Three differences:
1. Bussard is slightly curved at the lower tip.
2. Pylons are a bit further forward.
3. Nacelles are wider.
I'm already quite satisfied with how it looks, don't worry about that, it's just that, if in my hands, these are the things I would change.

[aaron067]

I've already made the changes you suggested and am equally satisfied and also a bit amused that our changes are nearly identical.  I'll post some pics once I finish with the pylon/nacelle mount structure.

[FarShot]

Sweet. ;)  Bouncing ideas is pretty fun.

[aaron067]

Okay.  Here are the changes:

1)  Reshaped the nacelles to make them wider.  There's some work I need to do around the bussards to clean up the mesh itself, though.
2)  Moved the nacelles forward quite a bit and toward the center of the ship just a bit.
3)  Reshaped the pylons to connect with the nacelles.  I also have the happy fortune of their shape now being very similar to the designer's newest class, Ark Royal.
4)  Removed the vents on the dorsal secondary hull.  I'm going to place secondary impulse engines there for saucer separation.

[aaron067]

I apologize for the lack of updates over the past week, but I didn't bother taking my laptop with me on a much-needed vacation.  I spent some time today redoing some of the nacelle and adding the final touches to complete the base model.  Impulse engines will be added on the pylons ala Voyager and the original Avenger specs, plus some additional aft-facing weapon placements. 

What I'd really like some opinions on, though, is a separation point for MVAM (in just two parts).  I've been planning to separate the ship just behind the shuttle bay that's attached the command deck superstructure, but I'm not sure that's the best way to go.  I was also planning to add some impulse engines (in a pop out kind of design) extending from the side of the secondary hull just below that shuttle bay for the saucer to use during separation.  Any thoughts are welcome on that front.
   

[aaron067]

So, I've taken a short recess from the Prometheus to allow the design to settle in a bit before I make any more decisions.  At the moment, I think the current pylon/nacelle setup makes the ship look a bit clunky, not at all sleek and graceful, and a little too similar to the E-E in the fore and aft orthos.  After finishing up the Palatine I think I'm going to go back to the original model design with pylons and nacelles extending straight out from the hull, ala the Intrepid.  I think that might produce the results in standing with what I'm looking for.

And speaking of the Palatine, I'm almost finished with the glows.  Just the nacelles and a few odds and ends left to go.

 

[deadthunder2_0]

OOH, use the glow deffering stuff jb does!