As I recall from interviews and/or message board comments, Rick Sternbach wasn't especially fond of some of the inaccuracies of the
Voyager CG model used on the TV show. An example that comes to mind is that the dorsal phasers on the not-saucer are supposed to be "flat" when viewed from the side. The CG model's phasers weren't, as this image shows:
http://www.startrek-wallpapers.com/Star-Trek-Voyager/USS-Voyager-Crashes-Ice-Planet/
(Rick, if my recollection isn't correct, then I apologize in advance.)
Your model, by the way, looks great so far!
Thanks.
I'm not surprised that he was unhappy with it. I actually started off my model from ortho views of the CG model, but the further I got into it, the more the inaccuracies built up, and I basically restarted from new blueprints, that I checked against photos first. That's what I get for assuming the CG model was accurate in the first place.
First of all, I noticed that the warp wings weren't long/wide enough to fit the hinge details (which are completely missing on the CG model), so I had to keep widening it, at which point I noticed that the entire saucer section on the CG model isn't wide enough either.
And the phaser strips and hull deck lines are all curved instead of straight. I suspect that all of the hull lines were directly textured from above with a flat projection, so they don't correspond to the geometry. My lines will be textured on per polygon, as my geometry matches the correct lines (my phasers actually slightly curve down towards the front, but it's very minor compared to the CG model).
Related to this, the raised lines that run along the back of the hull (between the aft phaser strips and rear RCS thruster) are also wonky and curve sharply upwards. It took a bit of work for me to avoid the same mistake. The problem is that the area is supposed to sink in quite far, whereas the CG model (and mine) don't do that so much. So if you're matching up those lines from a top view, they end up curving upwards from the side view. I matched mine up from the side view, so they're straight.
And the main center sensor array goes too far up the hull.
The entire bridge module is way too small, and because of this the distance between the captain's quarters window and the mess hall window is huge.
I've also noticed that the simplified texture mapping on the CG model creates all sorts of line errors. The texturing on top of the warp nacelles is off, and the lines on either side of the Starfleet logo are way too narrow, instead of being in line with the raised section as they should. You'll also notice that the edge around the front of the hull has huge vertical streaks where the texture mapping direction is parallel to the surfaces direction.
The impulse engines are also too big.
The curve of the rear landing pad is too steep and too sharp.
These are most of the bigger errors. There are also lots of differences in the minor details where the CG model doesn't quite capture the character and style of the physical model.
So I actually completely disregard the CG model now, and rely only on photos of the real model. I can safely say that my model is a lot more accurate than the CG model in the show. I'd say the one in the show was about 75% of the way there, and mine's maybe about 90% right now. Some of the differences are intentional, while others are just close enough or small enough not to spend too much time on.
