Galaxy Class Refits That Aren't The "All Good Things" Dreadnaught

[Riley]

I ran a search but didn't see anything about this particular topic. If I missed something and/or this is in the wrong forum, please move as necessary.

I don't think I need to explain to fellow Trek fans how something can "stick in the craw" for years, even decades. A particular cluster of such sticks is Star Trek Generations. While my primary issue is with the story and the misuse of Captain James T. Kirk, the heart of Star Trek, one of the other many issues I have is what became of the Enterprise-D and, by extension, the Galaxy Class.

Like many of the decisions behind the TNG films, there's a tremendous amount of hubris on the part of the producers and even some of the cast. "We got tired of the Enterprise-D after seven years" is one such example. This flagrant disregard for what the ship meant to the fans, as well as the uniqueness of Andy Probert's design, has always sickened me.

With that preamble out of the way, I've often wondered what a true refit would have looked like for the Enterprise-D and the Galaxy Class. For example, the move to films meant there would be no time to focus on the civilians aboard ship, so reducing the size of the saucer makes sense. Regarding the sets, all of the main areas (bridge, ready room, corridors, sickbay, etc.) could have been swapped out without destroying the entire ship.

Online image searches have not revealed any refit designs that replace the original saucer section and nacelles with upgraded designs. I know Paramount frequently avoided investing good money in Trek films, but getting Probert back to do a refit of the Galaxy would have been at least as expensive as getting Eaves to design what is (in my opinion) a poorer design in almost every aspect.

Are there any fan designs of a Galaxy Class II? Smaller saucer, maybe even with a rotated ellipse, and new nacelles?

 

[Dukhat]

None that I am aware of, other than that horrid Ross class from STO with is now unfortunately a canon design.

To be honest, I've never felt that starships from the late 2290's to the TNG era ever got refit to the point where they look like a completely different ship a la the TMP Enterprise. I felt that that was just a one-off experiment back in the day when resources were more scarce. Now ships only seem to last a few years before they decommission them and make new ones in their place. Look at how the Excelsiors, Mirandas and Oberths didn't change their outward appearances for decades after they were introduced. I think the early refit experiments just didn't last beyond the Constitution class.

 

[SCE2Aux]

The closest thing that comes to mind is the Phalanx Class, created by an artist called DM Phoenix. I've been a fan of this design for ages:
https://stexpanded.fandom.com/wiki/Phalanx_class

 

[Tosk]

I've never seen a "Galaxy-like" design that didn't look ugly or just a hodge-podge of existing pieces that don't really go together. I chalk this up to the Galaxy having very organic lines. You replace a piece with something different and it immediately looks out of place.

 

[Mage]

None that I am aware of, other than that horrid Ross class from STO with is now unfortunately a canon design.

If I recall, the Ross isn't a refit but simply a new design with Galaxy and Sovereign design elements.
Having said that, yeah, I don't really like it myself that much either. It has one or two angles that work, but other than that.... Nope.

 

[publiusr]

The closest thing that comes to mind is the Phalanx Class, created by an artist called DM Phoenix. I've been a fan of this design for ages:
https://stexpanded.fandom.com/wiki/Phalanx_class

I rather like the Dawnstar here:

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[Riley]

If I recall, the Ross isn't a refit but simply a new design with Galaxy and Sovereign design elements.
Having said that, yeah, I don't really like it myself that much either. It has one or two angles that work, but other than that.... Nope.

Just looked it up...yikes. You're right.

I have thought from time to time about a Generations with Spock, but as Ambassador Spock, and only in the 24th-century part of the film. Like, he's on the Enterprise for a diplomatic mission for some reason, possibly involving Romulans, and all of the trilithium/Nexus stuff goes down.

The problem is, I've never exactly worked out what Spock does in this scenario, because audiences would want to see Kirk and Spock together one more time, so the climax of the film would be wildly different.

My own idea for an alternate Generations sees Kirk's entire command crew, including Sulu, aboard the Enterprise-B for her launch. The ship responds to a Romulan distress call. Their ship is caught in a strange anomaly and the Enterprise-B can't pull it out without risking being pulled in. Kirk takes a shuttle alone and tractors the Romulan ship out but it then pulled in. There's a bright flash and no sign of Kirk or his shuttle. Everyone assumes he's dead, but Spock feels that Kirk is still alive somehow. He rejects this feeling as just that until the anomaly appears again near Romulus. He senses Kirk's presence and calls upon the Federation to send the Enterprise-D to pick him up (and mission specialists Admiral Leonard McCoy and Captain Montgomery Scott) and bring them to where he believes Kirk will reappear. It turns out that Kirk and his shuttle were caught in the interphase, which the Romulans were studying in an attempt to travel to alternate universes. It's essentially "The Search For Kirk."

None that I am aware of, other than that horrid Ross class from STO with is now unfortunately a canon design.

To be honest, I've never felt that starships from the late 2290's to the TNG era ever got refit to the point where they look like a completely different ship a la the TMP Enterprise. I felt that that was just a one-off experiment back in the day when resources were more scarce. Now ships only seem to last a few years before they decommission them and make new ones in their place. Look at how the Excelsiors, Mirandas and Oberths didn't change their outward appearances for decades after they were introduced. I think the early refit experiments just didn't last beyond the Constitution class.

Those are some good points that I hadn't considered.

The closest thing that comes to mind is the Phalanx Class, created by an artist called DM Phoenix. I've been a fan of this design for ages:
https://stexpanded.fandom.com/wiki/Phalanx_class

I like this quite a bit. It takes some of the least offensive elements of the Sovereign Class (ugh) and merges them with the Galaxy.

I've never seen a "Galaxy-like" design that didn't look ugly or just a hodge-podge of existing pieces that don't really go together. I chalk this up to the Galaxy having very organic lines. You replace a piece with something different and it immediately looks out of place.

You're absolutely right, which is why I'd like to see what Probert would do with a slight refit. Even if all that's changed is the saucer, the organic look could be preserved. In Generations, the star drive could have survived and the saucer is beyond salvaging. New and smaller saucer means no more families and brand new sets except for Engineering, which could still get a redesign. Maybe the nacelles could also be slightly tweaked, maybe made longer?

 

[publiusr]

I liked the secondary hull of the MacPherson class tugs here at bottom

https://idahobeef.yolasite.com/resolute2.php?disable_mobile=true

 

[Blip]

TBH I've not been a fan of the whole "make the Saucer smaller" argument since my mid teens, as the forward bow is a critical element of the design's warp dynamics. Better off just designing a new class of ship entirely, IMO...

I'd certainly love to modify the saucer though, in a post "Alternate Generations" scenario where the Ent-D was merely damaged. Changes would include:

• Uprated forward-dorsal Aux. Nav Deflector,
• Larger, curved-delta Captain's Yacht (fitting snugly inside the Ventral Sensor Array),
• 4 additional Phaser Strips,
• A forward Multi-Torp Launcher bank where the original Aux. Deflector sat,
• Reworked & extended Deck 2 / Shuttlebay elements to make the overall area a bit sleeker (less like two random shapes smushed together...),
• Reworked Deck 1B, from ovoid to curved-delta (mirroring the new Captain's Yacht and fitting inside the Dorsal Sensor Array).
• Widened Aux. Impulse Exhausts (NB: I'm not going "Full Eaves" with needlessly bloated drives LOL).

The idea of Integrated Saucer Nacelles (visible solely as P/S recessed glowing strips when active) for brief hops also isn't totally horrible, AFAIC, and it's a good excuse to reduce the civilian population & window count - more space is needed for engine gubbins!

For the Engineering Hull I would:

• Cut 2-3 decks out of the lower Dorsal Interhull,
• Mirror the P/S Shuttlebays to be identical (they offend my OCD ),
• Update the Main Nav Deflector stylistically, akin to the Intrepid-class,
• Replace the Nacelles with something similar in overall shape (but with rounder edges!) to those on the Ent-E shuttlecraft.

The main Impulse Drive would either be widened or given a similar split treatment to the AGT "future" Enterprise, and since the Dorsal Interconnect now meets the Secondary Hull at a wider point, the Aft Dorsal Spine and Aft Torpedo Launcher would likewise now be wider (accomodating dual Aft Torp Launchers).

I'd also reduce the excessive number of viewports across the ship akin to the Nebula-class, and add in docking ports at a mezzanine deck height between 9+10 at the Port & Starboard saucer rims, ala Voyager and the TMP Refit; and aft of the (deck 35+36?) Engineering Forward RCS thrusters. The RCS banks themselves would be updated to match 2370s designs.

These changes depict a technological progression post ST:GEN (keeping pace with "state of the art" Voyager) but avoid -IMHO- venturing into overwhelming "battleship fanw∆nk" territory. The reduced neck meanwhile gives the class a sleeker vertical profile onscreen, yet maintains much of what makes it unique.

The refit could also be justified in-universe as a testbed to ensure that the Galaxy-class meets improved Warp Propulsion standards, receives defensive upgrades in light of new threats to the Federation, and is granted an increased level of survivability & capabilities for the Saucer during separated ops. Think "TMP Refit" but less invasive.

YMMV, of course

 

[Blip]

Holy snit that was a lot of text, sorry!

 

[Jamie C]

I'd keep the saucer, I feel like that's the most distinct element of the design. If you change it, it won't really feel like a Galaxy Class anymore.

One thing I've always liked was the way the nacelle pylons looked in some of Probert's earlier sketches, like these. Specifically how they're more forward-swept and come up at a diagonal, as opposed to the L shape of the final ship. I'm not entirely sure it would translate to 3 dimensions, though. For the nacelles, I think a more vertical nacelle shape could work, something more like the Refit. Instead of echoing the shapes of the saucer and secondary hull, it would echo the shape of the neck and pylons.

I think detail-wise I might take some cues from Voyager. Subtler hull paneling, offset by areas of high detail. Sensor platforms, a distinct secondary deflector, saucer torpedo launcher, more variety in windows. For the main deflector I think I'd do something like the Ent-E, more intricate detail with amber lighting (not bright yellow). I like the Ent-E lifeboats too, but I wonder if they'd clash. The saucer impulse engines wouldn't cut into the oval of the saucer, but be thin on the edge. Sort of like if the sensor band lit up red on the back of the saucer, but thicker. I'm kind of rambling so I'll stop there.

 

[Blip]

I'd keep the saucer... If you change it, it won't really feel like a Galaxy Class anymore.

Totally agree

One thing I've always liked was the way the nacelle pylons looked in some of Probert's earlier sketches, like these. Specifically how they're more forward-swept and come up at a diagonal

I'd thought about doing that to allow for more 3 decks to be cut out of the neck, but didn't want to lose too much height; so left them as-is. Not a bad idea to do it anyway, though... Having them spaced a little lower and wider apart would compliment the reduced neck height.

For the nacelles, I think a more vertical nacelle shape could work, something more like the Refit.

I have to disagree: From the front they'd clash with the otherwise unified layout of the wide+shallow saucer & deflector.

I think detail-wise I might take some cues from Voyager.

Same! Also been thinking of a sensor pallet "band" that wraps around and is broken by the Deck 2 superstructure, continuing with another pallet atop the shuttlebay. There would be a similar band under the saucer.

For the main deflector I think I'd do something like the Ent-E, more intricate detail with amber lighting... I like the Ent-E lifeboats too

Two of the (many) parts of the E-E I dislike, LOL! To me the extra color makes the ship look like a xmas tree ornament, while Eaves' lifeboats are less practical & efficient than the earlier cubes...

The saucer impulse engines wouldn't cut into the oval of the saucer, but be thin on the edge.

I'd keep the exhaust shape but make it wider and a little thinner. I like the idea of no longer cutting into the hull... Maybe have a very slightly raised area above and below, to suggest where the reactors are?

 

[Rekkert]

The old "Galaxy Evo" from the Armada 2 mod scene might be just what you're looking for. The secondary hull is the same, but the nacelles, pylons, and saucer were changed to more "modern" ones. The saucer is far smaller and has nacelles of its own.

I also quite like Jetfreak's take on the refit Galaxy for the USS Astraeus, which takes the nacelles from the Evo and some other changes and places them on the standard Galaxy class, I think it looks really good.

 

[publiusr]

Similar

Galaxy-Class Refit - Schematics by Ravendeviant on DeviantArt

www.deviantart.com

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https://www.planetminecraft.com/project/star-trek-galaxy-class-starship-u-s-s-enterprise-ncc-1701-d-1-4-2-scale/

I like the neck on this one:

Galaxy Class Refit by AKSuperman on DeviantArt

www.deviantart.com

There is this FLEET COMMAND commercial where a stock Ent-D gets add-ons…

 

[ashleytinger]

The Odyssey and some of the other Galaxy class that show up in DS9 might count since they filmed some of those with the added on phasers from the dreadnaught from All Good Things still on the nacelles. Course they could just be a variant as well.

 

[The Wormhole]

The Odyssey and some of the other Galaxy class that show up in DS9 might count since they filmed some of those with the added on phasers from the dreadnaught from All Good Things still on the nacelles. Course they could just be a variant as well.

That was the Venture, not the Odyssey. Indeed, outside of the battle against the Jem'Hadar ships, most footage of the Odyssey is just stock shots of the Enterprise D.

 

[ashleytinger]

That was the Venture, not the Odyssey. Indeed, outside of the battle against the Jem'Hadar ships, most footage of the Odyssey is just stock shots of the Enterprise D.

So many Galaxies for only 12 frames built :P

 

[The Wormhole]

Hell, I think there are times we see twelve onscreen together amongst the Dominion War fleets.

 

[ashleytinger]

Hell, I think there are times we see twelve onscreen together amongst the Dominion War fleets.

I definitely take that estimate with a grain of salt.

 

[Blip]

So far we've seen onscreen 7 named examples, plus (if you subscribe to the idea) possibly one short-lived example that J.P. Hanson was aboard, at Wolf 359.

• Galaxy NX-70637
• Venture NCC-71099
• Enterprise NCC-1701-D
• Yamato NCC-71807
• Odyssey NCC-71832
• Venture NCC-71854

These all make logical sense as part of the TNG Technical Manual's "first six" spaceframes.

Personally I ignore the Syracuse's anachronistic 17744 registry, treating it as an example of needless self-pleasuring on Matalas' part... NCC-77144 or 77441 instead would comfortably put it as part of the second batch of 6 spaceframes - and coincides nicely with the visual cues given to its stardrive (extra Bussard collector "bulbs", altered Nav Deflector, etc).

Various folk have suggested that Hanson was aboard a Galaxy-class vessel at Wolf 359, with some referring to it as the USS Columbia; others USS Auriga. I like to think that a new-build replacement taken from the second batch of spaceframes might have been assembled early, after the loss of Yamato. IMHO this should denote a registry in the 72xxx range, but I digress...