Hi, I'm beginning another ship project, this time an NX Refit, but with some alterations to the design here and there. Here's the start of the high res stuff: The rest of the ship is currently a low res blocking model:
Hell yeah! I've been waiting for someone doing something with the NX-refit! I know it’s not exactly universally loved among fans, but I always thought that it was such a cool concept and looks actually more balanced than the NX-01. You’re off to a very good start on your version! Love all the details you’ve changed so far. The secondary hull is probably a little larger on your version, right?
I'm not sure, I'm using the stock NX class as the diagram I'm building from, and creating the secondary hull without reference. It's the issues around the canon secondary hull that mostly motivated me to try making this ship: Whilst I generally like the refit, I'm not personally a fan of the look of the cowling that goes above the deflector dish. I also want to sort out the shuttlebay issues that the connecting neck creates. My secondary hull might be a touch longer, but it's probably not as wide, as the canon refit secondary hull is oval in cross-section.
NX Refit...Refit ! I like it. Or, more likely, with how current military upgrades work, refit configuration #2. The original refit configuration #1 would presumably be uprated to refit configuration #2 later in the process and once the whole class had been refit to either type #1 or type #2, the type #1 tranche would considered for further upgrades to type #2.
I like this approach. Knowing your previous work, I’m already sure this is going to result in something super cool and interesting. Personally I am a fan of that cowling. It’s a bit reminiscent of the kind of hooding design element they had on the phasers phase-pistols (and their larger ship counterparts) on Enterprise. But yes, I bet there’s lots of people who are not particularly fond of that detail. I think it’s interesting that they decided to have that “undercut” (or whatever the area that I have marked below is called) be so big, because it makes the secondary hull look almost too small. If it was any smaller it would look more like some sort of pod instead of a legitimate secondary hull. So I'm looking forward to how this area will turn out in your take.
This has nothing whatsoever to do with your artwork; it's just my observation. I've always felt that once Drexler added the secondary hull, that he should have gotten rid of the deflector dish in front of the saucer. It became pretty superfluous (and to be honest, it was really just an afterthought to begin with, basically being something to stick into that notch that the Akira originally had in front of its saucer.) In my opinion, the front of the saucer should have just looked like the rest of the saucer. No cutout, no paper-thin afterthought deflector.
Agreed. I would also like to see a less-tall, less bulbous saucer with the nacelles free and clear...perhaps the two impulse emplacements sprouting from the secondary hull and rising for another iteration---something to tie this NX-refit to the SNW Enterprise, like how Masao's Valley Forge points to TOS. What the Sombra should have been.
IIRC, there are some fan made NX variants out there that show the front of the saucer filled in with retrofitted panelling. It makes logical sense to get rid of it, but I'm going to keep the saucer deflector on mine. However' I'll skew more towards NX-02 Columbia's design. In my opinion, Columbia's flatter, squarer deflector aesthetically works better in that narrow space on the saucer rim, compared to Enterprise's squished parabolic design. I want to keep the saucer deflector in order to preserve as much of the NX design language as possible. I'll be making a bunch changes to the design, but I still want it to read as an NX at a glance.
If they moved the deflector down to the secondary hull, but kept the long-range sensors up at the front of the saucer... You'd still have a thing there, but it doesn't have to look deflector-y?
Ooooh that's intriguing. It would still be a recognisable feature, but change things up a bit. I could fill the space with projecting antennae and smaller dishes like I did on the front of my old Reliant model: When I work my way back to the front of the ship, I'll create a low res model to see if I like the idea on the NX. Right now the saucer is in a state of disarray haha;
Looks great already! But that's to be expected from your work. If we're putting changes on the table, it might be interesting to see a cylindrical Daedalus-like secondary hull that doesn't have much (or any) of an undercut.
Always nice to see Reliant again. As for the NX refit, just mess around, maybe a row of small round dishes would look more sensor-ish.
Oh YAY!!! A new @SCE2Aux project to follow! I am a fan of the design, and it looks like you’re doing her justice.
So, I had a go at kitbashing a bunch of old Reliant antennae and dishes into the front of the saucer, but I couldn't get it to work quite the way I wanted: I think I still want some sort of NX-ish looking deflector there, but I also really like the idea of making that section a sensor/comms suite. So I've hedged my approach and kitbashed both into the front of the saucer. The underside of the primary hull is progressing quite well, but I think I'll focus on the catamarans for a bit now, so that they can be properly integrated into the saucer.
I like everything about that front sensor area except the two long protruding things. They read like weapons—I get a vibe like the nose cannons of a P-38 Lightning. Have you tried three flat circles (like the one you have in the middle) on that corrugated sensor as a nod to the 1701's three front circles?