DJ Curtis WIPs - New WIP Page 9 - 3 New Ships @ BCF

[DJ Curtis]

I don't think the Sov ever actually had special armor on it.  Ablative armor isn't really a separate metallic layer anyway, it's more of a coating that boils off to dissipate incoming energy.  If it's a clear coating, which it seems to be on the defiant since its hull doesn't look substantially different from any other ship, why not just apply it over windows too?

[Saquist]

I don't think the Sov ever actually had special armor on it.  Ablative armor isn't really a separate metallic layer anyway, it's more of a coating that boils off to dissipate incoming energy.  If it's a clear coating, which it seems to be on the defiant since its hull doesn't look substantially different from any other ship, why not just apply it over windows too?

Ablative armor is likely a metal alloy.    The X-33 uses (or would have used) a Metallic Thermal Protection system that is designed  to dissipate and  regulate the amount of Heat that reaches the ship's structure.  The shuttle did the same thing.  The shuttle's skin was made of aluminum and the frame was made of titanium. Without that protection it quickly disintegrated under the temperature of 2300 degrees Fahrenheit.

In this case we know windows in Trek are merely transparent aluminum.  Aluminum has a lower melting point than our strongest metals. The difference between aluminum and Iron is so great in the heat department it would be ridiculous to even venture into the 20 times harder than diamond  alloys that Trek makes their ships out of.  Essentially even with the a clear coat over the windows it's a foregone conclusion that the windows will fail before the Ablative armor does.  The easiest thing is just not to have windows.

Voyager essentially proved that the Ablative armor was not a clear coat.
Defiant's hull doesn't change with the armor simply because of production cost and even if they had the money it wouldn't be anywhere as thick as Voyager's shape altering armor which had to be 2 meters thick in some areas.  What ever it was...it has to be some amazing stuff to do what Defiant was able to pull off with a Vorcha parked on the tail pipe with what is apparently only centimeters thick.

Edit:
Considering The Venus probes camera lenses were made of diamond to with stand the great temperature and pressure on the surface I think Scotty gave away a tiny secret.  Federation windows have to be made of something else just considering where the Delta Flyer, and voyager have flown through.

[BFGfreak]

We don't know that "all" windows are transparent aluminum, they may have figured out transparent tungsten for all we know, and aluminum is just an easier material to work with with primitive 20th century tech. It may also have been that transparent aluminum was invented before any other transparent metals, and as such they were forced to use inferior aluminum windows or risk altering the timeline even more than they already were.

Ah the science of make believe.

[Phoenix Bondi]

wtf dose it matter, look how many windows the galaxy had, why do we care, its a game a show and not real life, this is his to do with as he please's whats it matter -

[Bones]

was about to say what Phoenix just said, we're about to discuss sci-fi tech that exist only in sci-fi show ? a tech that does not exist and we do not know anything about technical details except for fan made theories ??? it's just a game Saquist ;)

Cookie to DJ for v.2 of Century class

and cookie to Phoenix for ccccombo breaker 

[serverandenforcer]

...but transparent aluminum does exist...     

[Saquist]

wtf dose it matter, look how many windows the galaxy had, why do we care, its a game a show and not real life, this is his to do with as he please's whats it matter -

Yes, sir.
Because I'm a structural drafter, my comments will tend to lean upon my profession.

[ACES_HIGH]

...but transparent aluminum does exist...     

Yeah, there actually is transparent aluminum, the army uses it for bullet proof glass.  Although it is more accurately described as transparent bauxite, because rather than being an alloy of aluminum, it is a ceramic made from bauxite, the clay like powder Aluminum is derived from.

[DJ Curtis]

Update.

Working on a hull scheme reminiscent of the first ship but cleaner.  Decided to go with Sov style escape pods with an updated color scheme.

[Bones]

Transparent aluminum does exist then...

Your textures are sooo clean DJ  :eek so crisp yet so subtle

[Vortex]

I likey like.

[Killallewoks]

I like the how subtle the aztec pattern is, reminds me of Wileys Ent-D.

[Phoenix Bondi]

man wish i could texture like that nice in photoshop - i mean u do it all in max which is STUPIDLY hard
Cookie for being awesome - no that is not valid - how about a cookie coz im jellous

[mckinneyc]

Loving the textures so far

[WileyCoyote]

Does the Enterprise-F necessarily have the same escape pods as the Enterprise-E? Then again, the Ent-C E-pods were similar to the Ent-D. Would it be possible to create a variant of the triangular escape pods?

I'm liking the textures and the coloring so far. Subtle coloring is the way to go. This will definitely be a top download.

May I see an angled wireframe of the saucer (same view as the texture sample earlier)? I mainly want to see how many polys you used to construct the saucer's rim.

[Lord Tribble]

This looks great! One thing bugging me though, if a shuttle flew straight out of the bays it looks like it would hit the front of the nacelles. The old design just got away with it. Still, nothing a pilot paying attention wouldn't fix!

(edit: actually, looking at the front views, they'd glide right under no problem. Doh!)

Do you see this as a refit of the old design or how it would have always been?

[TheConstable6]

This is some amazing stuff DJ, the textures remind me of that ambient masterwork "Porcelain" by Moby...majestic!

Methinky that the top "layer" of the saucer is a bit...blocky...and doesn't line up well with the rest of the design 

But seriously, this is my favorite all-time BC ship, and v2 is splendid as ever!

[BCAriakas]

Wonderful texturing. The pale blue reminds me of some of the works of Adonis. Great looking ship.

[JimmyB76]

that ambient masterwork "Porcelain" by Moby

i *love* that song - and entire album!  ever since it was released 12 years ago

[TheConstable6]

i *love* that song - and entire album!  ever since it was released 12 years ago

Play is, along with one Selected Ambient Works 85-92 & Mezzanine of the seminal electronica albums. Everything From Rushing to Run On to Everloving to South Side is brilliance...but Porcelain is at an entirely different level. It, along with Alberto Balsalm, is some otherworldly stuff.

-offtopic rant terminated-