Redesigning the Warp Delta

Introducing the Yeager-class (Warp Delta) U.S.S. Yeager:

In-Universe Context

Registry	NCC-64
Class	Yeager-class
Type	Destroyer
Active	22nd Century
Decks	3
Length	Approximately 118m
Capacity	40 humanoids
Max. Speed	Warp factor 5.1
Max. Cruising	Warp factor 4.4
Armament	Phase cannons (x4 phaser arrays) Photonic torpedoes (x1 launcher)

After the success of the NX project with the launch of the NX-01 Enterprise is 2151, the United Earth Starfleet began work on a smaller, simpler starship design able to accommodate the warp 5 engine. This led to the production of the Yeager-class destroyer: a small delta-shaped craft capable of keeping pace with the new NX-class starships as Earth took a more and more active role in galactic trade and politics. Designed primarily for defense and patrol duties, the Yeager-class was a simple, durable design that served as the United Earth Starfleet's workhorse prior to the Earth-Romulan War, and after the war served admirably in the new Federation's starfleet for several decades.

The primary hulls of the Yeager-class starships were constructed on Earth, where they were fitted with powerful rocket boosters and propelled into orbit with the aid of mass drivers. Once in orbit, the rear components were gutted and replaced with the warp engine components, including a warp field regulator 

Commentary

The Warp Delta only appeared very briefly in the latter seasons of Star Trek Enterprise, usually in the background  part of a battlegroup defending Earth in the episode 

One idea I had while trying to determine appropriate proportions for the warp nacelles is that the quantum slipstream drive would produce enormous stresses on the warp engine, effectively causing the reactor/nacelles to "burn out." So I connected the nacelles to a block-shaped pod at the bottom of the hull, with the idea that the entire warp engine assembly could be swapped in out as-needed. If you download the model for yourself, you'll be able to swap between three different nacelle configurations--the default nacelles, longer Sovereign-style nacelles, and shorter, stubbier, Intrepid-style nacelles.

The most dramatic change I made to the design is the addition of a secondary hull, loosely modeled on that of the hypothetical NX-refit class, which would have debuted in Enterprise' fifth season. My thinking was that this addition makes the "evolution" of the traditional Starfleet starship design (disc-shaped primary hull, cylinder-shaped secondary hull, nacelle pair) from aerospace craft a bit clearer. My thinking was that these ships would primarily be constructed on Earth's surface, then launched into orbit, where they could be outfitted with a secondary hull to accommodate components that could not be installed on the planet due to the necessary restrictions of maintaining an aerodynamic profile. Over time it's easy to imagine these basic forms evolving: the delta-shape eventually becoming circular, once orbital shipyards becomes more standard, the secondary hulls becoming larger, and the nacelle pylons shifting from the the primary to secondary hulls. Perhaps this is an unnecessary half-step, but I found it fun to model.

Of course, l never intended that this new version should replace the classic (if that's the appropriate word to use here) design depicted ever-so-briefly in Enterprise, so I made sure to build the model such that the secondary hull could easily be removed--resulting in the simpler, cleaner design we are all(?) so familiar with. (I know there are other people out there infatuated with starships--there may well be dozens of us!)

In my experience modeling starships, I've learned a great many things. And while it may seem too forward for an amateur like myself to offer any advice on this subject, I have discovered one universal rule that it feels appropriate to share here: smaller is always better.

To briefly explain, when designing ships I have tendency to overestimate scale. I've found, while browsing many the models and concepts from other starship aficionados, that this is an extremely common tendency. This is especially problematic when I redesign ships, as I did back with my Excelsior-class model and, indeed, as I am doing here. Essentially, the question to ask--constantly--is this: what is the minimum size these components need to be in order to plausibly function? And that is what the entire scale of the ship needs to be oriented around. With the Warp Delta, there were few elements of the model to indicate scale--only the bridge superstructure (which can be misleading) and the single row of windows along the edges of the hull. My solution will be more evident in the cross-section in the Gallery below, but to briefly explain it: I was able to "minimize" the design of the Warp Delta to a mere three decks. The result is slightly larger windows, or portholes, which in theory I ought to have shrunk a bit to reflect the more limited technology of a primitive era, but in practice I'd prefer to maintain parity with my other models--which means standardized window sizes across all eras and civilizations. It's much easier to determine scale at-a-glance when windows are all the same size, whether or you're looking at a 22nd century human cruiser or a 24th century Romulan dreadnought (though god help me if I ever manage to finish that model to my satisfaction).

This smaller size is much more appropriate to a starship that essentially begins its life as just a really big plane that needs to be slung up into space--the more mass a ship like this has, the less believable it'd be, yeah?

To Because the warp delta was only ever a "guest" ship, and had so little screentime, I was free to make up up a bunch of details had the opportunity to invent details that could plausibly exist. As I stated earlier, my headcanon for this design is that it would be constructed--at least partially--on Earth's surface, before being launched up into orbit. Probably via some kind of thrust booster more mass driver. In either case, this would require temporary components attached to the aft end of the hull which would later be removed. To reflect this, I made the aft hull "unfinished" -- which also serves as a stark contrast from the "perfectly smooth" hulls that characterized 23rd Century federation starship design at Gene Roddenberry's insistence.

The exposed pods (reactor cores?) on the secondary hull also reflect this more primitive technology, I hope.

So the aft end of the hull features several in-set details: large tanks (presumably fuel tanks, or some other kind of potentially hazardous material best kept contained outside the ship) as well as windows for a mess hall and hatches for cargo bay access. The idea being that containers with foodstuffs could be slotted into these bays and accessed directly from the galley.

Y'all may not be able to tell just by looking, but the hardest parts of this model? The nose. Basically, the bridge dome is a bizarre shape that required some... imaginative interior design (a capsule bridge and a small observation half-deck) and because it's positioned so far forward there was little room from the required registry text.

Many of the starship designs in Discovery suffer from a similar problem, and their solution has typically been to reposition the registry to the sides of the hull. This is... not a solution I'm fond of, but perhaps I should reconsider: it's certainly much easier! Instead, here, I tried to cram a small registry onto the very tip of the nose--and getting text to look nice on a curved surface is not easy! Ultimately I think I managed a passable job, but hoo boy, I hope I don't have to try anything like that again.

That just about covers everything, I think. The great problem in allowing a backlog to build up, as I have, is that it's easy to forget crucial details! If you're at all interested, I strongly recommend you check out this model for yourself! Nothing beats examining the thing in full 3D. 

Download and/or view this model at the 3D Warehouse Download the free SketchUp 3D Viewer Like my work and want to contribute? Buy me a coffee at Ko-Fi Curious about my modeling approach? Read this. Want to see when I post about new models? Follow @ShouldersRed on Twitter.

Gallery

The "capsule bridge" visible from outside the hull.

Bridge interior, facing forward. The viewscreen is at an odd angle that wouldn't be ideal with modern display technologies, but hey, what is SF for if not hand-waving problems like that? Let's just say it's holographic.

Bridge interior, facing backward. There are six stations in addition to the captain's chair, making this bridge feel especially claustrophobic.

Just in front of the bridge is an observation deck, positioned halfway between decks 1 and 2.

It's also fairly cramped and doesn't have much space for anything beyond some simple seating standing room.

The aft end of the hull features a large mess hall. While not strictly necessary, I think it's important to consider large "sets" like this when considering Star Trek ships. Spaces where hypothetical dramatic scenes could play out among the crew.

You'll notice I neatly evaded needing to to model the kitchen by placing a shutter over the counter.

Directly next to the mess hall on either side are cargo bays where storage containers can be neatly slotted in.

Beyond which are the storage tanks, which by necessity come in several sizes.

The (optional) secondary hull features a additional pair of phase cannons, indicating that while the "refit" version is primarily about extending the ship's range, it also adds a bit of extra firepower. Perhaps a development of the Earth-Romulan War?

Nestled between the phase cannon ports and torpedo tube are a pair of triangular plates--simple navigational deflectors to protect the ship when the secondary hull is not attached.

Determining the appropriate weaponry was a bit difficult. The NX-class features four torpedo tubes, which seems like overkill relative to the photon torpedo tubes of later ships, but doesn't necessarily correlate to greater relative firepower. But the NX-class is also rather large. I ultimately settled on just the single torpedo tube, as I found that the other options made the hull look too busy, and it was already crowded enough with the phase cannons and deflectors.

In addition to the pair of phase cannons on the bottom of the main hull, there is an additional pair located at the base of the "wings" -- where the warp pylons attach to the main hull.

The secondary hull attaches directly to the point where the main reactor would be. My thinking was that the secondary hull would primarily function to provide a secondary power reactor to allow the refitted Warp Delta greater range and combat capacity. The new, large deflector dish would probably also correlate to better sensors.

Due to the small size of the Warp Delta, there's really no space for a proper shuttlebay, but I did make sure to place a pair of vertical-launch bay doors on the bottom of the hull to accommodate a pair of shuttlepods.

When I was a kid, I though the warp nacelles of the ENT-era ships features little glowing blue pods/balls rather than the warp coils of later craft. This is something I reproduced in some of my earliest models. But, in fact, that was just an illusion created by the bar-pipe that runs over the exposed warp coils. Oops!

I believe the "warp pod" in the TV show's original model is identical to that of the NX-class, but I chose to take some liberties with my revision. It's essentially the same shape, but simpler and streamlined.

Reimagining the Dauntless

Introducing the Dauntless-class U.S.S. Clarke.

In-Universe Context

Registry	NCC-81303
Class	Dauntless-class
Type	Light cruiser
Active	2376 to 25th century
Decks	10
Length	Approximately 236m
Capacity	400 humanoids
Max. Speed	Warp factor 8.8 Slipstream factor 0.68
Max. Cruising	Warp factor 8.6 Slipstream factor 0.5
Armament	Phasers (x6 phaser arrays) Photon torpedoes (x1 launcher)

While stranded in the delta quadrant, the U.S.S. Voyager first encountered quantum slipsream technology in 2374, a new form of transwarp propulsion that promised travel through space at far greater relative speeds than conventional 4th generation warp drives. Attempts to retrofit the Voyager herself with a quantum slipstream drive in 2375 proved unsuccessful, but data on their attempt was transmitted back to the Alpha Quardrant, and by 2375 the Pathfinder Project hastily began experimenting with their own quantum-slipstream spacecraft. The first experimental Slipstream vessel, the U.S.S. Dauntless, NX-81300, launched in 2376, followed shortly thereafter by the U.S.S. Clarke, NX-81303.

Redesigning the Centaur

Introducing the Centaur-class U.S.S. Chiron:

In-Universe Context

Registry	NCC-42044
Class	Centaur-class
Type	Medium cruiser
Active	2373 to 2378
Decks	16
Length	Approximately 450m
Capacity	390 humanoids 1800 humanoids maximum limit
Max. Speed	Warp factor 9.2
Max. Cruising	Warp factor 8.8
Armament	Phasers (x11 phaser arrays) Photon torpedoes (x2 launchers)

Following the successful transwarp experiments of the U.S.S. Ardennes, Starfleet designed the Excelsior to be the first of a new wave of starships built to take advantage of the new four fourth generation warp drive (which necessitated the adoption of a new warp scale). The first ship of the Excelsior-class, the U.S.S. Excelsior, was launched in 2285, and it was the first of many. The Excelsior-class rapidly became the "face" of the United Federation of Planets, as it proved to be one of the most capable starship designs in Federation history and was soon a ubiquitous part of the fleet. The Excelsior remained at the forefront of the Federation's exploratory and military efforts throughout the 23rd and 24th centuries, and the Excelsiors combined participated in more first contacts than any other starship class to date.

The U.S.S. Chiron, launched during the third Federation-Klingon War that precipitated the Dominion War in 2372, was the first Type-D Excelsior-class starship built. Assigned to the Federation's seventh fleet, the Chiron was one of only 14 ships to survive a disastrous counterattack operation in the early months of the war. The Chiron's secondary hull was lost in the battle, and the Chiron became one of the first Excelsiors to be refitted into a Centaur-class starship. As a centaur-class starship, the Chiron served the remainder of the war in a support capacity, and eventually restored after the war.

Redesigning the Excelsior

Redesigning the Excelsior resulted in modeling not just one ship, but three.

Introducing the Excelsior-class U.S.S. Enterprise:

In-Universe Context

Registry	NCC-1701-B
Class	Excelsior-class Type-B
Type	Command cruiser
Active	2293 to 2329
Decks	26
Length	Approximately 581m
Capacity	1200 humanoids 3500 humanoids maximum limit
Max. Speed	Warp factor 9.2
Max. Cruising	Warp factor 7.4
Armament	Phasers (x12 phaser banks) Photon torpedoes (x6 launchers)

The third Starfleet vessel to bear the name Enterprise, the Enterprise B more than lived up to her storied legacy. Launched in late 2293 shortly after the Khitomer Accords ended hostilities between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, the new Enterprise--designed for combat--spent most of her service at the furthest frontiers of known space, venturing deep into the unknown. After four decades of service under five captains, the Enterprise ultimately disappeared without a trace in 2329, shortly after completing her last mission: escorting a Bajoran refugee flotilla to safe harbor after the Cardassian annexation of their homeworld.

In 2331 the Enterprise B was officially declared lost in action and presumed destroyed. The following year she was succeeded by a new, Ambassador-class Enterprise.

My Star Trek Modeling M.O.

When I present my Star Trek models, both the original designs and my interpretations of classic designs, I'm often asked why I do some of the things I do. Well, here's my answer!

This may be heretical to some of my fellow fans, but I really don't care about Star Trek canon. What I do care about is consistency, and Star Trek is typically anything but.

When I build a model of a Star Trek starship, my goal is not to perfectly adhere to the original design of the studio or CGI models. Rather, my principal goal is to be as faithful as possible to the intent of the original design. Generally this means taking and maintaining the overall shape and profile of the original design, and altering (sometimes inventing) the details.

While modeling, I ask myself the following questions:

• What is the historical context of this design? EG when was it built, and for what purpose?
• What flaws with the design might lead to it serving a different purpose, or being replaced prematurely?
• What feelings was the design meant to evoke in the audience?
• (With a redesigned ship): what aspects of the original design are absolutely necessary? This is usually how I determine an appropriate scale.
• (With a redesigned ship): what aspects of the original design are most problematic? This is how I determine the most radical changes.

The most common problem with classic starship designs is that the scale tends to be wildly inconsistent. Producers, especially in this CGI age, constantly tweak the size of a model in order to come up with something that looks "better" in-frame. Scriptwriters also often create story elements that require the size of a model increase or decrease (EG the B'Rel-class Klingon Bird of Prey needs to be able to be large enough for its cargo bay to accommodate two adult humpback whales). Canonical information derived from props (usually computer screens) and data books is often contradictory. Visual details, like window rows, are often placed haphazardly (too near or too far apart); sometimes the design will "cheat" by using skylights to give a single deck two rows of windows on the hull, creating the illusion of additional decks. Ex Astris Scientia is an excellent resource for cataloging all of the many scale problems and inconsistencies of Star Trek starships. When I re-imagine an classic design, my goal is to fix those issues and create a models that are wholly consistent with each other. To that end, I use the following standards (based off of the dimensions established by Andrew Probert and Rick Sternbach):

• Average deck height is 2.5m with 0.5m between each deck.
• Average deck height of large TNG-era craft is 3.0m with 0.5m between each deck.
• Average (small) window is a circle 0.65m in diameter.
• The top edge of a window is no lower than ~0.58m below the deck ceiling.
• The top edge of a window on a large TNG-era craft is no lower than ~1.08m below the deck ceiling.
• A photon torpedo's dimensions are approximately 3m by 1m by 0.5m, and each torpedo port should be able to accommodate these dimensions.
• A turbolift shaft is approximately 2m in diameter.

And while I typically less careful when modeling interior components, I do scale everything around my uniform silhouettes to create an accurate sense of scale, which are sized to reflect the current average heights of a human male and human female (even though you may notice my female silhouette is vulcan)--approximately 1.71m (5.6ft imperial) and 1.59m (5.2ft imperial), respectively.

(Please note that while I've always aimed for consistency, I experimented a fair bit, and these standards only finalized with the 2nd version of my Excelsior-class Type-C model. IE older models may not necessarily meet all of my criteria after deck heights.)

You may notice that while I typically try to model most of the necessary external hull components (torpedo ports, phasers, impulse engines, warp coils, bussard collectors and so on) sometimes the RCS thrusters or escape pods and often the transporter emitters are absent. Honestly, sometimes I just get tired of a model and want to move on. Er, what I mean to say is that all of those components still exist, they just aren't modeled because they're hidden underneath hull panels.

On In-Universe Context

When I build a model, it's helpful for me to consider the in-universe context. My overall approach to continuity (or "canon") is too complex to explore here, but in general I view Star Trek media as historical fiction rather than historical fact--in other words, while the larger events are likely "true" in the continuity, the details are not necessarily true. This approach is handy because it gives me the wiggle-room to "quibble over the details," accepting most of what's seen on-screen into my headcanon, but abandoning aspects that I do not like or which cannot be coherently reconciled with the rest of the continuity.

For practical purposes here, I place my models within the "prime universe" continuity, including the expanded "LitVerse" continuity--which is where I place the "present day" of the setting. I do not include the 2009 reboot continuity or the Discovery continuity, though I may borrow certain elements in my imaginings.

On Style:

The other most-frequent question I receive is, thankfully, much easier to answer: what's up with my style? My earliest models don't have a discernible style because they were my earliest models, and I was learning how to model as I built them. My skills have improved, but I am still very much an amateur. I do not have the skills or the patience for a realistic modeling skills, nor am I sufficiently familiar with the software needed to render realistic models appropriately. Further, many other people, far more skilled than I, are already making very realistic models.

So I've attempted to establish my own, unique modeling style. I consider it a stylized/minimalist style, but others have compared it to animation (which I cannot deny is is an influence, hence the URL).

This aesthetic has several advantages: it makes my models more uniquely mine; it requires less detail, meaning I can produce models more quickly (and I am therefore less likely to get bored with a model and abandon it); it uses less geometry, making it easier to create, modify or view on less-powerful computers.

And on a final note:

• If you like my work and would like to show your support, you can buy me a coffee at Ko-Fi! I'm sorry, but I do not have a Patreon account.
• All of my models are created using Google SkectchUp and are freely available for download at the 3D Warehouse.
• If you don't have SketchUp, you can download the free 3D Viewer. You can also use the web viewer at the 3D Warehouse (select 3D view) but it is very limited and often produces errors; alternatively the .skp files should be usable w/ other modeling programs, and relatively easy to convert to other formats.
• Anyone may use and/or modify my models for their own projects only if they credit me (link to either this blog or my 3D warehouse page). I'd also appreciate an email/message/comment, just so I can see what you're doing! I do, after all is said and done, love starships.

Trails / Kiseki OST Tracklists (Updated)

A while ago I posted some translated/localized tracklists for the Trails in the Sky and Cold Steel OSTs. Well, I'm back, and since I can't edit the title of the old thread, I'm making a new one. I now have translated tracklists for every OST in the series, sans the EVO ports.

I've currently translated the Soundtracks of Trails in the Sky, Trails in the Sky SC, Trails in the Sky the 3rd, Trails of Zero, Trails of Blue, Trails of Cold Steel and Trails of Cold Steel II into English. Sometimes this involved translating Japanese-to-English; just as often it meant translating Engrish-to-English. I've included links to the Amazon.com and Amazon.co.jp listings for each soundtrack; if you'd like to see the original Japanese track titles, that's where you can find them.

I have tried to make these translations as consistent as possible with XSEED's phenomenal translation. If you spot any errors (mistranslations or misromanizations) please let me know! For the case of the tragically unreleased Zero and Ao, I've romanized the "original" katakana nouns without changing them rather than try to guess at how they ought to be romanized. Some translations are fairly literal, others are... not. If you know how to render something like 空の謎は軌跡でポン！without it sounding really silly, please, lemme know.

I will of course be revising these lists in the future to maintain parity with XSEED's localisations as-they-appear (The 3rd is coming when!?!?) as well as to add tracklists for subsequent games: bring on Cold Steel III!