# Trek Escort Cruiser



## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Inspired by BEBruns' Scout I whipped this up for your viewing. And I have a question: It's a two nacelle design but I can't decide if the nacelles should be above or below the saucer. What do you think? Now bear in mind that at present the nacelles will be much closer together than on a Constitution class vessel.


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## Steven Coffey (Jan 5, 2005)

I've always liked the nacelles below .


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## Heavens Eagle (Jun 30, 2003)

Very nice effect on the front of the nacells. How did you do it?


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Looks good. Bears a very strong resemblence to the _Pompey_-class heavy destroyer by Todd Guenther (of MasterCom DataCenter abd with the folks who brought us the "Ships of the Star Fleet, Volume One"). And that's not at all a bad thing. 

See this thread at TrekBBS.com and scroll down to the posts by *Aridas Sofia*. He's got a link to a really nice three-view of the design. Worst case scenario, you've got something to guide you in another direction.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

So much for being burned out on Trek! :lol: 

I like them below. :thumbsup:


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## ThomasModels (Mar 8, 2000)

This should do it...!


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

I know but I've been too lazy to work on everything else. The B/C deck and nacelles are from my Constitution model and the saucer was spin extruded so I haven't really spent all that much time on it.

That design has the nacelles much farther apart than I plan to do but it does show a good place for a shuttlebay.

I've pretty much decided to stick with the nacelles below the saucer.

Since I didn't take the time to import the lighting rig from my Constitution the endcaps are a simple fractal procedural texture I came up some months ago. It's based on what we see in ST:Enterprise.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

^^


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Here's a quick sketch for one of my ideas about how all the pieces fit together.

_Introducing the USS Cairo, NCC-1573 (Belmont class)_


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## Steven Coffey (Jan 5, 2005)

looking good ! :thumbsup: May I ask what 3D program you use? Is it 3D StudioMax ?


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Steven Coffey said:


> looking good ! :thumbsup: May I ask what 3D program you use? Is it 3D StudioMax ?


No, not max. A program called Blender (and it's free!).


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Out of curiosity FMM......
What do you do with all of your finished 3-D models ?  
Can you send copies ?
I like your renderings :thumbsup: , is it possible to got copies of them ?
Thanks,
Jim


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Finished? With one or two exceptions, I don't think I've ever actually finished anything. I'm in the process of add a model release section to my website which will include non Trek stuff as well. The renders that I post are typically 640x480 but if your looking for something larger I'd be glad to render something for you. I might even already have it at a larger size since I often set my wallpaper to whatever I'm currently working on. Like right now my wallpaper is a large K-7 render with a NASA starfield background (all dark and spooky).


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## Dr. Brad (Oct 5, 1999)

I think the nacelles look good where you've placed them! I did a refit-era kitbash with the nacelles below. This is what my refit era bask looked like. Seeing your images is making me want to give it a try with the PL 1/1000. Nice work.

Brad.


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Basically I was wanting something that I could copy with the printer & possibly frame and display in my Star Trek collection room. :thumbsup:


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Dr. Brad said:


> I think the nacelles look good where you've placed them! I did a refit-era kitbash with the nacelles below. This is what my refit era bask looked like. Seeing your images is making me want to give it a try with the PL 1/1000. Nice work.
> 
> Brad.


Yes! That's what I was originally going for. The mini-secondary hull grew out of a cylinder I was using the cover the join between the neck and the pylons. It only grew larger when I put a dish on it. Any chance of seeing a shot from the underside showing where the neck and pylons meet?


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

JGG1701 said:


> Basically I was wanting something that I could copy with the printer & possibly frame and display in my Star Trek collection room. :thumbsup:


Wow, I'm honored. Thanks. Just let me know what your looking for and I'll get it rendered. If your going to print it just let me know the size in inches that you'd like and I'll take it from there.


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Should I PM you with my request ?


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

PM or post either way.


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

FMM I PM 'd you & thanks ! :thumbsup:


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## Dr. Brad (Oct 5, 1999)

Four Mad Men said:


> Yes! That's what I was originally going for. The mini-secondary hull grew out of a cylinder I was using the cover the join between the neck and the pylons. It only grew larger when I put a dish on it. Any chance of seeing a shot from the underside showing where the neck and pylons meet?


I wish the picture quality were better (too washed out, among other things), but do these help?

Brad.


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## modelnut (Apr 19, 2000)

*COOL!

*I just visited your Gallery. Very nice work indeed! :thumbsup:

Now if only we could all chip in and send the K-7 out to a stereo lithographer... 

Anyone for 1000th scale? :devil:

-Leelan


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Thanks. 1/1000th sounds great to me!

Not sure if I need to run and hide on this one, but here's another quick "sketch":


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## Steven Coffey (Jan 5, 2005)

That is very good!


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Looking good 4MM !!! :thumbsup:


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Well it's still in need of refinement and detailing but which one looks better? Or fits better? I thought for sure using that type of dish would have me on the run.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Why? Is it proven to cause diarrhea?  


Looks good! I like it, dude! :thumbsup:


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## Dr. Brad (Oct 5, 1999)

Hey, I like it. And I don't mind that dish at all. Of course, I've enjoyed the fourth season of Enterprise. Now I'm wondering what I could use for that small secondary hull. Mint container, maybe? Dental floss dispenser?

Brad.


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Well now that you mention it.....
It does look "Enterprisesh"


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

That's the Altoid container!

And yes, apart from the TOS style the shape was lifted straight from Columbia.


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

4MM did you receive latest PM ?


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

I did. And got the e-mail. I'll reply back when I get some things together.


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Great !!!
and thanks again.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

And lastly here is one more alternate design. More like the first but not shaped so much like the Constitution secondary hull (although it does have a landing bay). Please remember that these are not the final objects just ways of working out general shapes and proportions:


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## capt Locknar (Dec 29, 2002)

Looking good, I especially like the elongated AB deck


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Thanks. That was more of a problem with the proportions on my Connie (which is where that part came from). Modified it slightly to fit it onto this model so it's somewhat stretched looking.

Added some detail to the ventral side of the saucer, and started playing with the lighting:



















And one last to sleep on.


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

:thumbsup: That last one is kinda spooky


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Yeah, I love those kinds of images. I'm currently testing the pylon angle. Here's an image that shows both configurations.


Larger Version (1280x960)


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

And as a final comparison here's the straight version with the plyons exiting more towards the center line:


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

4MM, I have not been around as much as I have been before, so let me tell thay they look really great! Right now it looks like a PL model. Has John P started on one yet?


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## Heavens Eagle (Jun 30, 2003)

Looks good there 4MM


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Lloyd Collins said:


> 4MM, I have not been around as much as I have been before, so let me tell thay they look really great! Right now it looks like a PL model. Has John P started on one yet?


 In my head.
I want to build airplanes for a while


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

I'd love to see this in a real model! It's been a busy Easter Weekend but I did manage to cut some windows. I've modified the arrangement somewhat but not too much. I thought about making to totaly different. We'll see.


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Nice ! :thumbsup:


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## KUROK (Feb 2, 2004)

4MM,

I like the one with the pylons angled "up". Looks cool from the front.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Agreed. That's a keeper. The next steps after the windows is to start texturing and the detailing of the neck and deflector housing.


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

I like it ! :thumbsup: 
It looks like it belongs on TOS episodes.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

I was concerned about the nacelles starting under the primary hull in case one had to be ejected, overloaded, or was catastrophically blown off towards the underside of the hull...

Then I thought... that might make a really neat "Super Bomb!"

Have any D-7's rendered in Blender? I know how you love to do animations!

Would love to see an animation of 3 D-7's following the Cruiser, firing phasers,
then the cruiser ejects one of the nacelles which spins backwards towards the three pursuing D-7's, then detonates in a matter-antimatter explosion that takes out all three Klingon ships!

Leaving one warp nacelle to limp home on!


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

JGG1701 said:


> I like it ! :thumbsup:
> It looks like it belongs on TOS episodes.


 

Now... Been out of town the past couple of days but I'm back now. Hello.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Chuck_P.R. said:


> I was concerned about the nacelles starting under the primary hull in case one had to be ejected, overloaded, or was catastrophically blown off towards the underside of the hull...
> 
> Then I thought... that might make a really neat "Super Bomb!"
> 
> ...


Well the nacelles are not in a totaly dissimilar position in comparison with a Constitution class vesses (albeit above the saucer).

I don't have a D-7 that's worthy of anything but the longest long shot but I do know where to get one. That would make a good animation. I'll have to get more texturing done on the Cairo before attempting it but perhaps sooner rather than later you'll see something like that.


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Four Mad Men said:


> Well the nacelles are not in a totaly dissimilar position in comparison with a Constitution class vesses (albeit above the saucer).
> 
> I don't have a D-7 that's worthy of anything but the longest long shot but I do know where to get one. That would make a good animation. I'll have to get more texturing done on the Cairo before attempting it but perhaps sooner rather than later you'll see something like that.


Are ya talking about like the long shot seen in "Star Trek TMP"?


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Actually I'm talking about the long-long-long-long shot I posted the other day showing my K-7 with the Klingon in the background. Any closer and you start to see the truth about how it's constructed. But then it wasn't made for close ups so I don't feel so bad about it. It certainly can't be used in the animation Chuck suggests.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

More insane levels of busy-ness. However, here is an update:


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## Steven Coffey (Jan 5, 2005)

Damned good work! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

How's come I can't see picture?


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## Stimpson J. Cat (Nov 11, 2003)

When will the resin kit be available? :roll:


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Shouldn't take much to make a PL conversion kit. You'll need someone more skilled than I for that though. Granted if I had something to make a mold from the task of casting it is within my powers.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Looking very good! I like the lights on the ship's number on the underside. That I can believe better than the refit lights.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Thanks all. And thanks for the compliment Lloyd, It took MANY MANY tries to get those lights looking like that.

Also, tonight I've done more Photoshop layer tweaking (opacity) than I really cared to. End result is much better to my liking. More a suggestions of panels and less so for gridlines. Anyway, I overwrote the previous two images. Didn't mean to, but there you go.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Did you notice the light on the name and number, on the top saucer of the Farragut, in the New Voyages "In Harm's Way" video? I like the way it looked, and with the lights on your model, a starship will look good.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Cool! Not sure why I didn't think of that myself. I'll certainly be added that to mine.

And speaking of the refit, I have some color settings that are more blueish/metallic that really make the lights (and ship) look good to me. But I'm going to hold off posting those until I've got more texturing completed.

Right now I'm:

1) Debating on whether or not to add the port/starboard saucer hardpoints and
2) I'd like to rollback the clock on the nacelle design but I'm having trouble coming up with ideas.

--EDIT--
Anyone heard from Chuck lately. Haven't seen him around.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

This one is for you Lloyd:


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Excellant 4MM ! :thumbsup:


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## Stimpson J. Cat (Nov 11, 2003)

Four Mad Men said:


> Right now I'm:
> 1) Debating on whether or not to add the port/starboard saucer hardpoints and
> 2) I'd like to rollback the clock on the nacelle design but I'm having trouble coming up with ideas.


You might look here for some inspiration on those nacelles. http://www.starfleet-museum.org/


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Four Mad Men said:


> --EDIT--
> Anyone heard from Chuck lately. Haven't seen him around.


Been a bit of a combination of bored, depressed and overworked lately.
I've been lurking for a few minutes here and there.

But no big model news from PL or any GK manufacturers seems to be on the horizon.

Still waiting on the custom parts you made a 3D model for to arrive. They should arrive Monday.

However, I didn't have the dough to order the RTV and resin I'll need at the same time so I had to wait until yesterday(Friday) AM to order those. 

Ordered a gallon of RTV and a gallon of resin from Smooth-On.

So for the week or two it will take to get the stuff for them shipped to me I'll mostly be sitting at a table staring intently at the parts night after night... 

Your designing the shuttlecraft back piece to raise off the sheet might be fortunate after all. I might be tempted to slip some paper under it and trace the basic contours then use that as a raw template to work on the back of the shuttlecraft until I can cast the part in a more reliable material.

Though something tells me that might be a dumb idea to attempt.
Just itching to get rolling forward on this thing someway, somehow.

I've downloaded some Blender tutorials but only have had time to look at them late at night after some long days. Which unfortunately isn't conducive to my being able to stare at them for more then 5 minutes without my eyes glazing over and zoning out.

I'm not a morning person either. Middle of the day would be a perfect time to study them - except I have to spend those hours working to pay the bills.

Oh well...
enough bitching from me. 


Looking forward to seeing some more Cruiser and or K-7 renders whenever you get a chance. What you can accomplish in a few minutes squeezed in here and there between work, other projects and a family is amazing!!!

You are a truly talented guy!


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Thanks man! The texturing is a slow go for me, lots of trial and error with layer opacity and airbrushing. Add to thtat I had to complete redo the saucer textures because I got the number of segments wrong. I now have the proper number (which is 28). I did also manage to start with some weathering using the airbrush. So without further delay here are the new textures:


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Stimpson J. Cat said:


> You might look here for some inspiration on those nacelles. http://www.starfleet-museum.org/


I didn't see anything that grabed me for nacelles but I did find something else. Namely the Klingon D-6. Should work perfectly for Chuck's animation idea.


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## Stimpson J. Cat (Nov 11, 2003)

The D-6 is a neat Klingon ship. One of the guys in the group build I'm running over at FSM is building one.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Yes, I'm looking forward to building it myself.

With all the talk of CG lights I noticed I had not rendered my with the red/green nav lights turned on since I started texturing. So I've been playing around with those. So two more of these and then it's time to move on to other areas of the ship. And I'll do that when I get back from my trip. See you in a few days...


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

^^Just Beautiful! :thumbsup:

4MM, 

I like the name/number light on the saucer. I have been set in my ways about TOS, but you have inspired me to try the lights on a model for the numbers. Of course it will be some time later. I have saved all of your pictures for future reference for models. I have always loved CGI work, and yours is top notch work.

Lloyd :wave:


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Whoa! That is one fine lookin' ship!


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## Stimpson J. Cat (Nov 11, 2003)

It truley is a beauty. It should be made into a PL conversion kit.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Dude! :thumbsup: 

That's all I can say...


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Beautiful work!!! :thumbsup:

Now how about some secondary hull landing gear? 

I'm thinking three points...


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Thanks everyone, I'm glad you like it. The lights really help "make it real". Not just because they are there but because they (hopefully) "make sense".

Chuck, How is it that your the only one that never seems to be satisfied? "Oh yes, that's a great tetrahedron. But... can you make it blue? And add landing gear" :tongue:


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Lloyd Collins said:


> ^^Just Beautiful! :thumbsup:
> 
> 4MM,
> 
> ...


Wow, man. High praise. I'm freezing the saucer work right now. As much as I still want to tweak it, it's time to work on the neck next. And I've decided what I'm going to do with the nacelles too. Which includes rebuilding a lot of the detail. What's there now is essentially very primitive shapes that in no way stand up to close inspection. But in my defense, they we're made in my "younger" days.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Four Mad Men said:


> Thanks everyone, I'm glad you like it. The lights really help "make it real". Not just because they are there but because they (hopefully) "make sense".
> 
> Chuck, How is it that your the only one that never seems to be satisfied? "Oh yes, that's a great tetrahedron. But... can you make it blue? And add landing gear" :tongue:


I'm often satisfied and even overjoyed with the stuff you churn out.
I just like to keep stirring the pot. Otherwise the supply of stuff to be satified with might dry up! Couldn't have that!!! 

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away,
I used to be an exercise instructor.

I learned to walk the fine line between being able to inspire people on the one hand, and not wear them out and tick'em off on the other. 

Guess I am still _*usually*_ am able to stay on the right side of that line. 
*Usually*... :tongue:


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Come on step across this line! I dare you! I could not help it. You should have guessed that I would have to say something.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Anything less and I would begin to doubt the very fabric of the universe.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Here's the first animation test. I think it turned out well enough to be the base of my first scene. Given the time it takes to render the animation I will be using Blender's sequence editor to comp in the moving "stars" and the K-7 station.

Motion Test 1 (2.38MB, DivX)


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## Stimpson J. Cat (Nov 11, 2003)

Damn, that was awesome! I love the configuration of the ship. The only thing I would consider changing is to make the nacelle struts a bit thinner. I don't know if I've mentioned this :tongue: but that would make a dandy PL Enterprise conversion.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Now THAT's MONDO KEWL!!!! :thumbsup:


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Just Fantastic! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Well if you liked that, then how about this...

Scene 1 (2.41MB, DivX), and don't forget your reading glasses.


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## Steven Coffey (Jan 5, 2005)

That is too cool! :thumbsup:


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Awesome Mr. FMM , Awesome !!! :thumbsup:


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## Stimpson J. Cat (Nov 11, 2003)

Bravo! That is very cool. Will there be more to the "story"?


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

4MM, you keep out doing yourself! Really great video!


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

I just got a "page not found" message.
Did your site just go down or the address the file is at change?


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Okay! I take it back! Just downloaded it!

Fantastic!!! 

Eventually all the TOS space scenes could be convincingly redone by fans seamlessly!

Would you care to comment on how soon and/or likely it would be that amateurs could do the level of CGI done by current Trek producers on a desktop computer, FourMadMen?

What would be involved? Doable with today's technology and plain vanilla computers?


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Any problems with what you see? I'm really prone to over tweaking. Just never totaly satisfied I guess, but please let me know if you see room for improvement (besides the whole none of the models are finished bit.).



Stimpson J. Cat said:


> Bravo! That is very cool. Will there be more to the "story"?


Indeed there will. "Star Trek" has already filled in some of the details for me, I'll just be adding a few of my own onto what they've already established.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Chuck_P.R. said:


> Okay! I take it back! Just downloaded it!
> 
> Fantastic!!!
> 
> ...


I really don't see why it's not possible today. From a hardware perspective you need the memory to hold the meshes and textures with the rest coming down to speed. As in how long it takes to render all the frames.

The two biggest obstacles I see in an amatuer production would be texture creation and film matching. Textures can really make or break a mesh. Even a low poly model can look really nice with the right textures. Mine basically stink for close-up work but it's just a matter of taking the time to do them properly (and that time can rival the creation of the model itself). And as clean as the DVDs are, if the new CG scenes don't match with the rest you've completely blown any seamlessness you were trying to create.

In the end it would probably take one or more "amatuers" who really are at the top of their craft.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Over the course of this past week I did manage to do some blocking on the third and final mesh in this project... The D-6. Everything you're about to see is very primitive and won't appear in the final work. I'm just getting the overall proportions and construction plan worked out.


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## Stimpson J. Cat (Nov 11, 2003)

Great D-6. It reminds me of Masao's from "The Starfleet Museum", which is an excellent design. Your proportions look good but it would look perhaps a little better in the head on view if the nacelles were 1/4 to 1/3 thinner.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Yes, the design is from his site. The nacelles for me look a little wide but that's how they were designed. But it's in keeping with the pre-TOS idea of slightly older technology.

Now, ignoring the weathering of where the B/C deck used to be how does this look?


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Looks good. But where is the C deck?


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

I removed B and C decks. Although technically they are still there, just now part of the overall saucer structure now.


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## Tholian (Oct 3, 2004)

Looks Awesome 4MM. Almost looks like my Talon










Except my Razor Class ship looks like it is pregnant next to yours. 

But it is an awesome job. Maybe someday you could do some renderings of the ships designs I have made. They are all 2 dimensional, and it would be great to see them 3D. I keep saying that I am going to Build some models to my Designs, but only have been able to do 1, The Camelot class.

Take a Look and tell me if any fit your interests?

http://www.freewebs.com/tholian/Designs.html


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## Stimpson J. Cat (Nov 11, 2003)

Hmmm.....I don't know how I feel about removing the bridge module but my impression is that it still looks very good. Say don't you need a frieghter holding station around the station? LOL http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/thetallman/721c1bee.jpg


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Tholian, looks like you went for more of a fully fledge secondary hull there. Mine is little more than a deflector housing and pathway to the nacelles. As to your designs, there are a couple there I'd be glad to work up for you. I don't really have much interest in modeling TNG stuff but if I ever get my hands on an already modeled 1701-D or other such ship from that era I might try my hand at a kitbash for you.

Stimpson, now that's a big beast! Although for this project I've already planned out the ships I'm going to need. Have you got any other views for it?

Here's an alternate configuration for a change to the upper saucer...


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## Stimpson J. Cat (Nov 11, 2003)

So far all the bridge configurations have looked good as does this one. The Old Light Cruiser had an embedded bridge and the Baton Rouge class has a set up like this last one but with the bridge dome moved forward. Your designs look like they might tie eras together.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/thetallman/71317f9a.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/thetallman/Clipboard.jpg 



Four Mad Men said:


> Stimpson, now that's a big beast! Although for this project I've already planned out the ships I'm going to need. Have you got any other views.


Yes I do. I only designed this to build as a 1/1000 scale model so please forgive my crude sketch and infantile CGI.








A couple more. 
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/thetallman/ed81f9db.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/thetallman/0a912fd8.jpg
One of the stated missions for this brute is to deliver deep space station componets to their final desination for assembly. That is why I'm so keen on your K-7 project. I'm wanting to build the USS Kraken with a collapsed K class station stowed on its pylons. Yes I'm a nut. :hat:


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## Tholian (Oct 3, 2004)

Four Mad Men said:


> Tholian, looks like you went for more of a fully fledge secondary hull there. Mine is little more than a deflector housing and pathway to the nacelles. As to your designs, there are a couple there I'd be glad to work up for you. I don't really have much interest in modeling TNG stuff but if I ever get my hands on an already modeled 1701-D or other such ship from that era I might try my hand at a kitbash for you.


If any, I would like to see the Independance done up. The Ship is supposed to split right down the middle so it can be two ships intsead of one. 

But if you want to do another that you may find interesting of one of my Designs, be my guest. I would be honored if you did one of those up.

And BTW, this ship is looking great!


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Man This is GREAT !!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Looking good!
Just sent you an email about a new parts producer, etc concerning a CGI/physical model near and dear to our hearts.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

4MM, I like the last picture best. The top saucer, bridge area looks better that way.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Battle Stations! Battle Stations! All hands to Battle Stations! This is not a drill...


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Puuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurty!!!

More please!

(as soon as you work on the shuttlecraft for awhile, of course. :tongue: )


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## Steven Coffey (Jan 5, 2005)

Very cool!


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

I like it , Ilike it !!! :thumbsup: 
Good work 4 MM


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Beautiful! :thumbsup:


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Glad you like it. Here's one more animation. Hopefully the compression will still let you see some of the nuances in this one...

Multiple targets/Computer tracking (1.06MB, DivX)


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## Steven Coffey (Jan 5, 2005)

I can't get it to play sir!


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## Stimpson J. Cat (Nov 11, 2003)

She's really laying down the fire! Your doing a great job. :thumbsup:


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## Tholian (Oct 3, 2004)

Can you do it in any other Format then Quicktime? It comes up saying I am missing a certain file and can't see it. Just wondering because it SOUNDS cool! LOL


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## chuckman (Nov 25, 2003)

DUDE!!!! thats cool, i take it your using the ring around the lower dome as a turret of some kind? but whats with the lights on either side of it, are they supposed to get brighter when she fires, or what?


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

For those that can't see the animation, it's a DivX AVI. You should be able to download the codec from DivX.com. However I can create WMV files too if necessary.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

chuckman said:


> DUDE!!!! thats cool, i take it your using the ring around the lower dome as a turret of some kind? but whats with the lights on either side of it, are they supposed to get brighter when she fires, or what?


Well part of that light effect is created using a halo. And the halo intensity is effected by lamp emissions (which are used to create part of the phaser effect). So while it wasn't intentional on my part it is how the elements we're designed to interact. I can get around it but I plan on replacing the halos with physical "bulbs" that will glow and reflect the lamp light (which incidently is invisible. i.e. you can't see the source of the light just the effect of it when it strikes an object).


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Tholian said:


> If any, I would like to see the Independance done up. The Ship is supposed to split right down the middle so it can be two ships intsead of one.
> 
> But if you want to do another that you may find interesting of one of my Designs, be my guest. I would be honored if you did one of those up.
> 
> And BTW, this ship is looking great!


When things have settled down for me and I've got more free time let's talk more about it.


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## Tholian (Oct 3, 2004)

Four Mad Men said:


> When things have settled down for me and I've got more free time let's talk more about it.


Hey, whenever you are ready, you let me know. As for the Animation, I downloaded the DivX and that is totally awesome. Wish I had your Talent. :thumbsup:


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

annother great file FMM. You really are a very talented person, the best I have been able to do is a simple 25 frame .GIF animation using Paint Shop Pro.5
Animate On Dude !! :dude: 

AZbuilder
John


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Thanks, but I dare say the CG talent is in the hands of people like *Nova* and *Dennis*. I'm mostly just persistent.


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Wow !!!


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Part of this animation project will involve a plasma stream vented into space (from a ship). So here is a particle test. Comments and crits are especially helpful here as this is uncharted terrirtory for me.

Plasma Test (756 KB, DivX)


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## Stimpson J. Cat (Nov 11, 2003)

The effect looked pretty good to me. :thumbsup:


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Most impressive ! :thumbsup:


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Thanks guys.

And thanks Thomas. Quick and dirty (and lores)...


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## chuckman (Nov 25, 2003)

good animation, but i think id chage the color to more bluish/purpleish (maybe, my own opinion there) and DEFINTLY work on the sound effect, the explosion sounds waaaay to corny.

oh, and mirror univers version looks good too, even if it is low-res.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

4MM,

I really like your Mirror ship. I just love your work. The last two videos, I can not download. All other DivX videos I have no problem with. So I can see them, how about WM. Thanks.

Lloyd


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Thanks man. I think you'll really like the plasma test. I can if need be but I know my site had some issues not so long ago so please try again and if you still can't download them (I'm assuming your saving them to disk first before playing them. Yes?) I'll get them converted.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

chuckman said:


> good animation, but i think id chage the color to more bluish/purpleish (maybe, my own opinion there) and DEFINTLY work on the sound effect, the explosion sounds waaaay to corny.
> 
> oh, and mirror univers version looks good too, even if it is low-res.


Corny! My every tried and true "Arena" grenade explosion! Surely you jest.  

I originally thought about some sort of blue but decided to restrict that color for the federation phasers. I'm not entirely pleased with green, so perhaps some purple in there somewhere? Thanks for the suggestion.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Four Mad Men said:


> Part of this animation project will involve a plasma stream vented into space (from a ship). So here is a particle test. Comments and crits are especially helpful here as this is uncharted terrirtory for me.
> 
> Plasma Test (756 KB, DivX)



VERY cool! Love it! (Love all explosions, actually! :freak: )


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Dead? Who's dead?

More fun with plaques...


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## trekmann (Sep 14, 2004)

*Dedication Palques*

Sweet Man!

I love to see TOS Re-Imagined.

Fantastic work :thumbsup:


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## Tholian (Oct 3, 2004)

I like the Quote on the Plaque! Awesome work! :thumbsup:


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Thanks guys. The quote is from Edward R. Murrow.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Fantastic!! It is really good to see more history for your ship. As always, love you work!


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Four Mad Men said:


> Thanks guys. The quote is from Edward R. Murrow.


A man of both bravery and humility!
Both rare traits hardly found among the media these days!

He didn't just hang a phone out the window like Wolf Blitzer, he stood on the roofs of London as the Germans dropped bombs all around him.


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## hq72resins (Jun 6, 2005)

Four Mad Men said:


> Shouldn't take much to make a PL conversion kit. You'll need someone more skilled than I for that though. Granted if I had something to make a mold from the task of casting it is within my powers.


 PL Conversion Kit? HMMMMM? Looks simple enough but would it sell?


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

I'd like to see a design with one nacelle on the saucer(sort of as seen in FJ's dreadnought saucer nacelle connection) and one attached to the _bottom_ of a secondary hull. Then during battle separation they would *both* have warp capability!


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Sorry, but I'll save that sort of thing for TNG. Now if it was a double primary hull then perhaps...


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

And after a period of rest, she breathes again...

Now I'm not saying that this is the direction I want to take this in but I do want to pass it in front of a few sets of eyeballs:




























Please note that there is only a 3% diffusion component to the Azteking you see above. Apart from that one item it's all a function of light sources and angles. Specularity, ray mirror, and all that Jazz. Which is why the effect is so clearly noticible on the underside shot -- due to the engine glow.

Note also that there are 24 radial segments to the (slightly more visible) grid lines and only 16 for the aztecking. This is due to the fact that I created the image map straight from a special render of the U.S.S. Gilbert. If I we're to proceed with this I would of course map to 24 instead of 16.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Kewel, dude! I'm likin' it more and more! Glad you resurrected this one, as I was looking at some of my 1/2500 TOS ships the other day and trying to think of what else I could add that I didn't already have and like. :thumbsup:


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Thanks man. If you ever decide to build one I'd love to see some pics!

The nacelles are back in the shop for some needed maintenance but here is a little more modeling and a little more texturing...


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## Steven Coffey (Jan 5, 2005)

She needs a space dock around her now!


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## Tholian (Oct 3, 2004)

Are you going to put any Windows on the secondary hull? Or are you going to leave it smooth and clean?


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

She...Looks....So....Real. Sorry in a dream state again. Are the green domes,set up for green screen FX work?


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Steven Coffey said:


> She needs a space dock around her now!


Sure wish I had a TOS-ish space dock. It would make a nice change to the standard ship-only WIP image.



Tholian said:


> Are you going to put any Windows on the secondary hull? Or are you going to leave it smooth and clean?


Yes but only a few. There's not a lot of room for... well... rooms down there.



Lloyd Collins said:


> She...Looks....So....Real. Sorry in a dream state again. Are the green domes,set up for green screen FX work?


Uh-oh. One little miscalculation. Guess I'll just have to scrap the whole thing and start over. Now where's that delete key?


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

And the process continues... Changes, Changes, who can spot the changes?


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)




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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

What do you use to light it, bulbs or LEDs?


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

I was using lights but thanks to a trip to Target I know have 60 white leds for 11.99.

Update time...

Let me begin by saying, Three cheers for backups!!! :clap: :clap: :clap: 

She's finished. OK, I'm sure there are some details I'm neglecting (like the fantail lights) but here are the preliminary orthographics and some other renders. Note: The lighting for the A-C decks has been adjusted up but since these we're made so the final set will show those better.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Larger Version (734Kb, JPG)


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Made some changes to the positions of the nacelle intercoolers and the impulse deck as well as correcting the main hull registry spacing -- it is now centered on the dash. So, Revision C. So it's now done and done.

640 pixels wide
3000 pixels wide

Also, someone requested a Constitution/Belmont comparison (Thanks to Thomas for the profile of the Constitution class):


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## Steven Coffey (Jan 5, 2005)

Thanks for the large image !Professional quality !


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

Four Mad Men said:


> I was using lights but thanks to a trip to Target I know have 60 white leds for 11.99.


What did those 60 white LEDs happen to come in ??????????

How bright are they?


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

They come in a blue shiny/metallic looking box. In the Christmas lighting section. Each LED is mounted in a collar that plugs into the 22 ft. strand (Even comes with extra LEDS). I can't say that they are the brightest I've ever seen but when viewed head on they are quite bright with perhaps a small amount of blue in them.


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Steven Coffey said:


> Thanks for the large image !Professional quality !


Thanks man! Your check is in the mail  

Yet another Revision...

...While the textures are not of sufficient resolution to entirely hold up to renders of this size there was an odd ghosting effect being produced by them at certain angles. This misconfiguration within Blender has been corrected. Revision "D" now shows them as they should be (for good or bad). If you don't see "D" as the revision then just hit refresh on your browser.

640 pixels wide
3000 pixels wide

Now, barring an extreme problem at this point I'm not planning a Revision E anytime soon as I've got to start on those Klingons.


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## Steven Coffey (Jan 5, 2005)

Four Mad Men said:


> Thanks man! Your check is in the mail


I want a raise ! :jest:  :roll:


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Steven, you can tell which envelope has the check, it will bounce.:jest:


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Very amusing Lloyd.

Spent some time tweaking the textures on the Cairo: More weathering and paneling mostly...


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)




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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)




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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)




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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Looking good my friend!  :thumbsup:


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Just beautiful! 4MM, what is up with the backgroung change? Just saying new for 2006?


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Thanks Lloyd. Yeah, just something new for the new year. Needed something new anyway for the format change (widescreen) but was planning on creating some new backgrounds in any event.

OK, here's the latest on the textures. All new paneling and spec maps. I'm mostly happy with the way the saucer weathering and "grime" came out. I didn't spend as much time on the secondary hull as I probably should have but if I REALLY need to finish up my K-7 if I'm going to start the animation process by March.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

I love the backgrounds. Helps give the ship a sense of scale.(actually, if those are true orthos it gives them a real scale, not just a "sense" of a scale  )

Especially like the rare nacelle endcaps. Nice touch! :thumbsup:


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

The background reminds me of the Holodeck, ready to insert the K-7 into it. The weathering looks like Thomas's work. You are a master builder!


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Another oldie but goodie...


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