The ST V shuttle bay wasn’t too different as I recall. With the Refit nacelle roots farther forward—perhaps a TMP theme version of the bigger TOS shuttlebay could be had?
Very nice work! Love your new observation booth. Very clean and simple; I never thought to just open it up. <I always assumed it to be a control booth, and to keep those interfering gawkers out of the way, I put one of those red sliding fences across the passage similar to the one at the end of the passage that Kirk and Lenore walk around.>
Another update. One of the hurdles to get over when figuring out how everything fits is figuring how to get personnel into the control booths. I long ago gave up on the idea that the little thingee over the axis of the doors is a room. It is simply too small and it would also be all but inaccessible. There are many lighted areas on the Enterprise that might appear to be windows, but are actually instrument emplacements. I have decided to consider that feature a long range aft sensor. In the case of the control booths, there is no doubt that they must be manned. But there is precious little room "behind the scenes" to gain access to them. Working it 3D, I was able to find a way. It involved making the threshold arch at the end of the bay a little broader than the studio model. I can justify this since we never saw it except in a foreshortened view. Who's to say how wide the flat inner area of the arch really is. I have expanded it just enough to form an interior trough that can give space for a curving ladder and handrails that allows crewmembers to climb into both booths from below. These ladders are accessed from the aft alcoves. A pressure door opens into a compartment with the ladder. Here's the port side: With the pressure door open: Here's the view looking back into the alcove from the port compartment: But what happens if you need access to the control booth, but the hangar is in vaccuum? Or, say you're in the booth and something damages the clamshell doors and they are un-sealable? The good engineer must consider these things. In either case, the booth is reachable from the lower storage and maintenance deck as well, through this emergency hatch located in the floor. It is designed that when open, you can climb, uninterrupted, up both decks of the ladder: Here is a view up the ladder, into the booth: And here's the view as you emerge into the booth: To enter the booth, you climb the ladder and step to the side once you reach the top. The guardrail at the top is provided to keep crewmembers on duty at the console from accidentally tipping backwards and falling down the hole on those frequent occasions when the ship is being shaken about. Space OSHA regulations require this. Finally, here's a look into the booth from the exterior: That's all for now. I hope you've enjoyed this little tour of areas of the Enterprise we never got to see. M.
If there was a Space OSHA, transporters wouldn’t exist! I still have occasional nightmares about that scene in TMP. And that was a G-rated movie!
Time for another update. I have pretty well finished with the Flight Deck. The last piece was the forward gallery, which is now finished. Here are a last few renders before moving on. I think it's time to get back to the exterior of the ship. Another pre-flight inspection image: The forward end of the flight deck, looking to port. The main personnel door is visible, along with the Port Cargo Door: A unique view of a Shuttlecraft returning: A final view of the completed flight deck, looking forward: That's all for now. Next is either the exterior of the ship; or I might indulge myself by texturing and lighting the Transporter Room I have already modeled. Stay tuned. M.